Drum Sander Recommendation

[Andrew Kertesz]

I'm thining of getting a drum sander, something along the lines of the Jet 16-32. Any recommendations?

[JoAnn Duggan]

I have the Jet 16-32 drum sander and I love it. I use it all the time on my cutting boards and it does a great job. You won't be sorry if you add this to you shop.

JoAnn

[Mike Cutler]

The 16-32 is a nice sander. (Mine was a Performax 16-32.)

I sold it when I got a 26" dual drum sander, thinking I wouldn't use it any longer, and have regretted it since.
It's a nice sized machine to have around.

[Victor Robinson]

The 16-32 is a really nice machine. It got even sweeter for me with the addition of the Wixey WR550 digital readout. Sandpaper changes aren't too bad once you get the hang of how the clip mechanism works. You can save money by buying the sandpaper uncut and cutting the taper yourself. Backlash on the height adjustment is about a 1/4 turn. Dust collection is fine even with a shopvac.

It does need better outfeed support. I don't mind catching longer pieces at the end of a planer, but I do I get tired of having to catch/support longer pieces coming off the sander since it moves so much slower. Unfortunately Jet's extension tables are stupid pricey. I've been meaning to fashion my own but just haven't gotten around to it. It would actually be easier to take the sander off the stand and build it into some kind of table/stand thing, as compared to having to rig up the tables to the stand.

The machine does leave tracks even at fine grits, so you'll need to clean those up with the ROS. One way to avoid that on the drum sander would be with an oscillating head, so if budget isn't an issue, go with the 22-44 ODS at 3x the price.

[Matt Meiser]

I got a Jet 16-32 thinking a good quality machine like that would be sufficient instead of the 26" dual drum General International I was lusting after. Nothing particularly wrong with the Jet but I wish I'd held out and gotten the dual drum. I just think it would have been a more powerful machine.

In the open-ended drum category, you might head over to Woodwerks and check out the Supermax 19/38 machine which is a beefed up 16/32 design. There appear to be a lot of nice improvements. They also had the new Delta version of the 26" dual drum sander which appears to be identical to the GI, but if I was going that route I'd buy a green one instead grey just because I no longer trust Delta.

I think ultimately, whether you'll be happy with it depends on your needs. Are you sanding wide panels? Thicknessing resawn veneers? Sanding architectural beams? Sanding parts for small boxes? Different sanders (unfortunately) will excel at different tasks.

[Jeff Bartley]

I have a 16-32 Performax, it's a great machine if used within it's limits. It is very easy to overload the motor! As others have said paper changes are easy. The other nice thing about these machines is that they seem to have good resale value!

[Matt Meiser]

Really? They are over $1K new and frequently show up used in the $500 range or sometimes even lower. I'd say that's average to below average.

[Jeff Bartley]

I wasn't clear-----what I meant is that you can easily find one in the $500 range and if you don't like it, sell for the same.....

[Jim Foster]

I have a 10yr old Performax 22-44. It's very nice for what it does. Dust collection not great, pretty easy to load paper and keep tuned. I would like a stiffer table and better extension tables, but for flattening panels and removing planing marks, it's worked great. I dream about upgrading to the Powermatic dual drum unit, but it's too big and heavy for my shop and I'd like to downsize my shop and rely more on tools that don't make dust (AKA hand tools) over time.

The reason, I chimed in is the 22-44 has proven to be a great size, I have yet to have a need to run a panel through it that I could not cock to one side a bit or easily fit in the machine" I don't know how the guys with the 16-32 units feel about width, but it's a consideration worth discussing. On the downside, it takes a pretty good size footprint in the shop.

NOTE: I saw someone mention motor overload above. With mine, the only time it overloads is when I am being too aggressive with the speed or amount I'm trying to remove.

[Carl Beckett]

I had a Performax 16/32. Used it a lot. In fact, I run 'most' things through whatever sander I have after planing, and before joinery.

Then I got a dual drum. Much prefer this, since its less 'finicky' (I think just due to it being more structurally robust - no overhanging arm). The only down side of the dual drum is physical size.

I also happen to have an old Reliant 13" wide belt sander. If I was limited to one, and space was at a premium, this would be my first choice. Relatively compact, a belt not a drum, and a little workhorse.

Then more recently I picked up a large 24" wide belt. Not enough use to share all the quirks, but its night and day in terms of speed.

Yes I have too many sanders. Some are going to go out the door soon. Net net: If there is any way to find one of those Reliant 13" wide belt it is night and day different than the Performax.

If you do small boxes and small pieces - the Performax will work fine. Otherwise step up to a dual drum.

[Andrew Kertesz]

ANybody have experience with the Grizzly G0458?

[Dick Mahany]

I wanted a Jet Performax 16-32, but got an incredble deal on the 22-44 with enclosed base. It's been a great machine and I have found many uses for it. I recently sanded about 30 strips of 2" QS White Oak that I resawed into veneer strips for some mission style table legs. They were around 0.090" thin and were all very uniform in thickness. In the process, I did manage to learn quite a bit about feed speed when I saw a few of them getting burn marks. A faster feed and lighter pass quickly made a huge difference.

