Edge or drum sander

[Gary Markham]

I have been trying to figure out which sander would be most useful. I do general case type furniture and some cabinets. Try to do more solid wood than plywood. Don’t do any veneers. A drum sander could do panels and maybe some face frame faces. An edge sander can do edges of doors and face frames. Co7ld also presand some parts before assembly and some draw boxes. I have a rigid spindle and really like the belt feature but it’s really short. I also have a 20” planer so most panel glue ups get planed If you have both which gets used more if you only have one which?
thanks
gary

[Dave Zellers]

I have both- the edge sander (Jet) is much more useful. It excels at sanding panel door edges, especially the top and bottom because of the end grain. I bought it specifically for that and was pleasantly surprised to find how often I use it for so many other things.

[Matt Day]

I had a cheap cantilevered drum sander, sold it, and am looking for an edge sander.

[Kevin Jenness]

If you are in business both are money makers and will be used on every job.

An edge sander is compact, affordable and low power. Oscillating is better, non-oscillating is better than none. Longer is better, and a swing-away dust hood is nice for work longer than the platen.

A drum sander is a poor substitute for a wide belt. For accuracy you want a closed frame machine, for efficiency at the least 10 hp- 20 hp per head is normal for commercial shops, and a platen is desirable. If your budget and power are limited (and whose aren't) you may be able to sub out panel sanding to another shop until you can afford your own.

[glenn bradley]

Apples and Oranges but, if I could only have one it would be an oscillating edge sander. I have both.

[Cary Falk]

WOW! I am surprised about the responses. I have a SuperMax 25/50 drum sander and a Jet 6x89 oscillating edge sander and the used the drum sander 100x more than the edge sander.

[Mike Kees]

I have an edge sander and drum sander. I use the edge sander far more than the drum sander. I purchased this machine used from a friend and was not sure how much I would use it,once I began to use it wondered how I ever lived without it.

[Carl Beckett]

I had various drum/belt sanders for years before I then also got an edge sander.

For me, the drum sander was critical when working with figured wood (or the occasional reverse grain or knot that would tear out). I put everything through it. For rails/stiles/picture frame type pieces I even stacked them all next to each other, on edge, and run them all through as a batch. Then I am starting with presanded, perfectly sized to each other.

The edge sander I do use and the use is growing. End grain was mentioned, and the variety of shapes/surfaces that it can handle. One thing that is different is that it doesnt 'size' a piece (just the opposite), and if not careful you can roll off edges or corners that you didnt want to. Simply a matter of operator skill, I am glad I added it and was picked up used for $300 so didnt break the bank. In general the edge sanders may be cheaper than the drum sanders (but sanders may take more space)

If I could have only one, I still have to have a drum sander (although I had great luck with a small/13" widebelt).

[Jim Becker]

WOW! I am surprised about the responses. I have a SuperMax 25/50 drum sander and a Jet 6x89 oscillating edge sander and the used the drum sander 100x more than the edge sander.

That's not surprising to me..."what" people do is going to affect which tools get used more. It's likely that the kind of work you enjoy is more prone to benefit from the drum sander than from the edge sander. I had a drum sander years ago and it sat...largely unused...just because of the nature of the things I was building. I sold it. Of course, now I'm doing some things that could greatly benefit from a drum sander because they are thin and cannot be reliably put through my planer for final surfacing because they tend to shatter. If I were building a lot of cabinets, I'd be all over an edge sander, too.

[Gordon Stump]

My edge sander is critical to maintaining professional products coming out of my shop. I use a stroke sander to flatten panels and doors. My stroke sander is from a kit but I think one would be fairly easy to build if you have a lathe for the wooden drums. Anyway, an edge sander is a great addition to any shop. I generally edge sand parts before glue-up.
Best of luck

[Dave Cav]

Edge sander. I use it every day. I had a drum sander, hated it, got a wide belt. I use it on every project but not as often as the edger.

[John Sincerbeaux]

Like most guys said already, we choose the tools based on what we hope they will help us accomplish. My edge sander is hands down the most versatile machine in my shop. I do a ton of “round” work and for me there is no better fabricator for round work than an edge sander. For flat work, my edge sander touches everything I make. Having owned a drum sander before, I would recommend going with an edge sander and skip the drum sander forever. When you can, get a wide belt.

[Carl Beckett]

I generally edge sand parts before glue-up.


I am going to have to rethink application of the edge sander, I must be under utilizing it. Such as edge sanding... would have never thought I could get them straight/square as what I get on the jointer. But if so, it could save me some swap out on the combo machine...

[Doug Dawson]

I am going to have to rethink application of the edge sander, I must be under utilizing it. Such as edge sanding... would have never thought I could get them straight/square as what I get on the jointer. But if so, it could save me some swap out on the combo machine...

I don't think you can, even up to the theoretical limit (think about the floating of the belt, knives don't float.) But in some workflows it could be a convenience.

[Jim Andrew]

I have both an edge sander and tiny open end widebelt sander, and would hate to do without either. Use the edge sander on most every panel, top, frame, door, and drawer front, and use the round end to sand the feet for my chests, end tables, and such, but use the wide belt on every flat surface, as the sander does not tear out no matter what grain, and all the panels need is a little touch up with the ROS. Now that I have both these sanders, they are both essential. The widebelt flattens as it sands, and the edge sander cleans up ends of panels, so saves lots of time using a ROS, and I do not enjoy hand sanding.

[Erik Loza]

I have some experience with commercial widebelts and will say that using them for anything other than a poor man’s planer (which many shops do...), requires a delicate touch of balancing pneumatic pressure, feed rate, etc. My impression of drum sanders (at least from shops I talk to) is that nobody truly loves them. More of a “because I can’t afford a widebelt”-type thing. Just my observation.

Since the Hammer edge sander got brought up in another thread and we’re asking about popularity of drum vs. edge, I will say that the HS950 seems to be selling well here in the States, if that’s any indicator that folks are going for edge sanders.

Erik

[Gary Markham]

Thanks for all the responses. I had an old reliant 12” open end belt sander (not drum). Got it free from the lab at a particle board mill when the co I work for bought the mill to brown field repurpose. I never could get it to work very well so I gave it away after a year. I hav3 been thinking edge sander for a while and the new hammer got me looking again. Looks like I’ll order one Monday
thanks all
gary

[Mike Cutler]

Gary
if it means anything, My dual drum sander hasn't been turned on in quite awhile, but I seem to always have my belt sander clamped in the vise to use as a small spindle, edge sander. I would love to have an oscillating edge sander.
That said, I won't give up my dual drum sander anytime soon. I know it's not a wide belt, or a stroke sander, but it does work quite well.

[Ole Anderson]

Never had a drum sander, but I have a poor man's edge sander. It is an old Craftsman 6x48 belt sander upgraded with a 1 HP TEFC motor. Used it for production sanding aluminum extrusions for 15 years. I fabbed a vertical fence so I could use it for edge sanding. Just used it today edge and flat sanding parts for the Adirondack chairs I am building.