WEN 6510T 3.5 Amp Oscillating Spindle Sander | Black Benchtop Power Tool for Woodworking, Sanding & Finishing Projects | Perfect for DIY, Furniture Making & Crafting

A power tool with a cast iron table top at this price is practically unbeatable. That said, I wish the tabletop surface were a bit smoother. The cast iron has a directional grain of sorts. A flat, level, polished surface would most likely require expensive machining, which would significantly increase price, and this table is perfectly serviceable. Anyhow, this is a nit-picky comment. The machine works great. It's stable as a slice of granite. The dust removal works fine attached to my shop vac. The onboard storage is helpful. The manual is helpful overall; however, I think my tool's supply of metal washers differs slightly from those indicated in the instruction manual section on tool operation. It's by no means a problem. Actually, the supplied washers are an improvement over the washers described in that section of the manual. There's an extra large steel washer included that holds the rubber sanding drum very securely on the post/ shaft that's attached to the motor. I ended up using that washer on all the largest rubber cylinders because it worked so well. This little discrepancy from the manual is easy to figure out. Also, I found some zirconium sanding cylinders at the big orange box store that turned out to be a helpful accessory for sanding high carbon steel. The manual warns against sanding anything but wood, probably because of the risk associated with the possibility of a spark igniting any sawdust inside the machine or inside your dust collection system. For the price I paid for this unit, that's a risk I was willing to take: for better or worse. So far, no harm done. I've sanded steel and bog oak on this machine, and it performed well on both accounts. The sanding drum moves up and down while spinning in order to maximize the sanding surface and to give a smooth finish on the workpiece. If you're sanding thinner material, then the upper part of your sandpaper will remain unaffected by the sanding action of the machine. I will probably end up trimming the sandpaper tubes to remove the used portion, and get more life out of them. I kinda wish the little removable plastic parts that fit around the sanding drums were a thicker plastic or - better yet - made of metal. However, the oblong shape of the cast iron table provides adequate support for many different-sized workpieces. The short end of the table is good for sanding small workpieces. Anyhow, if you're still reading this review, then what are you waiting for? If you've thought about buying a drum sander, then you've probably thought about using drum-sanding bits in your drill press. I decided against it because the bearings in the drill press are not designed for horizontal stresses. Believe me, you'll be putting horizontal pressure on your workpieces whenever you need to hog off a lot of material. Save your drill press, and buy a drum sander. If you want one that's a great value, get this little number while the gettin's good. The price has already gone up by $20 since I bought mine. I'm so pleased with it, now I'm looking at the whole WEN lineup for other tools I need. BTW - I wish I had considered a WEN drill press rather than the press I ended up buying from the other big box store.