Need Recommendations for a Drum Sander

[John TenEyck]

There's no comparison between a wide belt and a drum sander, both in capability or price. You would have to be a very enthusiastic (read well healed) hobbiest to justify a wide belt sander. I have a Delta 18x36 and have nothing but good things to say about it. I bought it used for $500 about 5 years ago and have put more hours on it than I think most any other hobbiest ever would in 20 years. It's not unusual for me to run it for 2 or 3 hours straight. I did have one shaft bearing go bad and changed them, which wasn't hard, but that's it for maintenance. It just runs and runs and does a great job. Changing paper is fast and easy, and it never comes loose. I regularly make shop sawn veneer and the Delta is critical to sanding it smooth after it comes off the bandsaw. I also regularly sand panels up to 30" wide or so. The Delta is easy to adjust for that work and return back to normal operation; takes less than 30 seconds.

If I didn't have a basement shop with no access except for a 32" door, I'd get a used Woodmaster, as wide as I could find.

John

[Paul McGaha]

I have the Delta 18 x 36 also. I bought it used from a creeker a few years ago.

I think it's a decent drum sander for a part time hobbyist shop. I've liked having it around and expect to keep it for a good long time. I usually sand up to 150 grit with it, and then use my 6" ROS and final sand with my speed block sander.

If I had to replace mine I'd probably look at something similar from Performax or JET.

Good luck with the purchase.

PHM

[Jim Andrew]

I have the small open end G9983 Grizzly. Takes a 16x48 belt, and the belts are reasonable as a 5 pack from Grizzly. I was used to using a speedsander at a shop, and wanted the belt sander instead of drum. You know what they say, buy the machine you REALLY want instead of buying something cheaper and having to move up later. Much cheaper to buy the right machine the first time.

[Paul McGaha]

I picked up a Delta 18/36 several years ago for $500 off CL. I had a project where I was cutting my own veneers and I needed them all sanded down nice and even and clean. After fiddling with this drum sander for a Saturday, I got it dialed in pretty nicely and came to an understanding about its design and shortcomings. It sanded all those veneers beautifully down to a dead-nuts on 1/16" but it was an agonizingly slow and mind-numbing process sanding 12 or 13 5' long, 12" wide black walnut veneers. The results were outstanding, however, and I'm a hobbyist so it was my time to kill. I still use it mostly for sanding down wood to use as edge banding or veneers but I've never run a panel through it to level it up. It does leave marks that need power/hand-sanded out. Just remember that it isn't a planer. 1/64" or less of material hogged off is about the max this one can handle or it bogs down or burns the paper leaving nasty marks on your work. YOU MUST HAVE VERY GOOD DUST COLLECTION FOR ANY POWER SANDER LIKE THIS. I have several rolls of 220 grit that I've never used for it as going finer than 120 always seemed to cause issues in terms of bogging down, burning, marks, etc. So I tend to leave 80 grit on most of the time.

Oh, and I still can't get the darn conveyor belt (basically an 18" wide roll of sandpaper) to track correctly as it keeps walking off to one side. That is pretty annoying, too.

Chris makes a very good point re the dust collection.

PHM

[Cary Falk]

I have a Grizzly 18x36. If I were to buy again it would be a Supermax.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a Grizzly 18x36. If I were to buy again it would be a Supermax.

Thanks for the recommendation, Cary. I don't know anything about drum sanders, so why would you choose the Supermax?

And, for that matter, to everyone else - which drum sander do you think is the "best" - and why? I'm thinking of one in the 18" to 24" range.

Mike

[Dave Cav]

I had a used Woodmaster. I hated it. I replaced the velcro on the drum and still hated it. Slow, noisy, rippled surface, problems with the paper ripping at the wrong time. I sold it after two years and got a Safety Speed Cut 36 x 60 and couldn't be happier; I run anywhere from 36 to 180 grit. It won't hog off as much as a 30 HP Timesaver, but it works fine to flatten table tops and large glue ups, and with the finer grits and the platten you get an almost finished product although for nicer stuff I usually ROS to 220.

