I have a horizontal band saw but find I need some way to true up or change the angle of tube cuts for better fit. What works better for this, a belt sander or 9-12 inch disc sander. A decent combo one seems to start around $600, like to get something for half that. Thanks

 

I use a cheap harbor freight belt/disc combo. It works very well. I never use the disc part.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=6852

It also works well to true up flanges.

 

That hf one is pretty solid I cleaned up a couple cylinder heads back in the day with one

 

yeah, mine is a cheap combo one too. 4"x36" belt. never use the disc. it is handy to use the radius on the belt some times.

 

We've owned the JET 64x8 Belt / 12" Disc combo sanders for about 5 years now. It's the only one used in our fab shop between 5 welders and it seems constant use all day long. It's never broken down once. I believe it was $750-800. We have had to replace the on/off switch a few times due to abuse though.

The belt is best for shaping tube or removing material quickly. The disc is best for getting a tube or a flange as close to perfectly flat as possible. The media used will likely determine your success. We use zirc belts 36 grit green 6x48s. The discs are typically norton blues and I believe they are 60 grit.

 

disc sanders are the only tool you need to successfully murder someone. 20 minutes grinding the gun into dust= no case.

 

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

I ended up with the HF unit for $199 and in typical HF fashion, the stand was completely different than the directions and wouldn't bolt together correctly. Anyway, it's quite a bit flimsier than I'd like, but the next alternative was Enco's $500 unit, which with shipping and tax would have been close to $700. This will do the job for now until I come across a good deal on a better quality machine.

 

the blue belts are PIMP. we use 8x24 on the big sander for flanges. we can go through 50-60 5 bolt flanges before it even starts to wear out

 

Awesome idea.