Customer Reviews

DELTA 31-695 6-Inch/9-Inch 1HP Open Stand Belt/Disc Sander

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I needed a stationary sander, and Delta's 31-695 was the unit that was in my price range. It went together well, and sands satisfactorily, but just seems to lack something. I didn't want to spend the nearly $800 for the Delta sanding center, but in the long run..., I probably should've held out. The cast aluminum table for the disc sander is flimsy, and does not adjust well to angled sanding. I've already stripped out one of the retention knobs and have noticed a little difficulty with belt tracking. Other than those issues, it's OK, I wouldn't purchase another one though.

I purchased this sander as an upgrade to my 4" belt / 6" disk sander. The smaller unit worked fairly well but was underpowered and sometimes I could stop the belt. The sanding belt always seemed to be a little too narrow. This unit seems right on the money.

I use it to sand a lot of scroll saw projects (stackable baskets, collapsible baskets, ornaments, candle holders, puzzles, etc.) I can place the wood on the belt next to the stop and hold it down with a push block. I then turn the sander on. That gives me complete control over sanding 1/8" to 1/4" thick material without sanding my fingers or pinching them. The 1 HP motor has plenty of power to start up under a load. I also have the accessory fence unit. This allows me to sand large areas flat that were cut with a scroll saw. The disc is excellent for smoothing out curves and removing burn marks. This is a must have tool if you do a lot of scroll sawing. I even use it for finish sanding using a 220 grit belt. I also use it for sanding finger joints flush on oak, maple and poplar boxes. One final use is sanding smaller cupped stock flat for use as sliding box lids.

You can sand puzzles easily by placing on the belt before starting and holding the pieces with the push block. You can sand off pattern paper. You can shape up the edges on collapsible baskets and remove blade burn marks. You can smooth out and flatten large edges. Interestingly enough, I have yet to use the edge of the belt to sand.

The tool is noisier than the 4/6 unit. I would compare its noise level as slightly louder than my Delta 14" band saw. It is not bad but I would suggest using hearing protection. The unit runs very smoothly. The belts take a little time to change -- especially with the accessory fence attached -- but the process is easy. The supplied 80 grit belt and disc are a little too aggressive for scroll saw projects. I replaced them with finer grits.

Like the othert Delta products I have purchased.. I was excited when my new sander arrived. It assembled well, and looked impressive. Until I snapped the power switch and the motor would not turn. Smoke came out of the motor. I shut the unit down, and double checked everything, again! The motor turned freely by hand, but turn it on. and it would lock. Called support, 30 days later recieved a new motor and installed it. This motor started right up and as I almost got excited, it slowed and stopped. Then did the same thing as the first! I boxed it up, and sent it back. 2 failed motors, over 30 days, and I was still not able to use it! No thank you! Hope this helps!

I like the sander and think that it does a very good job for the price. However if you want to sand a board or panel greater than ~10" you have to remove the disc sander because the stop on the belt is behind the disc. This problem would be solved if Delta would add additional drilled and tapped positions for the stop.

It took me about 1/2 hour to assemble the sander. It went together well, with one small problem: the lower disk guard would not fit. This doesn't appear to me to be a problem, so I didn't bother to get another. The machine performs flawlessly. I'm finally able to shape inside and outside curves and do a great job on end grain. Lots of power and easy to use. This one is a hit with me.

I always had a picture in my mind of Delta tools being the ones to buy if you could afford them. As my first Delta tool purchase this one just didn't live up to my internal hype.

On page 10 of the manual, it says the screw for changing the position of the sanding arm can be adjusted with the supplied hex wrench, but I found that the screw was the wrong size. I called Delta and they sent the correct part (part #1346365).

I also ran into the problem mentioned by another reviewer where the parts for the stand are labelled differently from picture to picture. Too bad I didn't read that review before I assembled the unit. It would have saved me a lot of time.

All-in-all it seems like it will function well, but it's not as perfect as I'd hoped it would be.

I bought mine on the retail market because it was immediately available (no wait for shipping). After assembly it ran about 10 seconds before all the smoke came out. Two months later I got it back from the Delta warranty repair shop, and it seems to work fine. Hard to believe that Delta could not get a motor in less than two months. Removes stock quickly, and can do the same to an unguarded knuckle, but overall a good tool if you need to get a flat surface on any kind of wood in a hurry.

I wish Jet made one of these. I've about decided to give up on Delta.

It is a strange philosophy to try to sell inferior tools with inferior instructions to us craftsman "perfectionists".

I received my Delta 6" Belt/9" Disc Sander this past friday so I can't comment on the longterm use ot the tool - but I will say that the package was pretty much falling apart when I received it. A tool that weighs 90lbs should be in a sturdy box.

Then there were the assembly problems. The support stand for the frame is lettered wrong in the instructions. One page describes the parts as lettered A thru E (there are two of each letter). The parts in the photo do not match the parts on the list. On the next page, the stand is shown assembled with parts lettered - again the letters point to thr wrong pieces. To make matters worse, the parts themselves are lettered A thru E. But these have no relevence either. As a result, at 15 minute assembly took me two hours of assembling and reassembling.

The belt tensioning screw does not work but I'll not get into those details - it would take too long to describe it.

Finally, belt wonders terribly from side to side and it is very difficult to keep centered.

I wonder what surprises await when I actually try to use this thing.

The Purchase/Shipping: Amazon made this easy and efficient. The price was discounted from retail and they offered a shipping incentive. The sander was shipped immediately and I received it within a few days. It was carefully packaged.

Assembly: Fairly simple. The parts list on the first page of the manual incorrectly describes stand parts, so look carefully at the pictures in the manual, and follow the instructions. The sander itself is partially assembled and simple to complete.

Quality: The attachments are acceptable, but some of the plastic parts are not well molded and don't fit snugly. This is not a particularly big deal, because the plastic parts aren't under stress. The stand is adequate. The rest of the machine is well-made. One caveat: there is a fairly large gap between the pressure plate and the rollers, and this allows the sanding belt to bow, which can cause ripples on the surface you are sanding. Practice with old 2x4's or other scrap to get a feel for the machine. Also, the sander I received came with one incorrectly-sized metric bolt, which held up the assembly until I found the correct bolt at a local hardware store.

Function: A powerful machine. It comes with an 80 grit belt and disk, and it's a good idea to pick up some finer-grit belts/disks. The sander cuts fast, puts out a lot of wood dust, and is loud. If you use it in a closed area, hearing protectors are recommended for work that takes more than a moment to complete.

Summary: Overall a good performer. The attachments, manual and stand are only adequate, but once you turn on the sander, you're too busy to worry about its details.

I purchased this tool when I was building rocking horses out of solid 2" white oak. By the time I glued the pieces together, I was sanding nearly 6" of solid oak. The machine worked great. Assembly was easy, adjustments quick, and the machine works as advertised. The motor has plenty of power and changing sand paper is easy and quick.

What kept it from getting a 5 rating was the fact that the table for the drum sander portion isn't as sturdy as I would like to have seen. It needs to be re-set occasionally to insure it is aligned. Definately needs either a shop vac or dust system when using it as the dust sure flys. I would recommend it as an addition as I use it all the time to round over corners on small items, cleanup saw marks on heavy stock, etc.