Woodmaster owners...Outfeed tables, reversing switch?

[shane lyall]

I pick up my 38 inch drum sander tommorrow I hope. Will the infeed/outfeed tables help reduce snipe? Can I make my own or should I suck it up and buy them from Woodmaster. Should I expect snip from this machine in the first place? Is the reverse switch needed or is it just a "bell and whistle" I'm lazy but I'd think I would be ok with a few steps back and forth to run wood. I have a planner so it would do most rough work then a pass or two I should be good.Right?

This is my first drum sander so I'm a newb when it comes to set up and use. Anyone else own one?

[Bruce Page]

I installed the drum switch on mine, it was money well spent and saves a lot of walking back & forth. The infeed/outfeed rollers, not so much. In my situation they take up too much real estate. The only time I mount them is when I have several long pieces to run. Otherwise, I just use the portable roller stands.
You should not see any snipe with the Woodmaster under normal use. The only time I had snipe is when I was running some 6’ x 12”w oak glue-ups and didn’t support the ends well enough. The board teetered a little causing the snipe. My bad.

[Dave Cav]

I'm pretty much on the same page as Bruce. The infeed and outfeed tables would take a lot of room and mine seems to work fine without them. Mine came with the reversing switch (bought the machine used) and I use it all the time to make multiple passes on the same setting. No, it's not a big deal to walk around the machine, but my shop is kind of crowded and I have to navigate around a TS outfeed table and a bandsaw... No snipe on mine.

[Chris Rosenberger]

My sander came with a reversing switch. I never used it & removed it. I did not have extension tables & never had any problem with snipe, but I always supported heavy pieces on the infeed side until they got under both pinch rollers & did the same on the outfeed side.

[Rick Potter]

I have the reversing switch, but never installed it. Perhaps I am wrong, but I cannot see it being of much use if you don't have the outfeed tables, which I don't. Seems to me that anything longer than 20" or so would be falling off the feed belt before you reversed it.

If I am mistaken, somebody enlighten me please.

Since I don't have the outfeed tables, I lift the end of the work slightly going in and coming out. I get almost no snipe. What I get disappears with finish sanding.

I have a 6" hose off a 6" main on the wall, with a 5" fitting at the machine. My only gripe is that I wish It had a 6" fitting. Great machine...you will love it.

Rick Potter

[Van Huskey]

I have both on mine and honestly would probably buy both if I was buying one new, mine was used and fully decked out inclusing their mobile base, which is really nice but expensive. Of the two I would buy the reversing switch first.