Triton TSPS450 Spindle Sander

I have a stationary oscillating sander from Ridgid but I needed to add this dedicated sander because the Ridgid did not give me enough sanding width, also the Ridgid only had a 2 inch drum and this has a 3 inch sanding drum. Even though they are both 4 1/2 inch sanding drums the Triton provides more functionality as the drum, at the peak of its travel, reaches about 4 1/4 inches... which is pretty good. I'm making dining chairs from plans from Finewoodworking and the upper crestrail is almost 4 inches and I couldn't sand it with my Ridgid... but the Triton reaches the top.So the positive ... (right now I don't actually have any NEG)PRICE: it's a really good value when you start to compare it to the range of spindle sanders. The Triton is pretty much the bottom of a price curve that goes up to thousands of $$. It was low enough that it was probably cheaper to buy this than fix my Ridgid.LIGHT WEIGHT... I have a nice shop but it's still a small shop and I store most of my tools out of the way. The Triton has a solid feel while I'm using it, it's a nice stable platform.. but I can still easily lift it and put it in it's place when not in use. (I'm not as strong as I used to be so this is a biggie)Smooth operation... The motor is quiet and smooth running and I have not had an issue with it bogging down when operating. With any sanding tool the surface you get has more to do with your 'touch' than the sander. I use a light touch and I keep moving and so far I've had no problem getting very good results. The picture shows a walnut upper chair rail that came directly from the bandsaw to the drum sander. I was very satisfied after several light passes... I'll still finish it by hand but this really minimizes that task.LARGE DIAMETER DRUM... I don't think you can find a larger (than 3 inch) sanding drum in a table top sander.... I don't know what went wrong with my Ridged but I could not get a snug fit with my sanding tubes on the drum and they were slipping??? I bought new parts (drums and washers ...) but the problem persisted and a one point I over-tightened them and couldn't get it off and I damaged the threads on the installation post... so it was either figure out how to rethread it or replace it... or buy the Triton. I'm glad I bought the Triton; right out of the box it worked and worked well.. no more slipping.SANDING REACH... the 4 1/2 inch drum oscillates between 3 3/4 inch and 4 1/4 inch so the max width you will be able to sand is less than 4 1/4 inch. Of course the Length is as long as you can control.DUST COLLECTION: VERY IMPRESSED. I did not even expect the dust collection to be as good as it is. Obviously this is a function of your vacuum system but with mine it worked very well. (I have a shop vac hooked up with a Dust Deputy) Naturally the dust port wasn't a standard that I had handy... Are they ever (Unstandardized dust adapters is probably my biggest shop nit) _ fortunately I have WAY TOO MANY dust collection adapters.TABLE TOP... I saw that they advertised a 'cast iron' top but don't expect something like you have on your table saw. If it is 'cast iron' its a very light weight cast.. that being said, so far it seems adequate for anything that I'm likely to use it for. I do wonder why the 'front' of the table, i.e., the side I seem to use the most, is the small side??? Why is the elongation in the rear?? I may be off here but it seems like I won't use most of the table top.. again I may be wrong but I don't see it?OUT OF THE BOX: the sander comes with 80 grit sleeves which are great when you come directly from the bandsaw but these can be pretty aggressive so right away I would get some higher grit sanding sleeves and a cleaning stick to keep your sandpaper clean.Bottom Line... I do more woodworking at home than most 'hobbyists' I'm currently making 6 dinning chairs... and for the Triton has been "Good Enough' ... that might not sound like a ringing endorsement but it actually is. This sander is exactly the balance I try to find in my shop... good value, good mechanical, good function and 'portable'

I know this design is pretty much copy pasted across multiple brand names but this is the one I chose out of the bunch. It had the best price at the time and a cast iron top. Unless you're going to go a tier above on spindle sanders, this basic design is what you're going to get. I've had a good amount of time at this point of using it and am extremely pleased. It does what it's supposed to and well.The standout thing to me is the dust collection... I'm amazed at how well it works. I have almost dust free operation. I see other reviews about people complaining that the dust collection port is an odd shape and maybe that's true but my unit came with a piece of plastic that was covering the main spindle for protection and it turns out that this same piece of plastic is an adapter so I can fit my 4 inch dust collection to this unit. Not sure if this is a new addition or if people over looked it but I'm very happy with the adapter and the overall unit.

This has now become my most favorite tool in my shop! It works wonderfully and now I actually look forward to sanding in those curvy spots that are so hard for me to do since I have arthritis in my hands. It's easy to change out the 5 different sanders and there are places on the sander itself to store them and tools to change them with. As far as noise goes, I think it's one of the quieter tools in my shop but then again I'm hard of hearing so I can't really judge. :o) It's easy to change out the sanders, which is very important to me, and I think the price is reasonable. I just purchased it so I don't know how long it will last with normal usage but it seems to be very well made so I expect it to be there for me for awhile. I am new to all this woodworking so I don't have a lot of experience with different brands of tools, but I love this thing so I'm not sorry I spent the money and bought it.

I have been making wooden toys for my grandchildren using my bandsaw and scroll saw. With the Triton spindle sander, cleaning up the saw marks is now a breeze. The unit is heavy and stays in place, it is reasonably quiet, and the dust collection works much better than I expected (connected to my shop vac). The oscillating feature does a great job of spreading use over a range on the sanding drums and randomizing the scratch pattern You do need to be careful as you can remove material very quickly, so work slowly with only light pressure.There are much bigger and more powerful (and much more expensive) spindle sanders available, but for light to medium duty work, the Triton is a great value. If you regularly work with curved shapes and need an easy way to clean up bandsaw or scroll saw marks, I would not hesitate to recommend this Triton spindle sander.

This spindle sander works pretty well. I have wanted one of these for quite a long time and a few projects I have planned made me realize that now was the time to get one. Set up was pretty easy. It seems like it is very durable and made to last. I would have given it 5 stars except for a few issues: 1) there was a very deep gouge in the top of the table area. It is cosmetic and does not hurt the performance of the tool, but it makes me wonder if the maker had any quality control at all? 2) As other reviewers had mentioned, the inserts that fit around the various sized spindles are a little bitt too thin so that my workpieces get hung up when I try to slide them over the table surface. As others have done, I shimmed the inserts so that they are at the correct height. 3) I knew immediately that I would have trouble keeping track of the wrench and the few small parts that are used with the different sized spindles. I used automotive trim tape to secure a flat magnet to the body of the sander and I keep these parts attached there.