The Wilton 99175 Disc Belt Sander Combo is by far the best of its price category and size. I have tried Crafsman, Phish, and Ryobi, and Central Machinary of the same size and it is the sturdiest best thought out of all of them. For a 4" x 36" sander it is the best in its class and the best value for the money!

I bought the Wilton combo disc/belt sander and it really is the first tool I put in my workshop as it is one of the least expensive. It required a little assembly and went together pretty quickly. I am very pleased with my sander and prefer it much more than the delta combo disc/belt sander that I picked up at Lowe's. Actually, I tried the Delta combo sander and was very dissatisfied as it was loud and seemed pretty poorly made compared to the Wilton. I promptly returned the Delta to the store and after receiving the Wilton couldn't be happier with my decision. ( FYI---Check out Wilton's Bench Oscillating spindle sander too for those inside curves, I bought one at the same time as the belt/disc and it the spindle sander is a pretty nifty tool as well)

In this price range and the same features, this is definitely the winner. Even though I like the Delta products, I will have to say it's not the winner in this category. The Wilton belt/disc sander has been a great sander for me. I purchased it because I thought it would be handy to have from time to time in my workshop. Originally it had a place on the shelf, but it was quickly upgraded to earning valuable benchtop space. The belt sander can be made vertical or anything inbetween. If you don't mind scraping your fingertips or are smart and use gloves, the end can be used similar to a sideways drum sander. ***Make sure you wear safety glasses though because if you touch the sandpaper, and let go, the piece you were holding becomes a projectile. In short, wear gloves and glasses if you're going to use it for this application**** I have even found myself using this to make the odd plug out of doweling instead of making a trip to the store or investing in the proper bits to make them on the drill press - doweling and this bad-boy suffice.
br /All in all, this is a great product for the right price.

This item arrived about a week after my order was placed. Not well packed by Amazon but the orignial package inside was in good shape. This is a good machine for the price. The 8" disc is a huge difference over the more standard 6" models. It has a good heavy base that does not have to be bolted down to a bench. Most of the adjustment handles are made of a cheap light plastic and overtime I suspect they will not hold up well. Otherwise, the machine power, size, adjustments and performance are good.

Have had this sander for 2 months now, no problems. the adjustment for the belt tracking can be troublesome; otherwise works well. Don't know how well it will hold up in the long run with the plastic knobs, but still an excellent deal for the price.
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I've used this several times now. Considering what it cost, I would say this is an excellent sander. I would buy again.

The item description says 9" disc. The description further down the page from the manufacture says 8". Turns out it is an 8" disc, Amazon should update their description so it won't mislead anybody. That way you won't buy a few different grades of 9" discs waiting for its arrival, which for me was six weeks. Thanks Amazon, would you like to buy these discs from me? I'll be buying my 8" discs elsewhere! Sander works great, be careful when lining up the belt, it almost slid off and cut through the rubber stop when I first turned it on. Comes with 60 grit on both belt and disc.

great tool for what i do. the best in its class at a great price. it has not one fence but two and a built in dust collector that is o.k. this tool took less then 30 minutes to set up. I've had it about three weeks now and no problems.

I have used this router for about 5 months, on and off, here and there in that time frame. I have no complaints as it allows me to sand any work piece without manually sanding it by hand or compromise safety by breaking out the orbital sander for small pieces of wood.
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br /Assembly is minimal as one would need to install the sanding disc table, the dust guard for the belt and the fence. After that it is ready to use as the sanding belt and disc are already installed. Both are 60 grit.
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br /The provided miter gauge is reasonable but for finer things, it may need to be adjusted. However, the tilt adjustment for the disc table and the fence seem to be good for 90 degrees. I have yet to try it with other angles but I am sure that for any first time use that calibration is needed to double check the manufacturer's gauges. I have yet to use the sander in all the adjustment angles besides the included miter.
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br /Operation is a slow to full speed start which I like. The power switch is big and right there so you can quickly turn it off and on. The instruction manual provides some details on bench mounting which is a must (though for awhile, I used it without bolting it down to a surface and it was steady). Because of this, it maybe justified by the manufacture to only have TWO mounting holes for your bolts.
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br /Build wise, the housing is mostly casted metal and the belt apparatus sits on top of the casingand the disc to the side. The disc table doesn't feel flimsy once installed and once set to the proper angle it stays solid. The belt back fence takes a bit to adjust and install and does not have that similar feeling of solidness but it gets the job done. The guard for the belt sander doesn't do much for collecting and gathering dust so it can go out of the dust port. The belt stop right before the dust guard while solid metal doesn't feel solid enough to be used as a guide. Just meerly a simple stop.
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br /Have yet to change out the sanding disc but belt adjustment is pretty intuitive. You do have to check to see if the belt drifts over time though and that can be done easily.
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br /The only thing about this 8" disc sander and the 4" belt is that the sanding disc is not something that your Lowes or Home Depot would carry. Either find a Harbor Freight Tools store to get your discs there or order online.
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br /Now for dust... The dust collection system for the tool is only good for the belt. It may provide collection with the disc but you would need a powerful suction system to take care of that. Don't expect your mobile shop vac purchased cheaply from your big name hardware store to handle the dust collection, you will need something better and even then dust still builds up here and there amongst the tool.
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br /The base of the unit has a removable plate and you can access the innards of the solid metal casing. sawdust will naturally build up there overtime and that volume of area also is shared with some wires that are exposed to the inside area that the sawdust (if not cleared out) shares space with. It is something noted for long term usage to clean out this sucker once in awhile.
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br /I am satisfied with this tool but it is very limited because it is a small stationary sander. Don't expect to fit big pieces of wood to sand accurately (you need to find other means to do this). Small pieces of work are fine. It is a tool that for my purposes is needed on occasion but now that I have a miter saw and a router, accurately getting my rough cuts to the exact edge I want is not a problem anymore and this tool stands by as an auxilary tool. I think I would have gotten along fine without the tool though.

