Curiosity about an Aldi belt sander

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Aldi are selling a belt sander for £100. It is the same as one sold by Clarke (£138) and Axminster (£150).

Aldi don't specify what you can sand, Axminster say for wood only, while Clarke say it can be used for wood, some plastics and non ferrous metal.

Now I often sand ferrous material on my belt sander plus the odd HSS lathe tool.

Anyone wise as to why the vendors place restrictions on materials, is it because of belt speed? Or is there some other reason?

Just curious,

Andrew,

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Can't give numbers until I find the table of Specific Cutting Forces that's in one of my books, but the answer lies the ability of the machine to put enough energy into the material to cut it by removing chips without bending, breaking or overheating.

Least energy is needed to cut wood, then more and more for plastics (provided they don't melt), non ferrous metals, steels, and the super alloys.

DIY sanders are up for moderate work on low energy wood and Aluminium, but they aren't beefy enough to enthusiastically tackle tougher materials like steel. Makers of DIY tools sold for light intermittent use issue the warning because they don't want heavy handed metalworkers making a warranty claim after brutally flogging the poor weedy things to death.

That said, DIY sanders can and do usefully cut metal. I use mine as a linisher, but sparingly in short bursts, taking care not to hammer it. Works well provided I don't push it.

Dave

[Martin ConnellyParticipant @martinconnelly55370]

They are very good for whipping off burs after sawing off pieces on a bandsaw.

Martin C

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

Grinding aluminium and steel provides you with the ingredients of Thermite which if it succeeds in igniting causes a very violent reaction. They may be concerned that mixed use grinding can result in a fire which could take time to establish and be a risk to your workshop. A comprehensive clean of the machine would be wise if grinding steel is to follow wood or Aluminium. My cheapy belt sander seems happy to grind whatever I offer it but it is underpowered if asked to work hard.

Mike

[Peter Cook 6Participant @petercook6]

One comment on here (#14)

https://www.mig-welding.co.uk/forum/threads/aldi-special-ferex-belt-sander-any-good-for-deburring-steel.103376/post-1621157

suggests that the dust extraction is via the body of the machine wherein in the motor. That may be why the y preclude its use for ferrous materials.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

It is all about the belt and how in a short description the vendors leave off information to just cover the basics.

Any sander can be used on a variety of materials however in amateur or hobby situations vendors will assume you are just a typical DIY woodworker. Hence they are supplied with a belt/disc suitable for wood which will not last long on metal depending on the hardness of the subject. Equally plastics will clog a fine belt more quickly.

A sander aimed at a professional metalworker will likely be described as a 'linisher' and supplied with a suitable more expensive belt.

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

Looks very similar to one I got from Warco a few years ago. I use mine for metal and wood without any problem (yet). For a bit more info see a review of mine at *** Journeyman's Workshop ***

John

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

That basic design has been around a long time. I got a Draper version fairly soon after they hit the market so maybe 30 plus years back.

Its not strictly true that the dust extraction is via the body of the machine. The plastic deflector assembly behind the rear drum deflects the sanding dust down to a port exiting to the rear of the machine to which an extractor (vacuum cleaner!) can be connected.

The port has a horizontal divider plate.

The upper part of the port is supposed to collect any sanding dust whilst the lower part connects to the main body of the machine via an aperture in the rear part of the case.

Presumably air drawn through the lower half of the port is supposed to help cool the motor and clear any dust that does make it into the main body.

Which all works about as well, or badly, as one might expect. If you have a husky extractor fitted the sandings are collected pretty efficiently and dust build up inside the case is slowed. Operate it without an extractor and stuff builds up inside quite quickly. Sans extractor the deflector is sadly inadequate. Dust everywhere.

The motor on mine was a permanent capacitor run device so at least no sparky brushes to worry about. After one new motor and two new capacitors it got moved on, for free, whilst it was still working.

20/20 hindsight says the type with a sealed motor completely separate from the sanding gubbins are a better design for longer term durability.

I now have a larger RJH / Morrisflex unit sitting on a big extractor box. Vastly better. Vastly more costly even at E-Bay prices.

Clive

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

There seems to be some confusion, there are two belt sanders being sold by Aldi, at the moment A Ferrex one for £90 and a Schepach one for £100 The £100 version is the one I am referring too. Apparently the cheaper Ferrex is not so good and I think the dust extraction on this one is suspect.

Andrew.

[Michael Brett 1Participant @michaelbrett1]

Andrew

As I plan to buy one of these in the next two weeks could you please clarify your last sentence.

Apparently the cheaper Ferrex is not so good and I think the dust extraction on this one is suspect. By this one are you still talking about the Ferrex.

Cheers Mike

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

The Schepach one is essentially the same as the Draper sander I had. The actual dust extraction port on that was part of the plastic deflector unit moulding so sanding dust had no direct entry to the main body save by going around the divider in the port.

The Ferrex unit appears to have the extractor port hole in the upper rear of main body. The Aldi pictures doesn't show a flange or tube to attach the extractor. There is a larger aperture below that presumably connects direct to the main body. Its likely that there is a wall in the body casting between the motor and the area that sanding dust falls into which would limit dust ingress to the motor area. Imperfectly.

Neither design is good at preventing dust getting into the motor works.

Clive

Edited By Clive Foster on 10/06/2022 20:07:30

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

Aren't the motors in these sealed?

[JourneymanParticipant @journeyman]

This is the motor in my BDS 460 belt sander:-

John

[DiogenesIIParticipant @diogenesii]

OOooer..

