Woodmaster 50" Drum Sander

[Mac Chumley]

Hello All,

Long time lurker, first time poster here! I am considering taking advantage of the free shipping offered by Woodmaster and purchasing a 50" sander. I have a few questions for those who already own one. I have already been referred to an owner by Woodmaster and was given a very good demo by a very nice guy, so I know how the machine runs. I took a panel with me to the demo, but in one of my more brain dead moments:o, I forgot to actually measure the panel thickness to see if there was any thickness variation from side to side, and that panel is now long gone. As well, if you lay a straight edge on the panel, is there any deviation from flat near the edge of the panel caused by sponginess of the velcro? Is this a problem with narrow pieces? I have read tales that suggest panels came out flatter on a wide belt sander, for those of you experienced with both, do you find this to be true? Sorry for all the questions, but as you probably guessed, this is a rather large purchase for me, would like to get it right!

Thanks, Mac :)

[David DeCristoforo]

If you had a choice between a wide belt sander (assuming that you were talking about a "good quality" machine) and a drum sander, the wide belt would win out. No question. But there really is not going to be much more "give" in the velcro on the Woodmaster as there is in a padded platen on a wide belt. Neither are going to yield "perfectly flat" surfaces. At least not unless you are talking about a "top of the line" wide belt machine (think $25,000+). So if you are thinking about precision straight edges and feeler guages that measure thousandths of an inch, you may be in trouble. My Woodmaster sander produces surfaces "as flat as they need to be". But I would not try to sand those manufactured veneered panels that have veneers the thickness of sheets of tissue paper. You are simply not going to get that kind of precision out of a machine like this.

[Jim Dailey]

Mac,

"Hi & Welcome!!!"

I'd agree with what Dave said about the Woodmaster, and Woodmaster vs a quality wide belt sander. I had a Ryobi & a Delta (a step up from the Ryobi) before 1st going from the 38" Woodmaster (a significant step up from the Delta) to my current 50" which I a very happy with it performance!

A couple of thoughts... if you go with the 50" Woodmaster add the following options; the roller extensions & the reversing switch. The reversing switch will save you a lot of walking on set ups!!!

jim

[Peter Quinn]

I am not familiar with the wood master sander so can offer nothing there. However I am reading your thoughts about the "flatness" of panels run through a wide belt, and I am not sure where the notion that a wide belt is a great tool for flattening? A wide belt is a thicknesser much like a planer. If you push in a warped panel you will spit out a slightly thinner but still warped panel.


I find I can almost flatten things better with my performax sander as it will not hold things flat to the table like the wide belt at work. It holds them gently down, just enough for the feed belt to do its thing, an it will take the crown off of a slightly cupped panel.