Customer Reviews

DELTA SA350K Shopmaster Boss 1/4-Horsepower 1,724 RPM Bench top Spindle Sander with Complete Spindle Sander Set

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I tried to make my neighbor write his own review on the Delta spindle sander. But after watching him "type" I decided to assist him. Thought I was slow, jeeeezzz.
Anyway this is not my tool, but he is sitting here kibitzing as I type. I actually have the Jet JBOS5(see review).
He purchased the Delta because of the lighter weight and smaller size. He is space challenged in his shop (arn't we all) and needed one he could store under the bench when not in use. The Jet is a bit heavy to be lifting up and down a lot, so he went with the Delta.
He purchased this at our favorite local wood workers store and it was already assembled and clean.
First impression.....lots of plastic, of course that's why its light. The table is flat and has a nice finish, but if you lift the machine up using the table as a handle you would be smart to check for level before using the sander, it will move on ya.
The spindles are only 41/2" compared to 6" on the Jet. But you don't get to use the full length on either machine. He got a nice selection of drums with the sander, including the 3". They appear to be adequate to the task, ya gotta be gentle with the smaller diameter ones even on the Jet. Changing spindles is fairly easy.
You do have to clamp or bolt down the machine. Because of its light weight it tends to wander a bit around the bench if you don't. He drilled 4 holes in his bench top and use's bolts and wingnuts, works well.
We had to make an adapter to hook the dust collector up to this machine. Seems to work ok.
The 1/4 hp motor seems a little light to me, but it performs well, even as heavy handed as he is , he hasn't been able to stall the motor, though it does seem to bog down a little on deep pieces. Just needs a little lighter touch, these bench styles are not meant for "hogging". That's what bandsaws are for.
The sander is very quiet when running, and has very little vibration.
He thinks this sander will do the trick for him, until the day he has a "real" shop and can have a floor model. He recommends it for anyone who needs a lighter unit.
UPDATE...It is now February and my woodworking buddy has just brought his 3rd Boss home. The first two broke, after, in my opinion anyway, very little use. Both suffered from the same problem..a small plastic piece on the actuator arm broke, causing the up and down motion to stop working. The second one didn't line up with the hole in the insert very well, and was making growling noise's from the very beginning. He wants to try one more before giving up on the Boss. Will post another update after this one breaks. At least the store was willing to replace em with no hassel at all.
UPDATE..APRIL 05..The third boss was returned to the store..same problems...started "growling" after a couple days and after a couple weeks use the same plastic piece inside broke. My friend returned it and traded it in on the Jet spindle sander. Delta was willing to repair it or send him the parts needed, but he decided he would rather not have a machine that required repair every couple of months (or weeks). It's too bad, because when it works this little machine does a pretty good job, and because of it's light weight and smaller footprint, it is easy to move around the shop and stash under the bench. We don't know if it is a design flaw, bad choice of materials used in construction or just shoddy workmanship (maybe a little of all three), at any rate I think he gave the tool a real good chance to prove out and it didn't make the cut. Can't recommend this one.

The Delta spindle sander I received had some minor problems. The unit was noisy. Under the 2 year warranty I could have taken it to a service location, but that would have meant a delay. Instead I made the adjustment noted in the directions. This adjustment is supposed to be made after many hours of use. Anyway, it did solve the noise problem.

One of the steel arms (called a link) that raises and lowers the motor assembly was bent. I removed it and straightened it out. It appeared this was a factory defect since it did not happen during shipping. The unit was made in Taiwan. Quality control is poor at the assembly plant I guess. This is the main reason for 4 stars and not 5.

The operation of the sander is very good. There is minimum vibration and noise during use. The dust bag included does a good job collecting most of the dust. It is easy to control the wood on the nice flat machined table.

Make sure you get the free spindle set that is being included. It has an assortment of spindles that are needed. The one included is the narrow spindle and limits the abilities of this sander.

Despite the minor problems that may have been unique to this one sander, I have to recommend it. It performs above average. And the price is right.

A spindle sander is a pretty simple tool, so it's hard to screw up the construction of one of these. I've been using this one for over a year now and it does the job reasonably well, but it doesn't excite me.

What I like:
- Big, flat, cast iron table that was nice and perpendicular to the spindle out of the box.
- The constraining inserts that close the hole in the table around the drum are made well and stay in plane with the table, while allowing good dust collection.
- The dust collection is actually pretty good when hooked up to a central system. However, see what I don't like below.
- All accessories have a storage spot on the machine. All the drums, bushings, wrenches, everything.
- It's a very quiet machine...that is, until wood comes in contact with the drum.
- It's light and easily mobile, however, it's light because it's plastic. See what I don't like below.

What I sort of like and don't like:
- This one is up to you - it depends on your needs. The Delta comes with a set of larger drums, starting at 3/4" and going up to 3". The comparable Jet model has a finer set of drums including 1/4", 1/2", 5/8" and going up to 2". You can buy the 3" drum for the Jet as an accessory, but you can't buy the smaller drums for the Delta. I don't need small drums for my work, so this is fine for me, but if you do finer work, this might not be for you.
- The Jet also has a larger 1/2 HP motor, while the delta only has 1/4 HP, however, I've never had a problem with power. In my experience, the 1/4 HP is ample even for 5/4 White Oak.
(And the Jet is almost twice as expensive...)

