The belt sander is a go-to tool for taking lots of wood off in a hurry. Getting the right one for your needs - and deciding between a belt sander and other options like the random orbit sander - will depend on your needs.

A thread at WoodNet set me off on a belt sander odyssey - here’s the original thread: Your preferred 3 by 21 Belt Sander. I poked around and found similar threads at other forums and counted up preferences to help you make the decision on a belt sander!

Mr. Stuart Ablett from the FamilyWoodworking forum had some great advice in a thread on picking out your next belt sander: “I have found that they way the fit your hand really matters, when you get to the good quality of the PC, Boschs, or say Makita, the fit in the hand, and the deal you can get comes into play.”

Here are the results of opinions from WoodNet, FamilyWoodworking and Sawmill Creek:

Porter-Cable: 21
Porter-Cable 352VS 8 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Dewalt: 8
DEWALT DW433K Heavy Duty 8 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Variable Speed Belt Sander

Bosch: 6
Bosch 1274DVS 6.6 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Ryobi: 6
Ryobi ZRBE321VS 3-inch by 21-inch Belt Sander

B&D Dragster: 2
Black and Decker DS321 Dragster 6 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Makita: 2
Makita 9901 6.7Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Belt Sander

Rigid: 2
R2720 3″ X 21″ Belt Sander

Craftsman: 2
Craftsman 3 x 21 in. Belt Sander, 7.5 amp

Resources used in this post:
Your preferred 3 by 21 Belt Sander
PC Belt Sander Disappointment
Belt sander need
P-C Belt Sander Questions
Belt Sanders Get Better
Survey of 3-in. by 21-in. Belt Sanders (Taunton… from 1999 not included above)

The folks over at FamilyWoodworking have an interesting thread going on tool pride… Member Allen Grimes asked: “Over past 2 or 4 years, I’ve noticed that a lot of people take far too much pride in the tools they own. Festool and Mini Max owners especially, seem to jump on anybody who says anything bad about those brands and I also noticed that a lot of people are quick to say something bad about those brands whenever they get the chance.

So my question is: Why? Why do people have such strong feelings for these tools and brands?”

Have you noticed that yourself? I know when I was visiting my uncle and he showed me his Harbor Freight tools I had to fight the urge to preach about quality. But then… they work for him, so what’s the big deal?

Here are some insights from a great thread over at FamilyWoodworking:

Scott Spencer:
“Early on in this hobby, I was far more brand loyal that I am now. I guess you start out liking what you know, and wanting it to the best….regardless of whether it really is or not…ignorance is bliss, right?”

Stuart Ablett:
“SOME owners of Grizzly tools must bleed green when cut, or the owners of the Sawstop tools are just as solid in their support of their own tool choices.

If we take it a step further, ask some guys about pickups, Chevy vs Ford has been going on a lot longer than most of us have been alive. I think it is just human nature to defend one’s choices and purchases, especially if that choice is attacked, or they feel it is attacked.”

Gary Curtis:
“The comparison to truck loyalty is entirely fitting. These topics seem to excite the passions. So perhaps, the advertising is working. After all, I never argue about brands of potato chips!!!!”

Norman Hitt:
“The one thing I do have a problem with is someone that badmouths a piece of equipment but has never even used one, or someone that brags on a certain tool of a given brand and says it is the best, when in actuality, they may own another tool of that brand but not the tool in question.”

Frank Fusco:
“Yeppers, a Griz. And you are right. It would meet my needs perfectly. Might not meet the needs of others. But, they do have some whoppers going up to $16,000.00 that might be more ‘Tod worthy’.”

(In response to Tod Evans, a founding member of Family Woodworking and known “Grizzly Hater…” who actually recommended a Grizzly because it would meet Frank’s needs).

My suspicion is that it’s mostly woodworkers who are fairly new and have gotten their first taste of a really solid, well made tool. Because it’s the best tool for their needs they extrapolate and think it’s going to be the best tool for everyone else… But hey, that’s just my opinion

Other Resources:
Tool Pride
BOSCH Places Second in Battle of Power Tool Brands! Guess Who Got First…

You can’t ever have enough clamps. The longer you work with wood the truer this statement gets. Your budget might not agree with this fact however. If that’s the case then READ ON for some great ideas and tips for alternatives to clamping…

The guys at SawmillCreek have some great ideas for a fellow building a laminated workbench. Here’s the original thread: Alternative to lots of clamps?

john bateman:
If you really don’t want to get some big clamps, you could glue and screw each board to the next one, driving the screws directly through the faces of each board.

