I needed a stationary sander, and Delta's 31-695 was the unit that was in my price range. It went together well, and sands satisfactorily, but just seems to lack something. I didn't want to spend the nearly $800 for the Delta sanding center, but in the long run..., I probably should've held out. The cast aluminum table for the disc sander is flimsy, and does not adjust well to angled sanding. I've already stripped out one of the retention knobs and have noticed a little difficulty with belt tracking. Other than those issues, it's OK, I wouldn't purchase another one though.

I purchased this sander as an upgrade to my 4" belt / 6" disk sander. The smaller unit worked fairly well but was underpowered and sometimes I could stop the belt. The sanding belt always seemed to be a little too narrow. This unit seems right on the money.pI use it to sand a lot of scroll saw projects (stackable baskets, collapsible baskets, ornaments, candle holders, puzzles, etc.) I can place the wood on the belt next to the stop and hold it down with a push block. I then turn the sander on. That gives me complete control over sanding 1/8" to 1/4" thick material without sanding my fingers or pinching them. The 1 HP motor has plenty of power to start up under a load. I also have the accessory fence unit. This allows me to sand large areas flat that were cut with a scroll saw. The disc is excellent for smoothing out curves and removing burn marks. This is a must have tool if you do a lot of scroll sawing. I even use it for finish sanding using a 220 grit belt. I also use it for sanding finger joints flush on oak, maple and poplar boxes. One final use is sanding smaller cupped stock flat for use as sliding box lids.pYou can sand puzzles easily by placing on the belt before starting and holding the pieces with the push block. You can sand off pattern paper. You can shape up the edges on collapsible baskets and remove blade burn marks. You can smooth out and flatten large edges. Interestingly enough, I have yet to use the edge of the belt to sand.pThe tool is noisier than the 4/6 unit. I would compare its noise level as slightly louder than my Delta 14" band saw. It is not bad but I would suggest using hearing protection. The unit runs very smoothly. The belts take a little time to change -- especially with the accessory fence attached -- but the process is easy. The supplied 80 grit belt and disc are a little too aggressive for scroll saw projects. I replaced them with finer grits.

Like the othert Delta products I have purchased.. I was excited when my new sander arrived. It assembled well, and looked impressive. Until I snapped the power switch and the motor would not turn. Smoke came out of the motor. I shut the unit down, and double checked everything, again! The motor turned freely by hand, but turn it on. and it would lock. Called support, 30 days later recieved a new motor and installed it. This motor started right up and as I almost got excited, it slowed and stopped. Then did the same thing as the first! I boxed it up, and sent it back. 2 failed motors, over 30 days, and I was still not able to use it! No thank you! Hope this helps!

I like the sander and think that it does a very good job for the price. However if you want to sand a board or panel greater than ~10" you have to remove the disc sander because the stop on the belt is behind the disc. This problem would be solved if Delta would add additional drilled and tapped positions for the stop.

I wish Jet made one of these. I've about decided to give up on Delta. pIt is a strange philosophy to try to sell inferior tools with inferior instructions to us craftsman "perfectionists".pI received my Delta 6" Belt/9" Disc Sander this past friday so I can't comment on the longterm use ot the tool - but I will say that the package was pretty much falling apart when I received it. A tool that weighs 90lbs should be in a sturdy box. pThen there were the assembly problems. The support stand for the frame is lettered wrong in the instructions. One page describes the parts as lettered A thru E (there are two of each letter). The parts in the photo do not match the parts on the list. On the next page, the stand is shown assembled with parts lettered - again the letters point to thr wrong pieces. To make matters worse, the parts themselves are lettered A thru E. But these have no relevence either. As a result, at 15 minute assembly took me two hours of assembling and reassembling. pThe belt tensioning screw does not work but I'll not get into those details - it would take too long to describe it. pFinally, belt wonders terribly from side to side and it is very difficult to keep centered. pI wonder what surprises await when I actually try to use this thing.

It took me about 1/2 hour to assemble the sander. It went together well, with one small problem: the lower disk guard would not fit. This doesn't appear to me to be a problem, so I didn't bother to get another. The machine performs flawlessly. I'm finally able to shape inside and outside curves and do a great job on end grain. Lots of power and easy to use. This one is a hit with me.

