WEN 7.5-Amp 3-by-21-Inch Variable Speed Handheld Portable Belt Sander (HB321V)

THIS THING IS A BEAST. WORTH THE $. HAS A KNOB ON SIDE FOR YOU TO ADJUST PAPER MOVING AROUND ON ROLLER WHILE USING. ONCE YOU GET THAT FIGURED OUT, IT WORKS GREAT AND USES LESS PAPER. USED THIS TO SAND HALLWAY AND BEDROOM. ACTUALLY SON USED IT FOR HIS HOUSE TO DO THOSE AREAS AND HE NEVER USED A SANDER AS MUCH AS THIS ONE. HE LOVED IT AND IT WORKED GREAT. I USED IT TOO AND IT IS A WORKHORSE.

Met expectations for quality and performance. I used the sander on a20 square foot hardwood floor. I did apply downward pressure with good results. The dust bag is small and a lot of dust escaped. I'm sure attaching a shop vacuum would help with the dust. The belt tracked very well, was easy to adjust (which was infrequently) and was easy to replace.

So I'll admit that I don't actually have a Makita, but from what I can tell, that's the gold standard for belt sanders. And in my imagination, they're trouble free and easy to handle/use. In comparison, this Wen is actually pretty good! The unit is very heavy, and feels well made. The handles are well placed, and the trigger is easy to press and lock. The dust collection is ok - half the dust comes out around the belt and not in the bag, but it's a sander, it'll make dust. And the tracking seems fairly good. It does require the occasional tweak of the tracking knob, but for the most part it stays put. I've used it for maybe 200 square feet of sanded board area, and no issues so far. And the best part is that I can buy 6 of these for the cost of one Makita. I'm guessing that if you're a professional, it pays to get the Makita, but for a weekend hobbyist like me, this is all I need and is perfect.

preforms as described .... but a little on the heavy side.

It's a beast!

Used the h€ll out it daily for several months straight while building several sets of patio furniture and it worked great. Belt tracked fine. Plenty of power. Survived a couple of drops off the workbench too. If it puked tomorrow I'd buy another one.

It arrived and I put it to work shortly after. It did great for it's price range. It's obviously not the most powerful motor but it did the job well. The sanding belts are super easy to replace with one lever that pulls the roller forward and releases the tension. I sanded the wood on a snowmobile trailer and went through two sanding belts because of how rough and weathered the wood was. It came with one sanding belt and I bought a pack of 10 more along with it.

I used this today along with a friend who has a similar sander made by another manufacturer. The other brand is one that I really like and have lots of tools from them. I would say that this sander is better than the one he had. The belt is a little longer. It is light weight. We were both plugged into the same plug and did not blow the circuit breaker so it does not use a lot of power. The bag seems to work fine. One suggestion is that the connection for the bag is a rectangle. It would connect to a dust collector easier if it was round. Otherwise, this was a great purchase. I have several other tools from Wen and all have been good. I would recommend this.