Drum Sander vs. Festool RS 2

[Kent Adams]

I have a small shop, 12x24 and I literally have no more room for stand alone machines, unless I remove one. I can't remove enough machines for a planer/jointer combo without a huge sacrifice in the other machines I like to use as well. I've been looking at a drum sander or an RS 2 to help me flatten boards at glue lines for things such as tabletops. I'd love to have a drum sander, but that means I'm going to have to either remove my combo belt sander or my lathe, which means I'll likely not use them because I don't have another good space for them. My question is this, is it a worthwhile investment to purchase something like an RS 2 to accomplish the same thing as a drum sander? I wouldn't have to sacrifice any machine for an RS 2, but I'm not sure if the RS 2 actually will accomplish the same task (albeit more labor intensive) as a drum sander. The RS 2, before the sandpaper, is a 1/3 of the price of the drum sander I'm looking at, which is below. If I were to purchase Festool sander paper in the grits I want (yes, I know I don't have to purchase their sandpaper, then we are at 1/2 the cost of a drum sander). If you own an RS 2 or similar finish sander, what are your thoughts for my use case scenario? I've included a picture of my shop so you can see my dilemma.



http://www.woodcraft.com/product/857...um-sander.aspx

https://www.festoolusa.com/power-too...-sander-567696

[David Helm]

Doubt you'll get anywhere near the results with the festool. The drum sander will quickly do what you want. Get rid of the sheet rock standing against the wall and you might have the room.

[Kent Adams]

Doubt you'll get anywhere near the results with the festool. The drum sander will quickly do what you want. Get rid of the sheet rock standing against the wall and you might have the room.

LOL, that's not sheetrock, it's BB plywood. Poor picture quality. That's the only place I have to put my sheet goods.

[Andrew Kertesz]

If you don't have an immediate need for the drum sander search for a used one. You will need room for infeed/outfeed you could store it under your drill press until you need to use it. Doesn't necessarily have to be stationary...

[Kent Adams]

Hi Andrew. I've been searching for a used one for over a year now in my local craigslist and haven't come upon anything yet that will fit in a space without me removing something.

[Richard Shaefer]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're probably not making best use of that space. Nice to have a shop with so much light, tho

[Kent Adams]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you're probably not making best use of that space. Nice to have a shop with so much light, tho

I'd love some help if you have some ideas on how better to utilize the space. I'll post better and more clear pictures as well if that will help you in your advice.

[glenn bradley]

No short answer here . . . I'm afraid that this is an apples to oranges comparison. Other than the fact that they both use abrasives, a drum sander and a ROS are designed for different jobs. You definitely have a space challenge there but, let's look at the tools first. A drum sander like the Supermax (hard drum surface, platen and conveyor belt) can do fairly accurate thicknessing operations, surface preparation and of course, panel sanding. A ROS uses a small flexible pad to remove previous sanding or milling marks and yield a smooth random scratch pattern. If the ROS is used to remove too much material the result is anything but flat.

Having that said, consider your requirements. You want to do things like flatten boards at the glue lines. You also mention that you do not have a jointer / planer team. I do not see a bench that is conclusive to hand tool use so I assume you are using boards that have not been surfaced and jointed true. If this is true much of your panel glue up irregularities start there. My point is (and I do have one ) is that you may be able to meet your requirement another way.

Although I do have a Supermax 19-38 I do not use it much for panel work. My focus with this machine is thicknessing of difficult stock or surface prep en masse prior to using hand tools. My primary tools for panel stock prep are the jointer and planer. Once the nice straight and true boards are glued into a panel, a couple of swipes with a card scraper take care of any "oops" spots I might have made for myself.

As long as the coffee is kicking in and I am starting to blather I'll toss out some more stuff that you are free to ignore .

We all work differently but, I have never been able to justify the space requirements of a RAS or a SCMS versus what they do for me. I don't do a lot of trim work so my non-sliding CMS sets out in the shed waiting for the next bathroom remodel or whatever. I just had to have one but in fact, use it only every couple of years. When it comes to breaking stock down, my jigsaw does most of that work and takes up almost no room at all. When the CMS left the shop I found I had room for an edge sander and a drum sander. For furniture making I use the bandsaw, tablesaw or router for the tasks one might use the RAS or SCMS for.

Although it is always easier to give advice than to follow it, I have benefited from many ideas tossed out by Creekers when it comes to shop organization and layout. You have a wonderful, though challenging space for your shop. Sometimes the way to make more room is to really get aggressive on layout; it is a lot of work to re-org a shop space but, I have done it twice in the last 12 years and found room I didn't know I had. Our shops are like containers of water; the stuff in them will spread out along the path of least resistance. Give us a few more pics and I'll bet someone will offer up at least one idea you haven't thought of.

[Kent Adams]

Thanks Glen for a lot of thoughts there. Eventually, I hope I can get rid of that table of drawers, but not yet. I will have a bench, which is being delivered today, an adjust-a-bench (I have a temperamental back). I'll post some pictures of my workshop to get some space saving ideas.

[Scott Allen27]

I don't know how open to change you are , but personally I would probably remove the table saw (and outfeed table) and put in a small combo machine - namely the Minimax lab300 or c26 .
For the same space you would then have a much safer sliding table saw, jointer , planer, shaper , and mortiser.
I have a cu300 in my shop which in total equals one side of a 2 car garage and love it.

[Kent Adams]

I don't know how open to change you are , but personally I would probably remove the table saw (and outfeed table) and put in a small combo machine - namely the Minimax lab300 or c26 .
For the same space you would then have a much safer sliding table saw, jointer , planer, shaper , and mortiser.
I have a cu300 in my shop which in total equals one side of a 2 car garage and love it.

I'm very open to that, want to buy a slightly used 5hp PM2000 for $3500?

[glenn bradley]

Thanks Glen for a lot of thoughts there. Eventually, I hope I can get rid of that table of drawers, but not yet. I will have a bench, which is being delivered today, an adjust-a-bench (I have a temperamental back). I'll post some pictures of my workshop to get some space saving ideas.

I am jealous of your newly arriving bench. The Noden can present some challenges as far as storage but, I have seen people build small drawer units into the base. This can hold the tools you use frequently at the bench and eliminate the need to move across the room to get them. I built a large drawer unit under my Supermax that has a smaller footprint in the center itself. This takes care of most of my abrasives and everything I use for that tool and others. If you have any machines on bases that do not provide drawers, I would build new bases for them with drawers. This will help you lead you towards being able to eliminate the large drawer unit that you're dissatisfied with.

[Scott Allen27]

I know there was a guy last year in Charlotte that was selling his Lab300 for not a whole lot more than that. I'm not sure if he still has it or not.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

No way I could utilize my 18x20 shop better without my CU300 combo.

[Richard Shaefer]

I'd love some help if you have some ideas on how better to utilize the space. I'll post better and more clear pictures as well if that will help you in your advice.

Please do.
my shop is 16x20 and I have way more functionality and comfortable space around large tools than you do in a space around the same size. It flagged to me that you can't fit a J/P combo machine and my new one shows up today, and I'm getting one to save space over my current arrangement.

post up the tools you have, the tools you want, the plan area of your shop, location of doors, wize and location of Windows, height to underside of the windows, and the type of material you handle and woodwork you do.