I researched a lot of belt sanders before deciding on this unit. I checked out various sanders at my local Home Depot and talked with some local contractors.I narrowed down my choice to this or the Porter-Cable. In the end I decided on the Makita for the following reasons:1. The Porter-Cable is simply too heavy. I use this sander in the vertical as well as horizontal positions. It is heavy enough to be substantial and has a powerful motor, but is still easy enough to use with one hand in many different positions.2. The dust collector is in a very unobtrusive location compared to the Porter-Cable, in addition it really works. There really isn't much dust produced when using this sander.3. The flat back allows it to be clamped to a table and used as a parts sander. The variable speed control really comes in handy here.4. Price wasn't a big concern for me, I was going to buy the sander that fit my needs. For someone who needs a medium duty belt sander that will be used in a variety of job I recommend this one highly! Some other larger/smaller units may be better at specific jobs, but this one is really a jack of all trades.5. The motor is good, not a monster, but powerful and able to sustain heavy sanding for long periods of time without excessive heat. In addition, the brushes can be easily replaced.6. Belt tracking mechanism worked flawlessly. One person in one of the reviews here complained about belt tracking. If you adjust the belt carefully it stays on track for a looong time. Maybe that person had a defective unit, or more likely, a belt that wasn't perfectly square. There is no way a non square belt will track correctly no matter how much you adjust the tracking screw.Congratulation to Makita on a job well done!

Need a lightweight, powerful sander with few frills and many positive features? Makita's inexpensive sander fills the bill nicely. I had some very rough walls and ceilings that I needed to paint and wallpaper, I was becoming increasingly frustrated as to how I would smooth out these walls, until I found Makita's sander. The unit is ruggedly constructed of premium quality plastic, thus it is very light, has a vacuum bag that really works, plenty of power, easily switches belts, and is quiet and runs more vibration free than I'd have thought. But its lightweight aspect allowed me to run it for hours up the walls, over my head, without wearing me or my tiny wife out, and without burying us in dust. It truly is a marvel and appears to be up to years of heavy duty work. I was looking at much more expensive metal (heavier) sanders, but this one did all I could ask and more. Its lightweight price also makes it a very good deal!

This sander comes in very handy for dressing up the edges of wood trim to the ends of a door. It is light weight and I like it best because it sands flush to its edge. This tool gets a thumbs up in my book.

"IT'S A BELT SANDERS JOB TO REMOVE LARGE AMOUNTS OF WOOD FAST"--WELL YES AND NO. IF YOU NEED TO DO THIS, OPT FOR ONE OF THE 3" OR 4"X 24" MAKITA'S OR PORTER CABLE'S. THESE MACHINES ARE BIG,HEAVY AND HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO SEND YOUR PROJECT OFF INTO NEVER-NEVER LAND.IF YOU DO SMALL,DELICATE JOBS OR EDGES AND FRAMES OF CABINET DOORS,OR YOUR JUST TIRED OF ACHING ARMS AND NUMB HANDS AFTER A LONG SANDING SESSION THEN THIS SANDER MUST HAVEBEEN SENT FROM HEAVEN ABOVE.IT HAS ALL THE USUAL EXCELLENT MAKITA FEATURES,BALL AND ROLLER BEARINGS,FIT AND FINISH GREAT DUST PICK-UP, POWERFUL AND SMOOTH MAKITA MOTOR WITH SPEED CONTROL. DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR AND BUY ONE, YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.

I like this tool because it is powerful, yet light-weight. I bought it for smoothing rough edges on custom window treatments -- where it performed as I expected. I decided to put it to a much tougher test by refinishing an oak table top. I had the table completely stripped in about 20 minutes. Of course, I had to do the finishing work by hand, but the hard work was done. I found changing the belt to be super simple and I've not noticed any tracking problems. I was surprised by how well the dust collector works -- it exceeded my expectations!

