This $390+ Makita belt sander from amazon is on a great sale now. $190 after the 25%. I just got mine and it is incredible. Super hefty, undeniable power. Only downside is the dust bag is not zipped, but some kind of cleat.
Makita 9403. My dad has one of these and it definitely has plenty of power without being too loud. I expect it to last because Makita are generally very reliable (and Amazon says it's made in USA).
I love my 13 lb behometh Makita 4x24
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https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000223IY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The Makita 9403 is the gold standard for a handheld belt sander. It’s basically indestructible and has more than enough power to flatten anything.
If you’re looking for a benchtop stationary unit, then I can’t make much of a recommendation without knowing your price range. There dozens of brands with multiple models each. The type, shape, size, and power can all vary depending on anticipated uses.
A high speed serpentine belt sander might be perfect if you want something for both precision wood sanding in tight spaces and also for honing and grinding metal, while a disk sander would be superior if you want to sand large surface areas against a square face.
Just off to emphasize the point, here are some different sander types off the top of my head: drum sander; articulating belt sander; disk sander; spindle sander; serpentine belt sander; grinding wheels; oscillating sanders; helical sander; and probably more that I’m forgetting or have just never seen.
However, assuming you’re doing wood sanding and want a well-reputed, durable, and versatile bench top tool, the Rigid oscillating combo sander is available at basically every Home Depot anywhere and comes both fully assembled and with a variety of different sanding attachments. It’s one of those tools that you’ll keep finding useful and offers more than enough versatility to justify the price.
If you’re willing to spend quite a bit, brands like Jet, Powermatic, Grizzly/Shopfox (same OEM, different paint job), and Rikon all make models priced between $500 and $5000. If you want something a little more potent and precise than the Rigid, this Jet belt and disk combo sander would be my pick. I’ve lusted for such a tool for years but can never justify pulling the trigger.
Hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you would like some more advice. I’m a tool junkie because I absolutely hate wasting money on something that fails to do it’s only job, so I’m always happy to help someone else avoid that headache too.
I picked this up recently https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000223IY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1
after hearing Ramon Valdez sing all the praises about belt sanders and he builds very nice furniture. I honestly don't understand the Rotex sander and others like it because it still uses a pad like a ROS that won't sand flat like a belt sander can which has a platten that the belt rides against as a reference surface.
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So this is actually a pretty tough problem. I'm assuming you're working with end-grain, which is a pretty unique beast to try to flatten. You have some options.
I'm sure there's other methods out there, but these are ways that come to mind. Good look!