(this idea got the most agreement in the thread…)

Lance Norris:
How about threaded rod? You could make clamps with it. Take some 8/4 stock, say 2″ wide by 10″ long and drill a hole at each end, for 2 rods. Make 2 boards and run the rods through them and clamp your glue up between these. Wrenches and nuts will get you incredible force.

[example and pics of doing this from LumberJocks: Screw clamps, the easiest, cheapest and fastest (…for me)]

Jesse Cloud:
Make a bunch of wedges, about 3 inches long from scrap. Clamp one piece of the glue-up to your assembly table. In dry fit mode, add the other pieces to be glued up. After the last piece to be glued up, put pairs of wedges together loosely every few inches. Clamp a solid straight board after the wedges. Use a small hammer to bring the wedges together and act as clamps on your glueup.

Walt Nicholson:
I saw this years ago when a neighbor was making a laminated top for a country kitchen table top and (with no clamps) had to improvise. He glued his pieces together, put strong, straight 2X4s on either edge, placed 3 bottle jacks (one was a screw type from his car) in position on the 2X4s, looped and hooked some chain around them and then used the jacks to create the pressure. It was amazing how much glue was squeezed out and the finished product turned out very nice.

Mike Holden:
How about Friends? Friends with clamps that is.

David DeCristoforo:
Of course, there is also my “famous truck bumper” clamping system which involves laying your boards on saw horses against the side of your shop and backing your truck up against them.

Other suggestions:
Harbor Freight clamps
Ratchet Belts
Kreg Pocket Hole Jig

Other Resources:
Alternative to lots of clamps?
Screw clamps, the easiest, cheapest and fastest (…for me)
Parallel Clamps: Jet vs. Bessey
Tell me why I shouldn’t buy… (the cheap Harbor Freight clamps)

The SawmillCreekers chimed in recently when one of their own asked about Jet parallel clamps. Clamps and power tools are two things you can never have enough of, so of course I rolled up my sleeves and started counting responses.

The conversation spread far from just parallel clamps, but that’s what I focused on for the purposes of this post. You should read the full post here to get the full flavor and other great suggestions you may not have thought of: Are Jet the best clamps?

Jet: 9 Votes

Bessey K-Bodies: 7 Votes

“Comeerson” Clamps: 1 Vote (*)

As there’s no strong favorite between the two you can be reasonably assured you’ll like either… I read some suggestions in the thread that you buy 4 of a given clamp to see how you like it. If it serves you well then consider that a green light

(*) about the Comeerson brand clamps… I learned about these from Per Swinson in the SMC thread. That’s when you yell “Comeerson!” and get your son to clamp your project for awhile

Original thread:
Are Jet the best clamps?

Other Resources:
The 11 Top Woodworking Power Tools That Give 100% Satisfaction or Better The Bessey clamps made the sub-11 list.

Random Orbit Sanders are woodshop standards around the world. The random orbit means that the grit doesn’t make a noticeable “pattern” in the surface of your woodworking project. If you’re shopping for a new one - or your first one - this article gives you insight into which brands are most popular with woodworkers.

I counted up random orbital sander recommendations from 5 forums: Woodnet, SawmillCreek, LumberJocks, WoodWorkForums (Oz) and Contractor Talk. Without further ado, here are the top 5 most popular random orbit sanders:

1) Bosch: 20 Votes
The Bosch is the go-to standard for ROS. You won’t go wrong with the Bosch, though it’s definitely not the cheapest ROS available… Bosch was popular across ALL the forums.

Bosch 1295DVSK 2.2 Amp 5-Inch Palm Grip Variable Speed Random Orbit Palm Sander

Bosch 1250DEVS 6.5 Amp 6-Inch Random Orbit Sander with Vacuum Port

Bosch 1295 ROS Owners Opinions (SawmillCreek)

2) Festool: 19 Votes
Festools are expensive. Festool users love Festool so much they should be called cult members. It seemed like there were the most Festool fans in SawmillCreek.

6″ rand. orb. sander ETS 150/3

5″ random orbit sander ETS 125

Festool 150/5 random orbit sander review (SawmillCreek)

3) Porter-Cable: 12 Votes
Straight forward and steady, the Porter-Cable ROS seemed most popular with contractors. There were no raving PC fans… but then again they’re not the “raving” type

Porter-Cable 97355 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbital Sander Kit

4) Makita: 9 Votes
Another solid contender, the Makita is a popular less expensive option.

