Einhell TC_BS 8038 TC-BC 8038 E Belt Sander | Strip Sander With Tool-Free Belt Change, Auxiliary Handle | 800W Band Sander With Dust Collector Including 1x P80 Grinding / Sanding Belt, Red

I bought the sander for a specific job, as my other two sanders, i.e. orbital and sheet were not really suitable. This one is quite impressive and although it's not DeWalt like the rest of my power tools, for the low price paid, I'm very pleased. I'm now making a box to store it in, as it deserves to be looked after. All in all, recommended to others for DIY/occasional belt sanding jobs.

I was a bit worried at first because I wasn’t sure of the quality of Einhell products, but I shouldn’t have worried this is a pretty robust piece of kit and great for occasional to medium level levels of usage. I’ve already done quite a lot of work with it and it’s holding up fine so I do feel like I can recommend it.

This machine is very good for the price. It is heavy and powerful and will require control with 2 hands otherwise it will run away from you.I used this for a pine box and the sander melted through the wood. I am only rating this 4* as the dust extraction is terrible. The bag included does not catch much dust and the odd rectangular shape of the pipe means you cannot attach a dust vac.I would have liked a variable speed, but for this price point I understand that's a luxury. It was either this or the Makita I was going to buy and I'm glad I chose this instead as its done the job for £200 less. Would recommend.

Recommended

Probably the worst tool I have owned so far, it eats through belts every 5 min, no dust collection and over heats, trying to sand some scaffolding boards (not hard wood) for a worktop it struggled. God knows how after company testing they decided to release the product, it even eat its own plastic while the belt breaks, best spend a little more and get a sander that works, buy cheap buy twice, I thought it was a good deal for small jobs but will go back to Makita.

Good thanks

This is a good sander, at the price, if you want to sand down flat things like doors and cabinets. But there are a couple of negative points, in that, a) you can't turn it upside down and clamp it in the work-mate, to use it as a bench sander. I could with my old (broken) Black and D. Useful if you are cleaning up smaller multiples like shelf dividers or wooden door knobs etc. And b) the front "axle" has a large flange on one side which means that you cant tilt it on that side. A useful ability if you want to hollow out a bowl shape of get into a tight space on that side. There's no real "nose" to the sander, which means you can't get into smaller gaps. So, to be blunt, not as flexible as my old Black and D, but good enough for straightforward sanding.

At this price, why not? This assumes time is not a premium for you OR the size of the area to be sanded is not huge. Time is not an issue for me, so I bought this tool to renovate an old and quite neglected large area of decking. I am very pleased with it. My decking was in desperate need of TLC, but the majority of the timber boards (NOT grooved type - smooth surface) was structurally sound and so I could sand back to good in all but a few areas where some of the planks need replacing. I recommend firstly using "Green Gone" or similar product to kill the mould, algae, wood fungus and mycelium. No need to power-wash - once the timbers are fully dry, then sand with this machine. You will need a few belts of different grades (easily available and cheap). 40 grit is perhaps a bit too severe, so I used mainly 60 girt and 80 grit to get the wood back to a really nice finish, with the grain visible, without damaging the timber surface too much. Do NOT try and sand wet timbers - it just clogs up the belt and you get no-where. After "opening up" the surface with the sander, I applied a Wood Preservative to penetrate the timbers and provide lasting protection against mould, fungi and algae coming back. This can be applied even if the timbers are a little damp, it still penetrates. I have not yet finished, but intend to finally apply decking oil (2 coats) to the DRY timbers. This will need repeating every year. This machine has restored a great finish to a deck that was being considered for (expensive) replacement at a very low price. It will not need sanding every year, but power-washing followed by re-oiling once fully dry should keep it looking good for a few years.