Dropped $340 on a spindle sander and a set of drums for it, and I only needed it for two curved apron rails
I build custom kitchen islands on the side, mostly out of cherry and walnut, and last month a client in Toledo wanted curved apron rails on a 7 foot island. Instead of calling around like a normal person, I ordered a benchtop spindle sander plus about $90 in rubber drums and sleeves. Used it for maybe 25 minutes total, and my old rasp and a cabinet scraper did the finish work anyway. Now it sits in the corner of my shop taking up shelf space I need for clamps. Has anybody here actually found steady work for one of these, or did I just buy a $340 dust collector?
Mine paid for itself once I started using it for inside curves on legs and stretchers instead of trying to hog everything out with a rasp. Tilt the table a couple degrees and it cleans up band saw marks faster than anything else in the shop. Keep it, you'll reach for it more once you stop thinking of it as a one job tool.