On mine, I added an inexpensive DRO and enlarged the dust port to 6". In all, I'm super pleased with the machine. Paper changing for different grits is accomplished quickly and easily, once you get the hang of it and I do it regularly. I plan to make some sort of portable / foldable outfeed table for it since mine has to be movable for storage.

I also just completed leveling out of a 24" wide table top glue up that was run on 2 passes through the open end and they came out excellent and quickly smoothed out the uneven glue ups. Clean up with the ROS was fast and pain free. In all a very good machine. I have no experience with the other models discussed here, but wouldn't hesitate to get the same one if I ever needed to replace it.

[Mike OMelia]

I have the Performax (Jet) 22-44. Love it. Remember, it is not a planer, you have to take lots of passes with it to thickness wood. But, then, snipe is not an issue. My guess is most use it to pre-finish a surface. My 22-44 came with the open stand. Same stand as used for the 16-32. Way to heavy for that. I reinforced the bottom with angle iron and it's just fine now. You may have to level the drum. Joe Woodworker has an excellent tutorial on that. I hear people complain about the paper holding clip all the time. Yet, somehow I got the hang of it right away. I don't even use that funny tool that comes with it. Big fingered folks might have no choice. Get the big foot long gum erasure too!

[Steve Peterson]

Wait for a used one. They are not too common in my area. There are usually around 10 lathes that show up on a Craiglist search, but usually only 1-2 drum sanders and they are usually either spindle sanders or $2000 industrial sanders.

I didn't want to spend over $1000 and nothing was showing up used. I was thinking that I would just buy a new Jet 10-20 and then a used 22-44 showed up for the same price as a new 10-20. It took about 2 months of waiting. I have seen about 1 per month since then. Good condition used machines appear to list for around 40% of the new price, about $500 for a 16-32 and $750 for a 22-44.

Steve

[Mark Ashmeade]

I have the 22-44ODS, and in line with Victor's advice, if I have the oscillation function inhibited, I get lines in the piece. If turn it on, I get wavy lines in the piece :)

It's down to grit selection and making sure the paper is tightly wrapped. I also earnestly recommend the cleaning blocks, made out of the same material as the soles of brothel-creepers.

Bottom line, it's a great thing to have, but I wish I'd bought a dual drum.

[Victor Robinson]

I have the 22-44ODS, and in line with Victor's advice, if I have the oscillation function inhibited, I get lines in the piece. If turn it on, I get wavy lines in the piece :)


Ha! I stand corrected. I thought the ODS didn't leave lines.

[Cary Falk]

ANybody have experience with the Grizzly G0458?
I have the Grizzly. I got it off of CL for $450. The table is rock solid. The belt is easy to track. The paper is easy to change. My motor gets hot pretty quick and starts popping breakers if I run it too long. That may be partially to a non dedicated curcuit. I'm not sure. There are a ton of bushings that are suppose to be lubed every day that are a PITA to get to. I am happy with it for the price I paid. If I were buying new I would probably look at the Delta. Same basic desigh with a separate motor for the belt. I don't like the design of the Jet. I saw one at a woodworking show where the drum was vibrating terribly. I also heard the sandpaper clips are a PITA.

[Dave Aronson]

I wait and wait for a used one, and apparently nobody has them in the Austin, TX area or they aren't selling them.

[John TenEyck]

I have the Delta 18 x 36; made in America. I bought it very lightly used for $500. I've never run a Performax, so I have no comparison, but I love my Delta. I run essentially everything that comes off the planer through the drum sander before doing any joinery work, which cuts way down on finish sanding. If you cut your own veneer or do bent laminations you will definitely like having a drum sander. I regularly sand veneers down to 1/16" and it's an easy process with the drum sander.

As noted, a drum sander is not a planer, but it's great for removing planer marks or sanding glued up panels. Changing paper on the Delta is a snap, the clamps are easy to use and they hold the paper under constant tension. Dust collection works great with my central dust collector hooked up to it. And as others have said, a drum sander has a nasty habit of putting grooves in your wood that are very hard to remove. After finding that problem, I only use 120 grit or finer. Those grooves are easy to remove with a quick sanding with a pad sander or even by hand.

Simply said, my drum sander is one of the best purchases I've ever made.

John

[Jim Falsetti]

I also have the delta 18/36 drum sander. Although mine has been ok, I can not recommend this machine as the timing belt wears out and the table raising/lowering gearshaft assembly, which has failed twice in several years, is "obsolete" and not available from any supplier or distributor. The gearshaft assembly has a cheap nylon bevel gear, and delta was kind enough to supply the gear drawing. However, accurately fitting a replacement gear to the gearshaft assembly is a pain.

Also, for some reason, it appears getting any delta parts is difficult.

