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The table, as noted in other reviews, is probably the low point along with the belt. Ordering and scheduling delivery was easy since I have forks for my tractor for unloading. Its not as nice as my friend's large oscillating Powermatic. It arrived with some damage to the box and the UPS Freight driver gave me a hard time about my wanting it document but I persisted.
I plan to resolve this by recutting the cutout in the table to move the table to the right about 2". Fortunately the damage was just to to the box and the tool was fine. Overall the sander has good fit and finish. I bought the G0512 last summer after looking at a few other more expensive options. Finally, the dust hood sticks out past the platten so if you have a large piece its not possible to sand the entire edge by sliding the workpiece back and forth like some of the industrial sanders allow.Regarding the comment that belts have to be made--that's simply untrue. Assembly was easy--basically just mounting the table raising mechanism and supports, the table, the dust hood and a few other small parts.I used it for sanding drawer sides and door edges on a kitchen project and other than some very large panels it met my needs nicely.
But its also about 1/6th the price and consumes a lot less floor space.I have a couple minor complaints about the machine. First, the stop is positioned a couple inches to the left of the end of the platen meaning you loose a couple inches of capacity.
There are multiple sources for these belts. If I didn't, liftgate delivery or pickup at the terminal would have been mandatory.
Next, the stop is fixed. The latter is no surprise to me as consumables shipped with just about any tool are low quality.
My table was flat. Again I plan to resolve this with a modification--possibly adding a miter gauge head like some of the more expensive sanders.
I got mine from Klingspor.
The table had a slight bow in it along the long axis, this is easy to fix by adding a piece of angle iron to the bottom of the table. I have used both Delta and Ritter machines over the years. I bought this sander despite there being very few reviews of it, so i decided to write my own. The hood still works when it is moved enough to clear large pieces. I love the small idler drum for getting into tight curves. The dust hood does get in the way when trying to sand long pieces. belts of this size are easy and cheap to come by from several online sellers, grizzly even carries decent belts different from the one shipped with the machine.
When you buy a cheap tool, you have to expect to make a few minor modifications. My machine arrived in great condition and the driver helped move the larger box into my shop. This sander is not of the same quality as Ritter, but what do you expect at this price. I fixed this by grinding one of the hoods' mounting holes so I could swing it out of the way when needed. The belt that came with the machine was crap, but what do you expect for a free belt. As a custom furniture maker who uses an edge sander only occasionally, this machine works well. This sander would not work for a production door shop, but fits my needs just right.
The only solution was to have a belt custom made for me. I called Grizzly tech support but they didn't seem to care that their machine arrived virtually unusable.
First, the plywood wrap-around table is very prone to warp. I have two big complaints about the Grizzly G0512 Edge Sander.
The belt has a crude butt joint that bulges and makes smooth sanding impossible. Mine was so warped when it arrived that I had to fabricate a replacement.
Even more disappointing is the poor quality of the sanding belt. Not wanting to pay the 15% restocking fee, I searched the net in vain for a higher quality belt with the right dimensions.
The new belt works well, but I don't plan on ever buying another Grizzly tool for my shop.
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