WEN 10-Amp 4-by-24-Inch Variable Speed Combination Handheld and Benchtop Belt Sander (HB424V)

It's a beast. Big and heavy, lots of metal in it. Powerful *brushed* motor, does not bog-down much at all. A grown man could probably stand on this thing and sand a hole straight through the floor. Comes with two "L" clamps that allow you to flip the sander upside down and clamp it to a 3 (almost 4)-inch thick benchtop. Good design there, and very easy to set up & use. Has a trigger lock so you can easily lock it "On" for ease of use when on the benchtop. Box also contained a few belts of varied grits and a spare motor-pully belt in addition to those "L" clamps.Dust collection is not be the best. Works much better with a shop-vac hooked to it. If you're hoggin'-off a lotta material, you're gonna get mountains of sawdust *everywhere* if you rely on just the little bag it comes with. You may need an adapter to fit the 1-3/8" (one and three-eigths inch) dust-port on the sander to whatever your vacuum is.I would buy this again. Maintenance will be easy (brushes are easily removed from outside the case, no disassembly needed), belt-changes are a breeze, belt adjustment on the front shoe works like a charm, the clamps for upside-down table-top use are a great idea and work really well too.

I just had a ryobi 21” belt sander that finally died during a project I was working on recently. There is a time and a place for high end tools but I have found Wen perfectly suitable for many of my needs lately including this beast of a belt sander. I’m building a grill station so I’m leveling 2x6 boards and wanted the biggest and most affordable belt sander I could find quickly. I went with the 24” belt sander by when and I’m glad I did. First off this thing is big and this thing is mean. A great belt sander does one thing well and that’s remove lots of material quickly and this sander does it perfectly. You can turn this upside down on a work bench and also use it as a stationary belt sander by using the included clamps and pad. I’ve changed the belts twice since buying it and the tracking adjustment knob works perfectly and the belt changes are simple and fast. Again there are times when high end is the answer but if you need a reliable, tough and affordable belt sander I would highly recommend this one! At these price points you can get the 21 and 24” models for less than a makita.

I bought this larger area sander hoping that it will last a long time and work quicker. I worked an area for about 15 minutes using a 60 grit belt and got good results. One thing I am not happy with is that the dust bag does not work well. it had less than 1/4 fill in the bag, but there was dust all over the bench and floor where I was sanding. The second thing is that the sander is heavy, but it is large and made with metal, so it applies most of the sanding pressure and maybe last longer. I have another Wen 3x18 belt sander that is more than 50 years old and still works, but it was time for a replacement.

I bought this to sand some rough cut cedar boards. So far it does a good job. A very good price as compared to a Makita which would cost 4 times as much. I noticed that it weighs just as much as the Makita does which is a good sign. It tracks well and the motor sounds smooth. Hopefully it will last a long time. It comes with a pad so you can turn it upside down and use it to sharpen tools such as a machete. I haven't tried that yet. Since the price is so reasonable it seems that the 4 x 24 inch model is more heavy duty and a better buy. Perhaps more likely to hold up longer. ......One month later......Just want to add that I have been giving this sander a severe workout and the sander is doing great. I have sanded about a thousand feet of cedar boards that were cut with a band saw so they were quite wavy. You have to sand off a lot of material to get them flat which is a lot of work for the sander. On the belt sander with me it seems to work best to sand the boards down with 60 or 80 grit belts until they are flat and then use an inexpensive 1/3 sheet sander with 120 grit paper to get them smooth. They sand down smooth very rapidly with the sheet sander once they are flattened with the belt sander. The hard work is getting them flat. I like the variable speed. If you slow the sander down a bit the belts seem to last longer and it makes less dust. Anyway for the price I am impressed how well the sander has held up to what I consider a severe workout for the sander. Reviewed in Panama not the USA. I use a mail forwarding service in Miami to receive items from Amazon but that is not where I live.

So far so good (I've only used a couple times). I like the weight and the width of the sander. It's got the power and speed I am needing. I like how aggressive it can be. To me it works better than the lighter weight skinnier sanders. I will state that if you are sanding vertically this may not be the best sander due to the weight, but working horizontally it definitely does the job.

The sander is powerful and well made. It was much bigger than I expected. It is heavy but that is a plus unless you are holding it horizontal. Changing belts is quick and easy. It variable speed too. It came with hardware to flip it over on a table but I will never use that option. Its surprising inexpensive compared to other brands. It came with some extra belts. There are no cons.i used it to sand our deck.

So I'll admit that I don't actually have a Makita, but from what I can tell, that's the gold standard for belt sanders. And in my imagination, they're trouble free and easy to handle/use. In comparison, this Wen is actually pretty good! The unit is very heavy, and feels well made. The handles are well placed, and the trigger is easy to press and lock. The dust collection is ok - half the dust comes out around the belt and not in the bag, but it's a sander, it'll make dust. And the tracking seems fairly good. It does require the occasional tweak of the tracking knob, but for the most part it stays put. I've used it for maybe 200 square feet of sanded board area, and no issues so far. And the best part is that I can buy 6 of these for the cost of one Makita. I'm guessing that if you're a professional, it pays to get the Makita, but for a weekend hobbyist like me, this is all I need and is perfect.