Power Tools Reviews
Bosch 1274DVS 6.6 Amp 3-Inch by 21-Inch Variable Speed In-Line Belt Sander with Cloth Dust Bag
|
| ||||||||
 Worked well for a while I had the Skil version of this sander (made by Bosch).It worked great for a few years. Dust collection bag out of the way. Fits in tight places. But then the plastic lever to change the belts became weak and eventually flapped around. Finally I could not change the belts. So I took it apart and tightened it. Then it got loose again. So I sent it to Bosch service for repairs. Asked Bosch to put on a new lever, straighten the tracking, and put new bearings in it while it was there. Cost over $50 to repair. When it came back the lever worked again but still flopped around. It tracked lousy , and the bearing were not changed. -- No better than my own tightening. So I tossed the sander on the junk pile and bought a Porter Cable. Porter Cable dust bag is in the way all the time, so I do miss this sander sometimes. I liked the fact it worked on a table flipped over. Maybe the belt change lever is better now??  Broke in 5 hours, fixed in one day. This tool lasted only 5 hours before breaking. The current project is 250 sf of hardwoord flooring in my own house, with another 350 sf to follow. The wood is milled Austrialian brushbox, which has above average hardness but probably softer than oak. I decided renting and using a commercial floor sander was too risky, and that a hand held could get the job done. My 15 year old Black&Decker (3x21, 3.4Amp, hot, noisey, no dust removal, no switch lock) would bog down with 120 grit at a slow rate of coverage and require frequent vacuuming. So I upgraded to the Bosch 1274DVS (3x21, 6.6Amp, quieter, 1-1/4 dust port), gambling that the size and power could spin 80 grit at a reasonable rate of coverage. The other rave reviews about the ergonomics are true. Getting a dust port was fantastic in that, when hooked up to a medium size shop vac, almost no dust was put into the air or left on the floor during sanding. The machine remains cool under continuous duty and the switch lock allows your hands and fingers to relax. I still need headphones with both the sander and the shop vac going. As for muscle, I can report that Bosch's 6.6Amps are good enough for DYI'ers to make two passes (250sf, 80 & 120 grit) in about 6 hours. Unfortunately, the tool did not last that long. About 3 hours in, I had a power cord accident, something that never occurred in 15 yrs with the B&D. The cord was swept into the slot behind the rear roller. The motor is screaming, the cord is flying around, the machine is twisting out of my grip. It took about 8 seconds to get control of the machine and figure out how to unlock the power switch. During this time I am wondering whether I will get this thing shut off before I get electrocuted as it gnaws through the cord. Unfortunately I was killed. No, just kidding. Cord extraction required some strong tugging and a large screw driver to pry away pressure from the roller. The tough rubber cord survived and is in acceptable condition. I then did what anyone would do (with the exception of a Bosch engineer), wonder why they could not make the slot just a little smaller or the cord just a little thicker. Much later I found the user manual warning "The cord can be dragged into belt housing and become entangled with the pulleys." Nice. So the machine went back into service, only with a thump-thump-thump. After two more hours, I noticed the power drive was starting to slip unacceptably. I took the tool apart, looking for some kind of clutch mechanism in the gear train. Found a lot of German high precision and material quality, but no clutch. While reassembling the machine, I found the trouble. The rubber drive belt was missing teeth and starting to wear through. Bingo. During the power cord accident, the cord jambed the drive roller but the upper drive gear continued to spin, taking out teeth in the drive belt. I calculate the cost per hour of buying this tool and consider blasting Bosch with a zero-star rating. Instead I decide to include their service & repair organization into the total picture. Logging online, I find that in this metro area (Silicon Valley) they have several affilated drop off shops and one factory service/sales center. I stop by the factory center, buy a $7 belt out of local stock, and install it myself. After one day of down time the machine is now back on the job and works fine. So Bosch is back up to four stars, but only because their service organization and inventory saved their butts.  Be careful This is a great belt sander, just be careful it is very aggressive, you need to use a very light touch. The dust collection, as in most woodworking products, is just OK Picture doesn't match The dust bag on my sander is not the same as the one depicted in the image on the site. The one that came in the box is cheesier in design, and lacks the bracket/strut shown. Also, the suggested accessories are limited to sandpaper rolls. No dust collection attachments, no upgrade for the bag. The sander itself is powerful, easy to use, and does the job I wanted it to do. | |||||||||
