Ridgid Oscillating Sancer or Delta Belt/Disc Sander ??

[footprintsinconc]

hello everyone!

i am wanting to buy a belt sander/disc sander and the following two are my options:

1- delta 31-695: http://deltamachinery.com/index.asp?e=136&p=830 for $121

or

2- ridgid oscillating sander http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/Oscillat...r/EN/index.htm for $200

Now, i am not in a hurry to buy one, so i can wait to see if the ridgid one will come down in price or there may be a clearance for it. However, the detla one is on clearance at lowes right now with only one available.

What do you suggest? Any preference or advantages of either brand over the other?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

[bthere]

I remember seeing something in Bargain Alerts some time ago about that Delta sander. It seems like someone had gotten one at Lowe's for around $60. Ahh, here's the thread.

I have actually been waiting for some sort of sale on the Ridgid EB4424 for a while. It doesn't appear to go on sale, but every now and then HD has offered a discount on certain power tools. I missed the one they had most recently.

[ryan.s]

I'm in a similar situation as you but have been debating between the Ridgid OSS and the Jet JB0S-5. I currently have the delta 12 inch disc sander and a ryobi disc/belt combo sander. I like both sanders I currently have but felt I needed an OSS. The only complaint I have with the ryobi is it's hard to keep the work piece perpendicular to the belt when sanding edges which the ridgid should resolve. The way I see it is the ridigid would be far more versitile than the delta 31-695. You would be albe to do everything with the ridigd that you could do with the delta plus you'll have the spindle sanding capabilities as well.

The ridgid seems to get good reviews from the guys that have it and for the price it seems to be a well built machine. From what I know this sander almost never goes on sale. It may seem like I'm in love with the ridgid but I actually purchased this sander last year and ending up exchanging it then ultimately returning it because I felt there was excess vibration. Maybe I'm too picky but was a little dissappointed that the shell was plastic and the table top was cast aluminum. I prefer cast iron if possible which was the reason I have been looking at the Jet JBOS -5. I was pretty set on purchasing the jet but since the ridgid keeps getting good reviews and I love the fact that it could double as an edge sander I'm considering giving the ridgid another shot. Maybe I was expecting too much or was being too picky.

Hope this helps!

[cgallery]

Just bought the Ridgid and I'm very happy with it. I waited a lifetime (okay, six months) to see if it would go on sale but no. So I finally used some gift cards and purchased it.

I've only had it about a week, and I've only used the belt. But I've already used it to sharpen some chisels, and for some other projects.

[TheRic]

I have the Ridgid, got it a few months ago, love it what little I have used it so far. I watched that thing for over a year looking for it to be on sale. The closest thing you get is it thrown in with blanket sale on things. Getting 10 - 15% off your doing good.

IMHO it doesn't go on sale since it does get great reviews, people are buying it at the current price (not sitting on the shelf).

[softop41]

Omar,
I waited for 4 months for the Ridgid oscillating spindle sander to go on sale and it never did so I bought it anyway. I had a Ryobi belt/disk sander already and now the Ryobi gets very little use except for something that requires a disk. The Ridgid does sooooo much nicer job on edges, etc.
Good luck with your decision.
Jerry

[Popeye]

I'm the guy that lucked into the Delta for $60. Good machine but.... If given your choices I'd go with the Ridgid. I've used a friends and it does a great job. Plus when you need an ossilating spindle sander there is just nothing else that will work near as well. I got the Ryobi OSS when they were clearing them a year or so ago and you'd have to fight me to get it out my shop. Pat

[linear]

What do you want to do with it? that may make a difference. I have the little brother of the Delta, and I use it a lot. If you want to make bandsaw boxes, an OSS is real handy for smoothing inside cuts, and that belt/disc won't do it at all.

1HP motor is a lot of power for sanding, I'd be a little extra respectful of that.

[footprintsinconc]

Thanks!

Thank you everyone! its seem overwhelmingly the choice should be ridgid. So ridgid it will be.

As for uses, i dont have any yet. i haven't even finished my bench yet (i know i am slow ). i had my eyes on the ridgid, but because of the clearance deal at lowes, i thought of taking advantage of the deal if it was a better choice than the ridgid. i will find uses as soon as i start a project (hopefully that will be soon).

bthere, thanks for the link, i did try to get one lowes to price match (over the phone) and they agreed, but they could find it in the store even though they showed one and the other lowes said that they werent ready to reduce yet. i think it worked out for the better.

thanks once again for all the helpful advice!

happy july 4th!

[ryan.s]

Omar,

Seems like your question brought out all the ridgid owners out of the woodworks . Don't mean to jack your thread but hopefully you won't mind now that it seems like you've made a decision.

So do any of you guys have any comments on my dilema (see 3rd post on this thread) between the Ridgid and the Jet? I've been agonizing on which one to get for some time now and probably have flipped back and forth a dozen times. Please talk me into one or the other... Thanks!

[cgallery]

So do any of you guys have any comments on my dilema (see 3rd post on this thread) between the Ridgid and the Jet?

I wanted the oscillating belt sander to use for scribed trim, and for smoothing curves on longer pieces. I have tried smoothing long curves on a drum sander in the past and it wasn't very easy for me (wanted to dig-in).

[footprintsinconc]

Omar,

Seems like your question brought out all the ridgid owners out of the woodworks . Don't mean to jack your thread but hopefully you won't mind now that it seems like you've made a decision.

ryan,

Not at all, infact i am thankful of you asking your question. it helps broaden the scope and most importantly benefits any one who needs help.

i looked into the jet model and if i had to choose between the ridgid and the jet, it would definately be the ridgid. the benefit of the ridgid over the jet is the belt portion of the sander and a much wider table. with the belt option you can do a lot of other things that a spindle sander alone cant.

i would give the ridgid another shot. a friend of mine has the ridgid and he says he doesnt have a vibration problem. its very possible that you got a bad piece. my first ridgid tool was the thickness planer and as soon as i was done assembling it, a 1" x 1" triangular piece of cast iron fell out. so it is possible that something must have been broken inside but it still operated which resulted in the vibrations that you felt.

well good luck on your decision!

[Snap Marc]

Ridgid Praise

Yes, this thread did bring us out of the woodwork. I own the Ridgid OSS and love it. Sure it's a plastic body and cast aluminum table, but for the money, it's a best bet in my opinion.

I watched the OSS for months until Home Depot had their power tool sale. I save $35 off the $199 price and took it home for $164 + tax. Well worth it.

As far as the decision between Ridgid's and Jet's OSS - You get certain solid build aspects like cast iron with JET, maybe a but smoother dedicated spindle sanding with too, but I'll tell you, the Ridgid does a fantastic job AND has the oscilating belt. Beautiful end grain sanding and more. There are so many tricks you can do with Ridgid's OSS. I can't tell you how many time I have taken it our to round over edges on plywood for jigs, etc. It's by far the fastest way to slap a fine finish on a piece of wood.

Go with the Orange! You will love it.

[drumpriest]

For what it is worth, as it's a late in the game comment, I have the Ridgid, and am also quite happy with it. I have yet to run into something that I couldn't do with it. It's all about the belt, it's a good enough OSS, but the belt makes it far more versatile.

[liftoff621@hotmail.com]

Happy Ridgid Owner

Bought mine at the Woodworking Show "Reconditioned" for $125. It has been great. I have not experienced any vibration problems. I also watched for months waiting for a sale. Of course, I didn't realize it was "Reconditioned" until I got it home.