I always had a picture in my mind of Delta tools being the ones to buy if you could afford them. As my first Delta tool purchase this one just didn't live up to my internal hype.pOn page 10 of the manual, it says the screw for changing the position of the sanding arm can be adjusted with the supplied hex wrench, but I found that the screw was the wrong size. I called Delta and they sent the correct part (part #1346365).pI also ran into the problem mentioned by another reviewer where the parts for the stand are labelled differently from picture to picture. Too bad I didn't read that review before I assembled the unit. It would have saved me a lot of time.pAll-in-all it seems like it will function well, but it's not as perfect as I'd hoped it would be.

I bought mine on the retail market because it was immediately available (no wait for shipping). After assembly it ran about 10 seconds before all the smoke came out. Two months later I got it back from the Delta warranty repair shop, and it seems to work fine. Hard to believe that Delta could not get a motor in less than two months. Removes stock quickly, and can do the same to an unguarded knuckle, but overall a good tool if you need to get a flat surface on any kind of wood in a hurry.

The Purchase/Shipping: Amazon made this easy and efficient. The price was discounted from retail and they offered a shipping incentive. The sander was shipped immediately and I received it within a few days. It was carefully packaged.
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br /Assembly: Fairly simple. The parts list on the first page of the manual incorrectly describes stand parts, so look carefully at the pictures in the manual, and follow the instructions. The sander itself is partially assembled and simple to complete.
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br /Quality: The attachments are acceptable, but some of the plastic parts are not well molded and don't fit snugly. This is not a particularly big deal, because the plastic parts aren't under stress. The stand is adequate. The rest of the machine is well-made. One caveat: there is a fairly large gap between the pressure plate and the rollers, and this allows the sanding belt to bow, which can cause ripples on the surface you are sanding. Practice with old 2x4's or other scrap to get a feel for the machine. Also, the sander I received came with one incorrectly-sized metric bolt, which held up the assembly until I found the correct bolt at a local hardware store.
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br /Function: A powerful machine. It comes with an 80 grit belt and disk, and it's a good idea to pick up some finer-grit belts/disks. The sander cuts fast, puts out a lot of wood dust, and is loud. If you use it in a closed area, hearing protectors are recommended for work that takes more than a moment to complete.
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br /Summary: Overall a good performer. The attachments, manual and stand are only adequate, but once you turn on the sander, you're too busy to worry about its details.

I purchased this tool when I was building rocking horses out of solid 2" white oak. By the time I glued the pieces together, I was sanding nearly 6" of solid oak. The machine worked great. Assembly was easy, adjustments quick, and the machine works as advertised. The motor has plenty of power and changing sand paper is easy and quick.pWhat kept it from getting a 5 rating was the fact that the table for the drum sander portion isn't as sturdy as I would like to have seen. It needs to be re-set occasionally to insure it is aligned. Definately needs either a shop vac or dust system when using it as the dust sure flys. I would recommend it as an addition as I use it all the time to round over corners on small items, cleanup saw marks on heavy stock, etc.

To start....I have to commend Amazon for the quick shipping and ease of transaction. My first disappointment was that the package it was shipped in was almost destroyed. The box was crushed, interior foam crating was broken up, and the box was coming apart at it's seams. I was worried about the unit escaping damage. It seems I was lucky. A unit as heavey as this needs a better container for shipping. Set up of the machine went fine...but the instructions were a bit ambiguious. The reference letters from picture to picture differed, so you had to pay attention in assembling the stand. I realized that the pricing of this unit meant that quality was going to be lower than some of the other more expensive models.....but I did expect it to work. After putting it together, I test ran it. I was troubled buy the motor sound. It seemed to struggle to get up to speed when first switched on....then as if by magic, it clicked, and ran smoothly. I didn't get much chance to investigate any further because the belt drive pulley on the motor shed it's outer guide flange, causing the belt to derail. I was bummed. I knew I had to repair the shipping container in addition to taking the unit apart and sending it back for replacement. After jumping through all the hoops....Amazon had a new unit at my door. (Kudos to Amazon's painless process, by the way) Well, upon testing the replacement, I noticed the same strain on the motor, (unable to come up to operating speed), that the former unit had. How could I get two units with the same problem?? I knew something was not right in the start-up mode of the motor's electrics, and put in a call to Delta's tech line. After the tech heard my description, she came to the same conclusion as I. Either the Capacitor or the relay was not working properly. She sent out new relay and cap, I installed them and the motor now works the way it is supposed to. Starts smooth, and reaches proper rpm. (No more weird elec smell either) Another issue I had was the sanding table was not flat, making square edges nearly impossible. After some time sanding it on a surface plate, I managed to get a flat table, and some square edges.....but I feel that a person should not have to go through these efforts. (Again....an aspect of a cheaper product.) Only time will tell how well this product performs. Were I not an "able" tinkerer, I would be completely disappointed. The average person should not have to deal with this stuff. But, alas....this is today's market. I will say...Delta's tech support, and Amazon's return procedure deserve praise.

