Tool Gloat!

[Bill Arnold]

My wife's new Performax 16-32 arrived yesterday. She insisted on getting it!!! She did agree to let me unpack and assemble it. Aren't I the lucky one? Setup went smoothely and I'm (er, ah -- she's) pleased with the results do far.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Gee Bill.......seeing how this is your wife's tool........this must be a indirect gloat.......or a communal gloat.........or.......a gloat-in-law.......or........ :confused: :eek: :D Let us know how it performs!

[Russ Massery]

Congrats, on the new tool I'm sure both of you are proud parents :rolleyes:. I've had one for about a month now and amazed by how I use it and how I ever got along without it.

[Jim Becker]

Congratulations...I really like my Performax sander and am sure you will, too...err, your wife will, too... ;)

[Mike Forsman]

I wish that my wife had the same taste in tools as your wife does. Nice of her to let you use it. I'm sure that she will really like it (and you to when she's not using it).

[Pete Harbin]

She did a great job on the cabinet it's set up on as well. ;)

Congrats!

[Jerry Olexa]

I know your wife will REALLY enjoy the new tool?!

[Bill Arnold]

Thanks guys! This was another of those purchases that I kept digging in my heels over. You know, yeah I'd like to have one -- yeah, I sure could use it -- but cheap old me wouldn't pull the trigger. Then, LOML gave me the choice: either I order it or she would. Well, anyway, now WE have one!

[joseph j shields]

Hey Bill,

NICE:D

I have the 22-44 and love it.

Make sure you get some 36 (Yes 36) grit paper if you plan on using it to surface plane boards.

I tried the 80 grit... and after a million passes;) I bought some 36 grit. Works much better.

A few other tips....


Make sure to check that the drum is parallel to the conveyer. I found the easiest way is to load it with some finer grit sand paper (maybe 180 - make sure you run a few boards thru the sander first to "set" the sand paper- then check to make sure the paper is tight & not over-lapping). Then get a 16" x 16" melamine board, and take one very light pass. (Just until it "kisses" the board) You will easily see if it is out of parallel by looking at the scratches - which should be even across the width of the board. Adjust as needed and try again with a new piece of melamine.
If you plan on sanding any board longer than a few feet, I would recommend getting the extension wings. I ordered my off the web and saved a lot.... I can't find the site ...sorry:confused:
Take light passes, it is very easy to bog the machine down ... just take your time & it will do a very nice job.
I don't know about your model, but hooking the sand paper in the inboard end is a real pita.... I found that a small pocket mirror helps a lot... especially when you have to insert the tool into the locking clip.
Hope this helps & enjoy the machine!

-jj

[Silas Smith]

Can I send my wife down for a week to stay with your wife? Maybe something will rub off. Congrats on the new sander.

[Robby Phelps]

Congrats Bill on your new sander. I sure love mine. You also seem to have a very supportive wife. I am blessed to have one of those too.

Keep us posted on how you like the sander. And like one of the other posts said get some of the 36 grit. It sure makes surfacing faster. Oh and great looking cabinet for the sander. Nice work!

[Warren White]

Bill and others,
This post is very timely, as I am trying to decide if I really need a drum sander, and if so, which one to buy.

I have read some of the reviews of the 16-32 which seem universally favorable. I have seen mixed reviews of the 22-44 and a lot of unfavorable reviews of the Delta 18-36. In fact, when I was at Woodcraft today, the table on the Delta unit on the sales floor was frozen. The salesman said they had just put it on the floor and it was broken and they hadn't had time to fix it. I can't imagine having something defective on a sales floor, but I guess they didn't expect anyone to turn the handle.

I would be interested in hearing what the 'Creekers' have to say on any of these machines. Bill, did you decide to try the test recommended to determine if the sander was parallel to the table, and if so, what was the outcome? If it wasn't parallel, were you able to adjust it so it was?

If I get the 16-32, what accessories, paper, etc. should I get at the same time?

I know, I am a needy person. I appreciate any and all thoughts.

Best to all,
Warren

[Bill Arnold]

... Bill, did you decide to try the test recommended to determine if the sander was parallel to the table, and if so, what was the outcome? If it wasn't parallel, were you able to adjust it so it was?

If I get the 16-32, what accessories, paper, etc. should I get at the same time?

Warren
Warren,

I've used a couple of procedures to adjust the drum: 1) the 'book' way using a ruler as a feeler gauge; 2) using a narrow board long enough to cover the span of the drum and eyeballing it. Either procedure works. It seems to be holding the adjustment better as I use it and it 'runs in'.

I ordered 50yd rolls of 120 and 180 from Klingspor when we ordered the sander. Shop rolls are available at http://www.sandpaperworks.com/ also; this site was recommended by another Creeker. A 50yd roll will make 18 wraps on a 16-32, so the cost per wrap is around $3.30 or so. Pre-cut rolls are available from a number of vendors and will cost up to double that amount on a per-wrap basis.

As far as other accessories are concerned, I didn't want the infeed-outfeed tables due to space considerations. I can outfeed onto the extension table of my table saw and can use a roller stand for infeed support if needed. I might build some flip-down tables in the future if I see a need for them.

Regards,

[Bill Arnold]

Can I send my wife down for a week to stay with your wife? Maybe something will rub off. Congrats on the new sander.
Silas,

Well, you never know -- it could work. My wife grew up on a small farm where her grandfather had all kinds of tools and did most of the maintenance. She's always had an appreciation for good tools although she rarely uses them herself. If she senses that I'd really like to have a particular tool, she'll encourage me to get it. She knows I do plenty of research to be sure I'm getting the right brand at the right price.

We lived in Houston for many years before transferring to Florida. Can't say that I miss the place except for the friends we made there.

See you soon! :)

[Jim Becker]

I have seen mixed reviews of the 22-44
My review of the 22-44 Plus isn't mixed! It's a wonderful machine and was dead-on out of the box. In fact, it's a slightly better machine than the 16-32 as they made it a little stiffer from what I understand...they took all the good things about the smaller machine and the lessons learned and put it all together when they introduced the up-sized sander.

My only recommendation is to consider shop-built infeed/outfeed accomodations that fold up for storage. The OEM units are great, but take up a lot of room when the machine is in the "tool coral". They don't fold and are also something you can't remove quickly and easily.