DEWALT DW433KT Heavy Duty 8 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Variable Speed Belt Sander Kit with Dust Canister, Case, and Inversion/Sanding Frame

I am a rehabber. This saw was a great purchase. The sander has more than enough balls. It can take down stock as fast as you can feed it. Don't buy cheap belts and you will be more than pleased. The stand is great for sharpening and for small parts. The dust bag is a square hole. I have no clue if there is an adapter. The dust bag by itself is normal on the collection of dust.

I'm a big fan of DeWALT tools, in general. This sander is compact, powerful, ergonomic, and designed well, in general. In a new model, I would definitely change the square, rubber dust port. Attachments are a tad cumbersome to install/remove, and the rubber allows for a little too much movement at the joint. The sliding, plastic lock (same joint) also belongs on a brand of lesser quality. Other than that, I've had no problems with the sander. I have not used it without some means of dust extraction (bag/canister or vacuum). Doing otherwise for extended periods seems to be asking for trouble (for those who have read other reviews).

The stand/frame, on the other hand, isn't up to par. It is better than nothing! But these are some issues: It comes disassembled in the case with a bag of loose hardware (screws, nuts, etc.), and must be built and taken apart each time it is used/stored. Further, it includes a small attachment to support right-angle (or up to 45 degree) sanding to the belt. Mine has sloppy movement with no secure way to fix a given angle (even 90 degrees). I'm debating whether I should throw it away or try to re-engineer it to make it useful. Meanwhile, the face of the main frame (looks tan in picture) is covered with a thin veneer. This is fine, except that the same veneer is expected to keep several nuts (behind it) from spinning during assembly. These, of course, easily bend the veneer away from the surface. Last, the stand has a two, painted sheet metal parts that are stored beneath the sander in the box. If a belt is kept on the sander (of course), a piece of cardboard (or something) must be placed between the sander and frame parts to keep from scuffing them. The frame does have one nice feature: the distance (normal to the belt) between the sander and frame can be easily adjusted to that the belt sets behind, flush, or even proud of the face of the frame.

I know you're actually supposed to use a product before you review it, but in this case, that is impossible.

Sure, I plugged it in and pulled the trigger a few times to make sure it worked and was impressed by the the sheer amount of power in my heavy hands (heavy because this thing weighs a ton!). That's about where my amazement ends.

Where to start? I put a belt on and go to sand the edges of some P-Lam, and end up ruining the door when the tracking knob FALLS OFF and sends the belt shooting off the rollers and actually bends the platen! That's right, a 3x21, 150g sanding belt BENT the platen on this behemoth! I finally got the belt to stay on the machine, albeit an inch of the belt was hanging outside of the edge of the machine, thus making it a 2x21 belt sander, and the adjustment knob was on the verge of rattling out, yet again.

Always sand towards the right with this one, as moving to the left will cause the rollers to lose traction on the belt, causing the grit of the belt to have a better grip on what ever you're sanding, and you'll end up pulling the machine off of the belt.

To compound all of this, 2 weeks after I bought this I was deployed to Iraq, and wasn't able to return it to the factory for repair/refund. It does fulfill a key role on my job sites though. Since I bought this, none of my drawings have ever been blown away by the wind. Most expensive paperweight ever.

Buy a Porter-Cable.

I think I am on the third repair of this sander. Seems the switch has gone bad. The cord was caught in the rear of the sander between the housing and the drum and caused the shaft to strip. I can't remember the third problem.

These are not all that good, that is why you can get a re-built one for $99.

I used this sander on a deck and I ran it hard for about 45 min at a time and it never overheated. After about a week of heavy use and abuse it would not turn on. I got it repaired under warranty(the switch went bad) Overall I really like the tool, it works better than a Porter-cable I used. I wish it had a fan or something to clear the dust out better. It will get clogged if you close the dust ejection port.