Kurt’s Workshop

I’ve now spent a number of years using and enjoying this tool, but for some reason haven’t done a review yet, so here goes…

For anyone unfamiliar with the EB4424 I will provide a little intro. Essentially it’s a combination oscillating spindle/belt sander. Unlike other units however, this one does not do both at the same time. Instead it sort of , transforms back and forth with the aid of removable throat plates and what appears to be the guts of a portable belt sander. It has an adjustable table making the unit capable of mitered sanding, something you don’t often get on units at this price point. It’s light enough to make it portable,largely made of heavy plastics and aluminum, but somehow maintains a good bit of hefty feel and strangely little vibration in many operations. Having said that, there are some operations that will vibrate your arm off if your not careful.

I hate to start with the negative but I’m going to anyway because that’s how I am. In my opinion the belt sanding function is a throwaway. It does work, but after a while it starts to wear out, and unlike a real belt sander it doesn’t have a cork backer you can simply replace. It’s also very loud, and very VERY sensitive to adjustment. You also have to be extremely careful to adjust the belt correctly. Because the belt runs right to left across the table surface AND oscillates up and down, it is possible that a gap will appear momentarily between the table the the lower edge of the belt, thus creating a potentially hazardous condition in which a bit of the workpiece may get stuck. It’s not fun when it happens. In addition I have yet to find any grits other than the one supplied with the unit which do not result in rubbing or excessive wear to the throat area.

All that said if you get the belt adjusted properly and are quite careful, it does do a marvelous job rounding off corners, sanding edges, and generally shaping. Just be careful you don’t catch and launch anything off to the side. ALWAYS move the piece against the direction of belt rotation, slowly and evenly applying pressure at the beginning and ending of the “cut”.

I think, for the money, there may not be a better value when it come to the spindle sander. I mean the thing is darn near perfect for my work. True the largest drum you can put on it is only 2 inches, but that’s pretty good for something with a motor this small. Also true is that the dust extraction leaves something to be desired, but again not enough to make me really care. The action of the spindle stroke is smooth and more than enough to keep the drum cool to prevent burning. Drum changes are relatively quick and strait forward, just take off a little pressure nut (with padded grippy knob) and replace. The unused drums are stored on board in individually sized cut outs along with their throat plates and washers.

So to sum up: spindle good, belt sander… who cares.

This morning I ordered my new jointer, the Grizzly G0452, and am eagerly awaiting its delivery. Of course that means the shop has to be cleaned and reorganized to make room, but that needed done anyway.

In the mean time I’m prepping lots of projects, including several I hope to have up for sale sooner or later on my Etsy shop. I’ll post a link to that when I get some content in there.

UPDATE: I’ve heard from UPS freight, and the machine should arrive on Monday. It turns out that it comes in two boxes, so I probably shouldn’t have paid the extra money or liftgate service. I guess you live and learn…