Customer Reviews

Makita 9924DB 7.8 Amp 3-Inch by 24-Inch Belt Sander with Cloth Dust Bag

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have own a countertop business for 25 years, and have bought a total of 8 of these sanders through the years. They are durable,light weight, and yet sand smoothly and right up against the wall if need be. I use my sanders an average of 2-3 hours and day every work day and they hardly ever break down or need much maintenece. As for the 4" base plate......NO problem, just use 4" wide belts instead of the 3" belts recommended. I have always used 4" belts with great results. This is a great bargain, its like buying a 4" x 24" belt sander, but at less weight and less money! Highly Recommend!!

I've owned one of the non-dust collecting versions of this tool since 1982 and have always thought it was first class piece of equipment. Mine just recently seized a motor bearing and needs to be replaced but it must have the equivalent of 250,000 miles on it. I'll be replacing it with a duplicate, no question about it.

I bought a 9924DB in 1988 and have used it almost continuously since.
Yesterday, after 20 years, it started running roughly electrically.
I disassembled it and found that I have almost completely worn down the commutator. If I had had 120 volts running through me, then my commutator would have died 18 years ago. Sadly, Makita doesn't sell the armature or the field. Since my metal housing has also been badly worn I will be only too happy to buy another 9924DB. In 1988 it was $ 179.95. Now in 2008 It's $ 199.95. That works out to $ 10 bucks for a year for 20 years of hard service. That's a very fair price for a 4" sander. Thanks Makita !

When you consider most belt sanders on the market and then go out and take a close look this one surpasses many others .
Most outside of a few have the motor set 90 degrees to the belt , while this is not the most balanced desigen Makita has come up with a design that almost eliminates tipping and gouging .
Another thing to look at is the flatness of the base and how sturdy it is secured to the motor .
This sander has a flat base and it does not flex or give at all and it is set 90 degrees to the base of the motor .
A friend of mine got the porter cable and one of the first things I noted was the base appeared bend so the sander leaned to the right ( viewed from the handle end) this was before I got the makita and when I did check others in stores all where the same way .
The one I got has the dust collection and it works very well , one thing to keep in mind is that all belt snaders pickup from the rear so if you have the rear off the work area dust will drift and blow on all belt sanders .
This sander also has a rather long cord so for me most of the time I don't need an extension .
Some conplain that it seems to be a 4" base on a 3" sander and in a way it is and it can be used to run the belt to the edge for flush sanding . More important is that this wider base gives the sander stability and helps a great deal to keep the sander from tipping .
I do have a bosch 3x21 inch inline belt sander with variable speed and use it for most jobs requiring a belt sander and for light duty work .
But if I do need to remove wood fast and stay in control put a 150 grit belt on this sander and work with ease and control plus fast stock removal .
There are not alot of things that can go wrong with this tool . It is well designed and simple to adjust , the tracking works very well and there is also a replaceable belt stop to keep form cutting the housing through with the belt and it is made to last a very long time . Everything about it is heavy duty .

My shop uses many sanders and I have purhcased many through amazon.com or "Tools parts direct" web site. This sander works fairly well if used several hours a day as long as you can change the bearing regularly.
If you are more heavy professional, try p&c 504.

I have owned this belt sander for 9 years now and it has never let me down. The dust collection works great, belt changes are a snap with the lever. This is one of those tools that just feels right in your hand, powerful but light. Extra wide base is for flush sanding. Would buy again in a minute.

Just received this sander today & it's heading back. When I took it out of the box, my initial reaction was that it had mistakenly had a 4" platen installed instead of the proper 3". It turns out that is the way it's "supposed" to be.

To me it seems like this is a cheap fix, since the motor extends out past the belt's normal tracking location. The extra wide platen allows the user to adjust the belt over so that you can sand flush to corners. In the process, the belt is partially off of the drive rolls (25% is off the rolls). It seems like this would shorten belt life, when used in this mode. When the belt is tracked in its normal path, the extra platen is sticking out where it will bump into anything that comes near. (Note that the sander picture show the item from the drive side where this "feature" is not visible.)

The dust bag port is rectangular, so have fun hooking up a vacuum to this one. The dust bag seems lighter weight than on other sanders I have. Obviously I haven't used it, so can't comment on power and other usability factors. I'll be getting another brand of sander.

