Benchtop Spindle Sander VS Floor Model

[Dennis McDonaugh]

What is the advantage of a floor model spindle sander over a benchtop model? About the only thing that jumps out at me is the larger table and greater weight mean you can sand larger pieces easier. The stroke is obviously longer which means you can what? Sand faster? What does the extra horsepower give you? It also looks like the sanding sleeves are considerably more expensive for the floor model.

[Scott Coffelt]

I have a Jet Bench top and it is fine for most of what I do, but the floor model does have advantages. You mentioned the table size and the weight. I find mine sliding a little when I work on larger pieces, but I also have it on a roll around Melanine cabinet. I plan on making a new cabinet that has a top designed to secure the sander.

The longer stroke will allow for a larger thickness to be sanded and also pro-longs the life of the paper.

The Jet fit my budget and the floor model didn't. If I had the space and money I may have just went with a floor model in the first place. But who knows....

For sure, get one with a tilting top. Check out the Jet it is a real nice unit and very quiet. A friend just bought the Ryobi and said it is really loud compared to mine. Only knock on the Jet is they skipped over the 1" spindle for some reason. I may try and make one or at least an adapter to fit over a smaller spindle.

[Steven Wilson]

The longer stroke lets the sandpaper run cooler for a given thickness of stock and it doesn't fill up as quickly. I find that the paper lasts quite a long time on my Grizzly. The larger unit also tends to have larger diameter spindles available which are much more usefull on gental curves or straight pieces. The more substantial top (and base) also dampens vibration which leads to a smoother surface. Pluse it's just more fun

[Steve Jenkins]

The floor moels also have a longer spindle which comes in handy at times Steve