It has been almost a year since I purchased this sander and I must say that it impresses me more every time I use it. It's light, powerful, relatively quiet, with good belt tracking. And as other reviewers have pointed out, the dust collection is outstanding, even when using the supplied dust bag. Most recently, I used this sander to edge new hardwood floors and even went so far as to use it for the initial sanding of almost 200 s.f. of oak flooring, using 50 grit belts. Although I did break down and purchase a 4"x24" Porter Cable (a Makita 4"x24" was not available locally) to complete the remainder of the floor, the Makita performed flawlessly, even under heavy pressure. It simply would not stall, regardless of the pressure applied. Another good feature of this sander is its compact design which allows you to get into tight quarters. I was able to sand completely flush to the right side of the sander and to within approximately two inches of the front. The 4"x24" Porter Cable would get to about 1/4" on the side and 6" in front. I highly recommend this sander! It's one of those rare tools that leaves you wanting nothing more, because it would be almost impossible to improve. Real quality at a fair price. I just wish I could say the same for the 4"x24" Porter Cable.

This sander is incredible. For the price I'm not sure it can be beat. Lightweight, but incredibly powerful, the sander does well on all types of wood, even dense exotics. The belt is easy to take on and off and I haven't ever had any problems with the belt wandering in the many hours I've used the sander. I would like to note though, that while this is a great tool for up to medium projects, a larger sander might work better on big jobs. The dust collection on this sander is amazing. I hooked mine up to my dust collector. With the dust collector on, I can work with no mask, and truthfully it hardly leaves behind any dust... Perhaps 3 tablespoons after an hour of sanding!!!

This belt sander really does the trick. The ergonomic placement of the handles is absolutely perfect, which provide superb control. Say goodbye to those gouges caused by the rollers and edges of the belt. This sander is light enough that it could be used on walls and even ceilings. The dust collection bag works better than I could have imagined. The belt stays in place and does not require any adjusting. That makes this one very easy to use. I was pleased to find out how quiet this sander is compared to others I have used in the past.
br /I would highly recommend this sander over other sanders in the 3-inch class.

I wanted a belt sander for quickly removing a lot of wood, but I also wanted it to be light enough to use vertically or overhead if necessary. Belt changes are easy and it is not too noisy. The dust port does clog easily unless you connect it to a shop vac. I would get the fixed speed version of this sander for a few dollars less since most only use a belt sander for aggressive sanding.

I bought this sander for my small shop because of the price and size. It comes with a nice belt and collects the dust well. I have connected it to my fien vaccuum which works great. No problems with the belt tracking even out of the box...plug and go. You will make some noise with this but the power on it is good for what I need. Not to heavy yet powerful enough to remove material. For medium work I recommend this sander to anyone. I have read the reviews and reseached and must agree after buying and using it to make our bedside and coffee table

Makita power tools have an excellent reputation, and I own Makita's 14.4V cordless drill and random orbit sander, both of which are terrific tools. However, I think they need to do some design updates on their 3x18 belt sander to make it competitive with similar models offered by other companies.pI purchased this sander, but eventually exchanged it for the Porter+Cable 3x21. There are several resaons why the Porter+ Cable is better (see my review of that sander). Here is my assessment of the Makita.pIt has pretty good power. For a belt sander, I found I needed to go back over spots repeatedly where a more powerful belt sander took off more in one pass. The whole reason you buy a belt sander is to remove material FAST. However, it doesn't bog down too badly and it does remove material pretty well.pBUT it is made of plastic, giving it less heft and authority, which is an important factor with a belt sander. The loading feature is awkward on this sander -- you put the sanding belt in place and then it is difficult to lock down just right.pThe most problematic feature of this sander, however, is the tracking function. I loaded the belt, turned the sander on, flipped the sander upside down (as you're supposed to do), and adjusted the tracking until there was no "sway." Then I started to use the sander, and within five to seven minutes the belt was tracking off center. Now, all belt sanders will eventually track off center, but this one does it too often. Every time the sander tracks off center, you have to stop working and adjust the belt, so you want to get a belt sander that goes longer before needing adjustment. This one, I believe, needs it too often.pThe tracking problem is even worse with a plastic-body sander like this one. If the belt tracks off center enough, it can actually dig off a significant part of the sander body.pThe handle could be b etter. With this sander, holding the handle gives you a slight out-of-balance feeling, compared with the Porter + Cable. Also, the handle is not as prominent and easy to grab during sanding operations.pMakita is is selling this sander for a lower price, which makes up for some of these problems I mentioned. So it's a choice: are you willing to compromise on some of the nicer features? If so, you get a sander that has decent enough power to get the job done, but could be better.

