I tried to make my neighbor write his own review on the Delta spindle sander. But after watching him "type" I decided to assist him. Thought I was slow, jeeeezzz.
br /Anyway this is not my tool, but he is sitting here kibitzing as I type. I actually have the Jet JBOS5(see review).
br /He purchased the Delta because of the lighter weight and smaller size. He is space challenged in his shop (arn't we all) and needed one he could store under the bench when not in use. The Jet is a bit heavy to be lifting up and down a lot, so he went with the Delta.
br /He purchased this at our favorite local wood workers store and it was already assembled and clean.
br /First impression.....lots of plastic, of course that's why its light. The table is flat and has a nice finish, but if you lift the machine up using the table as a handle you would be smart to check for level before using the sander, it will move on ya.
br /The spindles are only 41/2" compared to 6" on the Jet. But you don't get to use the full length on either machine. He got a nice selection of drums with the sander, including the 3". They appear to be adequate to the task, ya gotta be gentle with the smaller diameter ones even on the Jet. Changing spindles is fairly easy.
br /You do have to clamp or bolt down the machine. Because of its light weight it tends to wander a bit around the bench if you don't. He drilled 4 holes in his bench top and use's bolts and wingnuts, works well.
br /We had to make an adapter to hook the dust collector up to this machine. Seems to work ok.
br /The 1/4 hp motor seems a little light to me, but it performs well, even as heavy handed as he is , he hasn't been able to stall the motor, though it does seem to bog down a little on deep pieces. Just needs a little lighter touch, these bench styles are not meant for "hogging". That's what bandsaws are for.
br /The sander is very quiet when running, and has very little vibration.
br /He thinks this sander will do the trick for him, until the day he has a "real" shop and can have a floor model. He recommends it for anyone who needs a lighter unit.
br /UPDATE...It is now February and my woodworking buddy has just brought his 3rd Boss home. The first two broke, after, in my opinion anyway, very little use. Both suffered from the same problem..a small plastic piece on the actuator arm broke, causing the up and down motion to stop working. The second one didn't line up with the hole in the insert very well, and was making growling noise's from the very beginning. He wants to try one more before giving up on the Boss. Will post another update after this one breaks. At least the store was willing to replace em with no hassel at all.
br /UPDATE..APRIL 05..The third boss was returned to the store..same problems...started "growling" after a couple days and after a couple weeks use the same plastic piece inside broke. My friend returned it and traded it in on the Jet spindle sander. Delta was willing to repair it or send him the parts needed, but he decided he would rather not have a machine that required repair every couple of months (or weeks). It's too bad, because when it works this little machine does a pretty good job, and because of it's light weight and smaller footprint, it is easy to move around the shop and stash under the bench. We don't know if it is a design flaw, bad choice of materials used in construction or just shoddy workmanship (maybe a little of all three), at any rate I think he gave the tool a real good chance to prove out and it didn't make the cut. Can't recommend this one.

The Delta spindle sander I received had some minor problems. The unit was noisy. Under the 2 year warranty I could have taken it to a service location, but that would have meant a delay. Instead I made the adjustment noted in the directions. This adjustment is supposed to be made after many hours of use. Anyway, it did solve the noise problem. One of the steel arms (called a link) that raises and lowers the motor assembly was bent. I removed it and straightened it out. It appeared this was a factory defect since it did not happen during shipping. The unit was made in Taiwan. Quality control is poor at the assembly plant I guess. This is the main reason for 4 stars and not 5. The operation of the sander is very good. There is minimum vibration and noise during use. The dust bag included does a good job collecting most of the dust. It is easy to control the wood on the nice flat machined table.Make sure you get the free spindle set that is being included. It has an assortment of spindles that are needed. The one included is the narrow spindle and limits the abilities of this sander.Despite the minor problems that may have been unique to this one sander, I have to recommend it. It performs above average. And the price is right.

