Dan

Dean, I got to play with mine today. Here are some of my thoughts on it. Remember, I don't have another one to compare it to. I had to by an adapter for the dust port. The only one I could find was about eighth inch to small in diameter. I just wrapped some tape around it to build up the diameter of the adapter and it now fits snuggly. I believe the sanding sleeves that come with it are 80 grit. They do a pretty good job removing the wood. After sanding a few pieces I checked the wood and it was square and the sanding marks were not as bad as I thought. This is good because I plan to do some intarsia. I will buy some 100 grit sleeves. The sander is very loud! I honestly think it is the second loudest tool in the shop, a close second to the thickness planer. I cut some bookmark blanks on the band saw. I then set up a fence on the spindle sander and ran the bookmarks through it. I did a very nice job removing the roughness left by the band saw blade. It seems easier than using the belt sander. If I have time, I will make a bowl this week and take it to the sander. Overall, I'm happy with it, but then I always like new toys. Dan

Excellent! I think the passenger car is the best part.

Pruned trees, cleaned grill, drink beer, worked in garden, fixed tiller, took recyclables to center, made beef jerkey, drink beer, designed new pen,...that was this morning. I plan to play in the garage tomorrow. Monday, I'll be smoking ribs and saluting everyone that makes this country great. Dan

Dean, I sure did just buy one. I haven't had time to really play with it yet but I did set it up and made sure it ran. It's a little noisy but all seems good so far. I plan to spend some time this weekend. I have scraps of various hard and softwood and plan to make some sawdust. It has an 1.5 inch dust port so I'll have to get an adapter for my shop vac. I'll let you know what I think of it by Monday. On a side note, I did see that a similar one build by Rockwell had some so-so reviews. Mostly because the motor went out right around the 90-day warranty expiration. I (or rather, my wife) bought the 2-year warranty from Harbor Freight for $30 (I think). They said if anything at all goes wrong, just bring it back and they will give me a new one.

Congrats Mark! Even us hobbyists aspire to gain knowledge and increase our skills. Sometimes a particular situation will open doors that we couldn't imagine. Dan

I visit http://www.scrollsawer.com/forum/. They have a great joke section. There are great folks there too. Dan

Wow, that's beautiful! I bet she loves it. Dan

Well, I did it. I met my wife for lunch and she took me to Harbor Freight. The original price of the sander is now $159. The sale price is $129. The local store was giving another 20% off so I took it. My wife bought the two year warranty and the total cost was about $129. With the warranty, I can just take it back to the store and get a replacement, no questions asked (so they say). I hope I never have to use the warranty, but plan on giving it a go this weekend. Dan

My kids are grown so I try getting all my yard work and other chores done after work. I usually have a few days during the week that I have at least two hours in the shop and at least a day each weekend sometimes both days. It's also sometimes nice that the wife works weekends a lot.

Oh yea! Thanks for reminding me Travis. I finished some bowls using a drum sander on a drill press. The spindle sander will be much better.

Thanks guys. Since I have a belt/disc sander, I'll probably go with the HF sander. I would like to get a better one but no way do I want to fork over $400, $200 would be pushing the limit. All the intarsia I've done (not really a lot) was done without one and I always had troubles getting a good fit. I think the sander will help a lot. Does anyone use it for anything besides intarsia? Dan

I'm thinking of getting an oscillating spindle sander from Harbor Freight. If anyone has or had one, what are your thoughts on it? I like the price and it wouldn't be used much. My wife has been bugging me to do more intarsia. I told her I didn't have all the right tools so she said, "You have a birthday coming up?" Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks. Dan

Good job! I like how the pieces fit nicely.

Excellent job.

Good work.

Hey Travis, What app did you download? I listen to them on public radio but only for an hour each night. They seem to play the same ones every year and I'm looking for some new (old) shows. I did find this site http://www.archive.org/details/oldtimeradio and they seem to have lots of show as well as some classic audio books. Dan

Years ago I remember someone saying they sprayed the blades with WD40 or something like that to keep them from rusting. Maybe that is the case. I do have some blades that I haven't used in years that are developing rust. I don't think I'll worry about though. Dan

Looks good. I like it a lot!

I used both the Olson and FD blades and haven't had any problems with oil. I've read that some folks recommend wiping the ends of the blades to remove the oil, but I've never done it. I think both blades (Olson Precision Ground and FD Ultra Reverse) cut about the same, but I seem to get more mileage out of the FD. I recently started using the FD UR #1 for fret and so far I like it. Dan

Red, you did a great job.

Dude, the bowl is awesome!!! Great job!!!

Hey, those are cool. Great job!

Karl, I've used spar varnish on some yard signs and it lasts a good long time. Just follow the directions. Dan

Great idea! Thanks for sharing.