Was terribly disappointed at first - A clip fell out on the belt's first rotation. After an hour take-apart, the clip was back in place, and I set out to strip old paint off of a window. I was very impressed. This little unit had some claw, but not too much that I wouldn't use it for some pretty fine work. Held it aloft for 10 to 15 minutes at a time, and never felt the weight. Also didn't see any sawdust because it was all in the bag! The plastic case could be stronger, but then there would have to be other compromises, like weight or price. This sander strikes a fantastic balance for the do-it-yourselver.

I am quite pleased with how fast I was able to take dark stain off of kitchen cabinets that I am refinishing. This is a very good machine and quieter than others I have used. The dust collection bag is THE BEST! Very easy belt changing mechanism. I felt it was a little bit hard to control when it was on the top speed. Other than that, a really good belt sander!

I recently picked this up for $79 on clearance at The Borg and am thrilled with it. I already have a large heavy duty belt sander, but I rarely use the monster because it is so aggressive and heavy. However, there are times when a random orbit sander is just too slow for the job at hand. With this little Makita I have excellent control and reasonably aggressive removal rates. Mine was Made in England, though I'm not sure if they all are. The belt tracking is automatic. Just slip the belt on and go. The balance is just right. A very nicely engineered tool which I'm glad to have in the collection.
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If you're after a compact belt sander with plenty of power and features, this Makita is first class.
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br /If you've used belt sanders before, you understand the need for a compact sander for jobs like scribing countertops and for sanding verticle surfaces.
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br /As usual with my power tools, I bought the Makita 9911 and gave it a gentle break-in. I took it out of the box, changed belts to a coarse, and then ran it for over an hour without shutting it off while sanding the hull of a wooden boat. Then I continued to give it about 3 additional hours of use and that was just its first day. The Makita is excellent, the best small belt sander I've ever used.
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br /The positives:
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br /- Light weight, but very powerful. This is the best sander in the world if you have to sand vertical surfaces! It's light, but on high speed it really sands fast. Now if you've tried to use heavy belt sanders to sand vertical, you know how nice it is to have a light, but powerful sander.
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br /- Good dust collection. The dust system actually works on this sander and works very well. I haven't felt the need to hook it up to my vac system because the dust collection is that good.
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br /- It's actually fairly quiet for a belt sander. I still wear hearing protection, but it's noticeably quieter than the turbo-jet scream that most belt sanders emit.
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br /- I experienced no tracking issues at all. Put on a belt, adjust the tracking screw, and it stays right where I set it.
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br /The not-so-good:
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br /-I had to take a utility knife and remove the sharp plastic molding edge on the underside of the handle. Details, guys, please! A minor detail, but annoying and I'd expect Makita to catch things like this.
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br /- The closure on the dust bag is a funny plastic thing that slides on and I can already see I'll have to be careful not to lose it. What's wrong with a zipper like everyone else uses?
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br /But still I give it 5 stars because it works very well and has great features. As always, I'll edit my review if problems develop.
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I like makita products but was disappointed when it just stopped working after about 5 hours total of use. I didn't force iteither. The switch was on high nearly all the time so I don't see why the variable switch might have become defective. psteve