Accessories

A Novel Design With Some Good Features, Some Average
The Dewalt DW433K 3"x21" belt sander has a design that sets it apart from typical belt sanders. The most significant feature is that it has 3 rollers. The single front roller of the typical belt sander has been replaced by a pair of smaller rollers. The top roller has raised flange on the side nearest the motor. This is to discourage the belt from wandering off the rollers and chewing up itself and the side of the belt sander. In my experience, this feature works well. The sander manual warns the user not to install the belt so it overlaps the flange. It takes a few moments to do this because it is hard to see that end of the top roller.

The control that centers the belt on the rollers is still necessary and it is like that of typical belt sanders. It is a metal stem with a plastic knob that changes the orientation of the assembly that holds the front rollers as it is screwed in and out. The sander came with a belt on it. When I turned it on, the belt came off toward the side away from the motor, which did no permanent harm. However, when I turned the plastic knob to adjust it, the control did nothing. The stem felt as if there was no pressure on it and the roller assembly did not move. The belt still came off when the sander was turned on. As I fiddled with this for awhile, I heard a click as if something had come unstuck. Then the control began to operate and the belt stayed on. The control has worked ever since.

The belt is not released by the usual stiff lever that most belt sanders have. There is a circular knob on the side of the planer with a raised handle. It applies and releases the belt tension. I find it easier to operate that the typical lever release.

The belt speed is set by a dial built into the back of the handle. Since the sander must be moved around as it is running, I prefer this design to one that controls speed by how far the trigger is pressed. Gripping the handle with a "pistol grip" does not disturb the setting of this dial. This sander sands more rapidly than my old 4 inch Sears belt sanders. The lowest speed setting of "1" is fast enough for pine lumber. The dust ejection spout has an interesting warning on it: "Collected sanding dust from sanding surface coatings (polyurethane, linseed oil, etc.) can self-ignite in the sander dust bag or elsewhere and cause fire Reduce risk. Empty bag frequently and strictly follow sander manual and coating manufacturer's instructions."

I (and my bathroom scale) estimate that the sander weights about 11 pounds. I find it not too bad to pick up off the floor with one hand and heavy enough so I don't have to press down on it when sanding. The sander has the feel of a well made piece of mechanical equipment. It reminds me of feel of the better types of stationary sanding stations. ( The DeWalt website advertises a "sanding frame" accessory to convert the sander to a stationary sanding station. I have not tried this accessory.)

The cord on this tool exits from the top of the sander. I find this helpful since I am conscious of where the cord is going. Several times, in using sanders where the cord exits from the back of the sander, I've moved the sander backwards, caught the cord under the belt and snapped it off. The cord itself has a rubbery instead of stiff plastic feel and it remains flexible in cool temperatures. ( The low 40's is all I can vouch for, here in southern NM.)

The sander has a dust collector that is a stiff enclosure rather than a flexible bag. (There are no disposable filters in this enclosure.) To use the sander without the dust collector, you can remove the collector and turn a lever on the planer body that shuts off the dust ejection spout to it. This is a nice feature, since the collector itself is nuisance, like the dust collectors on most sanders. The designers apparently tried to make it hard to accidentally knock the collector off. There is a sliding mechanism that attempts to lock the collector inlet into the body of the planer. The collector also clips to the body of the planer. The inlet of the collector is made of a durable hard rubber instead of plastic. This is good because the collector is easily knocked off. The design only makes it hard to put it back on. Typical advertising photos of this planer do not reveal that the bottom face of the dust collector almost touches the surface being sanded. This does not interfere with normal sanding, but when I set the sander down on a cluttered work table, the collector often lands on some object that knocks it loose.

The dust collector spout on the sander's body is roughly rectangular. The DeWalt website advertises an adapter to connect the planer to a dust collection hose. This adapter is not included in the kit.

Belt sanders are designed to sand surfaces that are already substantially flat and the pad of the sander does the sanding rather than the rollers. If you are a naughty woodworker who sands with the rollers, you should consider the fact that the design of this planer may not suit you. The lower front roller had a slightly raised central section about 2.25 inches wide that helps keep the belt centered. With the dust collector mounted, you would have a hard time using the rear roller. I, myself, don't try to use the rollers for sanding.

I dislike tool cases that require the contents to be precisely positioned before the case will close. The case is of average difficulty to use (i.e. I have average dislike for it.) To put the sander in the case, the dust collector must be removed. You must learn exactly how the sander sits in the case. There is ample room for the tool's power cord.

I rate this sander as four out of five stars to indicate that it is an above average belt sander.

Good ergonomics, but the good ends there
I bought this sander based on a Fine Woodworking review. Ususally they get it right, but not this time. I bought the sanding frame kit. The frame itself works well, but the stand can not be used with the dust collector and the frame doesn't fit in the stand well. The case that comes with the kit holds all of the pieces and is enormous and of little use to me because of its size.

The sander is good ergonomically, I used it comfortably for about 6 hours straight while sanding a hardwood floor. However, the dust collection was poor to begin with and stopped working entirely after less than an hour. Apparently the plastic dust impeller broke, based on my visual inspection. I also knocked the dust bag off several times, as described by others. The design is just not up to snuff in my opinion.

The other positive is that DeWalt will take it back for the first 90 days, so I'm sending mine back.

Pleased
Reading all the negative reviews and I originally decided purchasing the sander would be more trouble than it was worth. I looked at quite a few others but in the end, they each had something I couldn't live with. I decided to take the risk and hoped I wouldn't regret it.

It was the right choice. This is an excellent piece of equipment. I've used it on concrete, hardwood and softwoods alike with out any problems. It churns through projects with out slowing down.

I'll agree the dust collector isn't the best, but with the amount of material it's going through, only a vaccume dust collector could solve the problem. Besides, I've never seen a dust collector on any piece of equipment catch everything.

I may have gotten lucky, but it's worth the money.

got a lemon
I was so excited about this sander. Unfortunately after using it for less than one day it was eating belts, the tracking adjustment did not work. It spewed dust despite frequently emptying the bag and was a huge disappointment. When I called Dewalt they had me take it to the local Dewalt store for return and said a new sander would be shipped to me. The service person said they would only repair it, not return it. I called Dewalt customer service then the store manager who finally agreed to replace it with a new sander. It arrived and the preliminary test seems hopeful.

It caught on FIRE
I purchased this as a recond. tool trying to save some money. I was surprised at the weight of the sander but that was not a problem. The first problem I had was that the belt got stuck. Upon further investigation I found that the rear roller had melted and stuck to the belt which the stuck on the flat part of the sander. I cleaned this up and purchased a new belt. A couple days later I was using the sander again. The motor was slowing down so I emptied the dust collector and continued using the sander. Then it started smoking and it caught on fire. I quickly threw it on the floor and the fire went out. I took it to the service center and told him that it caught on fire. I was then asked where was the fire. How should I know when I saw fire I got rid of it as soon as possible. I then asked if it would be repaired or replaced and I was told repaired. Now come on it was on fire it should be replaced. My old Makita which was stolen would run and run and never caught on fire. Not sure if this will be my last dewalt product but I will look at other options next time.