BLACK+DECKER Belt Sander with Dust Bag, 7-Amp, 3-Inch by 21-Inch (DS321)

Learning my heavy belt sander purchased 30 years ago required belts that are now obsolete, and having a small job that needed a belt sander, I read the reviews on this belt sander and decided to give it a try. My immediate impression was unfavorable, as most belt sanders I have previously used were heavy - and that extra weight helped when using it on horizontal surfaces, but admittedly strained the muscles when working on vertical surfaces. This feels very light and has many plastic parts, so I was suspicious how well it would work on a 10' by 15' subfloor that needed extensive sanding. Within a few minutes my suspicions were abated, as adjusting the belt in advance of using it was an easy task - and the belt did not need repeated adjustments, which was something previous belt sanders required. While I needed to apply more pressure on the horizontal surface to ensure the sander bit into the wood, the sander worked marvelously and the dust bag actually worked. No dust bag collects 100% of debris, but this one did an admirable job capturing debris. I'm not sure how it would stand up to all day use, but for the few hours I needed it, it worked without a hitch. Stopping to vacuum out the dust bag afforded the sander an opportunity to cool, and then it went right back to work. I wish I had more time to spend working wood, as this would definitely become a valued tool.

So first off. I've never used a belt sander before. In the pics this is a 30+ year old bench built by my grandfather. Just sitting on it and you got seven splinters. I decided to take apart, rebuild, and stain. So for the first run... belt was flying all over the place. Complete fail. However! You have to take time. Read instructions. Turn unit over, set, and adjust the dial. The dial adjustments are actually quite small. A quarter inch turn, turned out perfect. It is very important to get this set FIRST! After figuring this out was flawless. Ran like a champ. Removed dust bag as this volume of dust was ridiculous. Overall best idea ever, super affordable, and worked like a dream. Highly recommended. Just take the time and learn how to adjust the lock the belt. Cheers and good luck!

work nice

The front flip-up guard is a fantastic feature. I wish all belt sanders had that. I dis-assembled my deck railing (60 feet long x 4' high) with 2x2 staves, 2x6 caps and 2x4 facing, sanded everything down to bare wood, and repainted. A huge project and that sander was fantastic. I just kept the flip-up in the up position the entire time and used the front of the sander to really crank down on those stubborn spots. The paper walks a bit and required occasional adjustment but, hey, they all do that; nature of the beast. I had 18 years worth of solid color stain to remove and this sander did the job. I used a small electric blower to clean the sander out about every 15 minutes or so, and that helped a lot. I'd highly recommend this inexpensive sander for medium projects like this.

So I have owned many belt sanders in my day. In fact, I have 3 others presently when I decided to buy this one. The primary reason for this purchase was this sanders' large front space in front of the handle to be able to get under railings. My project is sanding a deck with existing vinyl railings that none of the other sanders could get under. So this seemed like a perfect solution. I got the sander and put it right to work. I paid attention to the front wheel and adjustment as many reviews here complained that it was badly engineered and the belt kept coming off. I completed about 150 feet of edging, under railings and along the house on this deck and the belt acted exactly as you would expect; if you push in one direction it will move in the opposite direction. In other words, if I am pushing down on the front of the machine and I slide the machine to the left, the belt will want to move to the right. It isn't an engineering issue, its physics. Anyway, great product. Did exactly what I wanted it to do and solved a great problem because of the unique design. Well done B&D.

My 20 year old 21" belt sander wore out and after a bit of searching settled on the B&D Dragster. What a bargain this sander is. I was very impressed with the power and ease of control and eas of material removal. The narrow front end wheels allowed for more precise control then Ive ever had. It comes with a low grit belt so I could use it out of the box. The belt release mechanism was easy to use

I had so much trouble with the original item that I returned it and requested an exact replacement after giving it a one-star rating. The replacement sander seems to track better, making me wonder if the first item was just defective. The star rating was difficult. It is light and ergonomic, but it is "light duty" and is more useful for getting into tight places and "assisting" my much stronger Makita. But on the good side it was about 25% of the cost of the Makita, and I think that has to be taken into account. I wanted to like this sander a lot. It was inexpensive, light weight, reasonable ergonomic due to the adjustable handle (except it’s hard to hit the “locked on” button due to the dust collection bag position), and it sands pretty close to an edge. The problem is that the belt tracking adjustment is so dysfunctional that the belt wanders all over the place even if I adjust it every five seconds, to the extent that it ends up breaking a belt literally every two minutes. I can’t afford that many belts.....

