Grizzly G0458 Drum Sander

[Justin Bukoski]

Does anyone own the Grizzly G0458 16 1/2" drum sander? If so can you comment on how satisfied you are with it?

[Ed Morgano]

Justin,
Better late than never I guess. I just sent the following letter to Grizzly with regards to the G0458 drum sander. I'll keep this forum posted if I get a reply.

12/10/2010, 6:20PM

Hi,
There is good and bad to report. First, the good. We have bought a 21" Band saw, (2) 17" Band saws, a 6" jointer and the G0458 drum sander. I'm very please with most of the machines. If I could fault one thing in general, it would be that you could improve your efforts on dust collection on all your machines ( at least the ones we have bought.) Other than that, we are please with the performance of the machines with the exception of the G0458 drum sander. (1) The built in dust collection was a complete joke. While sanding our first 2x4 it only took less than a minute to fill the shop with fine dust. The dust port is way too small and the built in pick up is too small and therefor very noisy when hooked up to my dust collector. (2) The conveyor belt is almost impossible to keep tracked. Crowned rolls would fix this problem. (3) When I turn the machine off, it makes a chattering noise as it slows down and comes to a stop. This was from about the 2nd week that I had it and I can't pinpoint the cause. (4) I have had this machine for about 2 years. On occasion I've tried to sand some boards wider than 18". Each time I've had trouble. Yesterday I was trying to sand the top from a coffee table that I'm building. Without going into all the problems I had, let it suffice to say that after almost ruining the top, I discovered that there was nothing holding the work piece down to the conveyor belt. After about 6 hours of screwing around, I sort of have it working. But, it's not right and there is nothing that I can do, short of a major project, that will put two hold-down rolls before and after the drum. If there are no rolls to hold the piece securely down, it will start raising up (due to the heat of sanding) and leave marks in the workpiece.... or overload the machine as it starts taking a heavier and heavier cut till the machine stops. As I said to begin with, for the most part, I'm happy with the performance of the machines with the exception of this one. Hopefully, my letter will get you to do a better job with it.

Best regards,

Ed Morgano
Previous owner of Clear Vue Cyclones.
131 Lucky 7 Ln
Pickens, SC 29671
864-878-3827

P.S. If you come up with a retrofit that fixes these problems with the drum sander please let me know.

[Justin Bukoski]

Ed,

I had forgotten I posted that! I actually ordered the G0458 a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately I had a problem with it right away. After changing the paper the spring on the right side of the drum that keeps the paper tight flew out of its housing and bent.

Grizzly cs has been really helpful and already sent me a new spring but it looks like a major PITA to change it out. We'll see.

What I did sand so far it worked great but I bought it knowing that I would never really sand anything big on it. I bought it to make end grain cutting boards and veneers and for small parts that can't go in the planer.

I hope they figure out a way to make you happy with yours Ed. I figure I got what I paid for: a mediocre tool at a low price compared to a woodmaster or a wide-belt. I couldn't afford to own a DS right now if this one wasn't on the market so as long as I can get it to work for my small stuff I'll be happy.

[Cary Falk]

Justin,
I bought the G04658 used a couple of years ago and use it on almost every project. I have had none of the problems that Ed has had. I never used the included bag for dust collection. I have always used a DC. It tracks perfect. I have used it many times for projects larger than 18". The motor does get a little warmer than I would like after I use it awhile. I think I need it on a dedicated circuit.

[Justin Bukoski]

You know Cary, with the exception of the spring issue I'm pretty happy with the build quality of the tool so maybe I'm setting my expectations low.

What I just realized is I posted the original 3 YEARS ago to the day!

I think Ed has the old 16 1/2" which is different (I think?) than the 18" one you and I have. Maybe they fixed some things...

[Ed Morgano]

You know Cary, with the exception of the spring issue I'm pretty happy with the build quality of the tool so maybe I'm setting my expectations low.

What I just realized is I posted the original 3 YEARS ago to the day!

I think Ed has the old 16 1/2" which is different (I think?) than the 18" one you and I have. Maybe they fixed some things...

Justin,
Mine is an 18-36 sander. The main problem I had was the hold-down bar was in a bind on one side (the arm was bent and binding in the bushing) so it wasn't going down to hold the board up against the conveyor. After I fixed the bind, the springs were so weak that they wouldn't hold the board down anyway. I formed the springs so they would push harder but they still weren't strong enough to keep the work piece flat on the conveyor. I was sanding a coffee table top that was 28" wide x 45" long. It's heavy enough to be hard to handle and the machine wasn't near heavy enough to keep it flat. This machine is advertized to handle 36" wide stock x 4 1/2" thick! I know it's a relatively cheap machine as sanders go, but 800.00 isn't cheap in my book.

[Justin Bukoski]

Ed, personally I think it COULD sand something 36" wide but only if it was 2' or shorter. You would need so much infeed/outfeed support for anything heavy it wouldn't be worth it. I think I'd just go at that top with a nice handplane or my rotex sander.

As far as the 36" wide, 4 1/2" thick: I stopped believing in advertising at my first dentist appointment and he said "you'll feel a little pinch". Been a cynic ever since!

I agree, $800 isn't cheap but its way less than the $3000 (and the electrical for 10HP) it would cost to get a machine that was really designed for what you are trying. I hadn't run enough stuff through mine before it threw a shoe to know what I've got, but I personally don't expect it to sand a table top.

Again, I really hope they help you out. I followed you and your company for a while and know you speak from experience about making a good product and standing by it.

[David Helm]

I have this sander and use it primarily for 8/4 slabs (generally big leaf maple but also some walnut). The longest slab I have sanded so far is just over 6 feet. I have had zero problems. Like the other poster, I never used the dust bag. It is hooked up to my cyclone.

[Ed Morgano]

I have this sander and use it primarily for 8/4 slabs (generally big leaf maple but also some walnut). The longest slab I have sanded so far is just over 6 feet. I have had zero problems. Like the other poster, I never used the dust bag. It is hooked up to my cyclone.

David,
Thanks for the post. It's good to hear that you are getting such good results. I think the weight of the pieces you are doing is definately a help with my feed issue. Your slabs are putting enought weight on the belt to get traction whereas my piece only weighs about 30 lbs and needs something to "push" it down. The heat was also causing my piece to lift so the hold down plate not working was a problem. The springs are definately an issue on my machine.

[Cary Falk]

You know Cary, with the exception of the spring issue I'm pretty happy with the build quality of the tool so maybe I'm setting my expectations low.

What I just realized is I posted the original 3 YEARS ago to the day!

I think Ed has the old 16 1/2" which is different (I think?) than the 18" one you and I have. Maybe they fixed some things...

I saw the 12/10 and thought you asked the question today. I didn't look at the year