Grizzly G1066 Drum Sander on CL

[Paul Shaffer]

Friends,
There are a couple of G1066 drum sanders on CL for about $500-$700 dollars. I currently have no drum sander. Searching here, I have found these are not perfect 24 sanders (conveyor not rubberized, one speed feed, etc...). But I have been searching for a drum sander (typically 16/32 type models) and haven't found any in good shape for my budget of $500. My question is, for my $500, would a 24" double drum Grizzly be a good investment? I have a one car garage shop, so space and mobility also come into play. Or should I want for a smaller open-end single drum model with variable speed. Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers and happy voting,
Paul

[David Kumm]

Paul I don't know where you are located but I have a Performax 25x2 in Central WI for $750. Dave

[Paul Shaffer]

Dave... Tempting, but I am in the Boston area and have a pretty strict $500 budget (Christmas coming and such). Thanks for the offer.

[Ronald Blue]

I have a 1066R that I was given about 2 years ago by a fellow creeker in the Chicago area. It is not as fancy as some but seems solid. If you can test it before you make an offer that would be good. I can't compare it to anything else because I haven't used any other drum sander. If it looks taken care of it will probably serve you well. It all comes down to what you need from it. It may not be the best drum sander but it is still a solid unit. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

[Mike Heidrick]

The 1066 is BIG and IMo much better than the 22/44ST I had before MUCH more machine. Not as nice as a woodmaster though. I paid $900 for a 1066Z and love the velcro attachment. You can add that to a 1066 too I've read. Belt is nicer on the Z as well. You may have to drive awhile to get on for $500 IMO. Really large for space challenged shops IMO. Also you need a large dust collector for large sanders. Get a nice planer and good ROS first if space is short.

[Chip Lindley]

...My question is, for my $500, would a 24" double drum Grizzly be a good investment? I have a one car garage shop, so space and mobility also come into play. Or should I want for a smaller open-end single drum model with variable speed.
Paul

Paul, I would not hesitate to spend $500 on a G1066 if it is clean and in working order. Having a double drum sander can be very worthwhile. I find 24" width plenty for most sanding, unless you plan on doing entrance doors! Besides, I do not trust open-end sanding machines. While the 1066 is no Cadillac, it is at least as good as a Chevy station wagon! I used one for a few years with very decent results. The first thing I would do is install the drum backing that permits use of hook and loop sanding roll. Keeping the sanding strips in place with the "normal" system is "iffy" at best. I found I got better results wrapping both drums with the same grit. Twice the sanding per pass; and changing grits with the hook and loop system only takes a couple of minutes.

Grizzly's dust collection is not the best. Tons of dust cascades off the rear of the conveyor during use, even with a decent DC system. A wide trough under the rear conveyor edge catches stuff you will not have to shovel up later.

As for mobility, I welded up a mobile stand for my G1066 for just few dollars, since the scrap metal was on hand.

http://i822.photobucket.com/albums/zz142/zzarus/Mobile%20Stands/GrizSanderALL.jpg

If the maching is in decent condition, for $500, I don't you will go wrong.

~~Chip~~

[Ralph Butts]

@ $500 and in working order I would jump on it. I stumbled upon a 1066Z for $800 in my part of the country last year that I quickly purchased. I had to put a couple of dollars into it for parts but nothing major. I have not seen anything even remotely close to that price in my area since. The machine takes up a lot of real estate in my 2 car garage shop. In hindsight I almost wish I had stayed with my Perfomax 16/32 just for the realestate. However the machine does fit my needs much better. I just need to get a bigger shop now. As far as dc goes I have not had bad performance using a CV1800. I haven't experienced the DC issues that Chip has had.

[Paul Shaffer]

You know what's really ironic... The one I was looking at has a trough built onto the back and I thought it was because it was missing a guard for the conveyor or for height adjustment rod. Probably sounds like it was there to collect dust. I am really rethinking it because of the size. I am heading to Grizzly in PA at Thanksgiving, so I can see the size in person. If the sander is not too big and still available on CL, I might buy it. (Its about an hour away, so I would hate to drive a couple of hours just to find out it was too big for my one car garage shop.) Thanks for the advice.

[Carl Beckett]

Hi Paul,

I have a 1066z. With the variable speed drive belt. Feel free to swing by and take a look ( it's not small......)

I used it regularly and had no problems. ( using past tense because I upgraded to belt sander and am going to sell this drum sander... But for significantly more than $500)

In fact , on a $500 budget you might look for something like the 13" reliant belt sander I have.

[mreza Salav]

You can find the measurements (and the manual) on Grizzly's website. That sounds like a good price for a machine of that size. I have a drum sander but if I didn't I'd buy it.

[Greg Bender]

Paul,
how much more is significant. I might be interested. PM me and we can talk.
Greg