Belt sand versus giant disc sander

Looking for some feed back on sanders for metal work. I’m not a knife maker, not really planning on ever being one. I would being using it to clean up guests and parts for general fabrication and metal “art work”. What’s everyone exsperience with around the 6 inch belt sanders? I’ve seen some nice looking old 24 inch disc sanders on eBay for around 1,000$ to 1,500$, and I do love the old iron. I have phase converter for three phase power, what HP should I be looking for? Thanks for everyone’s input.

I personally prefer a belt grinder to a disc sander. The higher metal removal rates and longer abrasive change out intervals. 1 hp per inch of belt width is minimum.

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We have a Jet belt/disk combo sander. Bought it 7-8 years ago, it’s a work horse. We never use the sanding disk portion, mainly because good disc are very expensive. For the price point, it removes a substantial amount of material with a good zirconia 36 grit belt. Taiwan made, fit and finish are good, about what you’d expect.

Chose the 1ph 230v option. No phase converter needed.

https://jettools.com/j-4200a-2-6-x-48-industrial-combination-belt-and-12-disc-finishing-machine-230v-1ph

I don’t have a 2x72 yet. Plan to build one with a VFD over the winter, following the House Made design.