25" drum sander digital upgrades

[John Lanciani]

I've added two things to my 25" General International double drum sander to improve it's function. First, an I-Gauging digital height gauge. The mounting was dead simple, it installed where the factory gauge was located with no modifications and just a couple of small holes in the sheetmetal to mount the beam. The remote readout is a real plus, I normally have it positioned on the top of the sander under the height crank.

Next was a volt/amp meter. Someone here mentioned these 6 months or so ago as a possible option for dust collectors. I got this one from an e-pay vendor, about $9 shipped direct from China. Installation took about an hour, but was simple due to plenty of extra room in the junction box. This is valuable to me because this sander is underpowered at 3hp (15 amps nameplate) and I'm normally running it within an inch of it's life. These sanders really should be 5hp minimum, and as soon as this motor dies it will be. Unfortunately 5 hp 1725rpm motors are uncommon and pricy.

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[David Kumm]

Nice. The 5 hp motor is pretty standard. You should be able to find one easily. If single phase, look at the Leeson farm duty motors. Dave

[Mikail Khan]

Thanks for posting. Will check out the volt/amp meters.

[Mike Cutler]

Nice!!

I see a mod for my Steel City drum sander, which looks to be an exact clone of that General.
The motor is pretty simple to replace, but it requires that all of the sheet metal come off, as well as the feed table. I had to replace a bevel gear on mine, so I got to take it apart a few months back.

I'd like to see a better pic of your DC pickup hood if I could. I need to modify mine, still stock, because it kinda sucks, and not in the good way.