Despite some bad reviews i went in, its not the perfect tool has cosmetic flaws but it works for its intended use and has been working really good since i purchased it, i would recommend its like half the price DuHH

This is the one you want:) This turned out to be a great tool for the money, I don't think a more expensive sander would have any advantage over this one. Super quiet, smooth and most importantly the disc plate was very flat and round, I didn't measure the it but there is no visible runout and no vibration on sanding as so many have complained about with other value oriented sanders. It's got a safety key you can hide somewhere to make sure the kids don't turn it on. I would order a finer grit disk along with it, the 60 grit is really rough, good for sanding 4x4's maybe but not for anything visible or paintable.

I've had a 12" disc sander for 45 years. This Wen is the most recent one. I also have a Wen planer and drill press. For many reviewers this sounds like their first disc sander. One was surprised that it made so much dust and others that the sticky back sanding discs are a pain to replace. Several said the disc had a little wobble.If you are looking for perfection in a $160 tool, it had better be a hammer. At this price point you have to be realistic and expect some imperfections and shortcomings. That said, I was pleased with the sander out of the box. Yep, some rough castings and grinding marks, but overall, well-made and quiet. One of the locating pins came without threads, and the miter gauge is really 'economy' level (shim the sides with masking tape for a tighter fit).My biggest gripe is the 60-grit sandpaper that comes attached to the disc plate. 60-grit is way too aggressive, unless you are sanding down 2 X 4's to make chop sticks. Why 60-grit? To hide some disc wobble? Otherwise, why send it attached? Give users a choice of grit to install. Installation is easy-peasy. Removing one is a pain in the (neck).But I was delighted that the 60-grit was poorly installed and came off without resistance. Be prepared to spend 30-60 minutes cleaning the disc plate. Use a heat gun/hair dryer to soften and scrape residue and a solvent to finish the job with a razor blade scraper. I used Simple Green and denatured alcohol (wear a respirator). The surface should be smooth, but not necessarily 'tacky' free.Then, don't put on a new adhesive backed sanding disc. Huh? What? Well, you have two options. One is to buy a hook backing to install on the disc plate and to buy loop backed sanding discs. Yep, they're expensive and you are committed to a single supplier for compatibility.Option #2, when you remove the 60-grit disc you will see 2 machine screw taps in the cast iron disc plate, each one 7/8" to the right or left of the center of the disc. They are the same thread and size as the locating pins and locking knobs. I don't want to give plans on what to do for concern about liability but just say that the holes must be there to attach something, oh, maybe like an auxiliary disc plate.When I called Wen about the locating pin, I asked about the screw holes and was told they do not show up on the rep's screen. He said they probably were there to attach something, perhaps to assist in removing the disc plate if needed. I asked if he saw any reason they could not be used to attach an auxiliary disc plate, and he said, 'No, not as long as there was enough clearance'.I installed auxiliary disc plates on another 12" disc sander.I also complained about the 60-grit paper and that it comes attacked to the machine. Very successful experience with customer service. I called the 800 number and left my call-back. They responded in less than 10 mins.Nothing is perfict and the machine sands as expected, and customer service was excellent (so far), but the attached 60-grit paper is a big issue, so, for me, it's 4 Stars.

This has been a time saver and worth every penny. I work with wood and acrylics as a hobby, and this sander takes my projects to the next level.

Good quality, size works out great. Easy to use. Works well and is dependable

I have found no issues of flatness or power with this sander. It's been up to all jobs I needed from it. It's solid and stays put during use. I'm surprised at how often I use it.

Best price, fast delivery, works exactly as I expected

Sander came on time, package looked good, but running and using it for 5 min showed that arbor and disc are not at 90 degrees, it wobbled substantially. the wobble was so big that the wood piece on the sanding table got little hits from the wobble. the sanding paper is a bit rough at 60 grids. the sanding paper was not centered properly. the ball bearings seem to work nicely, it spinned for a long time after turning off, very quiet. used a shop vac to suck the sanding dust, took most of it. very solid build, good footing, very functional. I plan to use it for my segmented bowls, it rips quite some wood. returned the sander and asked for a replacement, will follow up on that.Update: I received the replacement sander, package looked goo, turned on the sander and runs much smoother. Sanding disc is effectively centered and properly glued. Arbor and disc seem to be at 90 degree, therefore removed the wobble I noticed wit the 1st sander. The table however is slightly off and not perfectly plane and straight, however it doesn't matter too much as I mostly use the left half and therefore verify the 90 degree on the left side of the table. I intend to replace the current sanding disc with a PSA self sticking hook & loop allowing me to attach variable grits. I intend as well to replace the current aluminum table with a custom flip table to facilitate easier access to the entire sanding disc for sanding rings for segmented bowls.The sander is worth the money, quality and price are in balance. Not the best sander, but for the money it is a very good value.Update: I removed the original sanding disc with the hot air gun and cleaned the remaining glue residues and attached a hook & loop backing to the metal disc, now I can remove/add different grits. After sanding some segmented rings for my bowls I will eventually add an "extension" around the round dust collection hood to better suck in the dust, it seems that the high rpm blast the dust outside before the vacuum can suck it through the small gap between disc and the hood.

