What do you use your drum sanders for?/ Which model?

[Loren Blount]

I am considering buying an open ended drum sander and would like to know what fellow creekers use them for, or do they gather dust in the corner? If some one has a particular favorite model I'd like to know what it is and why. I was leaning toward the Delta 18X36 inch at $999, but the tool salesman at the machinery store says they have had people complaining that the cog belt that raises & lowers the table through 4 corner posts is stretching/jumping the teeth & causing the tables to get out of parallel to the drum. He leaned in the direction of the Jet 22X44 inch model at $1200. Do think he is trying to up-sale me, or is this really a better unit.

Thanks Loren

[Matt Meiser]

I had the Delta you are referring to. The problem people complain about is a misalignment issue. I spent a week of weeknights getting it aligned just so. In the end, it turned out that one of the bearings for one of the jackposts was overly tight. Once that was fixed it worked fine other than that it was tough to get it adjusted perfectly so that you could run a panel wider than 18" and not get a line in the middle. You also need to learn to take light cuts--its not a planer. In the end I decided it wasn't a tool I NEEDED and sold it off along with a bunch of other tools. Regardless of which drum sander you choose, you are going to need a good dust collection system. Drum sanders make a lot of ultrafine dust that will clog filters in no time. If I ever decided to get one again (which I don't forsee) I would go for a closed end unit like the General.

[Craig D Peltier]

I have the performax 16-32. I use it mostly for edge sanding of stiles and rails. I havent had much luck with wide pieces. Lots of folks here use it all the time and would be lost without it. I use it once on each project usually.
Id like a bigger enclosed one that has more power.

[Joe Chritz]

I have the Grizzly 1066 and I like it a lot.

Once I upgraded to better paper and sprayed the coarse drum with 3m77 it works well.

I still have trouble with the paper on the felt covered wheel but this time I think it is fixed. Strapping tape on the paper (avoiding the clip) and duct tape around the clip and strapping tape.

I use it a lot more than I thought I would and for cabinet doors it is indispensable.

I is about $300 more than the 22/44 but dual drum and 5 HP. I would like the variable speed conveyor but so far it hasn't been an issue.

Joe

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I have the Delta. One of my hobbies is going around finding posts like this so I can say what I think of it. It worked well to start with but now it's a continuous battle. I think the alignment is fixed.....for a while anyway. the problem I'm having now is getting burn marks at the edge of the sanding roll if I let the piece I'm sanding stick past it. It works pretty well for narrow stuff, but the main thing I got it for was sanding panels up to about three feet wide and it's a challenge, to say the least.

If it comes to the point of shoving it in the lake I will get another one (drum sander - but not a Delta). For what I do a drum sander sure is nice to have - it's impossible to sand panels flat with a belt sander, which is my alternative.

Good dust collection is imperative for a drum sander. They don't work without it. Also they will try your patience as you have to take tiny 'bites' each time. It's not like with a planer where you can take off a sixteenth...sanding off takes a lot more work than cutting off as you're acting on the entire amount of material. I wish I could get a wide belt but for the cost of the wide belt plus the cost of the belts....sigh.

[Ryan Bess]

You might try looking on the used market as well. I know it's a bit of a gloat, but I bought a five year old SUPERMAX 37 inch double drum for $1300 last winter. I would concur that a drum sander can be an invaluable tool when set up properly. I will also agree that DC is an absolute must! Not only will it spew fine dust particles everywhere without, but it will also plug the paper quickly, cause burns and generally poor results.
I use mine for a bit of thicknessing, but mostly to sand freshly cut resaws from the bandsaw.
Ryan

[Jim Becker]

I own the Performax (now Jet) 22-44 Plus. It's a great machine. That said, I rarely use it and am considering selling it to free up the space it takes in my shop. I anticipated more use when I bought it, but that has not been the case.

[Rob Diz]

I have been looking for a used drum sander for a looooong time. The delta has known problems, which may or may not have been fixed in the model they are trying to sell you. With such an expensive machine, I would have seirous concerns about buying it with a consistent series of complaints. I like to work with my tools, not on them.

It's interesting to hear folks say that they are ready to sell their drum sanders. Most of the posts I have read on other forums are from people who say they don't know how they lived without one in the past.

I have a buddy who has the 22/44. I use it more than he does. It's a nice machine, but you still need to hit your work with the ROS to get the lines out. I think I have used his machine on average of 3-4 times a year. It may not be that much, but when you need it, you need it. If you use a semi or high gloss finish on any of your flat work, the drum sander will make sure your glue up is actually flat. Perhaps I could work more on my gluing skills. In any case, I won't be perfect. When I ahve been close, I have "gotten there" with a number 80 scraper plane. Otherwise, it's off to see my friend.

