Most of the time, I buy the tools that get the best reviews... and when it comes to a router, planer or table saw, that's not a bad idea. In my world, it's unnecessary to apply the same scrutiny to a belt sander - after all, this is not a tool for finish sanding. This is for fast, aggressive removal of material. To be fair, I am an amateur woodworker restoring a 100-year old house and a belt sander is something I use infrequently at best. For the occasions that I do need one, this does the job more than adequately.

I bought this sander at Lowes because it was inexpensive,
br /about $50, and I also thought that Black and Decker was
br /still a good name. Used the sander to sand old floor
br /adhesive off of plywood. The floor was approximately 4'X 6'.
br /For a brief moment I thought this tool purchase was going
br /to be worth the price. This is the first belt sander I have
br /ever used. I went through 4 belts in about 1 hour.
br /The belts would track true and sand good for a short time.
br /Then the belts would go off track and cut into the plastic
br /housing. I could turn it off and manually adjust the belt
br /back into the proper position but they would just go off track
br /even quicker after the first time. One of BD's big selling
br /points is automtic belt tracking, no adjustment neccesary. It
br /did not work for me. I returned it to Lowes the next day no
br /problem.
br /
br /I was going to buy the variable speed Dewalt until I read the
br /reviews about it on this site. I was cheap before so I thought
br /if I spent $200 on a sander I could pretty much expect to get a
br /good machine but now I am not so sure. I really like the idea
br /of being able to mount the Dewalt on it's stand and use it as
br /a fixed sander. Not sure what I am going to do now.

I got this sander as a youth beginner and at that time I was unimpressed. If you use this type of sander very infrequently or you are buying this for a person that has a BEGINNING interest in woodworking this is the tool for you to buy. If you plan on going in any way beyond that plan on being disappointed and plan on buying a higher quality sander. I was told this same thing and didn't listen at a younger age. Oh well small price mistake I guess.

I purchased this unit at Lowes about 6 months ago. Performed well at first. Belts started tracking to the out side of the unit if any pressure was applied to work. Then motor burned up on unit. also very loud when in use.

This is a very efficient sander for home use. Much more effective than a disc sander. Light weight. Handle for two hand use. It saved me a lot of time doing boat decks.

Can anyone help me? I need information on a 3" X 24"Black Decker Sander, a B-245, TYPE AB. Specificaly the size and description if the Drive Gears. Thanks.