A spindle sander is a pretty simple tool, so it's hard to screw up the construction of one of these. I've been using this one for over a year now and it does the job reasonably well, but it doesn't excite me.
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br /What I like:
br /- Big, flat, cast iron table that was nice and perpendicular to the spindle out of the box.
br /- The constraining inserts that close the hole in the table around the drum are made well and stay in plane with the table, while allowing good dust collection.
br /- The dust collection is actually pretty good when hooked up to a central system. However, see what I don't like below.
br /- All accessories have a storage spot on the machine. All the drums, bushings, wrenches, everything.
br /- It's a very quiet machine...that is, until wood comes in contact with the drum.
br /- It's light and easily mobile, however, it's light because it's plastic. See what I don't like below.
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br /What I sort of like and don't like:
br /- This one is up to you - it depends on your needs. The Delta comes with a set of larger drums, starting at 3/4" and going up to 3". The comparable Jet model has a finer set of drums including 1/4", 1/2", 5/8" and going up to 2". You can buy the 3" drum for the Jet as an accessory, but you can't buy the smaller drums for the Delta. I don't need small drums for my work, so this is fine for me, but if you do finer work, this might not be for you.
br /- The Jet also has a larger 1/2 HP motor, while the delta only has 1/4 HP, however, I've never had a problem with power. In my experience, the 1/4 HP is ample even for 5/4 White Oak.
br /(And the Jet is almost twice as expensive...)
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br /What I really don't like:
br /- The most irritating part of this machine is the rubber drums. They have no gripping power whatsoever, so sandpaper sleeves just work themselves right off the drum inside of 3 seconds of use. To solve this problem I had to put the sandpaper on the drum, then wrap the top of the assembly in packing tape. It keeps the paper in place, but makes it difficult to change grits on the same size drum. You have to take off the drum, unwrap the tape, remove the paper, replace with new grit, rewrap the drum in tape...it's a pain, so I rarely change grits.
br /- The 7/8" stroke of the spindle is less than half of the spindle length, which means most of the drum never gets used unless you're working with thick stock. Even when you flip over the paper, there's a strip in the middle that never gets used. Wasteful and inefficient.
br /- The entire base assembly is plastic.
br /- The dust port is small and requires an adapter for use with a central system. It works well, but it's also angled steeply down out of the machine, making it hard to bend a 4" hose underneath it.
br /- It's a little pricey for what it does, especially when the majority of it is plastic, but spindle sanders in general are over-priced.
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br /So the verdict is that it works well, but not excellent. As long as you don't change grits often, packing tape will keep the sandpaper on the drum.

I looked at this machine for a long time before I bought it. I thought that the motor might be too small and that the unit might be under-powered. When I finally purchased one I was pleasantly surprised. The machine is very quiet and operates incredibly smoothly. There is no hint of vibration and even with a 3 inch spindle and moderate to high sanding pressure, the motor did not show any evidence of stalling. If you have a home of small shop and want a great little oscillating sander, this is the one for you.

Opened the package, turned it on and in less than 3 minutes with motor on (didn't even sand anything) the nylon gear stripped making it completely useless. Reference other owners who had the SAME problem. The only saving grace was Amazon. I returned it without question and Amazon paid the UPS bill. Thanks Amazon.

the delta sa350k Shopmaster boss spindle sander works fine. However; I suggest every buyer read the well defined directions. the guide post was off center. when centering adjust screws so the yoke will slide freely. otherwise a very nice tool.

I've been getting by without a spindle sander by using my drill press and some sanding drums. However, I finally decided I wanted the convenience and efficiency of a dedicated spindle sander. I went with the Delta Boss Spindle Sander (BSS) after looking at the Ryobi, Grizzly, and Jet spindle sanders. It seemed like the way to go in terms of price and performance for an occasional user like myself. I received my Delta BSS from Amazon a few days after ordering it. The very large cast iron table and the overall fit and finish was impressive. After spending about 10 minutes assembling the spindle assembly, I plugged it in and was very disappointed to find out the spindle wasn't oscillating. A quick look at the oscillating assembly at the bottom revealed the nylon gear that drives the oscillating assembly was stripped. Another Amazon reviewer had the same problem. I read his review prior to ordering mine; but, the sheer number of positive reviews convinced me to take a chance. FWIW, I'm sure the vast majority of Delta BSS's work fine right out of the box. However, a little confused why Delta chose to use a nylon gear in this critical area. In any case, I decided to return my Delta BSS rather than replace the nylon gear myself under warranty like the other reviewer elected to do. I may take a chance ordering another Delta BSS--haven't decided yet.
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I was working on finishing out a new front porch for a Historical Register house, and when I got down to making corbels I finally decided to order one of these tools. Setup was easy and the machine worked very well sanding the 3" thick three layer pieces. After running the machine 6 to 8 hours (not continuosly) it quit oscillating. The nylon gear that drives the up and down motion had stripped. My father got home from wintering in Florida and took on the repairs. He got it all apart and discovered (we think) the reason(s) for the failure. First, the horizontal drive shaft has a groove for the set screws, they weren't in it. They had torqued them into the shaft, damaging it and making the bearings too tight so it would hardly turn. Also the up and down guide shaft with the adjustable bolt on each side had the bolts set way to tight. There was no way that gear could handle all the force required to push that mechanisim the way they had assembled it. Also there was no lubrication on the bearings, he said. He machined the shaft so it would turn in the bearings, adjusted everything, put a drop of Marvel Mystery Oil on the bearings, and we are waiting for the new gear to arrive. It was hard to locate one, everyone seems to be out of them for obvious reason. Delta needs to get after whoever they have assembling this machine, as it is it's a blemish on a veneralbe line of tools. I hope this thing works when the gear comes, it was great for as long as it lasted. I've got a lot of drums for it too!

