The Porter Cable 352VS Belt Sander has a powerful 8-amp variable speed motor with a variable belt speed of 850 to 1300 surface feet per minute. This is a very popular model because it is sturdy, reliable and comfortable. The 352VS uses 3”x21” belts, and any brand of belt seems to fit well.

The platen and drums on this sander don’t stick out past the edge of the belt, so you can sand up to the right edge of your workpiece. This leaves very little extra work to be done with a detail sander or sanding block, and it makes this sander very easy to work with.

One problem we’ve noticed with this sander is the dust collection assembly system [696167]. The dust bag tends to get clogged when it starts to fill up. An easy workaround for this is to empty the bag when it’s halfway full, and periodically use an air compressor to blow the residual dust out of the bag. This can be pretty inconvenient when you’re trying to finish a project, but overall we consider it a minor issue.

Lastly, this sander is very loud. We recommend ear plugs along with your safety glasses and dust mask if you’re going to be using it for an extended period of time.

One common question that we run into is if the motor can be purchased as an assembly. Unfortunately, you have to purchase the armature [A05378] and the field [876672] separately. Porter Cable does this to help on repair costs. The armature and the field are both expensive, and there is no reason to replace both if only one has gone bad.