First, it comes with one Aluminum Oxide, cloth backed, 60 grit belt already installed; in my case, it was also well tracked. If you are sanding wood, this will chew through it and leave a rough finish, so you will want to purchase other belts of higher grit numbers. I had pretty smooth results with 150 grit on cedar and then hit it with 240 for a super fast pass with a hand block (not many belt sander belts above 150 grit). The included belt is probably best for paint or extreme rust removal, it's just too coarse for most wood applications. The major complaint everyone has is belt tracking, but I found the tracking to be pretty good and easily adjusted. However, the tracking changes when actively sanding vs no load on the belt. It's not by much and you can get a sweet spot where it tracks in both cases; I'd also consider this pretty normal and I track a lot of belts (conveyors, printing presses, etc). There is a special card reminding you which way to turn the adjustment knob and it is listed in the manual (screw in and belt tracks in toward knob, screw out and belt tracks out away from knob), couldn't be easier. My only complaint is I had a tight spot where I kept bumping the knob and would have to stop and turn it back or my belt would walk out. I would rather a tracking knob that is then locked in place by a tightening nut thingy. The dust collector bag is held on by tying a string and is a pain in the ass. Whoever ties that in the factory must have tiny hands or one of those surgical robots. There is a sold-separately service part/adapter that allows you to hook a vacuum to it mentioned in the manual, but I used a bike tube and a hose clamp and it works great. I found the fixed speed to be set fairly well and it did not get too hot after an hour of pretty constant use. I did use the included belt for some rough work where some boards really didn't line up and it worked fine, seems like a nice belt. I took away one star because the thing is crazy loud; earplugs are a must.

Muy bien el producto, solo falta comprar más lijas

Excellent! For context, I’m a 66 year old woman with arthritis and hip and knee replacements. I decided I wanted to take my time and sand my very large deck so I purchased this based on the good reviews. The deck is a combination of very old and newer boards. I am sanding to remove old acrylic solid stain as well bring back newer wood so I can use then use a transparent oil stain. I’m very happy with the sander. I had never used a belt dancer and was intimidated at first but got over that fairly quickly. As far as advice based on my experience: 1. Dust. There will be tons of it. The dust bag worked until full a couple of times but then didn’t collect any after that. I had a broom beside me to constantly sweep plus I often tapped the machine on its side to remove dust collecting around the belt. This has worked well so far. You’ll have to wear goggles and a dust mask. 2. Using the machine: It is hard on the wrists…particularly if you are using pressure or tilting it. I used it while sitting on the deck and trying to keep my wrists straight while holding it. I try to hold and just let the machine do its thing but sometimes I needed to tilt it. Over time my wrists were quite sore. Could be a problem for anyone with carpal tunnel syndrome. 3. The cord. Keep watch where it is at all times and away from the sander. I caught it into the machine by not keeping track of it. Luckily I didn’t destroy the machine or cord but was a pain to get it out. I do like this corded sander and not worrying about batteries…the machine is powerful. 4. Sand belts. They’re easy to install but be sure to place in direction of arrows. The button adjustment works somewhat moving the belt left to right but not always. I was mostly getting it into place by the way I’d move the machine while sanding. Sometimes I like it when the belt goes a bit beyond as I can use to advantage sanding the edges of the deck boards or around nails. 5. Great machine overall…particularly after getting a feel for it. Not too heavy. Also a good price. Recommend.

I bought this great B&D Belt sander on sale for $52 on Prime Days. Home Depot wants $125. I was searching for a good belt sander for home use. I used it to finish sanding areas on my wood deck to prepare for staining. The belt sander has a great 7 amp motor, comes with a 60 grit belt sand paper, and works great. The storage bag holds a lot of sawdust. You should make sure to empty it when it gets 1/2 full as it packs the fine sawdust very tightly. Read the instructions on the unit before using it. Especially on aligning the sand paper roll. When you stat it the sand paper will move and you must stop and adjust it as noted in the instructions. I found moving the control 2-4 turns clockwise made sure the sand paper didn't move all over the unit. Note; If you don't follow the instructions you will get upset. READ THE MANUAL lol. I was able to finish my deck sanding in a very quick time. For the home use I need a belt sander I recommend the Black and Decker sander.

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Did the job Good price. Good quality for me as an occasional user. Belt is a bit hard to keep alligned