Drum Sanders

[Paul Zonneveld]

Have come into some money, and am looking for a drum sander. I have looked at the jet 16-32 and too be honest it just does not look as substantial as i would expect for the money. I have also investigated the griz 1079 16" and that is what I am most interested in now. I want to know if any of you out there have one have any first hand expierience with it. I dont think for now that I will be limited by the sanding width so the open end issue is not one for me. I happen to also appreciate the drum being fixed on both ends and the 220V motor. Anyway before I drop the cash I guess I am looking for some reassurance and some honest input. Appreciate it.

[jason lambert]

I just got one I bought the jet / preformax 22-44 pro model, it is really substantial, it is also 110 I have 220 avaiabe and 110 is fine with this machine, I think the newer ones can be wired for 220 also but not sure. Anyhow I wanted to avoid sander with double drums because I wanted to change grit and didn't want twice the work and size int he machine. Also with the jet by having the roller supported on one side you can sand twice as wide simple feed one side flip it over and sand the other that is a realy nice feature. I looked around and the jets and performax seem to be the most popular that is why I chose it and so far so good.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

Hi Paul,
My input on drum sanders. I've seen quite a number of posts on the Performax and don't recall any negatives. I don't remember seeing anything about the Grizzly. The only experience I have is with the one I have....the Delta. Easily the worst tool buy I've made. I wouldn't be surprised if Black and Decker sends a hit man after me one of these days....this isn't the first time I've had something to say about it.

[Mike Seals]

I bought the Performax 10 20 a few months back. I'm happy with it. For what I do it'll take care of most things. I bought it from a local wood workers supply and saved by not buying the input and out put feed tables and the stand. I think the tables were $79 and the stand $99. I didn't like the fact that the tables would not fold up or down for space saving and I could build a much sturdier stand for far less money.

[Paul Zonneveld]

I guess I should also mention that the griz is a few bucks less that the jet 16-32 and a lot less than the performax. It just seems to me that I could get a little more substantial machine at about the same price? Anyone else have expierience with the larger 24 inch griz sanding machine. They are supposed to be about the same only the 16 inch is smaller (obviously). Dual drums really a real pain the ass? Anyone know how the sanding strip is replaced? easier harder? Any input would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Tom Cowie]

Concerning dual drums I have found it to be quite useful on my PM DDS-225. 80g on the front and 100g on the rear. It's not any harder too change the paper on two than it is one.

Tom

[Paul Zonneveld]

Thanks for all the responses! How about I change up the question a bit and ask you all about recomendations on what to buy. If you have some first hand expierience and can give me some advice on what to look for I would appreciate it. I will use the tool for the most part to do my own vaneer and bent laminations. When I consider this dual drums is probably not the way to go. So recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Don Abele]

Paul, I bought the Jet 22/44 closed stand last year. It has variable speed for the feed belt, but also auto-regulates if you try to take too large a bite and it starts bogging down. It detects the increase in amperage the main motor is drawing and slows down the fed motor. Works like a champ!

This is an open-sided sander. I've heard a lot of comments about flex. I've used digital calipers to verify that the left and right sides were sanded to the same thickness. Dead on every time, no flex.

What's important to get consistent results is understanding that a drum sander is just that - a sander. It is NOT for dimensioning stock. I have a Wixey digital gauge on mine and take NO MORE than 1/64 per pass for "rough sanding" and 1/128 for final sanding. Most times when I get to the final stage, I'll run it through twice (flipping end for end) without adjusting the depth. Again, dead on, consistent results.

One other point, I bought the infeed/outfeed tables for mine and have yet to install them. I've run panels 30" long without any problems. The tables really increase the real estate foot print and do not fold for storage.

Be well,

Doc

[Dan Gould]

Paul

The Performax 16-32 was one of the first pieces of equipment I purchased when setting up my little piece of solitude. It has and does work flawlessly giving me the necessay results first time every time.

Dan