Well, in the spirit of other recent warnings, just be careful. A clamp to hold the belt sander in place so you don't accidentally knock it off the work bench could save a finger tip. See, I know this guy who was adjusting the tracking on a belt sander, and it slipped. Instead of jumping back and letting it crash onto the floor, he tried to grab it. One hand caught the handle, the other hand caught the belt.

If you ever want to see a really funky looking fingernail, ask me sometime. The trips to the orthopedic surgeon were no fun at all. *sigh*

On a brighter note, some belt sanders actually have flat top and back surfaces, and are designed to be used on a bench top--you can even get clamp-on fences for them. Think about the safety features on a fixed belt sander--can they be safely implemented on a portable used in the same manner? If you can't figure out how to do it safely and keep your fingers safe, don't do it. If you've thought everything through, "what's the worst that can happen", you'll probably be fine.

Shawn

: Probably re-inventing the wheel here: Getting close to finishing off my
: second Guillemot s&g for son Number 2.

: I am at the point of making the Cool, name brand Nick Shade backrest. I used
: the ply off cuts to make the little knobs at the back. Problem was: I
: didn't have a bandsaw at home. So I used my tenon saw to aproximately
: straight-saw the arc (after the fashion of greenland paddle making - see I
: am learning). Then I needed to sand these tiny little pieces of ply. Hand
: sanding wasn't working anywhere fast enough.

: So I fired up my beltsander and put it upside down. It rests really nicely on
: its own upside down. And I spent the next 10 minutes with it whirring away
: with me happily rounding off every thing nicely. The upside down belt
: sander was just like having my very own mini-linisher.

: The old beltsander seems to be a good multi functional tool. I have seen
: people using it in a similar fashion with a jig to make strip scarfs. But
: mine has a new future helping make neat little deck fittings.

: Cheers Pete