Need a drum sander...

[Rick Gauthier]

I have a small construction company building high end homes on the South Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Some clients are shipping a container here the end of March and have offered me space, I really need a drum sander and a DC system. The container will ship from San Diego. I know very little about current models (been down here 8 years!) or prices. I have 4 guys working in the "ebanisteria" cabinet/furniture shop. We aren't really a production facility, everything is pretty much 'one off' either designed by me or the client. Any suggestions more than welcome. I am new to the board. Prices, shipping, advice on replacement parts to stock (I'm in the rain forest). I have been thinking about the JET 16-32, but am open to suggestions. HELP! You can email me or reply on the board

[george wilson]

Get the Delta 16/32. There has been a good discussion in this forum on this page,still going on. I am very happy with my delta.See "how many hobbiests have a drum sander".

[Bill Wyko]

There's a couple on craigslist in Tucson AZ right now. A 22/44 performax and a 16/32 Performax as well.

[Rick Moyer]

Latest Wood magazine just did a review. The 16-32 Jet and the Delta (more $) got the best grades.

[Chris Padilla]

Get the Delta 16/32. There has been a good discussion in this forum on this page,still going on. I am very happy with my delta.See "how many hobbiests have a drum sander".

The Delta is an 18-36...Jet/Performax are 16-32.

What size do you need, Rick?

[george wilson]

Well,now I don't even remember what I have in my own shop. Might as well bag it.

[Bryan Hosford]

go with a General 15-250 great sander

[Mike Cutler]

Rick

A few questions

1. What is the most commonly available voltage and frequency in Costa Rica?
2. Do you have frequency and or a phase converter to meet the power requirements of a US spec'd machine?

My personal recommendation is a larger dual drum sander. As big as you can fit in the shipping container. If I had one chance at it, I'd go with a 36"+ dual drum sander, or a wide belt sander.
I owned a 16-32 for a few years and they are great machines, but you sound as if you are a quasi production outfit. I think the 16-32 and the 18-36 would be too light duty of a machine to meet all of your needs.
I loved my Performax, but replaced it with a 26" dual drum sander.

Make sure that whatever machine you decide on that you order plenty of replacement abrasives in varying grits from 60-150. You would probably be better off buying it by the roll and making your own strips. Also get an extra feed belt or two for the machine you choose. same for drive belts if required.

Your DC will need to be pretty beefy, and move a lot of CFM. Once again I'd go bigger, than smaller.

[Rick Gauthier]

Wow, thanks for the many comebacks.
We have 110/230V 60 Hz, so no problems on compatibility for the motors. We do have a myriad of current spikes and drops everyday, but we live with it...

We are able to obtain cloth backed abrasives in 6", 8" and 12" rolls. And from what I've see on the board we can make our own. That is if the rolls of abrasive we get are of sufficient quality for the drum sanders so I'll order a bunch to get me going.

Budget is somewhat constraining, I want to stay under $3000 for the drum sander and DC, since I'll have to pay a goodly percentage in import taxes.

Jet and Delta both have distributors here in Costa Rica but dealing with them is a pain, a really big pain... Anyone know of a reputable outfit on the West Coast (preferably CA to save on freight).

[Chris Padilla]

What about ordering through Amazon or Woodcraft or Rockler?

Or, are you looking for more of a smaller place to order from? I can suggest a couple places here in the Bay Area or would you rather have someting in SoCal (LA or SD)?

For the DC, Oneida is king, I think but Grizzly is likely to be more within your budget. ClearVue is very good as well.