Drum Sander for Laser Projects?

[Bill George]

I find when trying to do thin wood or wood that has set for a while its sometimes is cupped or warped a little. I have been making a 20 mile round trip to my sons place and let him run through his very nice and expensive Delta drum sander.

I have been looking at much cheaper ones, such as a Grizzly or Jet, but just wondering what other laser folks are using, if any for truing up boards?

[Matt McCoy]

Bill: I typically plane cupped stock, but that is mostly for CNC applications.

If your material is small and thin enough to cut with a 40 W laser, a small tabletop drum sander might be something for you to consider. I picked up one from Craigslist that I have been happy with.

[Bill George]

Bill: I typically plane cupped stock, but that is mostly for CNC applications.

If your material is small and thin enough to cut with a 40 W laser, a small tabletop drum sander might be something for you to consider. I picked up one from Craigslist that I have been happy with.

I have been looking on a off for about 2 years for a used one. Seems like nobody in Iowa does woodworking or at least sells used tools anyway. I have been over to the Sawmill Creek Woodworking areas and have a pretty good idea of what I want from reading those posts. Just was not sure I was purchasing something other Lasereurs (is that a word?) have never found a use for....
Yes my machine will cut thin 1/4 thick wood, I have some beautiful aromatic red cedar purchased off a eBay vender that is 5/16 but came un-sanded. Way to high priced, will do my own re-sawing next time.

[Mike Troncalli]

Take it from someone who owns a commercial wood shop and uses wood tools every day.. Power tools are one of those things that you completely get what you pay for.. If you need to use a tool a few times per year go get a Harbor Freight.. But if it is something that you are going to rely on and may be making $$ from.. Bite the bullet if your finances can and get a better tool. How much time and $$ on gas are you spending going to your son's house every time... My two cents for what it's worth..

[Bill George]

Thanks Mike, I am of the belief also if you need a power tool then get it. Unless its a one time deal. Thinking more toward the Jet vs the Grizzly, but I have both brands in my shop and they both work fine.

[John Bion]

Hi Bill, I use a Jet 16-32 Plus which I have no complaints about, it is open ended therefore enabling wider sheets to be run through (if you are careful)
The one comment I would make is that some Cedars/Pine/softwoods etc can gum up the abrasive mighty fast, therefore, if you use these woods, it is more cost effective to purchase rolls of abrasive rather than pre-cut strips.
Kind Regards, John

[Mike Troncalli]

Hi Bill, I use a Jet 16-32 Plus which I have no complaints about, it is open ended therefore enabling wider sheets to be run through (if you are careful)
The one comment I would make is that some Cedars/Pine/softwoods etc can gum up the abrasive mighty fast, therefore, if you use these woods, it is more cost effective to purchase rolls of abrasive rather than pre-cut strips.
Kind Regards, John

I pretty much have the same sander, and add most Rosewoods to that as well. Run a stick of Cocobolo through there and you might as well throw the belt out.. Also I agree on the finding rolls of abrasive instead of the pre-made belts. The cost savings are pretty significant.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi;
I use a lot of thin wood and use a Performax 22-44 Drum sander. Have had it about 6 years and it has paid for itself 5 times over. With one of these and a bandsaw you rule the thin wood scene. Ditto on the clogging for some woods like cocobolo-anything with a moderate oil content. I buy the belts in 80 yard rolls for about $50-saves a bundle.
Best Regards,Ge
orge
Laserarts

[Bill George]

Hi;
I use a lot of thin wood and use a Performax 22-44 Drum sander. Have had it about 6 years and it has paid for itself 5 times over. With one of these and a bandsaw you rule the thin wood scene. Ditto on the clogging for some woods like cocobolo-anything with a moderate oil content. I buy the belts in 80 yard rolls for about $50-saves a bundle.
Best Regards,Ge
orge
Laserarts

Thanks all, I did order a Grizzly the 10-20 model (G0716) or was named that until they decided it was not a "real" open ended drum sander it will do up to a 9 1/2 inch board. Since I have a home machine shop, might try to make the open end part work. It was on Sale and came with a needed roll around stand, and was almost $300 cheaper than the Jet of the same size. IF I decide to do a big glue up project my son has that sander that will do almost a 3 foot wide board, in two passes.
This was my last project done from standard thickness cedar, picture below.

JoSign2.jpg

[David Somers]

Bill,

If you are not having luck finding a used unit you might watch the stores for sales. You have a Grizzly in Iowa and they tend to do an annual or semi annual tent sale that can be worthwhile if you get there early. You can also get a good 10% or more off Jet tools during several sales at Woodcraft or Rockler, both of which are in Iowa. That, or go broader in your search geographically?

I take it that holding the wood down in the laser is not an option? Or correcting the warp during some additional storage time? You might also look at your storage method to prevent future warpage. I know Dave Sheldrake had spoke a year or more back about having a slug of his laser plywood stock getting too moist from ambient air in his storage area and that created some real problems with cutting. Basically he was not getting consistent cuts at any time on that moist wood. I believe he changed his storage techniques? (Hey Dave....wanna chime in
on your problem and solution and how it is now working?)

Someone else discussed this too. I was thinking it was Kev but cant find the thread now. He had started using vacuum clothing storage bags from KMart (or similar stores) that get used to store clothing and bedding. You suck the air out of the bag with a vacuum to compress the bag and keep moisture out. He started using the largest of these bags to keep his plywood dry. If you really needed to insure it was dry you could toss in a can of rechargeable desiccant into each bag. The stuff is inexpensive and rechargeable with some time in a 200 degree oven. And changes color when it has absorbed as much water as it can hold. Do a search in Google or Amazon for rechargeable desiccant and you will find a bunch of sources.

Just some thoughts. You might try some of these inexpensive approaches first before putting big dollars into a sander?

Dave

[chuck shaw]

I use a woodmaster 25" planer with a 10-hp motor on it (gurrrrrr)and a woodmaster 26" drum sander and love em both!! if I'm not paying attention to what my cousin is doing (adjusting the thickness of the cut) I can take a whole 1/2" off in one pass at 15 feet per minute!!!! gotta watch family members like a hawk especially if they THINK they know what their doing. I'm just venting alittle my cousin is like my brother.

[Bill George]

I use a woodmaster 25" planer with a 10-hp motor on it (gurrrrrr)and a woodmaster 26" drum sander and love em both!! if I'm not paying attention to what my cousin is doing (adjusting the thickness of the cut) I can take a whole 1/2" off in one pass at 15 feet per minute!!!! gotta watch family members like a hawk especially if they THINK they know what their doing. I'm just venting alittle my cousin is like my brother.

With a 10 HP motor you could plane down one side of a tree!!

I did get the DeWalt planer so now I have the Grizzly 12 inch drum sander and together they work great. I found out Home Depot gives us vets a 10% discount.

[chuck shaw]

It's a beast alright.