Steel City 15-30 wide belt sander Vs. Jet 22-44 oscillating drum sander

[Loren Blount]

I have been looking at wide belt sanders & drum sanders for about a year and haven't been able to find what I want in the used market, so I would like some opinions on these two new models. They both are in the $2000 dollar price range. They both oscillate. The steel city uses a mechanical tracking adjuster to move the belt back & forth, The Jet moves the carriage the drum rides in.

Jet 22-44
Pro's
1. Wider working range 44"
2. Automatic conveyor feed rate (Sand smart)
3. Aftermarket sand paper readily available

Cons
1. smaller motor (1 3/4HP)

Steel City 55225
Pros
1. 3 HP motor
2. seems to be built heavy
3. Wide belt should dissipate heat better

Cons
1. Smaller working range 30"
2. Sand paper belts are a non standard size only available from Steel city

These are the things I thought of. I'm sure you guys can probably point out some pro's & con's that I missed. If anyone has either of these machines I'd appreciate your review & opinions.

Thanks Loren

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Loren,
I'm probably not qualified to answer your question because I don't own either tool. However, my post will at least bump you back to the top of the heap for others to see. :)

As far as the Steel City having a unique size belt, there are sandpaper suppliers that will make a belt to any size. For example, check out Econ Abrasives at https://www.econabrasives.com/index.php.

Another observation that I've noted on this forum is that folks seem to always 'upgrade' to a belt-type sander from a drum-type sander and never the other way around. The reasons cited are more aggressive stock removal and less burning with a belt.

Perhaps the deciding factor is when one has a panel wider than 15" and must rotate to feed it again. How clean is the result? Perhaps folks can chime in.

-Jeff :)

[Rob Russell]

3HP for a 15' wide sanding pass is pretty low HP. The Powermatic version of that (OK - it's a 16/32 open end) is either 5 or 7.5HP. Grizzly sells a 5HP version of the 15".

Sanding takes a lot of power. If you're trying to sand a panel or some wide stock that you glued up, you'll need to take pretty light passes with only 3HP.

Comparing the 30" to 44", how often would you need more than 30"?

[Al Willits]

You in a hurry, horsepower is king.

On the other hand, I have the 22-44 and it does just fine, we looked at the narrower versions and I'm glad we went with the 22", seems I'm doing enough items that are over 15" but under 22" that it paid to buy the extra width.

Mine is set up with a very slight angle on the drum so as you go away from the motor it get to be a wider gap, but its a very slight increase.
This seems to make doing wider than 22" pieces look very nice.

I'm not in any hurry so the 22-44 works just fine for me.

I know you can buy pre cut and rolls of sandpaper for it from several places.

Al

[John Carlo]

I had my hands on the Oscillating Jet DS. It seemed to have a pretty rapid rate of oscillating movement as I spun it by hand. I have a 22-44 and just always assume that the ROS follow up is a must. I also have the Delta 108" oscillating edge sander and what a difference it makes in prepping wood. I'm plannig to purchase a 15" 5 hp osc belt model this year.

[John Bush]

I have the PerforMax Shop-Pro 25, a closed end drum, and it has worked well for me. It could use some more juice--it's 1.5hp--, but it has the SandSmart that makes a huge difference. I had the 16/32 and would get too greedy and blow the load relay and have to wait a bit to reset. The SandSmart is hands off, but you still need to take modest passes. I think the ossc. feature would be a great help in saving both time and paper. The belt style would likely be faster but I would choose the one with the amp sensing feed rate adjuster. Width may be a consideration too. I have needed the 25"s on several occasions and was much better than the double pass needed with the 16-32. JCB.

[Jim Kountz]

I would have said the wide belt if I hadnt just seen a demo at my Rockler store of the new oscillating Jet. Have you seen the finish that thing leaves? I always wanted a nice wide belt but the finish one leaves cant compare to the finish of the oscillating Jet. Wide belts and drum sanders all leave those telltale lines, the Jet did not, at least not the demo I saw. It was 120 grit paper and the wood was cherry. No burning, no lines just a clean smooth finish. Its on my short list for sure.

[Travis Porter]

I would get the wide belt. I had a Performax 22-44 for many years and recently upgraded to a wide belt and to me there is no comparison. I agree the Steel City seems low on horsepower comparatively (my 37" sander has a 10HP motor), but you can always get a bigger motor.

[Loren Blount]

Thanks for the advise and info on custom wide belt sizes. I am a little confused about the comments that 3 HP on the steel city is to small for a 15'' sander. If that is the case than how can the Jet with a 1 3/4 HP motor and a 22" wide drum work? Does the drum sander not take as much HP or am I missing something?

Thanks for all the help
Loren

[Travis Porter]

A drum just turns the drum. A belt has to turn three rollers that are under tension and a platen. The 3 hp will probably work, it just will require very light passes compared to say a machine with 5 or 7.5 HP.

[Loren Blount]

O.K. I can see how that could take some HP. I hope I get to go look at the Jet tomorrow, a shop near me is having an open house and has the Jet on special for $1750. Has anyone seen the Jet for less than that?

Loren