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

Michael,

I do not have any experience with either sander. My adverse comments about the Ferrex machine came from feedback published by Aldi. It was said that the extraction system wasn't good. The quality comments came from another customer who purchased the Ferrex machine . It was returned because of quality issues and the Schepach machine was then purchased. The comment was that the build quality was much better on the Schepach.

Not sure if you can take all the feedback as gospel.

Regards,

Andrew.

Edited By Andrew Tinsley on 10/06/2022 21:40:33

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

Johns motor is the same basic design as that in my Draper sander. Casting shapes may be a touch different but the semi open design is just as potentially vulnerable to sanding dust and debris if its allowed to build up.

Sanding / linishing dust was certainly what killed my first motor. Was horrified by how much had gotten in when I opened it up.

Made an effort to pull the bottom off and clean the second one out "fairly often" but by the time I passed it on it wasn't a very happy camper with starting issues and a tendency to slow down after a few minutes. Still running onb light duties and very occasional use for my friend. but he took it mostly because he had avery occasional need that didn't justify purchase.

Clive

[Andy_GParticipant @andy_g]

I’ve had the ‘Scheppach’ belt and disc sander for a couple of years and have used it pretty much exclusively for metal (ferrous and non-ferrous).

The dust extraction for the disc sander is assisted by a fan on the motor shaft, but the belt sander extraction is just a duct that doesn’t go near the motor.

I’ve mainly used the belt sander in the vertical position with the horizontal table. I didn’t use the disc sander and ended up adding a crowned roller to drive a narrow sanding belt instead.

 

I use the blue ‘ceramic’ belts (usually 80 grit) and find that they work well for cleaning up sawn edges and knocking the corners off steel & aluminium parts, as well as sharpening HSS tools & TIG electrodes (I did remove some of the plastic frippery for better access to the belt). I almost always have a vacuum cleaner attached to the dust port which does a good job of capturing the dust and probably helps stop it migrating into the housing.

 

I think they were £130 when I bought mine. 
 

[Just to add that I managed to break the drive belt the other week, but I would regard that as a consumable- a replacement was readily available for a few £.  ]

Edited By Andy_G on 11/06/2022 09:56:01

[Ex contributorParticipant @mgnbuk]

I have two defunct Clarke branded versions of this design of combined belt / disc sander under a bench – rescued from the skip at my last employment after they failed.

Both were used exclusively for steel & cast iron and both failed in the same way – damage to the insulation of the motor windings by steel swarf causing the windings to blow. The windings are not encapsulated or impregnated, so the swarf that gets carried past the windings by the cooling airflow embeds into the windings and eventually wears through the varnish. This leads to a loud POP and accompanying blue flash on start-up & results in a dead unit.

I have in in mind to mount both units "back to back" on a frame & replace the motor rotors with vee belt pulleys and drive them from a single totally enclosed motor mounted beneath them. So far "intend" is as far as the project has progressed !

I use a combined belt/ disc sander similar to this Ebay unit , which has the advantage of having a separate sealed motor. It came from Netto (remember them ? ) many years ago and, apart from a number of loose connections, has worked well. IIRC I paid £30 for it at the time. It could do with a bit more oomph (375 Chinese watts IIRC ) but that does tend to stop me from overloading it & both belt and disc wear rates are low even if the job takes a bit longer.

Nigel B.

[Clive FosterParticipant @clivefoster55965]

The machine shown in the link from Nigel is a far better arranged design.

A little bit of creativity makes them much nicer to use.

Firstly a second strut on the other side so the table doesn't try to twist on you when belt sanding.

I would also add a plate under the belt unit curving up around the drums to help control the dust. As is it tends to go everywhere. Nicest if you can add an extractor fitting at the end to minimise the amount of scraping needed to clean dust off the shield / collection plate.

Takes a bit more work but it's useful to provide supports so the larger side table, and protractor, can be used when the belt is vertical. Usual arrangement of the economy versions only permits the small end fence to be used as a table in vertical mode.

I saw pictures of one fully kitted out with those and some other modifications after I'd got my Draper one. Having decided against getting an external motor one after careful consideration of the pro and cons of both styles.

Immediate reaction.

Ooops, bought the wrong one. Classic "screw up by the numbers".

Clive

[Martin Johnson 1Participant @martinjohnson1]

I had two look alike sanders to the Sheppach from another supplier, both ended in smoke with failed capacitors within days. Third one from another different supplier is Ok but very poor build quality – the disk has stupid amounts of swash due to rubbish machining on the hub. The belt drive drum is also very loose on the drive shaft, same Chinese tolerances!

On the upside it has run for over 10 years on metal of all sorts. I use it mounted on the wall to save space, with home brewed dust extract and work rest. Very noisy though. I never use the disk sander.

I think i will build the next one from scratch………

Martin

[Michael Brett 1Participant @michaelbrett1]

Thanks for info Andrew. Made my mind up to buy the Scheppach, will probable try some of the mods mentioned also.

Thinking on the lines of a very strong magnet in the airflow , would not stop cooling of the motor but would stop any steel particles getting past .

Mike

[Mark RandParticipant @markrand96270]

Coming a bit late, but I'd suggest the Bosch PBS75A, except that they've cheapened the design slightly over the last 15 years and I don't know it it's as good as the original.

The GBS75AE is the one to go for. Built like a brick outhouse and with easy spares and accessories availability.

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