Need suggestions for a drum sander

[Dan Hahr]

Happy New Year everyone! I am building my home and doing all the trim. I have a couple thousand feet of moulding to sand. It is all craftsman style, so there is a lot of flat stock to sand. I am thinking of getting a Grizzly sander to use for the final sanding to 150 or so. However, it seems that many feel that these are underpowered and slow. I can't find any used models in my area.

What do you all think about the feasibility of using the 10" or even 18" sanders to run this moulding? I think I would only need to use one pass, but my hope is to be able to go straight to finishing with primer then paint without seeing any machining marks. A light swipe with a ROS might be doable, but I am starting to think that would take too long.

I was thinking that the 18" drum sander would work since I could run several through at a time. Plus, I could use it in the future for projects like cutting boards, and other furniture pieces that don't require a precision fit.

What do y'all think?

Thanks, Dan

[Nick Decker]

No advice, Dan, but I'll be watching this thread with interest. Some Jet tools will be 15% off from Jan. 5-9, including their 10-20 model. Alas, the 16-32 model won't be included in the sale. I feel the 10-20 model will be fine for my needs, so I'll be pulling that trigger later this week.

I considered the Grizzlies, but the reviews on their smaller models make me uncomfortable.

[glenn bradley]

Drum sanders do not, as you have observed, take you to a finish ready state for stains and translucent finishes. For material that would be primed and painted I would probably choose a planer, then possibly a run with a ROS, prime and paint. The planer will be faster than the sander although more stock will likely be removed. This shouldn't be a problem as I assume you are starting with rough stock and not S2S since that would probably require just the ROS (if that) before prime and paint.

If staining I would prepare the surface differently. If using a good primer and a good enamel paint, I would test a piece right off the planer and see how you like it. If you are just wanting to get a drum sander, that is a different discussion. I run a Supermax 19-38 and it is fine for hobbyist work. It may even serve a dedicated function in a pro shop but, at a top speed of 10 to 12 feet per minute . . . well, you do the math.

If I were looking at 2000 lineal feet I would either use a different type of machine or gird my loins and step up to the scale of $ander$ that are designed for that kind of volume. Another option is to pay a local shop to run it for you on a production level machine. You can see why I suggest you test your primer and finish on a piece out of the planer?

[John K Jordan]

I think wider is better if possible, even if you don't often use wide stock. I have a Performax 22-44 and what I put through it us almost always narrower than 6". However, there is plenty of space to put several boards through at once. I often put boards through at an angle which is possible if the drum is wide enough. And moving the stock to different places on the drum spreads out the wear on the sanding strips.

JKJ

[John TenEyck]

I've had a Delta 18x36 for 6 or 7 years. This type of machine is fine for light hobbiest work, but not the machine you would want to run thousands of ft of material through. I've done it - and it's no fun. You can't really run more than a single piece of stock through the machine at one time; if you try and one piece is a little different in thickness than the other the thinner piece is likely to slip and won't be sanded the same as the thicker piece and sometimes not at all. And these machines can't take off more than 0.005 - 0.010" in a pass, even less if you are running something really wide. So what you think you should be able to do in a single pass ends up taking 2 or 3 or more passes, which gets frustrating in a hurry.

If I were facing your task I would want a lot more serious machine. The Grizzly 1066r is what I'd look at; 2 drums and 5 HP means you can do serious work with it, and it's really not very expensive. Another option is to have a pro shop sand your stock for you. But I would definitely sand it. A planer won't give you the same consistent finish.

John

[Steven Hosler]

I agree with John. I have the Delta 18x36, and I have no complaints about it, other than it is slightly underpowered (can only remove 0.005-0.010" per pass). With 180 or 220 paper, I have found the quality to be "paint ready". If I could afford the space and costs, I would upgrade to a 2 drum, 5 HP system (like the Grizzly).

[eugene thomas]

I would get what will need for the futer in your shop and make it work for the trim.

[Dan Hahr]

I was going to just sand it with my ROS, since it is very close to smooth after the planer. I really only need to take out some fine ridges and dimples from chips. Im going to see if anyone in my area has a small widebelt or bigger drum sander I could borrow or buy. I have a Woodmaster 718 that I am borrowing, but I don't read much good about their sanding abilities.

Dan

[paul cottingham]

Don't forget good dust collection, that will create a huge amount of fines. It just needed to be said.

[Jim Andrew]

If you are really in the market for a sander, consider what I did. I skipped the drum sanders and went with the small Grizzly widebelt sander, 15" open end. It is a 5hp machine and single phase. Mine is a G9983, and noticed it was on closeout last year. The new Grizzly catalog has a new model, same size. Had mine a few years, don't run it every day, mostly flatten panels with it, works great, and I get a long life out of their 5 pack of belts. Have yet to break a belt in the machine. Only problem having occured was getting the belt on NOT correctly, and sanding off a fitting. Put the edge of your belt on even with the end of the upper roller, and make sure it goes behind the guide on the back side.

[Dan Hahr]

I really would like to get something like that. I really don't like to purchase machines that won't perform at the high level I hope for them to. If I knew I could resell it locally and recoup most of my money, I wouldn't mind forking over that kind of money. However, I'm on a tight budget until I close on this house and I don't think I'd be saving that much. I'm hoping to find someone locally that will let me rent some time on their widebelt sander. It's worth a few hundred to me, but it would be hard to get up into the thousands when I am doing this myself to save some money.

Dan

[Jeff Bartley]

Dan,

A small drum sander is really not the tool for this task. If the finish from the planer is ok I'd just go with a ROS. Fresh knives can leave a surface ready for paint.

If a heavier sanding is necessary I'd take it to a mill shop with a wide belt....well worth the money for the time savings and quality not finish.

Of course if you're looking to justify a tool purchase I can hopefully be an enabler by saying that small drum sanders do a great job for small jobs and smaller stock and the entrance fee for a used one is usually low enough to try one out.

[Dan Hahr]

Thanks, Jeff. I have three ROS sanders and two kids and a wife. I think we are going to set up an assembly line and just run it off the planer. I set up brand new blades in my 15" planer and ran it all through at slow speed but I still created several nicks and left some ridges on the boards. Of course, there are places where the grain direction reversed and there is some minor tear out. I may take a few thousandths off with my trusty Dewalt 13" planer (with fresh knives) for the showier pieces. My standards are too high for this kind of work.

I was going to spray Coverstain as a primer and paint with a high quality trim paint. I'm not sure how much this will cover, so as soon as it stops raining, I'll set up some test boards and find out.

Thanks for the help everyone.

Dan

[Peter Aeschliman]

Dan,

I suspect that if your planer is finely-tuned and you keep the knives sharp, you might have better results with the planer and ROS. The ROS will leave a random scratch pattern, while the drum sander will leave pretty obvious linear scratches.

My advice would be to run some experiments on samples using the ROS first. Time yourself going through the whole process, including painting. Multiply it all out and see if the cost of time is satisfactory. 100 grit down and back on each board might be enough for a paint-grade job. If not, consider next steps.

A drum sander will take at least that long and will likely leave more visible scratches.

[Robin Frierson]

I think Woodmaster makes the best drum Sanders. I had a 26 and 38. Steel drum, runs at a slower speed, 5hp..Also like the idea of the open end wide belt. Best of luck