drum sanders

[jeff oldham]

I have been looking at the grizzly go458 grizzly open end sander,,,can anyone give me any input on this sander,,,ease of use or changing the sand paper or for that matter what kind you would recommend,,,thank you

[Don Jarvie]

I'm in the market too and am going to get a Supermax 19/38. Everyone that has one seems to like it.

[Robert Willing]

I have one now for 5 years similar to the Jet. I would wait till they run a package deal include the in/out feed tables, and swivel wheels. I don't use it all the time and the wheels make it easy to store, one more thing I have the Rockler dust right system and made an adapter using schedule 20 PVC pipe cut (3" long) length wise (this makes the fitting expand) to fit over the dust fitting.

[jeff oldham]

are you speaking about the grizzly or supermax

[Robert Willing]

similar to the supermax

[Robert Engel]

Generally I'm satisfied with the Grizzly machines I have except for the dual drum sander.

I know its not the same, but if its not made much better, I would go with Performax.

[Ted Baxter]

I have had the G0458 for about three months now I like it but sometimes the feed belt will start tracking off so I have to keep an eye on it and adjust it from time to time. I have read on some fourms that it does this for a while and then the belt will settle down and run stright. It has meet my expections so far.

[William C Rogers]

No problems with the Supermax 19/38. I've had mine for about 5 years now. I am not familiar with the Grizzly. One thing to consider is the ease of changing the sandpaper.

[Cary Falk]

I had the Grizzly G0458. I bought it used on CL for $450. I got my moneys worth before I sold it for $450 4 years later and bought a Supermax 25/50. There were a lot of bushings that were supposed to be lubricated at each use. There were several that were hard to get to. Belt seemed to always move. It is loud vs my SuperMax that I sometimes forget I have it on. The sand paper was a slight pain to change but it did keep the paper tight. I felt the motor was a little underpowered to run both the conveyor and the drum. I never took more off than a 1/8 of a turn of the elevation crank. At full price I think there are better options. I wouldn't buy a Jet 16/32 either. I am a huge SuperMax now and I think the 19/38 would be a great choice if you can swing the extra dough. I would also wait for a sale where they throw in the tables and the sandpaper. I don't think a DRO is that useful on a sander since you are taking so little off.

[Randy Heinemann]

I don't have one, so I'm only commenting on the specs. The GO458 has a 2 1/2" dust port. Given my experience with stationary power tools and 2 1/2" versus 4" (like the Jet or Supermax) I would say that dust collection would likely be inferior with a 2 1/2" port. Given that one of the big things with drum sanders is the amount of dust produced, I'd check around to see if there are any reviews or videos online that address this issue. Other than that, I have heard nothing but great things about the Supermax and even good things about the Jet (Jet recently upgraded their model). I also realize that, price wise, there is no comparison between the Grizzly and either the Jet or Supermax. You can buy a Grizzly plus another good tool for the price of one Jet or Supermax. Sometimes, though, you get what you pay for.

[Earl Rumans]

I just ordered the Jet 22-44OSC drum sander. I was torn between the Jet and the Supermax 19-38. After doing a lot of research and finding a great deal on one, I decided to spend the extra and get the Jet, due to the oscillating feature. I didn't like the specs on the Grizzly, especially the 2½ inch dust port. Good dust extraction is critical on a drum sander, to keep the heat down and prevent burning.

[Mark W Pugh]

No problems with the Supermax 19/38. I've had mine for about 5 years now. I am not familiar with the Grizzly. One thing to consider is the ease of changing the sandpaper.


This^^^^^^^^^

Except, the paper clamp, on the motor end, broke. They sent me a free one, and easy to replace. However, all parts on clamp are aluminum. I can see why it can break. I really like this machine.

[Cary Falk]

The GO458 has a 2 1/2" dust port..

It's not even that. It is a rectangular port which a plastic adaptor expands to 2 1/2" round for the collection bag. I made a puck to convert the rectangular port to 4". That being said I never had a dust issue.

[Peter Froh]

I cut a hole on the top and screwed a 6" hvac boot to it. Dust collection is not an issue anymore. I also converted mine to hook and loop paper.

[Bill Huber]

I would really think hard on that sander, the head does not move just the table, this is fine for small parts but for longer one it is a problem. You would have to made and adjustable infeed out feed table.

[Ben Rivel]

I avoid Grizzly whenever I can. From my drum sander research I have found little reason to not go with the tried and true Supermax 19/38 or any other model from them.

[Patrick Lesher]

I went to buy a SuperMax, but they had just sold it their last one. They had a deal on the brand new redesigned Jet and I picked it up instead. Jet changed a few of the "issues" the older Jet's had and made it a lot more like the Supermax. I've been very happy with the Jet and would recommend it. Changing the paper ( just did it yesterday ) isn't that bad and doesn't need tools. It is easy to adjust getting it flat but mine came correctly set.

[Dave VanDewerker]

I have the grizzly go458, not impressed with it. Under powered, dust collect is marginal and with the table moving long stack is a pain.
If I had it to do over I would save up for the Supermax

[Bruce Page]

I had a Delta 18/36 open end sander. It worked fine, very good port design for DC, not too difficult to change paper but was easy to blow the paper if pushed even slightly hard. I sold it and bought a Woodmaster.

[Bradley Gray]

I have a supermax 25" dual drum. Works great. Usually cleans up from the planer in 1 pass.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I think oscillation is key. Please give us an update.

[jeff oldham]

what sander are you speaking about the grizzly or supermax