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)

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

I just saw this on YouTube, thought you’d dig it. It’s pretty old I think but still cool!

Here are some other posts that mention SawStop:
Sawstop vs. Powermatic PM 2000 in the Professional Wood Shop
BOSCH Places Second in Battle of Power Tool Brands! Guess Who Got First… (SawStop placed 17th)
The 11 Top Woodworking Power Tools That Give 100% Satisfaction or Better (SawStop placed 11th)

There are over 4,000 ToolCrib newsletter readers and over 500 visitors a day to the blog. I’m afraid this post about building a UniSaw out of spare parts is only going to appeal to about 4 of you. But I know that those who like it are REALLY going to like it

In other words, if you know http://www.OWWM.com you will enjoy this post

Like many great things, this story comes from WoodNet. From member ChrisJ in particular who apparently travels the country rescuing and rebuilding old woodworking machines. He owns the site UniSawParts.com (I think…). ChrisJ if you’re reading this I’d be more than happy to help you install a blog free of charge so you can make a new home for your work if you want…

Anyways, here’s how Chris starts what turns out to be an epic UniSaw building tutorial: “I’m thinking about building a UniSaw from assorted parts that I have…”

What follows are ginormous posts from ChrisJ about his progress in building a UniSaw from the ground up. The pictures are big, well lit and even have nifty arrows pointing to exactly what he’s talking about. The thread’s had over 12,000 views since it started back in ‘06 and almost 90 replies. Only a small number of those replies are from ChrisJ though… Think of this post as a chapter guide to his odyssey.

I put these in chronological order for those of you following along from home…

Let’s Start 4-6
“We are building a saw from the bottom up, so we need a bottom ring and an base. Let’s go check one of the many graveyards scattered around my shop.”

The Trunnion Bracket 4-8
“A trunnion bracket seemed like a good part to tear down today with kids coming in and out of the shop. I selected this beast!”

Okay lets deal with that arbor 4-9
“After freezing the item, I put it back into the press and heated the pulley with a torch. And heated it and pressed and heated it and pressed…”

back to rebuilding that arbor bracket 4-21
“We need to clean the parts. Remember that nasty arbor?”

arbor bracket rebuild 4-28
“The pointed tip of the bracket has been broken off, was repaired at some point and then failed again. This is a common place for this bracket to be broken.”

the bearing retaining nut 4-28
“so we turn to the bearing retaining nut that you’ve seen a couple times already…”

Okay, lets go over the internals of a Delta UniSaw 6-1
“Here’s what a UniSaw looks like with the top off…”

Continuing with that Front Trunnion Bracket 6-2
“I’ve hauled a lot of saws, repaired a fair number of saws, tore down a lot of saws and even broken a few. By far for me, the part that kicks my tail is the front trunnion bracket.”

And as far as I can tell that’s where the build story ends… if you know any better let me know and I’ll update this post! Big thanks for ChrisJ for all his hard work on the documentation of his project.

You may also enjoy:
Here’s a history of the UniSaw from OMMW.
A Table Saw Buying Guide: Benchtop vs Contractor vs Cabinet vs Hybrid

How safe is the air in your woodshop? Even if you’re running a cyclone dust collector you still need to protect your lungs with some extra filtration. As RFeeser puts it at WoodNet: “You cannot go without an effective face mask just because you have dust collection. The air still ends up with a lot of the really fine, invisible sawdust that is the real health problem.” I found a thread at SawmillCreek asking for respirator recommendations. Then I dug around for more threads that recommend respirators AND reviews for specific models.

BUT FIRST, here are some chilling quotes from ‘Creeker Lloyd Morris about air quality:

I was in very good health and at 50 years old was training for a marathon and riding my bike 30 to 40 miles a week. Also no breathing problems at all for the first year of woodworking. I was the last person I thought would have any problems with a reaction to wood dust.

After working on a project for about six hours last spring, I began to have some wheezing and shortness of breath. I took a break and walked out side and felt better. This had happened once before after several hours in the shop and resolved itself within a few minutes of stopping work. A few of days later I went back in the shop. The symptoms reappeared in about an hour and were worse this time. They barely got better when I stopped working.

My wife (who is a physician) came home for dinner took one look at me and said “we are going to the emergency room”…

His words in Taking Wood Dust More Seriously inspired this post!