What I really don't like:
- The most irritating part of this machine is the rubber drums. They have no gripping power whatsoever, so sandpaper sleeves just work themselves right off the drum inside of 3 seconds of use. To solve this problem I had to put the sandpaper on the drum, then wrap the top of the assembly in packing tape. It keeps the paper in place, but makes it difficult to change grits on the same size drum. You have to take off the drum, unwrap the tape, remove the paper, replace with new grit, rewrap the drum in tape...it's a pain, so I rarely change grits.
- The 7/8" stroke of the spindle is less than half of the spindle length, which means most of the drum never gets used unless you're working with thick stock. Even when you flip over the paper, there's a strip in the middle that never gets used. Wasteful and inefficient.
- The entire base assembly is plastic.
- The dust port is small and requires an adapter for use with a central system. It works well, but it's also angled steeply down out of the machine, making it hard to bend a 4" hose underneath it.
- It's a little pricey for what it does, especially when the majority of it is plastic, but spindle sanders in general are over-priced.

So the verdict is that it works well, but not excellent. As long as you don't change grits often, packing tape will keep the sandpaper on the drum.

I looked at this machine for a long time before I bought it. I thought that the motor might be too small and that the unit might be under-powered. When I finally purchased one I was pleasantly surprised. The machine is very quiet and operates incredibly smoothly. There is no hint of vibration and even with a 3 inch spindle and moderate to high sanding pressure, the motor did not show any evidence of stalling. If you have a home of small shop and want a great little oscillating sander, this is the one for you.

Opened the package, turned it on and in less than 3 minutes with motor on (didn't even sand anything) the nylon gear stripped making it completely useless. Reference other owners who had the SAME problem. The only saving grace was Amazon. I returned it without question and Amazon paid the UPS bill. Thanks Amazon.

I've been getting by without a spindle sander by using my drill press and some sanding drums. However, I finally decided I wanted the convenience and efficiency of a dedicated spindle sander. I went with the Delta Boss Spindle Sander (BSS) after looking at the Ryobi, Grizzly, and Jet spindle sanders. It seemed like the way to go in terms of price and performance for an occasional user like myself. I received my Delta BSS from Amazon a few days after ordering it. The very large cast iron table and the overall fit and finish was impressive. After spending about 10 minutes assembling the spindle assembly, I plugged it in and was very disappointed to find out the spindle wasn't oscillating. A quick look at the oscillating assembly at the bottom revealed the nylon gear that drives the oscillating assembly was stripped. Another Amazon reviewer had the same problem. I read his review prior to ordering mine; but, the sheer number of positive reviews convinced me to take a chance. FWIW, I'm sure the vast majority of Delta BSS's work fine right out of the box. However, a little confused why Delta chose to use a nylon gear in this critical area. In any case, I decided to return my Delta BSS rather than replace the nylon gear myself under warranty like the other reviewer elected to do. I may take a chance ordering another Delta BSS--haven't decided yet.

the delta sa350k Shopmaster boss spindle sander works fine. However; I suggest every buyer read the well defined directions. the guide post was off center. when centering adjust screws so the yoke will slide freely. <<<<<>>>> otherwise a very nice tool.

I was working on finishing out a new front porch for a Historical Register house, and when I got down to making corbels I finally decided to order one of these tools. Setup was easy and the machine worked very well sanding the 3" thick three layer pieces. After running the machine 6 to 8 hours (not continuosly) it quit oscillating. The nylon gear that drives the up and down motion had stripped. My father got home from wintering in Florida and took on the repairs. He got it all apart and discovered (we think) the reason(s) for the failure. First, the horizontal drive shaft has a groove for the set screws, they weren't in it. They had torqued them into the shaft, damaging it and making the bearings too tight so it would hardly turn. Also the up and down guide shaft with the adjustable bolt on each side had the bolts set way to tight. There was no way that gear could handle all the force required to push that mechanisim the way they had assembled it. Also there was no lubrication on the bearings, he said. He machined the shaft so it would turn in the bearings, adjusted everything, put a drop of Marvel Mystery Oil on the bearings, and we are waiting for the new gear to arrive. It was hard to locate one, everyone seems to be out of them for obvious reason. Delta needs to get after whoever they have assembling this machine, as it is it's a blemish on a veneralbe line of tools. I hope this thing works when the gear comes, it was great for as long as it lasted. I've got a lot of drums for it too!

Don't even think about it. I thought with all the negative reviews about this, surely Delta has corrected the problem with this not oscillating. So I ordered it, assembled it and turned it on. Guess what? It doesn't oscillate. I looked at the nylon gear and it was stripped. So back it went to Amazon. Amazon is great about returns, and I did get money back. Now I just have to decide on the Jet or Grizzly combo. Too bad you can't give 0 stars.

Comes with 5 vibration free spindles that can handle most of your contour needs. Poor dust management and sanding drums can work their way off the spindle. The sander does the job as well as can be expected for the price. The instructions are a little vague on how to install the sanding drums with the washers that are supplied. The parts list show on how they go on, but the written instructions tell a different way. The each drum needs a washer on top, but the 3/4" drum does not have one. It will slowly work its way off then rubber. I used one of my own washers to stop it from slipping upward. The dust bag is almost useless and the outlet in the rear is non-standard for vacuum hoses. I made an adapter using the top part of a 2 1/4" cone pickup tool that is glued with silicone onto a 2 1/4" to 1 1/4" hose reducer. This is a must and you will have a dust free sander.