Sears Drum Sander 18/36 ???

[Jerry Heiser]

Just received a notice that the Sears Drum sander 18/36 is on sale through 9/6 at an $80 savings. Does anyone know anything about this sander - good or bad? Grizzly also has an 18/36" sander (G0458) which seems similar, but I haven't seen any reviews on it either. Anybody??
Jerry

[JayStPeter]

FWIW, they both look a lot like the Palmgren also. But, I really haven't seen a review of any of the variants.

Jay

[Matt Meiser]

Jerry, I don't know anything about that sander except what I saw looking at it on Sears's site just now. I have the Delta 18/36 and this looks to be a similar, but not the same design. The price seems good, but I would think about a couple issues. First, since it doesn't have the market share of the Performax or Delta, are you going to be able to get good help if you have alignment or tracking problems? I had alignment problems on my Delta and the local dealer was able to walk me through the adjustment in more detail than the manual. Second, paper from Sears is $30/3 rolls or $10/roll. At a local store, I payed $25/4 rolls or $6.25/roll. That will add up over time.

Now if the Sears paper is a standard width (couldn't find that information on the web), that issue is moot since you can buy bulk rolls and cut them to size yourself. I plan to buy Klingspor bulk rolls for mine through a local cabinetmaker at a really good price.

Personally, I'd rather spend the extra for Performax or Delta, or wait for a good price on a used Performax or Delta.

Edit: just looked up the Performax 16/32 on Amazon.com. They have it for $800.99 + $99 shipping. The non X-5 Delta (which is what I have) is $799 with free shipping. The Sears is $720 on sale. For me, the sales tax would bring the Sears to $763 while the Delta wouldn't have sales tax (until I paid my income taxes next year of course .)

Performax @ Amazon
Delta @ Amazon

[Jerry Heiser]

Thanks ,Matt. You have some good points to consider. In my mind I sort of had my choices down to the 22/44 Performax, Delta or the Grizzly. Then the Sears got tossed into the mix. I have several Grizzly tools and am pleased with their quality & performance, plus it's more in my price range. But the Performax seems to always get good reviews. I'm not that familiar with the Delta. Many things for me to ponder. Thanks again for the input.
Jerry

[Brad Hume]

Jerry,
As you may have seen in some other threads, all Sears tools over $399 are currently 20% off which brings the sander to $575. However, it is not eligible for in-store pickup, at least in my area, and the "over-size shipping" is $130 for me.

I did take a bit of a flyer and ordered one last night, even without finding a single review of it, or the Grizzly/Palmgren models, which sure appear identical. It helped that Sears' website accidently gave me 30% off, so it was $666 (bad omen?) delivered w/ tax.

I will let you know how it works in 9-12 days (plus the time it takes to shoehorn it into my overcrowded shop), but of course the sale will be over by then.

--Brad

[Lee DeRaud]

Now if the Sears paper is a standard width (couldn't find that information on the web), that issue is moot since you can buy bulk rolls and cut them to size yourself.

It said something about 4" somewhere in the website description, but it was ambiguous whether that was the width of the paper or the diameter of the drum.

[John Kain]

As an experienced Craftsman purchaser.............

I would pass on a Craftsman product if Griz, etc can come close to the price. I know, don't hound Craftsman......but I used to be a huge Craftsman fan, but have been totally put off my their products and service both, in the past 1-2 years. Router, Table saw both died and no help.......

I know some like Craftsman, but you won't get me to buy Craftsman again unless it's handtools (like wrenches, etc.)

Just my opinion.