Porter-Cable's 3-by-21-inch belt sander features an all-metal housing that gives the tool a solid feel, makes it tough to damage, and lets you sand effectively without having to press down. This sander also does a great job of keeping belts centered, a terrific bonus because there's nothing more frustrating that having to constantly re-center a belt. According to Porter-Cable, the all-metal housing accounts for the centered placement of the belts. The sander remains rigid, even during heavy use, and the metal helps dissipate heat, keeping the belt relatively cool and in place.
This sander also has a variable-speed dial that lets you match the speed of the belt with the application, so you can speed up for aggressive removal or dial down for more precision. We really like the 360-degree adjustable top dust nozzle--a feature you won't find on many belt sanders--because it lets you pivot the dust bag (or hose if you're hooked up to a dust vac), a huge convenience when sanding in corners or along edges. And, lastly, this is a quiet sander, thanks both to Porter-Cable's newly designed gear system, which meshes more accurately, and to the sander's serpentine drive belt, which makes considerably less noise than a more common cog system. For a belt sander, this tool is surprisingly easy on the ears, and that's a very good thing. --Jon Groebner
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
Be Sure You Wear A Good Dust Mask:
I have had the Porter-Cable 352VS for a couple of weeks now. I bought this sander to supplement and eventually replace an ancient Porter-Cable 503. The 503 is a great sander and hard to find fault with, except for it's boat anchor weight. The Porter-Cable 503/504 is the standard by which all belt sanders should be judged. Thus far, I have used the 352VS for sanding some tough Red Oak, probably for a couple of hours total. Unlike other reviewers, I have had no problems with balance. I love the variable... more info
Not a sander I will buy again:
I have used these sanders for several years in my custom cabinet shop. They sand well enough but have numerous deficiencies. They are loud, very loud; not 1 of the dust bags didn't fall apart after several months; they cannot be clamped to a bench for use as a stationary sander; recently discovered that I can no longer get replacement brushes for the motor, so when your $5.00 replaceable brushes wear out your $180.00 sander is junk. I'm switching to Bosch sanders.
Poor Dust Collection:
The good news is that I owned a PC352VS for 14 years and it served me well. I bought another one last week after the bearings on the front pulley failed on old faithful...not bad after 14 years. The bad news is that the new model DOES NOT provide a connection to a shop vacuum as did the old model. The dust collection bag is absolutely worthless. My shop and lungs were rife with dust after 10 minutes of use. The port happens to be exactly the same size 1 3/8" OD as your typical shop vac...1 3/8" OD. This is,... more info
Belt Sander:
Love this belt sander--heavy enough to do a lot of rough sanding but easy enough to manage for smaller and lighter projects too. Dust collector is well positioned.
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