Makita BO6030 2.7 Amp 6-Inch Random Orbit Variable Speed Sander

5 - tie) Dewalt: 7 Votes
Everyone with a Dewalt ROS seemed to really like it. A strong choice that will last a long time.

DEWALT D26453K 3 Amp 5-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander Kit

5 - tie) Metabo: 7 Votes
Metabos seemed most popular “down under.” A solid mid-priced ROS.

Metabo SXE450 00458 3.8 Amp 6-Inch Random Orbit Sander

Everyone Else:
Ridgid: 4 Votes

Cabinet Scraper: 2 Votes
Using Card Scrapers (FWW article)

Dynabrade: 2 Votes
(pneumatic air powered sanders)

Ryobi: 1 Vote

Forum Threads Cited:
Random Orbit Sander- Is there consensus on top 2 or 3? (WoodNet)
ROS Suggestions (SawmillCreek)
Random Orbital Sander? (LumberJocks)
Whats the best random orbit sander in your opinion (WoodWorkForums)
Which sander? (ContractorTalk)

Other Resources:
Stopping Swirl Marks in Your Finish (PDF file…)
Chris Baylor on Random Orbital Sanders

Quality work shoes can take the ache out of your back, ankles, knees and feet. The question of “best shoes for the woodshop” comes up over and over in woodworking forums. Like most things woodworking the best answer is “it depends on what your needs are.”

We’re a safety-first company so we definitely recommend steel toed boots. From what I found most woodworkers agree - by and large they lean towards standard work boots while they’re working with wood. That said I found a SHOCKING number of people who wear sandals… or even flip flops. And one woodworker claims he works in the shop barefoot. YIKES! To each his own I guess, but remember, what you’re reading here is the collected opinions of woodworkers and does NOT reflect ToolCrib.com’s recommendations.

One thing NOT reflected well in the results you’ll read is the difference that cushioning floor pads will make! Most folks reported that good floor cushioning makes expensive/comfortable shoes unnecessary. Safe shoes are still recommended of course…

To find these results I referenced 2 main posts from SawmillCreek:
Best Boots for the Shop
Whats yer workshop shoe?

Boots: 23 Votes Total
Red Wing: 5 Votes

Red Wing 6611 Mens Oxford
Redwing “comfort zone” boots

Wolverine: 3 Votes

Wolverine Steeltoes for me.
Wolverines Wellingtons
Wolverine safety boots in the shop

Danner: 2 Votes

Danner Arcadias
Danner Hunting Boots

Timberland: 2 Votes
Timberland steel toe steel shank
Timberland Pro

Blundstone: 2 Votes
Blundstone safety boots
Blundstone

Everyone else:
Merrell hikers with Dr. Scholl’s most expensive insoles.
Echo boots
matterhorn safety toe boots
Jump Boots
Doc Martens with bouncing soles
Wescos
hi tech work boots

walking shoes/sneaker-y type shoes: 21 Votes
worn out running shoes: 14 Votes
slip on mocassins from cabelas
Propet walkers
Rocky steel toed sneakers
converse steel toe sneakers
heavy Rockports
Z-coils
Romeos

Sandal-y Foot Coverings: 16 votes Total
Crocs: 9 votes (close-toe recommended)

Sandals: 3 votes
Birkenstocks: 2 votes
flip flops: 2 votes

Use Floor Pads: 11 Votes

Barefoot: 1 Vote
We highly highly un-recommend this idea. Your mileage may vary!

Resources:
Top Ten Most Dangerous Woodworking Power Tools
Using Gloves in the Woodshop
The Seven Golden Rules of Power Tool Safety
Best Boots for the Shop
Whats yer workshop shoe?
Most Comfortable Work Boots
View Poll Results: Your Favorite Work Boot

Over at Family Woodworking Joe Mioux asked the family what table saw they’d get if they had unlimited budget. He’s selling a Mini-Max. See the original thread here: If you could buy a new ts….

I tallied them up and here are the table saws that the Family sees when they’re sawing “z’s.”

SawStop: 6 Votes

Sawstop preferred over Powermatic PM 2000 for Professional Wood Shop (WoodNetters only)
SawStop got mini-kudos in our customer service forum survey.
SawStop placed #11 on our Top Woodworking Power Tools That Give 100% Satisfaction or Better
Tied w/ PM2000 in Top Cabinet Saws for a Small Pro Wood Shop

PowerMatic: 4 Votes
5hp pre 1977 pm66
PM2000 with the router lift
custom Powermatic 2066

Also see:
Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Powermatic 66 Table Saw
Tied w/ SawStop in Top Cabinet Saws for a Small Pro Wood Shop

Mini Max Sliding Table Saw: 3 Votes

Steel City cabinet saw: 2 votes

One Mention Each:
an old Unisaw
left tilt General cabinet-saw
Woodtek - 148-271 Hybrid Tablesaw

If I had the cash I’d like to try out the Steel City granite top table saw

How about you? What’s your dream table saw?

