Belt/Disc sander

[Matt P]

I was thinking of buying this and have one question:


"Craftsman Belt & Disc Sander #921520, Bench Top, 4 x 36 in. belt and 8 in. disc"

Why do you need BOTH a belt and a disc.. it seems that they are both flat sanding surfaces, and both have workstops for resting the wood on..

Thanks,
Matt

[George Sanders]

I use the belt for sanding larger work and I use the disk for cleaning up miters. The miters take just a very light touch. The disk is also useful when used with a circle jig to create perfectly round items.
By the way, there are no dumb questions, only dumb answers.
Welcome to the creek.

[Aaron Beaver]

I don't use my belt sander near as much as my disc sander, I will grab my random orbit sander to use on a face before my belt sander. If I did it again, I might of just went with a larger disk sander.

On the other hand I have seen lots of people talk about the edge sanders which seems to be the best of both worlds. Can do what the disc does plus the belt.