1/2 HP Single Phase Oscillating Spindle Sander By Shop Fox W1831 Review

Since I produce quite a few curved cuts among other for templates I figured that I want a spindle sander. Prior to buying this particular product I looked at a model sold by Harbor Freight and read some reviews on Ebay for similar products.Bottom line was that I couldn’t find a presumably better sander in that price range. Also, for whatever reason I assumed that Shop Fox was a US brand, what might be correct, but it turned out that the sander in build in China, which is not necessarily a…

If you do not already have an oscillating spindle sander, this will quickly become one of your favorite tools. It chews through wood in a hurry when shaping something, but you have a surprising amount of control and can do relatively detailed work with it as well. If you already have one, then I would say this is a great value for the price. You "can" bog it down if you really lean into it, but don't do that. On a 1 3/4 inch poplar board (hard wood, much harder than pine which is what…

This particular model is sold by many companies under many names. I have tried other sanders and find this one to be the best in the price range. A professional carpenter would probably want a bigger/better model, but this one works fine for us garage carpenters who like to putter around. I have a black belt in puttering and this machine does the trick for me. Other models in the same price range have smaller motors, don' oscillate very far and are poorly engineered. I owned two others in the…

I needed a spindle sander for my knife making hobby. I like the cast iron table and the fact that it comes with all the sanding drums. The motor is very smooth and quiet. I have a very small work area, so I have to lift the various power tools I use up to my bench as I perform the different operations required to produce a knife (drill press, 4" belt sander, band saw, bench grinder, etc.). This spindle sander is lightweight, yet very stable in use. This unit does the job for me. Highly…

I've been using this sander now for a couple months. The sanding sleeves seem to hold up quite well and there have been no issues with performance. Most of my sanding has been on exotic hard woods (zebrawood, bubinga, purple heart, etc.). The dust can be an issue since it pushes back up through the face plate if you do not have a vacuum connected (I have not used a vacuum), but it has not affected the use of the product. I have not had any issues with excessive heat. The spindle seems to run…

I received this sander on Wednesday the 4th, and when I plugged it in, nothing happened. Don't know what the problem was but Ebay was great with the exchange and being a Prime member, a new one was sent out on Thursday the 5th and it arrived on Monday, the 9th. This unit is solidly constructed and the cast iron table is a good base for holding work pieces. The only con I can say is that the motor is somewhat loud.

Brand unit sander would not power up. Removed the bottom plate and followed the troubleshooting steps in the manual. Used a volt meter to verify that I had 110V DC coming out of the bridge rectifier to the motor, but the motor would not spin. Removed the brushes. One was stuck. Pressed on it until it popped free, then worked it back and forth to make sure it would stay free. Re-inserted the brushes and sander powers up. Much quieter than I expected.

I have used it on several projects now and it will take off material with little effort. Pretty powerful too. Can't seem to bind it up but I haven't really tried to. Vacuum attachment on the back also seems to be pretty good when attached to my dust collection system. It is solid but has screw holes in the base to attach it to something more solid which is what I did. The power draw isn't too bad either as I have used it off of 15 and 20amp circuits without tripping the breaker.

Very easy to use, does a very good job for me. Even though it doesnt have the table that adjust to a 45 degree angle. I find it very good for the home hobbiyist and even for myself that does Advance woodworking. Great price as well.

I've used this product only twice. So far I am well pleased with the results. I was surprised how quickly the 80 grit sleeve removed stock. I've seen better quality sleeves but can't complain considering the diverse sizes and cost of machine. I would recommend buying a set of 120 or 150 grit sleeves if you prefer a smooth finish. Dust collection works great connected to my shop vac. I highly recommend this product, especially for occasional use in a home shop.

Does a great job at removing material quick, sand paper that is supplied with the sander does not last long is the only downfall. Very powerful and surprisingly quite

This piece of equipment has not been used extensively, but so far it seems to work reliably and does well what it's supposed to do. It comes with a nice selection of spindles and sanding sleeves, all in 80 grit. You'll probably want to buy a 120- or 150- grit set to complement the purchase. So far, I'm not disappointed I bought it.

This is a good entry level sander. If you need to shape a small project, it will do the trick. For any kind of production, it isn't the right tool. Very fun to operate and has a port to connect to a vacuum.

The packaging and design is great. The weight and balance would make for a good stable working surface. The only problem so far is that it didn't turn on out of the box. The shaft moves by hand, the wiring connections were solid and cleanly routed, but not even a hum when it's powered up. The design led me to request a replacement, not just refund. I will hope that the new one works and that the delivery is faster than quoted. The first one was a couple of days, the second is going to be a…

Great machine ,but Idid not get the 1/2 in sanding cylinder with my order,and I haven't been able to get in touch with anyone to fix the situation, other wise it's a dam good machine !

Purchased to sand a bunch of inside curves on a set of wooden (oak) folding chairs I am making. Plenty of power and the variety of drums has come in handy. Only complaint (very minor) is that there is no place to store the extra washers that compress the drums when you are not using that size.

The unit is relatively quite. It's very smooth and comes with a set of 120 grit sleeves. It would be a 5 but the spacers are just short of sitting level with table surface, not a huge deal but can be annoying on smaller pieces.

This is a really good sander. If I were to nitpick the only thing I do not like is the plastic rings, I'd love stainless or brass ones that level up to the working surface better but that would drive the price up a bit. I use it for guitar bodies, necks and many other wood projects. Worth every penny.

while the packaging was good Initially I thought I received used equipment.Black smudges all over the not quite white cabinet. The sanding drum sleeves are poor quality seperated and unusable. But the iron table is the biggest disappointment rusty and pitted and not true with one edge falling out about 16th of an inch in a 5 x 1 area.There isn't a lot of undertable real estate so attaching a fence jig or guide is unlikely.Since I was forced to immediately order sanding drums I spent 2 hours…

I've used this for awhile now and I've been very pleased with it. I get consistently good performance and it has enough power to do everything that I've thrown at it so far.I've used this off and on for awhile now and it still performs like new.