Here is a sander that has been around for at least 20 years. I purchased one about that long ago and after running an on/off switch and 2 set of motor brushes out, it finally died. Tried to take it apart and fix it but it was worn all around and motor or controller could not get it (well I cut the electrical rotors on a lathe and I think that messed the timing up). After that, I bought all sorts of sanders, Bosch, Milwaukee, and some cheap stuff too because I was tired of killing them all in no time. None lasted more than a year. Last one took no more than 2 sandings to die. So i finally bought the same old Makita 24X3 belt sander which I always thought was ugly and old fashioned looking. (which it is)
Last week end, It put it to hard use to round and level a large butcher block table. I put it through 6 hours straight with a couple cooling periods...metal gets hot if sanding continuously with hard pressure but all belt sander will do that. The Makita takes the abuse like no other sander I know. What a pleasure it was to have a real tool again. As far as I am concerned, this is the best design in terms of weight/power/belt tracking, rugedness, ease to reach sides that is available today even if it's an oldie. Sometimes tools do not get better with time...that's a perfect example...An oldie but a goodie.

Word of warning...when you open the box and see the steel/cork plate exetneding way out, you think that's some defect. As if the platten is for a 4 inch belt while rollers are for 3. It allows to track belt right at the edge. Actually it is one of the great feature of that sander, it allows for very wide tracking moves and positioning belt right where you want it...It was designed after trials and errors and plenty of debug and adjustements, just like a good tool should be. My only gripe would be about the fact that the brushes could last a bit longer (even if they probably are close to best). I just wish they had a brushless fully sealed sander out there but i don't think it exists yet or it's way too expensive. So if you have to settle for the least worst sander at a reasonable price, this is it.

BtW, do not buy a sander with a little roller in front like some Dewalt do, it tears the belt in no time and is of no use in real world. Belts are expensive, The Makita is gentle on them, that might be my very favorire quality about this sander.
Also, forget about adjustable power settings, you always need more power and go full blast unless you are sharpening pencils.

This is a sander designed around belt management and when you get engrossed in sanding, all that matters is the belt, not the sander. That tool has achieved the best transparency as far as not existing and letting the belt do the work. It's one ugly but perfect tool, and you learn to love it like you love your Boston Terrier. I ahve to explain that, sorry....I have a pet one kid said about "my God, that is the ugliest dog I have ever seen!" It hurt my feelings but he was probably right. Anyway, the Makita is like my Boston Terrier, one ugly tool you will get addicted to and miss for the rest of your life. Good thing about tools, they have no souls and are not unique.

Just burned up a DeWalt DW432 3" x 21" belt sander (electrically), after three months of pretty hefty use yet do not feel I quite got the money out of the tool.

After reading the reviews at amazon.com, I bought the Makita and taking the advice of one reviewer purchased 4" x 24" sanding belts to fit the 3" x 24" machine. The advice seemed sound and the belts cost less than the DeWalt, with much more working, sanding surface.

I am building a boat and have been for six years. The plan is for another four years-minimum. A belt sander makes the finished product look like the work of a first-rate carpenter. This sander is the most essential tool in my inventory, sanding mostly yellow pine and some mahogany.

Sorry DeWalt, but please do keep improving.

Thanks amazon for making shopping and decision-making easier.

EDITED August 28, 2011:

After six months of use, I have repaired this machine quite easily with parts purchase from Tool Parts, Inc (Internet source). Delivery was about ten days and since I used the machine daily decided to purchase a second belt sander. I selected the Makita 9924db again. A drive belt had broken from heavy use and a sanding plate wore through. All were very easily replace using a screwdriver. The brushes are still original (easy to inspect and access with a screwdriver) and both machines are going strong.

The reason I like this machine over the larger, more rugged Makita machine is because it is light weight. I do a lot of sanding from a ladder on vertical surfaces and weight means a great deal.

JUST TO GIVE AN IDEA OF HOW MUCH USE I'M GETTING OUT OF THIS MACHINE, I HAVE PURCHASE SIX BOXES OF 4 X 24 SANDING BELTS (TEN PER BOX) SINCE I BEGAN.

BTW: I purchased the second machine and the sanding belts from amazon as well.