Woodmaster 718 drum sander - Any DC mods?

[Rob Diz]

I recently picked up a used Woodmaster 718 with a drum sanding head along with the planer head.

I ran a 6 inch board through it last night for the first time, when it was hooked up to my 50-760. My DC has a 1200 CFM rating, and the machine says it only needs 500 cfm. But I saw plenty of dust on the board - which was then transferred to the rear roller. Not ideal.

Looking at the back of the machine, it seems that there is a 2 plus inch gap between the hood and the mechanism that could reduce the air flow over the drum sanding head. I was wondering if anyone has made any mods that closed that gap and if those mods increased DC draw when using the drum sander.

My DC set-up is pretty solid - liternally 6 inch main to 5 inch branch to 4 feet of 4 inch flex. This same set up has worked very well to clear chips and visible dust from my 15 inch planer when it took a decent sized bite out of 14 inch boards. But that Griz has a chip breaker and a hold down bar that really help to throw the chips up the chute.

Pics would be appreciated.

[Rob Diz]

Beuller?

anyone?

[Steve Clardy]

The 718 that I had 4 years ago, I took velcro and some scrap leather and made some curtains for the openings, front and rear. Helped a bunch.

[Chris Rosenberger]

Dust collectoin is a problem on the Woodmaster planers. As Steve stated, you need to extend the hood down around the sanding head. It works the best if the hood is behind & low on the sanding head.

[Victor Stearns]

I also have a 718. I first attempted to just add a 5" fitting on top of the machine. Picked up alot, but not all. Also the wood being planed made a difference.
Still determined to limit the chips and dust, I constructed a hood that has two 4" connections, that feed into a 6" overhead blast gate. When I fabricated the hood, I extended the metal rearward to cover the gap you describe. While I have not used the sanding head since, the planing works great. Little gets by the hood now.
Victor

[Eric Gustafson]

... I constructed a hood that has two 4" connections, that feed into a 6" overhead blast gate. When I fabricated the hood, I extended the metal rearward to cover the gap you describe.

Can you get pics of that, VIctor?

[David Freed]

Here is what I did to dramatically help with dust collection. It is used as a gang rip, with most of the dust being made on the one side. If I were using the full width on a regular basis, I would add a third port on the other side.

http://s279.photobucket.com/albums/kk129/freedhardwoods/Woodshop/Woodmaster_Gang_Rip_Saw_008_opt-Cop.jpg