ABsolutely great machine for the price. Nice and heavy, accurate table angles, great dust diversion, easy to "fine tune" pieces even with heavy grit belt. Received the piece within a few days of ordering, had it assembled and ready to go in about 45 min's. Practiced on a couple pieces of scrap pine, and 10 minutes later, first project was under way. Needed to cut a perfectly round 4" disc. Started with a rough cut using band saw, but got it perfect by trimming down to the pencil line. Great product, great deal, and I'm happy. After all, that's all that really matters, right?? :-)
br /G Schaeffer

I do small woodworking projects, frames, small tables, crosses and various knick-knacks. For the price range and size, this is it. I had a Rikon, it never worked well - the tracking was unstable and it did not handle much material. I gave it away and bought this one based on customer recommendations I read here. In my opinion - and i use the heck out of this thing - it is as much as you will find for the price and size.

Bought this to replace a Delta that I bought in March 2006. The Delta's plastic drive wheel stripped gears in the first month and I repaired it. For about the last 3 months I've had to tinker with it before it would start. I put it in the dump and bought this Wilton. The FIRST thing I did was open the power transfer box and check the drive wheels. They are metal, cheap metal, but metal and the look substantial enough for the 4/5 horsepower motor. First use it worked pretty good - runs steady, tracks perfectly, doesn't bog. It is easy to set up and quiet when it is running. I'd recommend this to a hobby woodworker. Light to moderate use, it will do just fine for you.

Because the first sander shipped was thought to be lost, a second was sent which arrived in a timely manner. The trouble arose when the first sander arrived belatedly, slightly damaged. Your customer service reps appear to be young women trying to pick up extra income at home. They don't seem to be sure about anything you ask, and in one case, I picked up the phone only to hear a screaming baby who cried on and on and finally a little voice called, "Mom". Anyway, after three attemptswith customer service, I did finally get UPS back here to pick up the damaged sander; and I must say there was a certain element of entertainment to the process. My son-in-law loves the sander!

For the money, a very good choice. Has plenty of power for my needs.
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I'm putting together a shop in the garage and have bought several power tools from amazon recently. I ordered this sander based on Wilton name, power rating, and customer reviews. I just got it delivered today. When you open the box you're greeted by a peculiar, noxious paint smell, and it all goes downhill after that. The product is of amazingly poor fit and finish. The cast metal base looks like it was hammered together by an amateur blacksmith. The foul smelling paint came off on my hands and smeared my bench. The tensioner lever is a piece of crooked, probably hand-bent sheet metal with a chunk of cheap plastic attached to it as a handle. The spindle adjustment is similar story, with a screw with cheap plastic knob and a plastic arrestor nut pushing on a piece of bent sheet metal to adjust the spindle. It probably works as a sander, but I refuse to pay $170 for something this junky. The sad thing is a number of people have rated this product highly, which is an indication that the American consumer is getting used to the inferior quality coming from China. Even at this relatively low price it should not be of such bad quality. Companies like Wilton need to be sent the message that selling products of this quality with their brand names on them will destroy their brand image. I have bought a number of tools from Hitachi and Bosch recently and I'm very happy with them. I was considering a number of bench tools from Wilton, like a grinder and a drill press. After this experience I will not touch anything that says Wilton on it just in case.

I ordered this product from Amazon long before Christmas 2006. It finally came February 2007, but was badly damaged because of sub standard shipping provided by a cut rate company. I sent the product back and asked Amazon to ship VIA UPS instead. They said they would, but the same cut rate company delivered my second tool, and it was also damaged. I kept it to give to my son since it was his Christmas present. I reported to Amazon that the item was not advertised correctly. I waited a long time for this tool because it was advertised as a 15 amp, 4/5 horsepower disc/belt sander. When it arrived, it is only 6 amp, same as Sears, Home Depot, or anywhere else. It seems the false advertising has still not been corrected.

I received this automated request for review, but how can I review something that I still have not received yet??? I ordered this item on 14 December 2006 and still have not received it. Now Amazon says this item will be shipped March 28, 2006 - April 17, 2006. Last month they told me it would be here this month!???
br /I searched for other providers of this particular Wilton 99175 sander, but damned if I can find any other US supplier!? All the other sites who claim to have this item refer me back to Amazon. Seems like a monopoly to me.....
br /On an upnote, I have always had excellent and prompt service on all the books and DVD's, CD's, etc.I have purchased from Amazon, maybe this is their forte'??