BELT SANDER CD 21"X3" 7A

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought this tool 4 days before thanksgiving. Our families were all coming for the holidays and I was in need of a new bigger dining room table. As you can guess I had a good bit of sanding to do to finish this table. I put the tool through 4 belts and 2 days of running. Tool never got hot and it helped me get the job done. Adjusting the belt was simpler than previous belt sanders I've had before. That's a lot of bang for your buck in this tool

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Needed a belt sander for grinding down boards on a utility trailer that were splintering and warped. After reading and watching a few videos on it, this one stood out to me and I bought it. The tapered front allows you to get right to the edge of the workpiece if the end is butted up against something. The trigger lock is great for alleviating user fatigue and the bag for dust collection keeps debris down a considerable amount. Adjustments to the sanding belt are surprisingly easy with the track knob on the side.

We handcraft, from start to finish, lap looms for weaving. I bought this as a temporary fix when my Wen belt/disc sander went out. A good quality belt sander is a must because it's imperative that the loom be level in order to produce high quality creations that will last. As far as maintaining that smooth even surface this sander excelled. It was easy to load, simple to operate, and not difficult to control. Although i had no issues with this sander im afraid i did not get enough uses out of it to really go in depth about the preformance and longevity. As i said i bought as a quick solution out of necessity, however the particular woodworking i do really requires a stationary unit. Great product over all just not quite what i needed for my projects.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] bought this sander to replace one I have had for 11 years,(also a Craftsman). Works just as well as my old one. Only letdown was my old one had clamps that allowed you to clamp it to a table upside down to do two handed sanding. I used that accessory may times. I so however like the narrow front that allows you to get into close spaces. It does require you however to keep a close eye on the belt alignment as it tends to move around a bit.

I just purchased this sander and bought a five pack of 3"×21" sanding belts specifically 76mm x 533 mm belts. Being from the good old U.S.A. I didn't bother to pay attention to the metric measurements on the sanders box that in Spanish and French say 75mm x 533. Corect me if I'm wrong but 75mm is not 3 inches. That being said the belt I put on from the five pack does not fit right and must travel outside of the sander so it doesn't chew up the inside of the sander. I accept responsibility for not paying attention to the foreign instructions that's my bad. I end with this asking Craftsman when did 75mm become the same as 3 inches? It doesn't seem like you are being honest and forcing the users of this sander to buy your sanding belts and taking away the options of better longer lasting belts.

I had a Craftsman belt sander for over 40 years and the motor drive sleeve bushing wore out so it was time for a new one. The dust bag with the old one was huge! At first I was very disappointed about how small the dust bag is with the new sander. Then I think I learned why. It barely picks up any dust. Then after an hour of use, it seemed that they exterior of the belt drive collected more dust than the dust bag. I had to know why. I took the sander apart and discovered that the blower/vacuum blows the dust through the motor and through the belt drive in addition to the bagger. So not only does it barely pick up any dust, it feels like more is collected on the outside of the the sander and is collected by the bag.

I am very happy with the price of this product for what it is, and the design seems fairly good. While the body is all plastic, it feels solid and well constructed. The adjustable handle is very nice, and the angle is comfortable for various positions and longer duration of use. The belt installation method is quick and easy, and this sander is light and easy to direct and control. Unfortunately, there are a few issues with this unit. My primary concern is a grinding sound coming from the drive drum, the rear of the unit. Others have mentioned a sound like bearings starting to go - this is a great description, and you feel the odd grind or hitch. My concern is that this started happening on my 5th piece of cedar, which is DEFINITELY not a hard wood, using a 40 grit belt. I switched up to a 60, new belt, to see if it was something to do with the belt itself (better quality than what shipped with the sander) but the same happened. My second concern, though not as significant, is the travel in the belt. It says to adjust it frequently, and I did so, however the belt still managed to move to the left far enough at one point that it actually chewed into the plastic nose piece of the body where the front drum meets the plastic body. Now, this is not a big deal, it's a small cosmetic issue, but the amount of travel that happened in a few seconds to allow that was downright odd - Once switching away from the provided belt the travel was much smaller, though still evident, and I was able (with MANY small adjustments) to keep the belt off of the plastic nose. This is definitely workable, but takes some fiddling even when switching between two boards milled from the same slab. Finally, I find that the speed varies a fair bit - applying even slight pressure created noticeable slowdown of the belt, accompanied by the previously noted grinding, and dragging feeling from the drive drum. I really want to love this sander, because the value IS there in the product - if it works right. I don't know if I have a flawed unit, or if this is simply characteristic of this particular model - I hope in some ways that it's flawed, because it COULD be a killer unit for the price, barring these few issues.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought this for a small project and because I had other tools utilizing the same batteries. It started off ok but the longer I used it the belt kept shifting and eventually wore a hole into the plastic housing.

Have always been a fan of Craftsman products and they have served me well. Unfortunately, this one is an exception. On the first light use, on soft wood, the sander heated to the point where the plastic on the inside of belt started melting away. This was accompanied buy a weird sound from the motor.

I should have read the reviews. Although it fits good in your hand and runs smoothly. After about 30 mins of sanding the floor it got super hot and melted. I've noticed on here that there are 4 other reviews saying the same thing. Also I would like to add that you have to watch the belt because it will rub against the plastic housing.