So now that you’re a little more interested in getting properly respirated here are the results of my tabulations:

3M Respirators: 16

6000 series: 4
7500 series: 5
8500 series: 1

AO Safety: 6

AO Safety 95190 “pig snout” respirator: 5
Quicklatch Pro made by AO Safety: 1

Triton Powered Respirator: 5

Triton Respirator Exceeds Expectations from LumberJocks
Triton Power Respirator - Mini Review (by Stu Ablett in Family Woodworking)
Triton Powered Respirator by Bill Esposito

Trend AirShield: 5

Trend Airshield (forum excerpts)

Resp-O-Rator Jr: 1

Rockler Power Air Respirator: 1

Rockler Power Air Respirator Review from LumberJocks

Forum Threads I got my numbers from:
Please recommend respirators
The air challenge/saga continues: Respirators?
Respirator recommendation (from ContractorTalk forum)
full face respirator?
Masks etc

Other Resources:
Respirator Protection an Important Safety Issue
Respirator Fit and Function for Men with Beards

Do you keep your table saw blades on a nail on the wall? Or worse, stacked on top of each other in a drawer? My understanding is that your #1 goal in storage should be not letting the teeth touch each other… from there the storage ideas really start to run wild

A WoodNet thread on table saw blade storage caught my eye and if you’re looking for ideas + pictures then you HAVE to go look at: How do you guys store your blades?

Here’s some nice dry humor from that WoodNet thread: “I used to let Forrest store my Woodworker II, but then I finally got a Grizzly contractor saw to store it in. Much handier.”

You should definitely go check that out as there are great pictures posted there.

I dug around for ideas at other forums too…>>

Here’s a thread from Rigid: Blade Storage where you’ll find some great ideas along with some, um, creative ideas: “I toss mine ninja-style at the wall and just let them stick in the drywall. Easy access to whichever I need.”

The LumberJocks give us: Saw Blade Holder You’ll find rough plans and build-pics there too. Very useful!

Pic from LumberJocks:

Also from LumberJocks: Storage for 10″ saw blades ideas? This is where I saw the Saw Jaw. Good suggestions here too.

Portable table saw blade holder And from an Australian woodworking forum we find a brief-case style table saw blade storage solution for the professional woodworker on the go

Saw-Blade Selector And if you really want to pamper your saw blades you can try building the saw blade selector from Wood Magazine.

If you have ideas or pictures you’d like to share of how you store your table saw blades let me know in the comments!

Yes you DO have to read all the way through WoodNet’s Cheap Useful Item for the Shop. Why? Because there are way more than 11 useful ideas there. There are probably more like 100 useful ideas there from at least 90 woodworkers. I picked out and organized the 11 ideas that I thought were the most original and useful.

Again,check out the full thread to get the full impact!

1) 2 Dimes: Great for levelling cabinets - put the dimes on the top of the door, shim the bottom so that they do not fall off then mark where the hinges are to go - gives about a 1/16 clearance

2) Save the plastic credit card fakes you get in the mail to spread glue with. Also: Drill holes in one to fit your counter sink/counter bore bits, to prevent damage to the surface.

3) I keep a deck of cards in my shop. Useful for very slight shimming of things. (also suggested for this - business cards, index cards and free wood samples)

4) I keep the old Bic pens from the office. I thow out the inky thingy and keep the cartridge and cap. I duct tape it to the spray cans which take straws and keep the staws in the now empy cartridge. (this one almost scares me -G)

5) I use the old cutlery container from the dishwasher to hold the screwdrivers, pliers, etc. for whatever job I’m currently working on.

6) 1 oz. (2 Tbsp) stainless coffee measure. Great for dipping stain/poly out of the can instead of making a mess trying to pour.

7) Emory boards for fine tuning hand cut dovetails.

8) Plastic container lids like you find on p-nut cans, cream cheese containers and the like are perfect for shop coasters. They keep condensation from cold drink containers from getting on your bench, your work and your tools. Put ‘em under your finish container to contain drips. They are great shallow containers to keep screws and small hardware from escaping during assembly.

9) an iron. steam out dings, you can veneer with them, iron-on edge banding

10) The coffee can lids make good spacers between TS & CMS blades when storing them. I have my blades in a drawer and stack them between the plastic lids.

11) I use empty Altoid mint containers (small metal boxes with lids that snap shut) to keep a small supply of saw dust of each of the woods I use in case I need to make some filler.

In case WoodNet’s not enough for ya, here’s a thread from rec.woodworking called “non-shop” stuff that’s useful in the shop.

You might also enjoy:
8 Woodworking Lessons Learned the Hard Way
11 Ideas for Wood Cut Offs