Well, I pulled the trigger.

[Shawn Morley]

I decided to go for it today. I bought the Woodmaster 725 with several accessories. I've been considering this for a couple of months now and felt that for the dollar this was the best deal I could get. Mark(from Woodmaster) was very helpful through the decision making and in the end I feel gave me a great price. Biggest problem now is I have to wait about 4 weeks, it's gonna be torture.

Thanks to all that lend'd their advice.

[Rick Fisher]

Hey Shawn.. Good for you .. I figure that is the all around best of drum sanders..

What diameter are the drums on the Woodmaster?

[Shawn Morley]

I'm not sure to be honest with you, I decided to take the drum sanding accessory out because I have a widebelt sander in my shop already. I had thought about keeping it for a backup, but was informed by Woodmaster that the sanding head is the weakest attachment on the machine and I would probably never use it.

Apart from that I did order most everything else, I'm looking forward to trying out the spiral head.

[Greg Portland]

I figure that is the all around best of drum sanders..Woodmaster's drum sanders are better than the 725 (which is a multi-function planer/moulder/ripsaw/sander). Capacity aside, the larger drum size on their dedicated machines keeps the paper significantly cooler. Don't get me wrong, the drum sanding capabilities are better than the Performax drums but it doesn't compare to a large dedicated machine. Of course a wide belt is even better :cool:

Shawn, Did you get the reverse switch? I found this to be helpful when cutting moulding or planing (instant stop or reverse when things bog down, etc.). What are your primary uses going to be with the machine?

[Shawn Morley]

I did get the reverse for it, don't know how much I'll use it but its a cheap add on. I figured it could be helpful for moulding setup.

I plan to use it mostly as a planer, and figured I may make some of my own moulding as well. Who knows, maybe the moulding side of it will turn into something more than I thought. I sure am looking forward to it though.

[Rick Fisher]

That's cool Shawn.. I am a big fan of wide belt sanders :D So basically you got a 38" Planer/ Moulder .. Very nice.

There is another member here, I am trying to convince him to get a double head widebelt with a helical head planer / sander combo.. but he is stubborn.

Post some pictures when you get it .

[Brian Camet]

I bought an old 725 and upgraded the parts - it works great! I would recommend that you have separator in line to your dust collect.

You will make a ton of saw dust when you are planning, and it is faster to empty the aluminum trash can then remove the bags on the collector. (harbor freight sells a good plastic top to connect the hoses)

You will get snipe on your boards - the best way to eliminate this is running a foot long board the same thickness as the main board in front and then right behind as you feed the main board through and you will never have an issue. - Maybe with spiral head this will not happen - I have the older style head.

You can see some photos of it here http://www.farmhousetableco.com/