WEN Benchtop Belt and Disc Sander with 4 x 36 in. Belt, 6 in. Disc and Cast Iron Base (6502T)

Recently bought this WEN benchtop sander to replace an old one from Harbor Freight, it is definitely an upgrade.The base has some weight to it which is nice, and it's super stable. There was limited assembly required and all went together very easily. Changing sanding belts on this thing is very quick and easy, everything seems to fit together well and operate great.I would absolutely recommend this for a lower end budget. Will try to update when I've put more hours on this machine

The value for the purchase price seems more than fair. The machine build quality and performance is good. I ordered more belts and discs so it will get more use and I may give updates down the road. The one thing that is cheap is the mitre gauge. I do not see a use for it on this type of machine but in all fairness the ones supplied with ex table saw are in the same category. My use is as homeowner/general woodworking, not production shop or commercial use. So I am satisfied and would recommend. One more thing is you may want to order the rubber erasers that are available to keep your disc/belt clean.

I have two of these and they both work great. One gets frequent use, like 15 hours a week sometimes and it is still running strong. I only sand metal on these.Using this for metal has been working fine. It will bog down if you press too hard and/or have a long piece you're are trying to sand all at once. Most of my sanding is to remove band saw marks and clean up edges and it does those things well. I have mostly used the belt portion with maybe 10% of the total time on the disk portion. I have no complaints for either so far. The machine feels very stout. The base is heavy and helps keep it from sliding around. I don't feel like I need to bolt it down.I had a nice Jet sander just like this one before this and it would also bog down under similar loads. Patience and keeping your sanding belt in good condition are key. The one thing I like about this machine is how easy it is to change the belt. On the Jet I had to disassemble a bunch of pieces to get the belt off and it was a pain. The Wen sander just need an allen key and takes about 30 seconds. Overall it's been a good machine and has stood up well to abuse for the last couple months.EDIT: After using this quite a bit I have found that the upper pulley retaining bolt will sometimes come loose and back out (same issue on my old Jet). If you remove the side cover using a standard phillips the upper retaining bolt can be accessed. It is reverse threaded which is supposed to prevent it backing out but a little thread locker should do the trick.

I have used this several times now and love it. Having two sanders in one is very handy. I am a sign maker and this is a very important tool for me. Well made and a great value for the price

Even the brand names have similar designs. So if they are all manufactured in a similar factory (if not the same), then get this one.I had a Harbor Freight similar sander, but it was NOT built as good and was an older design. It was made of sheet metal for the frame (that's bad). Worked great for an occasional use home garage unit, but not for woodworking. But not for more than 15 minutes of use at a time (I found out later).So I bought this WEN to replace it after only 3 months of my new woodworking hobby. I have now used this unit for 2-years - several days in a week and several hours each time.Likes: Better fence (than most), can be aligned to run larger width boards across without hitting the disc sander or the fence mount (you can if set the gap too high). It's been reliable, after a year, I did notice some bearing noise - so a little lubrication maintenance and thorough cleaning are needed from time to time (as all should). Easy belt changes (no screws to remove or covers). There is one pivot bold to loosen to get the belt off when in the flatbed. That was not the case with the crappy Harbor Freight sander, 6 screws, and more...shrouds to remove each time. Do you know how many belts it takes to sand wood from 80-320 grit??? (makes a huge difference)!Dislikes: all brands are like this: the fence is too high up on the bed, could get 2 more inches (in many cases). I ended up salvaging my harbor freight fence to gain 1 inch on the length of wood I could sand, but then the fence frame is in the way for wider pieces. I'm likely will have a custom fence made with the extension length to give me the full length of the flatbed (but WEN's fence is better than most I've seen). The disc sander deck can get out of alignment easily (only one mount/angle adjustment screw) and the cheap miter gauge and is not accurate with the loose track slop (like most brands-all too cheap). I could use a better dust collector inlet for use as a flatbed sander - but that would likely impede the vertical sanding configuration. The inlet probably works great for vertical sanding...but not as well for woodworking sanding in the flat configuration.But the other thing I like about the WEN is the reality that all the other major brands have the exact same model (design) - even the big national high-end woodworker brands (just different color plastic parts, but virtually the same plastic parts-so obvious). Maybe they have a nicer miter gauge or a thicker metal fence or thumb screws for adjustments, but the differences are little. So I would not pay 2x the cost.Overall, I'm happy with it since I'm not seeing much better designs even from the national high-end brands. I would rather replace this unit 2x than spend the $ on the same design as the others brands. I might still overtax this unit at times, but it has held up so far. One day I will update to a 6" x 48" sander, but for now, this 4" is working out fairly well. Now can I just get a 12" sanding surface out of this one at times? I would recommend this model for this sander design and never recommend the Harbor Freight version - this one is worth the few $ more (but not that much more).