A Woodnetter asked his fellows recently what their thoughts were on a battle between the Grizzly G5013 and the Jet JWBS-18X. For the record, the 17″ Grizzly G5013 placed first in our survey for our band saw buying guide. That said, the Jet is a fine machine worthy of consideration.

A bit of detail for you - the OP (original poster) plans to use the saw for a great deal of resawing. In his words: “As for resawing, most of the furniture we make uses 1/8″ thick shop veneer laminated onto baltic birch. The woods are almost exclusively exotic (i.e. very hard and very expensive, which is why we use veneer). So the ability to resaw as wide as possible (within the price range of the Grizzly and Jet) is crucial.”

One commenter suggested off the bat that he start looking at the 19″ models if he planned to do mostly resawing. And while there wasn’t a landslide of responses or suggestions the thread is great for any professional woodshop owner looking at 17-19″ band saws for production work. Read the original thread here: Which machine? 17″ Grizzly G5013 2HP vs. Jet 18″ 1 1/2 HP

The Grizzly won by a narrow margin…

Grizzly G5013: 3 votes

Jet JWBS-18X: 2 votes

Thread of Origin:
Which machine? 17″ Grizzly G5013 2HP vs. Jet 18″ 1 1/2 HP

Other Resources:
What’s the Best Band Saw? Benchtop vs. 14 Inch vs. 17 Inch vs. 18 Inch
Grizzly Tools - What is Your Opinion?
A Band Saw Buying Guide: 6 Considerations That Save Woodworkers Money
Band Saw Tire Maintenance
Woodworking Without A Table Saw

Woodnetter Zane Moseley wants a new square. He went to his fellow WoodNetters and said: “I’m thinking of buying a quality square like a Starrett or Incra that will last for years and give trustworth readings. The 12″ starrett combo square seems a bit long. They have a 4″ double square that looks pretty appealing. Incra also makes a “guaranteed square”. Which should I get?”

What follows is a fantastic weighing-in of the Woodnetters - here’s the full thread if you’d like to check it out: What type of square do you use most often?

I tallied responses and then went digging for similar threads in other woodworking forums to bring you the top 4 most used woodworking squares…

1) Starrett: 22 overall
Starrett 4″ double square: 6

12″ Starrett combo square: 6
6″ Starrett combo square: 5
6″ Starrett double square: 2

Starrett Reviews from LumberJocks:
Starrett Fixed Square Review
Starrett 4-Inch Double Square, 12-Inch Combination Square

(Note that Starrett squares came in at #9 on the top 11 tools that bring 100% satisfaction.)

2) Bridge City Squares: 3 Overall
Bridge City Universal Square: 1

Bridge City CS-12 combination square: 1

3) Veritas Squares: 3 Overall
Veritas Saddle Square: 3

Veritas Saddle Square Review

4) Lee Valley Squares: 3 Overall
Lee Valley 4″ double square: 1

LV double square: 1

Everyone Else by Brand:
Swanson Speed Squres: 2 Overall

Harbor Freight Squares: 2 overall

Stanley Squares: 2 Overall
Stanley 12″ combo squares: 2

PEC Squares: 1 Overall
4″ double square: 1

Incra Squares: 1 overall

Mitutoyo squares: 1 overall

Forum sources for these numbers:
What type of square do you use most often?
If you were a square
When is a square not a square?
Starrett adjustable square, or who…?

Other Resources:
The 11 Top Woodworking Power Tools That Give 100% Satisfaction or Better

First off I want to state that the official ToolCrib position is that ANY beer is too much beer for woodworking. We’re serious about safety and would like to remind you that the #1 most dangerous power tool is YOU.

photo by IJsendoorn under CC license.

A SawmillCreeker asked recently, “How many beers does it take to not jump on a machine?” The Creekers are safety oriented woodworkers so it’s no surprise that the majority of them have strict no drinking while using tools policy.

I went through and counted the responses anyways.

No drinking before or during (zero tolerance): 40
A couple while cleaning up: 8
One: 4
Up to 2 drinks: 2
Will use a hand plane: 1

Where do you fall on the spectrum?

Here’s the original thread: How many Beers?

Also recommended: Avoiding Drugs and Alcohol When Woodworking