HF OSS opinons wanted

[Rich Engelhardt]

HF has their OSS on sale for $79.00.
I have little use for an OSS - right now anyway - most all of what I need one for I can do with a drum sander on the drill press.

The HF OSS is one of the supposed "gems" that HF sells.

Should I:

- Buy $79.00 worth of drum sanders for the drill press?
- Buy the HF unit?
- Apply the $79.00 towards a Ridgid and not look back?
- Apply the $79.00 towards some other brand?

[Don Dorn]

I have a HF about a mile from me and I buy quite a few things in there, most consumables. My brother bought the OSS you speak of and it wasn't what he expected by any means. He intends to buy one to replace it which of course made it no bargain at all.

Even though there is better on the market, the first one I bought was the Ridgid OSS about three years ago. I have no intent to replace it and am very happy with it. A friend who does allot of bandsaw boxes bought the Steel City because it's heavier duty and it's the right one for what he does. In short, I'd say to skip the HF and buy one you don't think you'll need to replace.

[Robert foster]

I have one that is similar to the HF (Performax by WMH). I have been satisfied with it for what I do so far. If I had more money I would get a bigger/better one but this one does fine for me.

Bob

[Matt Meiser]

I've got the Performax as well and it does the job. Its a Menards-only brand now.

[Lance Norris]

Rich... I just bought a General International benchtop OSS. I looked at all the benchtop units because I simply dont have room for another floor standing machine and didnt want to spend $1000. At the time, the Jet was out of stock or it would have been in my shop. The General is a fine machine, very similar to the Jet in many ways. I found out fairly quickly that I am the type of person who has regrets if I buy a cheap tool, always thinking to myself..."I should have spent more, bought better, better name brand...etc". It only matters to you, what you buy. I tried to do as much research as I could on all the benchtop units. I read lots of good comments about the HF OSS. I read many great comments about the Ridgid. Neither will ever be in my shop, because now I have a machine, I feel, that will last my lifetime, and I dont ever have to wonder...what if ?
I know that sounded selfish, I dont mean for it to. Only you will decide what you should buy. I bet for the $79 HF though, you probably cant go wrong.

[Van Huskey]

My gut feeling is if you spend $80 on the HF you will spend more on another one, probably sooner rather than later.

I see OSS like this, the Rigid as the low price tool at $200, the $550 Grizzly OSS/disc as the next step up and then the full blown OSS only floor models above that. If I had one or two projects that needed a OSS but didn't know when the next one after that would be the HF might be my choice but if I planned to learn a OSS potential and exploit it I would start with the Rigid.

[Tony West]

I have this sander and I think it does a great job...with a 20% off coupon...do a web search if you don't have one in your WW mags...it's a great deal.

I have never once wished I'd bought something 'better'. I have used it for everything from sanding arcs on chests to inside circles to shaping a tote for my plane. It's a very handy tool with minimal limitations. The only downfall I've been able to find is table size. And even that is not that big of a deal, there's plenty of table there to hold a workpiece flat.

I have used the ridgid unit, very nice, but also almost 4X in cost. The other advantage of the ridgid is an all in one unit (eliminating the need for a 2nd tool for outside curves or flat surfaces).

I was able to buy a 12" disc sander and the mentioned OSS from HF for 1/2 the cost of the ridgid unit. I mounted both on a flip top stand and it takes up the same amount of space as a ridgid unit on a stand.

Like all things, you do get what you pay for, but in my case that's good enough. It does the job I need it to do. HF tools have thier place in my shop, and this one is one that I'm very pleased with.

Good luck on the decision (by the way HF has a 30 day no questions asked return policy)!

[tyler mckenzie]

The disposable economy, what a hopeless waste. I'd say your money is better spent on a good tool you need.