Old Performax 16/32 and SandSmart

[Cliff Holmes]

I have a chance to pick up one of these sanders, barely used, for a pretty good price. It's one of the pre-Jet models. The owner doesn't have the manual and really knows nothing about it.

Does anyone know if the old Performax versions had the SandSmart feature?

[John Harden]

I have a pre-Jet Performax 16-32. Help me out here. What is SandSmart? I'll let you know if mine has it.

FWIW, it works as advertised. Very smooth, but know that just like nearly all of these, it won't take off 1/8" or even 1/16" in a single pass. More like 1/64" or less depending on density and width of stock. They truly are finish sanders designed to take off just a hair to level the surface and take out deep scratches.

Grizzly and others sell thickness sanders with multiple rollers and huge motors that will take off nearly 1/8".

Having said that, its a quiet, well functioning, quality machine with good, built in adjustability and a powerful motor (for 110V).

EDIT: BTW, dust collection works extremely well too. Much better than what I had thought it would.

Regards,

John

[Cliff Holmes]

SmartSand is supposed to vary the feed speed according to the load on the drum.

[Stephen Edwards]

I have an older one and it doesn't have that feature. Instead, it just trips the breaker on the motor. At first it was annoying. Now, I've learned the limits of the machine and it's no big deal. If you can get this sander at a really good price, in really good condition, I wouldn't worry about it not having that feature that you mention.

[Jason Beam]

I'm not 100% sure, but i think that feature came around after Jet took over. Though, there may be a few models in that transition that are Performax branded with the smart feed system, I don't know for sure.

The things to check for on these sanders that DON'T have the sensor stuff are:

4" dust port - really old models only had a 2 1/2"
1 1/2hp motor - earlier models had only 1hp motors
Overload protection - an on-board breaker that trips instead of burning up your board/motor.

[John Harden]

SmartSand is supposed to vary the feed speed according to the load on the drum.

Mine doesn't have that. It'll slow down if the load is too great and if you push it, it'll trip the motor breaker. Good safety feature that helps prevent burning up the motor. There's a button right on it that you just push to reset it.

I agree with Stephen. If the one you're looking at doesn't have it, I wouldn't be concerned.

I bet Jet has an old manual on their website you could download for that years model. If not, and you buy it, just let me know. I'll be happy to scan mine in and .pdf it to you.

Regards,

John

[Cliff Holmes]

Thanks for the info, guys. Gonna go take a look in the morning. Here's a photo the guy sent, can you tell anything from it?

[John Harden]

Looks just like mine. Don't know how much you know about them, but the black knob on the box with the on/off switch is a dial that you turn to adjust the speed of the belt on the table.

You might check to see that the belt on the table (not drum) is in good condition without rips or tears. If its barely been used, I doubt there are problems.

Before you buy it, I'd fire it up and run some boards through it to make sure it works properly.

The wider the board (or piece of plywood) the better. Draw some lines across the board side to side and take a light pass to see if it removes them equally all the way across. If it doesn't, it means the shaft is not parallel to the table. No big concern as it can be easily corrected following the steps in the manual.

You might also remove the sandpaper and inspect the drum to ensure it is in good condition and doesn't have any knicks or pieces broken off of it. Very unlikely, but it is aluminum and it is conceivable that someone could have done something really careless and got something buggered up in there that may have somehow damaged the drum.

The mobility kit for it is very nice and it would be good to have extra sanding belts for it.

Good luck!!!!!

Regards,

John

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I would not pass it up it if didn't have the feature. IMO, the less gadgets the better. I have that sander in the picture. Works good, belts are expensive, but last a while. It will bite you if you're in a hurry. As mentioned, this sander can't hog off wood. You need lots of time. If you try to hog off a lot, you'll gunk up the belt, burn your wood and trip the motor breaker. Not that ever happened to me.....

[Stephen Edwards]

I wouldn't worry about it if only has the 2 1/2" dust port, either. That's what mine has. I've used it a lot and never had any trouble with DC. In fact, my HF 2HP DC unit gets all of the dust from the sander and the sander is at the end of the line, maybe 30-35 feet between it and the DC unit.

John gives you good advice on things to look for that matter.

You can use it to thickness irregular grained woods that a planer will cause a lot of blow out on. But, get a stool and a book or magazine to read if you're gonna use it for that! As others have said, it's not gonna hog off a lot of material in one pass, nor is it advertised it as such. With that in mind, it's a wonderful machine to have in your shop.

[Stephen Edwards]

Thanks for the info, guys. Gonna go take a look in the morning. Here's a photo the guy sent, can you tell anything from it?

That was is newer than mine. If all is in good working order, you'll enjoy that sander!

[David Christopher]

it does not have the sand smart feature......it is still a great sander

[John Coloccia]

Thanks for the info, guys. Gonna go take a look in the morning. Here's a photo the guy sent, can you tell anything from it?

The only thing I can tell is the conveyor's not tracking straight. It's all the way to the left, probably rubbing on the guide blocks. Check the bearings for the rollers, and otherwise check that area for any obvious warps, wobbles etc. He probably just doesn't have it set right, but you should at least check these things as they are common wear points on this machine.

I love mine, by the way. It gets use a LOT.

[Cliff Holmes]

Well, I finally got a chance this afternoon to go check this out. Seems to be in really good condition, ran several small boards through and all looked well. Seems just a fraction out of parallel with the bed, I used John H's test and the right-hand marks were gone but the left-hand were just barely visible, but I'm sure that's adjustable. Feed seems very smooth, although as John C noted the belt is riding all the way to the left. However, it's not badly frayed, just a few strands here and there. I think it's well worth $225.

[Stephen Edwards]

Well, I finally got a chance this afternoon to go check this out. Seems to be in really good condition, ran several small boards through and all looked well. Seems just a fraction out of parallel with the bed, I used John H's test and the right-hand marks were gone but the left-hand were just barely visible, but I'm sure that's adjustable. Feed seems very smooth, although as John C noted the belt is riding all the way to the left. However, it's not badly frayed, just a few strands here and there. I think it's well worth $225.

My advice is to fork over the $225.00 and turn this thing into a gloat!!

[Bill Arnold]

Adjusting the drum parallel to the conveyor takes some patience but can be made prefect. I made setup blocks from some scrap hardwood that I planed to about 2" on both sides, then cut into two lengths with each long enough to span the rollers. I put one on each end and watch the seperation as I adjust the drum.

Also, mine isn't truly 16-32. It will effectively cover about 15.5" and 31".

Oh, and another thing. I don't waste my money on pre-cut rolls. I order shop rolls of whatever type of paper and grit I want and cut my own. It's much cheaper that way.

[Cliff Holmes]

My advice is to fork over the $225.00

It's sitting in my shop as we speak.

[Curt Harms]

.......
Oh, and another thing. I don't waste my money on pre-cut rolls. I order shop rolls of whatever type of paper and grit I want and cut my own. It's much cheaper that way.
+1 on the uncut rolls. I made a jig out of 1/4" plywood. You can either get the measurements from the manual or just use one end from a factory belt. Cut plywood the width of the belt and trace the tapers on the plywood. Cut it out. Now when you need to cut a new belt from a roll you have a guide to run the knife along. Works well. With mine it seemed to trip the overload easily so I wired up an ammeter with start bypass. The motor is rated at 13 amps. If the ammeter starts over 13 amps I just reduce the feed speed. Poor man's smart feed system:D.