: Are there any favorite belt sander models among you guys? Or ones to stay
: away from? I need to flatten some rough cut and slightly bowed Sapele
: which has tightly spaced alternating bands of grain, so planing is out of
: the question. Kinda slow too. Seems like a belt sander would get me in the
: ballpark before I switch of a ROS or manual methods.

: Ted

Don't buy a stupid Rigid 3x18 belt sander (or any rigid as far as my experiences go!) I bought one last Friday since it was nice and small and just what I thought I needed, I didn't think you could design a belt sand poorly....spinning belt on flat surface DUH! Yeah I was wrong.....the stupid thing has a low spot on the rear of the sander and all it does is dig into the material and leave deep grooves and ruin your work!
So yeah don't but a rigid 3x18
End rant.....

I use a very large very heavy very cumbersome Makita at work (I'm a cabinetmaker full time) the only reason we have five of these is cause they don't crap out like others after five months of continuous use, however I wouldn't buy one for my own shop cause it's too big.
Go with a porter cable or well known brand My last shop had a 3x21 (which I agree is the best size) porter cable and it was a good tool, also something with a warranty is always good (....well at least when they hold up their end of the deal!)

Good luck

Pat
Pitman, NJ