This tool is the exact reason why I love Ryobi and always recommend their line of products to Homeowners. Well, it’s not just because they have a cordless belt sander on the market, but because of their line-up of 18V tools. Who else on the market has such a wide range of cordless power tools on the market? Sure there are companies who have a ton of SKU’s on the market, but if you look at Ryobi array of tools, no one beats them. Couple that with who they are, Quality tools at reasonable prices and no other manufacturer can beat them for the homeowner. Ok, their exact motto is Pro Features at an affordable price, but I think yo get my point. Think about it. You have quality tools, that don’t break the bank. You can buy them at any Home Depot or online at Home depot, they have a huge selection of 18V tools, they make an extremely reliable battery and they have a 3-year warranty. Why would anyone ever want to go with another line of tools? Speaking of tools, let’s look at the Ryobi 18V Belt Sander.
When I heard they were coming out with a cordless belt sander, I was pretty excited. I have projects around the house that sometimes I need a belt sander. Now if I am going to be doing a ton of sanding, I will reach and time to set up my corded sander. There are plenty of times I just want to remove some material and want to do it quickly, this is the perfect solution for those times. Plus for most homeowners, they aren’t going to be doing hours of sanding so why invest in a corded belt sander when you can just buy the Ryobi as a bare tool.
The Ryobi Belt Sander is a pretty decent sander, better than I thought. The top handle can be positioned into 5 different positions to make it more comfortable for you. You will need a screwdriver to make the change. The tool weighs 7.6 lbs which are great for a belt sander since you really don’t want to press down when sanding, you want the weight of the tool to do the work. Ryobi designed this with a brushless motor so the run time will be increased. Now I don’t know the exact run time since you have different types of wood and different types of paper, so it will all vary depending upon your project. According to Ryobi, you can remove up to 325 grams of material per charge, which is equivalent to .75 lbs. That seems like a ton of material for a single charge. You can manually adjust the tracking with a turn know.
If you are a homeowner and looking for a cord line to invest in, there isn’t a better option. The Ryobi is the one to have. I love the fact Ryobi has so many tools in their 18V line up and they range from all most every spectrum.
Yeah, Ryobi is becoming a real contender in the tool world now. Something to consider.
This is another one of those tools I have been waiting for since before being in a focus group at the IWF back in 2008 where I requested that Porter Cable produce one instead of the mini corded version that they were developing at the time. Unfortunately, I divorced myself from Ryobi tools even before that time due to various issues with previous purchases from their tool line-up and I am skeptical of the pod style battery pack. It makes sense to keep the design for the existing customer base, but I feel that it eventually could limit future design choices of new offerings in the cordless venue. It’s awesome that they are introducing new tool types, and I hope they keep at it, and hope that it forces other tool groups to innovate as well.