Customer Reviews

DELTA 31-780X Boss Bench Oscillating Spindle Sander

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This sander is smooth and quiet. Changing spindles is a piece of cake. The top is solid and flat. It's heavy enough not to move on it's own, but light enough to pick up and move around the shop.

The dust bag works well, but not perfectly. The dust port is too small to hook-up to my 2" hose from my DC, but if I can get a 1.5" hose that should eliminate dust issues.

The BOSS is a very well designed and well made tool. A welcome surprise for those of us who have watched Delta's quality and market share slide for the last 10 years. The spindle is solid enought to take a lot of pressure. The table surface is perfect and the dust fan was very efficient once I hooked it up to a fein dust vac. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was the puny 1.5" dust port and I haven't used it long enought to determine how it will hold up over time.

The Boss met my very specific needs for contour sanding. It is a good machine for the price but there are a few problems. The built-in dust collection is unacceptable but I use my shop vac so that's not a problem. Changing sanding sleeves is awkward but this machine is generally set up for one operation and changes aren't frequent. The greatest problem is that I tried three machines before finding one that had a spindle that was square to the table. Use your square when you first set it up or you will be disappointed. All-in-all, a very good machine for the price.

When I ordered this machine I felt that because it had the delta name that it would be well made but now after using it I am disappointed in it. First the dust collection system built into the machine does not work at all. The dust bag that comes with the machine is useless. You have to attach a shop vac to it or you will be covered in dust. Second there is no arbor lock on the machine to help screwing the spindle on and off. Last of all, the motor seems weak to me. A stronger motor would be much better. It is poorly designed and not up to the quality I expect in a tool made by Delta.

I thought this was a very good product for the price. I particularly liked the cast iron bench top work area. Spindle changing is an easy operation (baby powder on the shaft helps). There could have been improvements such as a non-plastic housing but for the price its a good machine.

Sander works great but, dust bag is hard to get on and off. The extra spindle set you get is all the sizes they make for sander that is not included with standard sander. Extra set comes with drums and one sanding drum per rubber drum. Great value because, at a national hardware store they will charge you [alot] for just the sander plus ... extra spindle set which is encluded at amazon for nothing.

The Boss Bench Oscillating Sander is a smooth, quiet operation, with hardly, if any, vibration. The cast iron table provides an adequate work surface and great support and stability of the workpiece. I did not have any trouble with the spindle being square to the table. This sander works wonders on the curved and scrollsawed pieces, with no burning of the edges, and a smooth finish.

The dust collection system works okay. The dust port is an odd size, 1.5", but the dust collection fan blades built into the base of the spindle draws the dust down from the table into the bag. The bag is a little tricky to install, but once it is installed, it works great.

The only negative I have, and thus only 4 stars, is the fact there is not a spindle lock. This makes changing the spindles not as easy as it should be. I have created my own "spindle lock" by placing the allen wrench in between the dust collection fan blades and the dust port, this "locks" the spindle in place while I change out the spindle sleeves. I'm sure this is not good for the fan blades, but it works, so far.

A great running machine, has met all my expectations and then some for edge sanding curved pieces. It has a permanent place on my work bench !!

... I would give this product 5 stars BUT...

The dust port is a weird size, you have to jerry-rig it. There's no adapters available that fit.

A spindle lock would've been nice for when you change spindles, but it's not that big of a deal, you can use needle nose pliers to hold it while you change them.

It runs nice, and does a real good job. You can set it up in 5 minutes, and no adjustment was necessary. A big time saver when you need it....

This tool is a must for those using band or scroll saws. Easy to setup and use. The only negatives are ... spindal lock would have been nice, plastic base saves weight but is a little cheezy, goofy 1.5" dust port should have been 2". Other than that its a great tool.

I got it from Amazaon with the spindal kit ... included and free shipping, so I'm very pleased.

Ideal sander for the type of work I use it for. Well balanced and little vibration. The only two things I am dissapointed about are the dust collection bag doesn't work the best, but I have a dust collection system. The other thing is that way to many of Deltas tools are NOT made in the USA! I sure hope that changes soon! The quality is NOT as good.