Oh, and you know the tool rule - always go bigger and better, you know you won't regret it.

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

Having owned 3 different drum sanders, open end and closed, I would not have one again since I purchased and used my wide belt griz.

No more wrapping paper around the drum, much lower cost of operation in regards to sandpaper costs. The belts are so easy to change it was not a hassle to use the correct grit at the correct time, and they were very reusable. I even clean the belts with my pressure washer.

Save your money up and buy a wide belt, you will not be sorry.

[Joe Jensen]

If you use a semi or high gloss finish on any of your flat work, the drum sander will make sure your glue up is actually flat. Perhaps I could work more on my gluing skills. In any case, I won't be perfect. When I ahve been close, I have "gotten there" with a number 80 scraper plane. Otherwise, it's off to see my friend.

Rob, can you say how you prep panels for glue up? Do you buy surfaced lumber or plane your own? Do you plane your own? Cut each piece oversize from erough stock and then prep it and I get very flat glueups.

I've been scouring Craig's list to find a sander to sand resawn veneers. Its a slippery slope. I bought a Laguna LT16HD to upgrade my Powermatic old iron 14" so I could saw veneers. Now that I've tried it, it seems that I really need a drum sander to sand the veneer once I've sawn it. I have the money and a good cyclone setup, but shop space is really tight. I'd be sanding up to 12" wide veneer so I would want very even thickness...joe

[Mike Cutler]

It's interesting to hear folks say that they are ready to sell their drum sanders. Most of the posts I have read on other forums are from people who say they don't know how they lived without one in the past.

It's a machine that I put into the "grunt work" category. The finish out of a drum sander still needs to be hit with an ROS or a cabinet scraper, but they can really save some time. Especially on bigger projects with lots of panels.
There is also a significant investment involved, even at the "lower end" they aren't cheap.

I'm fortunate in that I have room to store mine out of the way when not in use. I wouldn't want to not have one available. But I understand how the type of work a person does would make owning one not a necessity. They do take up some floor space too.

Loren

A drum sander will not sit in the corner and gather dust. Once you own one, you will use it. Not on a daily basis, and maybe not even on every project, but it will get used.
I use it for the initial sanding of wider panels and boards, and then finish up by hand, usually with a plane or scraper.
I will clarify that I use a lot of tropical hardwoods that are very dense and oily, so there are always lines left in them that can be seen, which prompts finishing by hand. I've been told that domestic hardwoods do not always require hand finishing after passing through a drum sander.
I have a Steel City 26" dual drum sander, and a Performax 16-32. I've never had problems using either one of them. They both work fine.

[jason lambert]

I have a performak 22-44 pro. I don't know how I lived with out it. Works great powerful motor no burning the only issue I have is it can be a pain to fine tune it and aling the drum and the dust cover could be better on the the smaller one has a nicer dust cover for changing the paper but that is not really a issue. However most other brands also has this issue. So far I am happy with this sander.

[Edward Garrett]

Loren - In February I bought a 25" Accura dual drum sander, and I have been very happy with it so far. I am a hobbiest, so I am not in the shop every day, but I have used the sander to flatten door panels and drawer fronts (the sander gets these dead flat), and to flatten out glue-ups.

My only "wish" is that it were wider....wouldn't you know that one of the first glue-ups I wanted to pass through it was 26" (1.25" too wide!)...so, get the widest capacity your budget will allow.

On a side note, after reviewing/researching the Accura, Woodmaster and Steel City I suspect that they are all essentially the same machine just with different decals and paint...even the user manual is "generic" for my machine. The primary difference with the Steel City is it is 26" wide. I decided on the Accura primarily based on price and the "down to earth" approach and helpfulness of the saleman/owner at Hamilton Tool (Fred).

Good Luck!

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Loren,

I have a Woodmaster 712, it isn't an open end sander. But I use it all the time to surface sand wood prior to building a project. I have a 120 grit drum and 220 grit drum. The benefit is the it saves a lot of hand sanding and you don't get highs and lows in the boards as you can with hand sanding. So to answer your question I use it all the time. Hope this helps.

Joe

[Roger Bull]

I also have Performax (now Jet) 22-44 Plus. I chose the Plus over the Pro model on the advice of Jet. The table height remains the same on the Plus (drum height changes) but on the Pro the table height changes and the drum remains fixed. This makes using other infeed/outfeed tables more difficult.

I use my drum sander a lot and if given the choice I would buy another in a heartbeat. Unless it is supposed to be round, it goes through the sander. My favorite woods are tearout champions so I get them close in the planer and then finish dimensioning with the drum sander.

I also resaw a lot and it works great to clean up the cut sides.

-Roger