Belt Sander

I bought myself an early Christmas present last week. We're finishing our basement, and want to keep the posts and beams exposed. Some are covered in paint, and others are just rough cut. None of it has been sanded before. I tried dressing the wood with a hand plane, the wood is really hard for fir though. I have a sharpening guide and waterstone, so the plane was razor sharp. Not sharp enough to dress these beams though. So I bought myself a Rigid belt sander . I was all set to buy the Makita, which was cheaper, but they didn't have any in stock, so I splurged and got the more expensive one, which included a bonus 1/4 sheet sander (I already have one anyways). I've had a sore back, from hanging drywall, so I've only tested it a little, it seems to chew through the beams quite well. I haven't tried it on the painted part yet, I'm trying to strip it first with the heat gun, which doesn't work great, since the paint is over the rough wood. I'm happy with the look of the area I've sanded though, I think it will add to the look of the space. The wood has such a nice tight grain. I was planning on sanding the beams first, so I could get behind the drywall. We were anxious to get the ceiling up though, so now it's going to be a little more work.