Don't even think about it. I thought with all the negative reviews about this, surely Delta has corrected the problem with this not oscillating. So I ordered it, assembled it and turned it on. Guess what? It doesn't oscillate. I looked at the nylon gear and it was stripped. So back it went to Amazon. Amazon is great about returns, and I did get money back. Now I just have to decide on the Jet or Grizzly combo. Too bad you can't give 0 stars.

The tool is well made and for the price, it is really great. It is built very sturdy, and has a great work surface which is rock solid. The fact that it comes with all the spindles is a real plus.
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br /Have only one complaint. The spindle seems to be off center when it oscillates, just a tiny bit. By that I mean it backs away from the work on the up stroke and towards the work on the down stroke. It may be something I can adjust.

Comes with 5 vibration free spindles that can handle most of your contour needs. Poor dust management and sanding drums can work their way off the spindle. The sander does the job as well as can be expected for the price. The instructions are a little vague on how to install the sanding drums with the washers that are supplied. The parts list show on how they go on, but the written instructions tell a different way. The each drum needs a washer on top, but the 3/4" drum does not have one. It will slowly work its way off then rubber. I used one of my own washers to stop it from slipping upward. The dust bag is almost useless and the outlet in the rear is non-standard for vacuum hoses. I made an adapter using the top part of a 2 1/4" cone pickup tool that is glued with silicone onto a 2 1/4" to 1 1/4" hose reducer. This is a must and you will have a dust free sander.
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After hearing a few horror stories on Delta tools I decided to take a chance and order the BOSS sander. Big mistake. It arrived fine and was packed fine but when I went to try it out I discovered that on the full upstroke the washer under the drum makes contact with and actually raises up the table insert. It is unusable. After waiting 15 minutes on hold on the Delta tech line I was informed that they were aware of the problem and weren't sure how to fix it yet but when they did I would have to drive an hour and a half to a service center and leave it with them and then of course have to drive back when it is ready. I usually purchase higher grade tools than Delta and now I remember why.
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Setup: 5
br / Use: 5
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br / Given my good luck-terrible luck experiences with Delta products I still found myself able to purchase this product with high expectations. This time I got lucky and got a good one. Minimal shipping grease, easy setup, nothing broken, all accessories included. I purchased a 4" dust hose adapter/reducer and modified it so that I could utilize my dust collection system. Yes, the dust port is an odd size but I placed some self-adhesive foam inside the adapter and it seals well now; so well that when I get within 3 inches of the adapter, the dust collector hose forces its' own way onto the adapter. The suction is very powerful with this modification. Although this table doesn't have a tilting axis, it should be easy to make a tabletop jig to achieve any desired angle tilting the stock itself.
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br / I recommend this sander. So far......

Delta has had a quality problem and I was reluctant to order this machine. At one time, if my memeory serves me, Delta was an industry standard.
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br /This machine was ready to go out of the box. Does a great job for the price.
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br /The only fault is the small fitting for dust collection. I had to make an adaptor, but it works fine with my dust gathering system.
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br /I would purchase it again.

My shop is primarily all Delta products. So I wasn't surprised when I opened and setup my new spindle sander that it was excellent. Mine cam with the accessory kit and it did every job that I needed it to do. Setup was straight forward and simple. The cast Iron top makes it nice and stable and it doesn't move around on you. The top is also very large which makes larger projects a breeze. Overall another great product!

Recieved machine new in box. oscalating gear was broke before starting machine. called Delta Tools, They sent me anew one under warranty. registered the tool while on the phone with Delta. Installed the gear myself, The machine has been working great ever since. I would recommend this tool.

