performax sanders

[Jeff Bartley]

I bought a used 16-32 a few weeks ago and just wanted to comment that dang, it's so slow! I've had good results with most everything I've run through it the exception being an almost 3" thick, 21" wide, 60" long bench top that I had hoped to sand in two passes. It was just too heavy and ended up gouged in a couple places where the weight tipped it up into the drum. Usually I take anything to be sanded to a local mill shop where they have gigantic double belt sander. I think that wide double belt has spoiled me! It's so fast compared to the little performax! I was also very pleasantly surprised by how quiet it runs....I actually ran a piece through it a couple times and didn't realize the drum wasn't turning!
Overall I'm happy with the machine, just wish it was a bit faster. After a I use up the last couple rolls of paper I'm gonna try Abranet on it.

[Mark Ashmeade]

I bought a used 16-32 a few weeks ago and just wanted to comment that dang, it's so slow! I've had good results with most everything I've run through it the exception being an almost 3" thick, 21" wide, 60" long bench top that I had hoped to sand in two passes. It was just too heavy and ended up gouged in a couple places where the weight tipped it up into the drum. Usually I take anything to be sanded to a local mill shop where they have gigantic double belt sander. I think that wide double belt has spoiled me! It's so fast compared to the little performax! I was also very pleasantly surprised by how quiet it runs....I actually ran a piece through it a couple times and didn't realize the drum wasn't turning!
Overall I'm happy with the machine, just wish it was a bit faster. After a I use up the last couple rolls of paper I'm gonna try Abranet on it.

I've been very happy with mine, for the short time I've had it. It's no wide belt sander, but it works just fine for the pieces I've used it on.

I too have plans to do a bench top on it, but for that, I'm under no illusion that I need to provide a roller infeed and outfeed mechanism. I'm sure that if I minimize the friction between the piece and its support, the feed belt will be fine.

[Jeff Bartley]

Mark,
I think if the machine was mounted on a solid bench with infeed and outfeed support rollers you could send a big bench top through it no problem. I have the infeed and outfeed tables on mine and you could visibly watch them flex under the weight of that bench top. I'm gonna have to take a closer look at the machine tomorrow to see how it could be mounted onto a more substantial base. It would also be handy to have 32" of support for running wide pieces. I have an idea forming in my head of how to build a base for this thing......this is how trouble always starts!!

[Mark Ashmeade]

Mine's a 22-44ODS on the dog bone metal stand, quite sturdy. I deliberately didn't order the infeed and outfeed tables for the reason you state. Plan is to make a couple mobile bench/table/cabinets, with removable roller mechanisms for the top. The good thing is that the table doesn't go up/down (unlike my planer!), so fixed height stands should be easier to make.

[Kent Chasson]

Yes, a drum sander is a completely different beast than a wide belt sander. It took months for it to really sink in that trying to speed things up always has the opposite effect with this machine. You just have to go slow, remove a very small amount of material in a pass, and make sure the work is supported.

If you are trying to remove a lot of material, it helps quite a bit to angle the work as much as possible. It will cut much faster across the grain. Just be sure to leave enough thickness to remove the cross grain scratches.

[Charlie Plesums]

I bought a used 16-32 a few weeks ago and just wanted to comment that dang, it's so slow! .... Usually I take anything to be sanded to a local mill shop where they have gigantic double belt sander. ...
...After a I use up the last couple rolls of paper I'm gonna try Abranet on it.

A gigantic double belt sander probably has 15 hp or more motors, rather than the 1.5 of the 16-32. At least 10 times as much power.

Don't try abranet on it. Abranet is great but counts on airflow through the abrasive to keep it clear. There is no airflow through the drum on the 16/32

[keith micinski]

There was a recent Post claiming abranet was really good on a 16/32 prompting a lot of people to say they were going to try it including myself. I have yet to have tim to do it though.

[Tony Zaffuto]

After learning how to use my 16/32, I wouldn't be without it. There are very few projects I do that I don't use it for.

[Robert Chapman]

It may not be blindingly fast but it sure beats hours with the random orbit sander.

[Roger Chandler]

Jeff,

I have the 16-32 plus as well........I have used it to sand raised panel doors for cabinets I built.........It does a nice job if you have the machine properly adjusted. Too deep a pass and it will burn the wood..........do not let pitch build up on the belt, or it will cause a burn streak on your panel.

for a large piece, and infeed and outfeed roller is a must, and it must be level with the conveyer belt on your machine.......I think your idea of taking a large piece to the mill shop is a good one!

[Dave Winters]

If you have a lot of material to remove, and can't risk the possible chip-out of a planer, a super coarse belt on the drum works great. I use 36 grit all the time, of course, you'll have to change out to a finer grit to finish up...
And running your material at a diagonal does speed things up in the finer grits. Same theory as why it's easier to saw wood cross grain than to rip.

[Jeff Bartley]

I wonder if the centrifugal force of the drum would help clear the Abranet? I won't find out till I've used up the rolls I have left. I hope someone posts a report with first-hand experience using Abranet and a drum sander! Anyone?
I have some curly maple to dimension in the next couple days and I think I'll try the 36, so far I've used 120 and 80. I still need to get one of this 'eraser' thingys the clear the grit.

[Dave Winters]

Another advantage of the coarse grit: it doesn't load up.

[Charlie Plesums]

I wonder if the centrifugal force of the drum would help clear the Abranet? I won't find out till I've used up the rolls I have left. I hope someone posts a report with first-hand experience using Abranet and a drum sander! Anyone?
I have some curly maple to dimension in the next couple days and I think I'll try the 36, so far I've used 120 and 80. I still need to get one of this 'eraser' thingys the clear the grit.

I love Abranet on my ROS but only when I have replaced the pad with the multi-hole pads for better suction, which is why I didn't think it would work well on the drum sander.

I tried 220 on my Performax 16-32, and it was a waste of money. I used a lot of 180 (I got a 50 yard roll) and it was as fine as I recommend - but mostly I preferred 150 as the finest grit.

I had an eraser and discarded it. It made the belts look pretty, but it didn't get off the resin on the grit that caused the burning and slowed the performance. I spread the strip on the sidewalk or driveway, held the ends down with a brick, and used a power washer - worked pretty well, and the sun dried it out in a few hours. Pretty well means it was a lot better, but still not as good as a new belt.

Key to happiness with the 16/32 sander was going very slowly - it is a low power machine. That is why I upgraded to a 5 hp 38 inch unit. But the 16/32 was better than the new unit at precise thicknessing - a cloth sanding belt on a metal drum with a thin abrasive feed gave great control. My new big unit has a thick rubber feed like the commercial wide belt sanders, and abrasive attached with Velcro. I can remove wood on three consecutive passes without adjusting the sanding height... obviously not a precise thickness on each pass.

[David Kumm]

Charlie, precision is the reason I went to the performax 37x2 rather than some others. Although the thin conveyor belt can be a problem, they along with the aluminum drums leave a pretty uniform thickness across the face. I've seen the abranet threads but have gotten pretty good at making belts last so I haven't tried it. Besides fairly light passes, I've found that polyurethane glue for wide panels saves the belts as yellow glue is more prone to burning. Dave