This is a very cheap tool, so you need to set your expectations accordingly. For a cheap tool it actually performs its task very effectively, and once you take time to make the parts fit properly, and square everything up, it works perfectly.The important part is that the flywheel that holds the sanding disc is flat and does not wobble as it rotates. It’s also heavy enough to store plenty of momentum.It has heavy rubber feet and bolts go through rubber grommets, so the machine runs smoothly with very little vibration.From opening the box to my first test sanding was about 1 hour, and this included switching the sandpaper for 120 grit.Now for the reasons not to buy:The mitre square is completely rubbish. I think it would be better to save a couple of $ and just not include this in the box. I immediately threw mine away without even trying it.It comes with one 80 grit sanding disc preinstalled. I replaced it with 120 grit, but removing the original disc ruins the adhesive backing, so this also went in the garbage.The sanding discs will obviously wear down, and replacing it is the biggest issue with this machine, because you have to dismantle the whole front of the machine, and repeat the whole alignment process after reassembly.To replace the sanding disc you have to remove the guard, then remove the cast aluminum table, then remove the dust collection, switch the sandpaper, then reassemble in reverse order. Removing and attaching the cast aluminum table is very fiddly on the left side of the table, and the table has to be squared to the flywheel again afterwards.I think even with practice it would take me half an hour or more to replace the sanding disc, which maybe ok if you use this machine occasionally for hobby work, but probably makes this unsuitable for heavy users.Overall I am satisfied with my purchase, but the fact that I had to file the parts to get them to fit together, and the arduous process for changing the sanding disc means I can’t give it 5 stars.

My order sat in its box for 4 months waiting for me to have space for it, and then when I did and had need of it I unboxed only to find the dust port smashed and the leg under it snapped clean off.The metal inside looks very grainy/porous. I don't know if it can even be welded back together, but I'll have to try, since returning it isn't an option any more. I really expected better.Update: Between the soft, porous iron and my very limited welding skill, attempting repair was a disaster and mostly just deteriorated the already poorly-matching seams.After contacting WEN directly, they shipped me a replacement, charging only shipping (which mind you was about $100 plus possible tariffs which turned out not to apply). Not awesome, but at least I've got an extra motor and spare parts to maintain the new one, in exchange for the extra expense. I also suspect this is better treatment than I'd have gotten from Amazon even within the return window (based on past experience with heavy equipment purchases).But I've learned a lesson: just because a product is a heavy piece of equipment with a cast-iron body doesn't mean it can't arrive broken beyond repair, and I'd better actually check it out in a timely manner.The new working model has a fair bit of rust on the edge of the wheel and doesn't seem balanced as well. There's about 1/16" worth of wobble, which I didn't notice (dangerously) using the broken unit. Overall, however, it is working fairly well. Design-wise, my main gripe is the dust collection shield, which isn't tightly mated to the body and leaves too much gap below the table. As a result, a significant amount of dust escapes below instead of getting sucked up.

I bought the 12" sander after reading the positive reviews of the other sizes. People seemed happy and the price for a 12" model seemed very reasonable. I received the box. The machine seemed to be very well made, heavy construction and solid. I turned it on and was surprised to find that a) it takes a long time to spin up (almost like the capacitors we missing), the sanding plate was off-center and moves left and right 1/8", it vibrates the workbench terribly, and the plate has over .035" runout (it moves in and out from the piece being sanded). This sander is pretty well unusable without modifications... I have a machine shop handy and it's easier for me to fix this than to return it...WEN Customer service was prompt in replying to me, but suggested I put "tape on the shaft" and that "the factory is a were[sic] of this". No further help. Brutal.Don't buy this.

This happened the first time I went to use this, after about 8 minutes of use the motor started to lag and it go o hot that it could have burnt me. No joke, I immediately unplugged it and contacted Amazon to return it. Another note, returning something thats "big and heavy" like this to Amazon is like pulling teeth. Save your money, don't buy this, buy something local that won't set your house on fire.