Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 38

Thread: Need Recommendations for a Drum Sander

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Villa Park. CA
    Posts
    13,051

    Need Recommendations for a Drum Sander

    I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a drum sander. But I don't know which are the best ones. What would you recommend? I mostly do furniture so I want one that's wide enough to the panels that you'd build for things like a chest of drawers (the sides and top before you put them together).

    Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be appreciated. I don't know much about drum sanders so any advice is helpful.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Central WI
    Posts
    5,666
    I've used both the Supermax ( Performax ) 25x2 and 37x2 for years. Double drum is nice as a drum can't take much off so it saves some effort. Flat conveyor belt and AL drum makes it a good calibrating sander vs one with padding on the drum. Having said that, if you are in the 3-4K budget range, a 24" widebelt is a step up. The Perfomax machines run in the 1-3K range used for the double drum so the WB isn't much more. Dave

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Orange County, CA
    Posts
    129
    I had a Delta 18/36 for many years, then moved up to a Grizzly 18" wide belt. If you can afford it, there is no comparison between a drum sander and a wide belt; get the wide belt. If your budget dictates the drum sander, I was never happy with the Delta. It had tracking issues that I never could resolve satisfactorily.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Easthampton, MA
    Posts
    986
    http://woodworker.com/6-x-186-stroke...su-805-874.asp
    A stroke sander is far superior to a drum sander. I've used every kind of sander you can imagine over the last 40 or so years in the industry. And one shop we had three stroke sanders and one wide belt. The problem with drum Sanders is drum leaves a ripple effect on the board and more Hand sanding is required before it's suitable for finishing. The stroke sander leaves a surface ready for finishing. A world famous marquetry expert who lives nearby uses a stroke sander to sand his marquetry panels.

    A wide belt is a step up from drum sander but only if it has a platen. The stroke sander is the ideal sander for the custom furniture maker. Very simple machine with low power requirements and because most people don't know much about they can often be gotten for low prices. I picked up used Mattison stroke sander for $500 and installed it in a custom metal shop. The owner thought there was no machine that could duplicate his tedious hand rubbed finish. Was he ever mistaken
    Last edited by Rick Lizek; 02-04-2015 at 3:15 AM.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    Upland CA
    Posts
    5,548
    Give me a shout if you would like to try out my Woodmaster
    Rick Potter

    DIY journeyman,
    FWW wannabe.
    AKA Village Idiot.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    Winterville, NC (eastern NC)
    Posts
    2,360
    Went from a Performax 16-32 to the Woodtek 25" double drum. Fine machine, giving you the option of running progressive grits on the 1st then 2nd drum. Most of the time mine has a 100 grit on the first and 120 on the 2nd drum. You have to remember these are finishing machines, not planers. Mine is used after planing to remove the planer marks, which are only very slight ripples.
    One word of advice; do not run a piece of pine through the machine after you get it home as a first test. Gummed up the sandpaper really quick and was a bear to clean up. Drum sanders do not like resinous woods. Great machines for the budget; if lottery winnings are in your future, go for the wide belt option.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Hopewell Junction, NY
    Posts
    25
    I've picked up General Dual Drum Sander for 1.2k used from a hobbiest.

    http://www.amazon.com/General-Intern...al+drum+sander

    Sander.jpg

    -Rob
    Last edited by Robb White; 02-04-2015 at 11:11 AM. Reason: added pic

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Villa Park. CA
    Posts
    13,051
    Okay, a couple of you have mentioned wide belt sanders. I'd appreciate more information about those, especially in the 20" to 24" range.

    I don't know if I can afford one but I'd like to know the options.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  9. #9
    After a couple drum sanders that were never satisfactory, I moved to the open end Powermatic wide belt. Had the elevation wheel not been so low I would have kept it. It just killed my aching back. Moving to the shop fox 20" gave me motorized elevation and digital sizing. Runs on a 30 amps fuse with enough left to run my 2hp Dust Gorilla. Drop by if you like.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Issaquah, Washington
    Posts
    1,320
    I agree with everyone about the advantages of wide belt over drum but I couldn't rationalize the added investment considering the kind of use I projected. I did a bunch of research and decided that the SuperMax 19/38 was the best choice, Afdter almoast two years of CL searching I found a 25/50 SuperMax for a really good price. I've been really happy with it. Stroke sanders are really nice for a lot of applications too.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Springfield, IL
    Posts
    411
    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.

  12. #12
    I have had a Performax 16-32 for about 9 years. I'm relatively happy with it for most applications, but there are some limiting factors with it. A few reasons why I'll be upgrading in the future are:
    I think the open-ended design has too much give and it does flex even when taking light passes. I also find that taking advantage of the 32" capacity is a VERY fussy operation that is difficult to get flawless results. I mostly use mine to sand laminates for bent laminations which it does well with, however it is sloooowwwww. You have to take very light passes, I've only tripped out the built in overload a few times, but I'm pretty cautious when I run it.

    Bottom line, the Performax 16-32 opened ALOT of doors for me and I would absolutely purchase again. At the time, this machine was in my budget and fit the bill very well. I've just out grown it. When I upgrade I'll look at a Supermax 37-2 or a wide belt in similar width; both in the used market.
    "there is no such thing as a mistake in woodworking, only opportunities to re-assess the design"

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    In the foothills of the Sandia Mountains
    Posts
    16,621
    I went from a Delta 18/36 to a Woodmaster 2675. There's a night & day difference between the two.
    I picked up the WM for $1500 off of CL. It was in near new condition with several rolls of paper included.
    The only downside to the WM is the significant amount of floor space it requires.
    Please help support the Creek.


    "It's paradoxical that the idea of living a long life appeals to everyone, but the idea of getting old doesn't appeal to anyone."
    Andy Rooney



  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    I too have heard that wide belts are the superior tool. I did not have room for one that would accommodate the width I was after. I went with the Supermax 19-38 and have been very happy. No tracking issues. No need to readjust once initially setup (of which there was very little to do). Easy paper changes and very good dust collection. The only downside for this machine is the same as all its cousins; the footprint is pretty big. Even still I would never give it up now ;-) I built a base for it with plenty of storage.

    19-38-stand(24).jpg . 19-38-stand(25).jpg . 19-38-stand(13).jpg

    I will add that a solid drum and hard abrasive belt are a must for me. I am sanding to a specific point and the mush of a rubber belt or hook-n-loop drum/paper won't work well for me. YMMV but, something to consider.
    Last edited by glenn bradley; 02-04-2015 at 5:24 PM.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    SF Bay Area, CA
    Posts
    15,332
    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.
    Last edited by Chris Padilla; 02-04-2015 at 7:38 PM.
    Wood: a fickle medium....

    Did you know SMC is user supported? Please help.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •