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The fit and finish of the machining was better than I expected, and the motor seems to be built for the long haul. On the other hand, the Grizzly unit is about 25% of the price of a Sand-Rite machine (the flap sanding assembly for the sand-rite alone goes for $175). The sanding drums are inflatable (a really great feature in my opinion), but like all inflatable drums, the amount of air required is very small. One other potential drawback is that Grizzly does not appear to offer additional flap sander assemblies---it'd be nice to be able to purchase an extra one or two to have pre-loaded with different grits. This is a really great piece of equipment for the price.
wood for over 30 years now, and have never before purchased a piece of machinery made in China. The flap sander uses standard 6 inch cloth rolls, so you can either buy replacement sandpaper from Grizzly or purchase it elsewhere (Klingspor, perhaps). The Sand-Rite machine, for example, allows you to do that. I'm sure the Sand-Rite is a wonderful product, but the Grizzly seems like a darned good unit to me. I've been working (butchering).
The sanding drums, however, are rather odd dimensions (3.5 and 4.75 inch by 8 inches), and you will be limited to either the Grizzly sanding sleeves or custom-made sleeves from some other supplier. You do the math. Thus, you'll probably burst them if you try inflating them with your compressor---you need to get a small manual inflator such as a bicycle pump.
On another note, when my sander arrived, there were 2 broken brushes on the flapper attachment (the wooden pieces had knots in them that seperated) and Grizzly's customer service wasted no time in replacing the broken parts. You have to be careful though or it will pull the piece out of your hands and you'll end up with sanded knuckles. I got a small cut on my arm from flying sandpaper. Oh, and another thing, before you start up your flapper, make sure that ALL the sand paper holder screws are fastened down TIGHT or the sheets will fly off the head and could cause serious injury. This Flapper/Drum sander is a good tool for edge sanding. Putting the flapper together is a monster. So, just double check everything and make sure it's tight before you use this sander. You have to have all the little wooden brush holders JUST EXACTLY right or the head caps will not go on.
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