I was skeptical about getting this tool after reading all the negative reviews about how flimsy it was and how many broken gear/actuator arms people had encountered. I'm glad to say a friend of mine who owns one (a slightly older model, but to my eye exactly the same unit) talked me into getting it. We both build guitars, and a tool like this is invaluable.
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br /My sander arrived without any problem, set up in minutes and was just fine right out of the box. The table was totally square to the spindle and needed no shimming, the oscillating function worked fine and it operates very quiet and vibration-free. Someone mentioned that the unit is light weight and could walk off a benchtop if not secured. I don't find this to be true at all. While the base is plastic, the table is cast iron and had quite a heft to it. I've run the sander sitting on top of a portable shop table and it stays put just fine. There is no tendancy for it to move at all, so I don't know what the issue was with the other reviews. The large, round table is ideal for what I need to do, and the fact that it's fixed (non-tilt) is a big plus for me. I need to get things square most of the time. I can always make a jig to get an angle, but not having to take the time to re-square the table (and hope it doesn't go out of adjustment) is great and a time saver.
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br /I think some of the problems with the broken oscillating function in other reviews might be because people are trying to hog off more wood than the unit is designed to handle. In my case, it's used for delicate trimming and smoothing. I probably will never sand anything taller than 3", and even then it would be to remove (for example) bandsaw teeth marks or to get the contour of a curve shaped just right. I've already tried this on hardwood (maple, indian rosewood, ebony) and as long as I don't force anything, I've had great results.
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br /I called a local tool store and was give a $250 price plus tax, and the sander didn't include the extra spindle set (they wanted another fifty bucks if I remember right). Not only that, they didn't have it in stock and would need to order it...so please be prepared to wait two to three weeks. I ordered from Amazon, got it for $199 no tax, with the spindle set included. Took four working days to get here.
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br /I'm very satisfied so far, and based on what I've experienced with my sander and the Delta unit owned by my buddy (six years and counting) I don't anticipate any major problems.

I fabricate wooden chairs, ottomans and tables which my wife adds custom graphics. Before I used a drill press and a home built drum to sand the curved surfaces of the chair parts. The BOSS sander has cut the sanding time by 300%. Plus it produces a much better finish.

For the weekend or hobby woodworker this tool is great. Obviously, a 1/4 horse motor cannot give the power of an industrial sander.I mounted mine on a home made mobile cabinet with locking wheels so I can easily move it around my small shop. I especially enjoy putting a square edge on plywood prior to edge banding......now I have no gaps along the edge.

This Delta Sander is very quiet and smooth and the workmanship appears to be good. The table top is flat.pOn the negative side, the dust collection is poor. The power is adequate for a home shop.

I have two neg. comments on this peice of equitment. The only place I can find the 3" sleves is at Sears. And the Dust collecting bag leaves a lot to be desired.

I used this Delta spindle sander for about 4 working sessions only to have it quit oscillating also. Seemed great until this happened. Sounds like Delta needs to remedy the stripping gear problem before it would be recommendable to buy.

I had a major problem when I received this unit. It would not oscillate. It is always frustrating to buy something new and it doesn't work. After giving myself time to calm down, I investigated the problem. The oscillation is affected by a metal worm gear at the base of the motor. The worm gear drives a nylon gear on a shaft 90 degrees to the motor that has two arms attached to the table that in turn control the motion of the motor up and down. Now here is the problem: The motor is not held in place during shipping. One hard impact strips the nylon gear of it's teeth were it contacts the worm gear. I called the 1-800 number provided and Delta is sending me a new nylon gear. Other than this shipping problem, I like the cast iron table and the way the machine is designed.

This was the best price, ($249) I could find for this cast iron, beginner's beauty. Did I mention I LOVE cast iron...it will never change shape because cast iron is inherantly stable...did I spell that right? Who cares, you get the point. Cast iron forever! Ps: mine operates very smoothly with no grunts or groans others have experienced. Go for it.

I had one of these sanders at my old shop and it stayed there when I moved. I ordered a new one which I had to send back because the spindle was NOT square to the table. This is THE most important function of the tool. Amazon was fantastic even through some confusion in shipping and I got the replacement sent to me.
br /It is just fine, square, and runs beautifully. The three stars are for the lack of quality control.
br /I like the tool so far. Good for what you pay for it.