Comment Please: Jet 16-32 plus Drum Sander

[Kent A Bathurst]

Also in IRS auction. NIB. Hoping to tap you expertise.

I have never used a drum sander. Have always been interested/intrigued. Virtually everything I make could use one, but I'm not familiar with its operation:
1. The "open end" design - alignment and getting a true, flat surface. Legitimate concern, or is it a question of one-time alignment and don't worry about it?
2. Would I tend to use this just for coarse sanding (100g or 120g) as a first pass, and then continue as before with ROS and hand sanding to 180g?
3. Changing paper - Enough of a PITA that I would not use it for multiple-grit work?
4. Comments on this model? Good for what it tries to do? Love it? Stay away?

Thanks in advance.

[Anthony Whitesell]

Also in IRS auction. NIB. Hoping to tap you expertise.

I have never used a drum sander. Have always been interested/intrigued. Virtually everything I make could use one, but I'm not familiar with its operation:
1. The "open end" design - alignment and getting a true, flat surface. Legitimate concern, or is it a question of one-time alignment and don't worry about it?


I purchased mine April '08. I love it. Adjusting the open end takes time. Not difficult but time consuming. I haven't had to adjust it since, but then again it probably only has 100-150 hours on it.



2. Would I tend to use this just for coarse sanding (100g or 120g) as a first pass, and then continue as before with ROS and hand sanding to 180g?


I have used mine with 36g to 220g. The lumber store near me used to (and wish they still did) have a $1 bin, a piece roughly of wood 12"x12"x1" for $1. Usually a great bargain on some of the more pricey and exotic woods. They were usually rough sawn and being only 12", too short for my planer. So I have used my drum sander as a planer working through the grits from 36g to 220g. On peices that have passed through my planer I use 150g, 180g, and 220g.



3. Changing paper - Enough of a PITA that I would not use it for multiple-grit work?


Not to sound offsensive, but it depends on the size of your fingers. I can change the paper out in a snap but I have long skinny fingers that can reach the clip mechanism easily. My father's not so lucky and has to use the tool which slows down the process. I have a harder time rolling and storing the various 15' long pieces of sandpaper.



4. Comments on this model? Good for what it tries to do? Love it? Stay away?

Thanks in advance.

I love mine. No buyers remorse here. (not to mention that I got it on sale with a rebate before the price increase)

[John Coloccia]

I have the larger one and it's been very much a love/hate relationship. When it's working, it works great, but I'm going through another round of struggling with conveyor tracking, alignment issues, a possibly warped bed, etc. Jet's costumer service is normally pretty good with this stuff, but it's just very frustrating. I've been going back to hand planes and scrapers lately because I'm just getting tired of screwing with my jointer and sander (my planer works fantastically well, by the way, but it will tear up .090" wood, for example).

For the price, if you need to go down really thin, there's really not a whole lot out there that will do it without a sled (i.e. PITA). As a thicknesser and a rough sander (take down a glue line and smooth out a glue up, for example), it really works great. I don't really use it for anything except final thicknessing on thin items under 1/4" or so (i.e. stuff that my planer would turn into splinters....board goes in, nothing comes out). Also on some exotic woods that just fall apart under planers and jointers (Bubinga, for example).

As a finish sander, I really wouldn't bother. The dual drum units are much better, IMHO.

The sand paper change is not a big deal. Takes me just a few minutes. The flex in the cantelivered arm is not a big deal also....if it is a big deal you're removing WAY too much material at once. The alignment stays pretty stable with time, although the initial alignment is a total pain in the butt. If it had another inch of capacity, you could sneak a dial indicator in there and it would take 5 minutes. Instead, it's very much a feeler gauge alignment. The time it take depends on your patience and requirements. If you just want to sand, it's not bad. If you need it perfect because you're trying to get wood down to .095" with accuracy, it takes time.

[Robert Chapman]

I bought one this spring and have not had a chance to use it much. The set up is a little tedious but once you get it right it seems like an easy tool to use. I hate random orbit and hand sanding and this tool saves me from a lot of that. The tracking belt can be a challenge but patience will prevail. The tool can also be used for flattening stock a small amount at a time. Later machines have an important feature - an automatic feed belt speed regulator. This is a very important feature and I would not have one of these sanders without it.

[Harold Shay]

I have a 22-44 and love it. I use it all the time. finally went down to the 60 grit paperr lots of ROS from there is you don't want to change the paper. It depends on the amount of sanding if I change the paper.

Harold

[John Coloccia]

Here's a warning. I've been having trouble sanding thin stock. Sometimes it works and I'm thrilled. Sometimes, the conveyor runs into the drum, ruining the conveyor and the drum, and burning the wood.

The specs say it's good to 1/32" of an inch. In fact, that's exactly why I bought it. I wanted something that wouldn't require sleds, infeed/outfeed tables, and other stuff in order to work down to what I need. So today I'm on the phone with tech support to work out my conveyor issues, and he tells me that you CAN'T sand down to 1/32" of an inch without a sled.

I said if you want to play that game, then your spec can say it's good down to 1/128". Anything's good once you stick it down to a sled. I could veneer it to a piece of plywood and sand it down to .001" if I wanted.

It's like your planer says you're good down to 3/8", and then it doesn't work down there without a sled. That's nonsense! Every other sander on the market that works like this is spec'd down to 1/4", and I bought the Jet specifically because they claimed it works on the thinner stuff. Total scam, if you ask me.

I have to say that I'm really rather upset at the moment, and I'm feeling like I was totally ripped off...uhm, because I WAS.

So that's how I feel about now that I've lived with it for a little bit longer, and am trying to eek out every bit of performance they promise. I have to talk with the rep some more on Monday, but as of today their specs are worthless, apparently.

Keep this in mind if you're thinking of sanding any thin stock, or I guess generally going anywhere near any of their limits. This is really pretty shameful.