drum sander options - for the budget conscience

[Brad Wood]

Greeting fellow Creek'ers. Happy new year to everyone.

I got the 2011 Griz catalog last night, and something caught my eye in the sanding section.

I've had this Jet on my wishlist for a while
41GduJpPwEL._SL500_AA300_.jpg
JET 628900 Mini 10-Inch 1-Horsepower Benchtop Drum Sander, 115-Volt 1-Phase
$679 is stretching my budget

This is what I discovered in the Griz catalog
g0716.jpg
G0716 10" Drum Sander
$345.00

The griz has .5 more HP. This link says 21 5/16th thick stock, catalog says 2 15/16ths... so, it is 1/16th smaller in max thickness of stock.

Obviously $350 less is VERY attractive. I've got several Griz machines and I know they are well regarded. I'd be interested in thoughts from folks here regarding this new sander they have.

Other Griz models I've coveted from afar (in the sub 1000.00 world) would be ...

g0459.jpg
G0459 12" Baby Drum Sander

and


g0458.jpg
G0458 18" 1-1/2 HP Single-Phase Open End Drum Sander

I would welcome comment on these as well


The things I like to do are typically smaller where a 10" would do me very well. I've done dining tables, computer desks, etc, but they have all been well over 20", the machines large enough to handle those are out of the question.
Most of my stock, by the time I get it planed, is typically in the sub 1" area. Dining table legs were over 4", but I doubt I'll ever make another dining table.

Thank you for your thoughts and input

[Paul Johnstone]

If you can look at them in person before buying it, take a look at the feed rollers. I have a supermax, the roller on the infeed side has a rubber coating on it to help it feed.. That roller alone is $300. That might be one place that costs were cut on both models. Also check to see how/if you can adjust the drum parallel to the sanding drum. See how rigid the drum is. Frankly, it kind of scares me that the Griz needs the bracket on the left side to help support the drum. If it truly needs that, I don't see how you are going to be able to remove it to sand pieces up to 20" wide.
Hopefully someone with actual experience using these machines will chime in.

[Victor Robinson]

I'm in the same boat. I missed out on the $799 sale on the Jet 16/32 (and even that was stretching my budget a bit too far), and this Grizzly caught my eye. I've been asking myself "do I really need anything more than 10/20?" mostly as a way of talking myself into buying the new Grizz or the Jet 10/20 NOW as opposed to wait on a drum sander altogether.

I'll be very interested to hear the responses to Brad's post!

Like Paul points out, the removable headstock bracket is iffy. I wonder if the head will go out of alignment frequently?

[Stephen Cherry]

I'll say the same thing I always say, try to BUY USED. I got a performax 22-44 pro for about 750, including lots of abrasives. And if I ever decide to upgrade, or downgrade, my guess is I could get about the same price.

One advantage of used is that you usually get lots of the extra goodies thrown in.

[Chip Lindley]

What Stephen Sed! Buy a used sander that somebody is trying to unload, and you get lots of value for your money. When you buy new, you get exactly what you pay for. But often times, used machines are barely used. The seller found woodworking just not that interesting any more, and moved on. Well-used sanders were outgrown for larger, more heavy duty machines. Buy the most sander possible for your money. There is no such thing as a good, light-duty drum sander! They must be built to work hard with adequate capacity for your intended use.

[Van Huskey]

I agree with used since these come up all the time but for new I think the Grizzly desreves a shot at the price. I normally am a big fan of the Jet/Performax versions since they have such a long track record and the price is similar to the Delta/Grizzly clones but in this case the price is so much lower I would go Grizzly if I were in the market for a 10/20

[Bill McDermott]

Ever seen or considered the "SandFlee" benchtop unit? Although it's a different configuration than a typical drum sander, it might warrant a look. My only personal experience was a few years ago, at a show. The device was not a manufactured unit as much as a kit at the time, but the concept of an under table roller drum proved very effective. It was simple and effective. Now I see the units are more full-featured and several hundred dollars. I only mention it to call your attention to another option for the smaller projects you suggested. This is not a testimonial, as I have never personally used one.

[John TenEyck]

I'll chime in on buying used. I bought a Delta 18/36 for $500 a year or so ago. It had less than 5 hours use, came with a bunch of sandpaper and a rolling base. It works great, and I'm sure glad it's not smaller. It's 18" wide, but effectively it's about 4 inches less unless you get the paper installed perfectly; if it's not you'll get an unwanted stripe where the paper fits into the drum at both ends. 10" wide seems like a toy to me. But I wouldn't worry about the head flexing when you remove the bracket on the outboard end to sand a wider board. A little flexing will help eliminate a stripe. On my Delta, you actually have to cant the drum about 0.004" when sanding stuff wider than 18", per the manual, and I've verified the need to do so. It's quick and easy to do on mine and wide panels come out w/o stripes. My advise - buy used and buy big.

[Jim Finn]

......"Thank you for your thoughts and input[/QUOTE]
I have the 12" Baby drum sander and it works well for me.
It does use a LOT of power to run. I have it on a 30 amp circut.