RIDGID R2740 Heavy Duty Variable Speed Belt Sander 3 in. x 18 in

A fine product. I bought an open box version from a 3rd party vendor who sells on Amazon, and then discovered that the Ridgid guarentee is therefor not available.

Best belt sander I've ever had, I had given up on belt sanders for the longest time and just relied on palm sanders (took awhile to get some sanding projects done) until I found this one, and boy am I glad I bought it! I would recommend this sander to anyone interested in it.

Great sanders. Feels good in hand, easy to move and control. Would have given 5 stars however the start trigger seems to not want to start the motor, there's a tiny delay. I'm guessing this may be due to it not starting up at max speed. I don't think it's a bad connection ( wishful hoping) . I'm more inclined to think it's the brushless motor and starts a little differently. Will see what happens.

This product worked great. Despite getting an item that had been previously returned and the box being destroyed, the product itself was in great condition.

First, I liked the sander. I've good luck with Ridgid in the past. This is the first time I purchased a tool on Amazon. It will be my last. The Sander worked well for 1 hour 15 minutes. Thats clock time NOT sanding time. It was running perfectly, then just stopped. No warning, no signs of distress it just wouldn't turn on. I suspected a short in the trigger. I returned it per instructions. I was sent a notice that NO Refund would be submitted because of product abuse. The thing was in perfect condition. No explanation was enclosed and none was forthcoming. Amazon blamed it on MIDWEST FACTORY RECONDITIONED TOOL. Which brings up another point. Nowhere in the description does it indicate this was a used and rebuilt tool! Amazon would appeal to Midwest if I would send them a Picture of the sander. I of course had no such picture. Honestly I didn't expect I would need one. Bottom line, Midwest misrepresented the tool. They have the sander and my money and I have no recourse. I'm sure midwest will repair the sander and resell it to another unsuspecting customer and will do it on Amazon! I will buy my tools from the manufactures outlet or a box store. I learned my lesson.

It does sand, but it does it slower than expected. The automatic location of the belt on the pulleys does not work well; you can't move the belt to the side to sand the edge of a floor. The bottom of the tool is not flat; it protrudes in the middle, making it difficult to make a surface smooth.

After reviewing the full range of belt sanders available, I chose the Rigid R2740 to replace my old Wen sander. The Rigid is powerful enough and easy to control. Since I don't normally sand wood floors with the tool, I don't need a 4" sander since that has too much power. The veriable spped, easy belt chanaging, and automatic tracking all work well. What is amazing is the extremely efficient dust collection system. Using a tapered hose attachment, I was able to hook my Shopvac to the dust outlet. This arrangement worked fine. I would recommend this sander to anyone.

Price is right, variable speed feature is easy to control. Spare belts are commonly available and easy to change. Tool should last a lifetime with routine care and maintenance. Have had minor issue with zipper on dust bag - the zipper quality could be slightly improved, I think. Dust bag is easy to remove for routine cleaning.