I haven't used a stroke sander since I was in high school in the 60s. I think we only had finer grits on ours because I recall it being very slow. It also took up an enormous amount of room.

[Cary Falk]

Thanks for the recommendation, Cary. I don't know anything about drum sanders, so why would you choose the Supermax?

And, for that matter, to everyone else - which drum sander do you think is the "best" - and why? I'm thinking of one in the 18" to 24" range.

Mike

I think they are built better than the Jet. They have some extra features like the leaver to adjust the drum from perfect flat to slightly elevated when you are sanding something larger than the drum.

[glenn bradley]

Thanks for the recommendation, Cary. I don't know anything about drum sanders, so why would you choose the Supermax?

And, for that matter, to everyone else - which drum sander do you think is the "best" - and why? I'm thinking of one in the 18" to 24" range.

Mike

I think they are built better than the Jet. They have some extra features like the leaver to adjust the drum from perfect flat to slightly elevated when you are sanding something larger than the drum.

I can absolutely state that in looking at a few brands, the Supermax was easily identifiable as more robust and with a nicer fit and finish compared to things like the Jet. I have other Jet tools so this is not a brand thing ;-) There are models that accept drum, brush and flapper heads if that is of interest.

The Supermax benefits from everything learned through the Performax, Jet, Supermax history. The 'Intellisand' feature helps keep consistent results if the material has reversing grain, density inconsistencies or varying widths. Supermax is obviously all about the drum sander format so they are no help if you are looking at a wide belt.

Disclaimer; I am sure there are drum sanders out there that I know nothing about so, I speak from a limited sample. I bought the Supermax because it was the best unit under $2000 that I could find.

[John Kos]

I love my SuperMax 19/38, saves me so much time on end grain cutting boards.

[Elijah Fontenot]

Not too many folks spoke about a Woodmaster drum sander. I upgraded from my Performax 16-32 to a 38" Woodmaster drum sander and I love it. No burn marks, stays cooler than the Performax, heavy duty, and sandpaper is available at the local woodworking store. Take a look into the Woodmasters b/c most folks don't have much to say negative about them.

[Steve Peterson]

I have a Performax 16-32 and I absolutely hate it. Used properly it will get the job done, but it takes far too long - it's underpowered, trips way too often and is just too touchy. Requires way more patience than I have, I'll take my work to a cabinet shop and have them clean them up before I fire this thing up again.

I have a Jet 22/44 and really like it. I believe that it has a 1.75hp vs a 1.5hp motor, so not too much difference there. The belt slows down if you take too big of a bite and an LED indicator light up. I am not sure if the older Performax models have this feature. I have never tripped the 20A breaker or any overload circuit on the unit.

The only feature that I would like would be a locking bar for the open end. Everything is built really stout, but the open end sometimes appears to vibrate a bit on really heavy passes. I have never sanded anything wider than 22".

I picked mine up on CL for $750. I don't know if I would pay full price of around $1700 for one, but it is well worth it for $750.

Steve

[Bernie May]

I have the Jet 22-44 Pro. I love it.
http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/22-4...casters/649600
Very stout. Table moves up and down and not the drum. 3 HP.

[Mike Henderson]

I see that Supermax now makes sanders with two drums. Anyone have an opinion on this? Is it worth while? From the description, it sounds like you can have coarse sandpaper on one drum and a finer sandpaper on the other and you can switch between the two drums easily (raise one, lower the other).

Or do you think that most people only use a drum sander for coarse sanding and finish with a ROS? (and therefore, one drum is enough)

Mike

[Chris Padilla]

I have the Jet 22-44 Pro. I love it.
http://www.jettools.com/us/en/p/22-4...casters/649600
Very stout. Table moves up and down and not the drum. 3 HP.

I took a class from David Marks in his studio in Santa Rosa, CA, and he picked up one these sanders. Very nice but quite large...wish I had the room for one like that.