I bought this sander a few years ago, and was reasonably happy with it. It did not get heavy or continuous use, it was primarily just for hobby work. The motor burned out for seemingly no reason, this sander was never abused, not did it have that many hours of use, even though I had it for about 3 years. There's just no excuse for the motor to fail, other than poor quality from the manufacturer.

I am pleasantly surprised with power and ease of operation of this sander. After receiving this tool in a flimsy box without an instruction manual I was ready for the worst. After downloading the manual from Amazon, the sander went together pretty easy. Some of the parts are mislabeled on the assembly sheet but it's pretty easy to look at the picture of the completed sander and get the base built correctly. Make sure you check the alignment of the drive belt sprockets before you turn the sander on. If I had not, it probably would have chewed up my drive belt. Even if I had paid the list price without free shipping I would purchase this tool.

Great machine for the money - plus free shipping. went together very easily, but pay attention to the pictures, not the part labels since they're wrong. Lots of power, but loud, typical of these kinds of machines. belt tracks true. disk seems to have fine tolerances. best for hobbyists and home shops.

The sander went together easily and all the parts were included in the package. My sander sits on a sealed concrete floor, and the vibration when running caused it to slide around the floor. I placed the legs on a foam sanding pad and that put a stop to the sliding around. The sander itself works well and seems to have plenty of power. The dust collection works well enough to keep the dust out of my shop, so overall I'm quite pleased.

Pros: Easy to assemble.
br / Easy to adjust belt.
br / Easy to switch from horizontal to vertical
br / Good value for the price.
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br /Cons: It is very loud.
br / Arrived damaged: Plastic guard was broken and metal support at head pulley was bent. I was able to bend metal back in shape and epoxy the plastic guard. UPS is not real careful handling parcels and Delta could spend one more dollar on better packaging.
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br /Mike

First motor was under warranty and it was replaced, but I had to carry it to the repair shop which was 30 miles from my shop. Next motor lasted 13 months and it burned out, plus the capacitor burned up and 2 bearings were worn to the point of needing replacing. I think it was good that Black Decker bought Delta Tools maybe they will improve the quality of the tools.

I needed a sander just to bring things down here and there. I also have very limited space. For the price this was a good deal. Though I couldn't get my disk gaurd to stop hitting the disk sander. So I just took it off for now. The sparks where bothering me.
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br /If you want something more stable and variable speeds this isn't it. This is the hobbyist sander.

I received my sander in good condition. The pictures in the manual were good enough for me to assemble the base frame. It has detailed instructions too. The rest of components are very easy to assemble.
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br /After turning the belt disc by hand to see if it was smooth, I plugged her in and it tracked a little off but was easily adjusted. The sander is a bit noisy, but I'll take it because this thing performs! Everything about this sander is solid. I've looked into replacement belts discs, and they are easily available in many brands grits.
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br /This is a good buy!

I have used this product for years, and finally bought one for my shop. It's a great tool at a great price. I highly recomend this.

This sander is heavy and seems to be well built. The shipping carton was damaged extensively upon arrival but there were no missing parts. Delta needs to use a stronger carton. The internal styrene packing does not properly support the contents. The assembly was simple and easy and the instructions were clear. I have used the sander several times and I am very satisfied with its performance.

This is a solid tool, which is well designed and manufactured. I found the instructions simple to follow and the tool performed as advertised. I contacted the manufacturer (Delta) with a few questions and found them very courteous and helpful.pI have purchased a number of power tools over the last 30 years and I would highly recommend this tool for the home workshop. My only regret is that I did not purchase the sander sooner.

For anyone with a home workshop this belt/disc sander is a must. I build many small projects and having a sander like this is going to save me time and frustration. Delta makes fine tools with good instructions for the user.

I have not yet been able to use it extensivly I found it easy to assemble and the intial use showed it to be of very good quality.