Performax Oscillating Drum Sander

[John Grabowski]

I was curious if any one has gone and bought this new sander? If so how do you like it?

I saw the new issue of WOOD magazine has a review from one of the tool testers and he said he was surprised by how nice the finish was.

I am curious to find out how it compares to other sanders at the same price point.

Any ideas? If you guys say you love it, I am going to start saving up for one.

John G

[Virgil Johnson]

I was curious if any one has gone and bought this new sander? If so how do you like it?

I saw the new issue of WOOD magazine has a review from one of the tool testers and he said he was surprised by how nice the finish was.

I am curious to find out how it compares to other sanders at the same price point.

Any ideas? If you guys say you love it, I am going to start saving up for one.

John G


echo from me

I also saw the review and as it happens I need such a sander pronto.

Virgil

[John Lucas]

John and Virgil, I will happily start the answers but with one major caveat. I bought the 1998 version. It was a good product with quite a few problem areas. I will list them so that you can ask questions relative to the new machine. First: it loved to eat up drive belts in that it was difficult to adjust; 2) loading the paper was a hassle...they did come up with a tool that helped; 3) the sandpaper belt moved and brown ridges starting to apprear on the object being sanded and 4) sanding wider pieces and requiring a 180 degree turn around of the workpiece almost never worked...the sander height was a skosh off.
Now that is a lot of negatives and I bet every thing has been worked out. I still make use of it but watch all those areas closely. Unlike Norm, I wasnt able to get Timesavers to donate a 40" wide belt sander to my shop.
This was a project long ago but a great task for the Performax sander:
http://www.woodshopdemos.com/jwlr-26.jpg

[JIM HERNANDEZ]

I have one and absolutely love it. It has been trouble free. Wish I had gotten it sooner. What a time saver.

Jim

[Jason Beam]

John, I don't have one - but I saw one at AWFS in Las Vegas this year and watched it work. I also saw a General wide-belt (was about 16" i think) that also oscillated. I have to say, the mechanism that actually does the oscillating on the general seemed a little strange - though, maybe they all do it and it's the time-tested method, but it basically just tilted the top drum slightly, causing the paper to track left and right. They had the cover off so I could watch it and it sounded noisier than I would have expected - clunk-clunk clunk-clunk for each shift in direction. This leaves me wondering how long such a mechanism would last. Again, maybe this is the way it's done and all my concerns are purely from ignorance but it sure seemed odd to me.

I didn't look closely at the mechanism of the Jet drum sander, but the finish that comes off it was considerably better than that which comes off my standard Performax 16-32 with the same grit paper on it. It DOES improve the surface ... I saw a 220 grit surface and it was pretty good, though I still might be tempted to skim over it with an ROS to get things just a bit smoother. It's not really rough, it's just a little bit ... mm ... Matte? I guess is the best way to describe it. It's a little softer than I can get with my ROS.

[george wilson]

A Delta 18-36 is a good sander. I have 1. It can easily be adjusted for EXACTLY parallel sanding. I don't like the moving head sanders like performax. Their heads are too flexible. My Delta is very rugged. The head is 1/8" thick steel. the table is cast iron,and the 2 outer elevating screws are adjusted to get parallel wood. My wood isn't even .001" out of parallel.

No oscillating feature,but I like it fine. Easy to mount paper.

[Peter Quinn]

I have to say, the mechanism that actually does the oscillating on the general seemed a little strange - though, maybe they all do it and it's the time-tested method, but it basically just tilted the top drum slightly, causing the paper to track left and right. This leaves me wondering how long such a mechanism would last. Again, maybe this is the way it's done and all my concerns are purely from ignorance but it sure seemed odd to me.



Jason, I use a pretty big wide belt at work and its basically the same thing you describe. There is a series of lasers and reflectors that keep the belts from going too far to the left or right, and the top head skews much like adjusting the tracking on a basic belt sander, but automatic and quicker. I've been using this particular unit for 5 years, never seen a problem with the mechanism other than you have to keep the laser lenses clean or it won't allow you to start the unit. I agree with the "matte" appearance assessment completely. It does eliminate the straight line scratches associated with non-oscillating drum sanders but leaves a very dull machined look. I suppose any sander does. I once had to "flatten" a table top (figured cherry) for a customer who had done the basic leveling with a #5 jack plane and had achieved a wonderful "glow" that the wide belt quickly eliminated. Nearly broke my heart. Of course flattening a 37"X112" table by hand had nearly broken the mans spirit.

I don't know how the performax mechanism relates to a wide belt's mechanism or how it performs. I can say that I love my performax 22-44 pro. Easy paper changes, never a problem with tracking, and that little sight line that occurs when sanding wider than 22" comes out with two passes of a card scraper if the head is set up properly. So if the new is of the same build quality and the oscillation works anywhere near as well as a wide belt it may be a winner. Lots of ifs there I know.

[Jason Beam]

Peter,

Thanks for sharing that info on the oscillation mechanism of the belt sander you run. Maybe that IS how the industry works and my impression is under-informed. Entirely likely :)

It takes a whole lot more grits of sandpaper to leave that sheen from a single hand plane or card scraper. Even 2000 grit and higher still seems a little dull.

Good stuff :)

[Don Selke]

I came very close to purchasing this machine last month and my local Jet dealer who I deal with recommended that I wait for a year. They stated that two of the machines had mechanical issues and had to be returned for repairs. I have the Preformax 16 X 32 and have used it in the shop for a long time. The only issue I had with it was with the drive or conveyor belt (the abrasive type) pulling apart at the glue seam. The air here in Arizona is very dry and hot during the summer months. I replaced the abrasive drive belt with a neopreme belt and it works great with little adjustment. I will be watching this post for owners of this machine and comments on its preformance. My 16 X 32 has been a real work horse in the shop. I use it daily, but remember it is not a finish sander. I never go above 150 grit on the drum.