Jim

[Mark Ashmeade]

I also have the delta 18/36 drum sander. Although mine has been ok, I can not recommend this machine as the timing belt wears out and the table raising/lowering gearshaft assembly, which has failed twice in several years, is "obsolete" and not available from any supplier or distributor. The gearshaft assembly has a cheap nylon bevel gear, and delta was kind enough to supply the gear drawing. However, accurately fitting a replacement gear to the gearshaft assembly is a pain.

Also, for some reason, it appears getting any delta parts is difficult.

Jim

I needed some Delta parts, and the usual parts suppliers were all out. I called Delta directly (the Chang-owned "new" Delta" in Anderson, SC) and they were very helpful. I had my parts within a couple of weeks. That echoes your experience of them being helpful. Unfortunately, I don't think they're ever going to return to what they were, however.

[Robert Chapman]

I have a 16-32. I have found it to be a high maintenance machine in terms of 1] the infeed belt needs frequent adjustment to keep it running straight 2] putting paper on the drum is kind of tricky particularly if you don't do it often, and 3] adjusting the parallelism of the drum to the bed is a difficult trial and error process at best. BUT when it is tuned up and running rignt it is a wonderful machine for a guy like me who does not enjoy sanding. I would not be without mine.

[keith micinski]

My only complaint with my 16/32 is the lines it leaves because sometimes it really takes a lot of work to get them totally out. I am sort of glad to hear that the Oscillating head on the 22/44 doesnt work very well because I have always said if one pops up on Craigslist I am going to buy it no matter what. Now I get to save some money

[Matt Meiser]

Andrew, I forgot you are local--send me a PM if you want to try out mine. But also, did you see the one just listed over on the west side of Cleveland?

[Andrew Kertesz]

Thanks for the offer Matt. Yes I did see that one and have contacted the seller and am waiting for pictures.

[AL Ursich]

I got my 22-44 from Member Jim Becker in Bucks County just South of me a few years ago listed on the Forum. LOVE IT !!!! I put some wide Fiber Packing Tape on the back side of the sand paper belt ends. I re Wrap after sanding the first few boards to take any slack out and it works GREAT.

THANKS !!!!!

AL

[Rick Potter]

If you can find a used Woodmaster, grab it. They are built like a tank. All American made, and come in 24, 36, 50" widths. Mine takes velcro sandpaper which goes on easily and works great. There is an available optional reverse on the the feed belt, which brings the workpiece right back to you. Some day I am gonna hook mine up.

Rick Potter

[William C Rogers]

Andrew

I have the Supermax 19-38. I am very satisfied with it. It is really solid. I did review on it on this fourm. I have been using it for about 6 months and it still performs very well. Paper is easy to change with ample room for your fingers to operate the clips. The Supermax support is great. The only thing they build is sanders. They were the Performax people before they sold that line to Jet. The 19 inch size has been ideal for me making cabinets. I have had some doors up to 18 inches. I haven't needed to use the 38 inch capacity yet, but the Supermax adjust the table rather than the sanding drum which is very easy. It takes about two minutes or less to change. The table is also 22 inches wide and is nice to have the extra width and probably more so using the 38 inch capacity. Also the table belt would be same as Performax. I have the DRO and really like it. Even the cover is solid metal and gives great support when hanging a dust collector hose off of it. The motor is specific to Supermax (their specifications) 1 1/2 hp. It is 110 and cannot be converted to 220. I havent had any problems with the motors. It has the load sensing conveyor motor that will slow down the feed rate is too much is being removed. The only thing I would do different is I bought the enclosed stand and would not buy that again. Nothing wrong with the enclosed stand and it looks nice, but adds nothing to the functionality for the $369 cost. The stand that comes with it is fine, however you need to buy casters. I did buy the infeed and outfeed tables and would do that again.

Bill

[Andrew Kertesz]

Thanks for all the recommendations and the advice. I pulled the trigger yesterday on a used Performax 16/32 from a fellow creeker. I got the sander, several rolls of paper, optional extension tables and a mobile base for $450. Leaves money for other toys.:D:D

[Dick Mahany]

Congrats ! I'd say you got an excellent deal. I'm sure you'll like it very much. Now go put it to work :) !

[Jim Underwood]

My only complaint with my 16/32 is the lines it leaves because sometimes it really takes a lot of work to get them totally out. I am sort of glad to hear that the Oscillating head on the 22/44 doesnt work very well because I have always said if one pops up on Craigslist I am going to buy it no matter what. Now I get to save some money

We use a two head widebelt (70x42) at work, and start with 80 grit on both heads. Then we jump up to 150/180 grit for polishing. Yeah, that skips a lot of steps but when you take off .005-.010" per pass, it really doesn't matter after several passes.
The only reason we get lines is because someone doesn't set the nails deep enough in the back side of doors, and it nicks the belt. Then you may as well throw that belt away. If we get cross grain sanding lines, then we just didn't go fine enough with the polishing belts or didn't leave enough material to take enough passes for the polishing belts.

[Paul Gilbert]

What is a DRO? I have the Jet 22/44 oscillating sander and find that it leaves waves in the wood in oscillating mode unless you slow the feed rate WAY WAY down.

[Ruel Smith]

What is a DRO?

Digital read out.