New Drum Sander- Really hard decision

[Stephen White]

WOW! I have spent days in review hell trying to decide on a low end drum sander. Looked at scores of them, started out looking at the WEN 10" $750 one at Home Depot and ended up buying a Jet 18/36 ($1500 with casters and infeed/outfeed extension and tax). I am doing a bunch of small 1' cheese boards and small art tile frames not much bigger that any of the choices out there, including bench top, would do but that didn't help at all with the decision because I want to build out my shop to handle lots of different types of projects for probably the next 20 years or so (I've got a $99 table saw that I have been using for 35 years).

I would guess I am a pretty typical of hobby folks on this board. While I have some dough to spend it's still limits me to well made prosumer stuff and other than hand tools (plenty of those) I need all the floor stuff. I am 59 with a shop full of 'get me by' tools I have accumulated over the years for working on small re-hab projects, home repair and building a 400' building just buying the tools as I went. Now as I am nearing a time in life when I can spend a lot more time in the shop I want start picking up a few nice wish list tools I have never had and replace some that are either worn out or just plain cheap and crappy like my cheap Home Depot chop saw and table saw bought on sale when I was 25 and used to death.

This was a much harder decision than I thought it would be. In the $600-$2000 range I found so many choices it was really an overload. I've had the Supermax 19-38, Grizzly open-end 18" and Jet 22-44 all in my cart at one point with all the accessories. Size, features, cost all kept me in a constant state of indecision. The digital readout of the SupperMax almost got me and then read a review of how useless a guy thought it was on a drum sander and he made a good argument. Going big always seems like a good move but I am in a minor part of a 2 1/2 car garage that is shared with a lot of pottery equipment so space is a big deal and so space almost got me into the SuperMax because of something as minor as folding infeed/outfeed add-ons.

At the end of the day I just pulled the trigger on the one (Jet 18/36) that was the latest in my cart. I decided that being able to do finish sanding on a set of wood glue up doors for a new house next year would be my large benchmark project and theoretically this is the smallest one I could get and use for that project on a 35 3/4" door. (I know, I know a LOT of people claim the open end sanders don't work for larger than drum pieces. But I have seen lots of videos of it working :)

Completely exhausted. Now I have a CNC, Planner, Drum Sander nailed. On to a good band saw when I recover from this buy.

Of course I still have a weekend of putting it together. It will take me 12 hours to do what the manual says should be done in 2, sigh.

[Richard Coers]

The trouble with using the open ended feature, is that you have to adjust the drum slightly out of parallel with the table. If you leave it dead parallel, you will get a little step in the wood where it overlaps. You'll also find that removal of material at full capacity width is really a slow process. Besides the slow material removal, the cross grain scratches will be quite deep. These aren't like a platter thickness sander. Mine has some age on it, but running a 35 3/4" entrance door would be about the last thing I attempted. I love them for dressing drawer stock to thickness and perfect for bent shaker box parts.

[ChrisA Edwards]

Maybe we need a 'Wanted To Buy' section down in the marketplace.

I've been thinking about selling my SuperMax 19-38 with stand and DRO in lieu of getting the version with the drum/brush capability.

[Jim Becker]

Depending on your needs, any of the machines you mentioned will do a decent job. I happened to have scored a (barely) used Supermax 19-38 this past fall and I don't anticipate ever using it for things wider than 19". When I have that need, I take the workpiece to Bucks County Hardwoods and have them run it through their "really wide" sander for chump-change.

----
Chris, how's the DRO worked for you? I need to pick one up so I can not only get the accuracy but also switch back and forth between metric (my preferred system) and Imperial.

[Robert D Evans]

I've been struggling with the same decision lately. I want (need) a drum sander for cleaning up segmented rings. I can clean up 3/4" rings on the disc sander but any thinner and it gets dicey. The Supermax has some nice features, but at a cost. I like the folding extension tables and the quick adjust lever. I suspect that the battery operated digital thickness gauge being operated on a sanding machine will not be long for this world. The Jet has a 5 year warranty and is on sale for 15% off and free shipping now but no folding tables and space is a premium. For my purposes, I think the 16-32 would be just fine. I just haven't convinced myself to make the leap yet.

[Stephen White]

That was an issue for me too but I measured and decided it was not enough to make the decision on since I was worried about just how sturdy and true those fold-a-way in/out feeds would be over time. Once I questioned that then moving to the Jet saved me couple hundred dollars out the door and moved me to the 18". Lots to consider.

[Stephen White]

ya know isn't that true, they all seemed to be great machines for the price and it just comes down to all the trade-offs being weighed with each.

[Stephen White]

I'm looking forward to jerking around with it. If I could just get a leg up on the finish sanding I would be happy with such a project. I built a boat a while back and all the sanding was a real pain.

[Stephen White]

I have resisted used though because I want the decisions for these large tools to be based on a match to me and features/reviews not just availability and price. Do others fell different?

[ChrisA Edwards]

I found the DRO useful for sanding down to a specified thickness when I had a lot of pieces to do that started off at varying thicknesses.

It was just more convenient to use the DRO than grabbing my calipers to check each piece.

I found it extremely accurate once you are down to the last 2 or 3 very light finishing passes through the machine.

It's a nice add-on, but not absolutely necessary.

Robert, I use my Drum Sander for segmented rings also, works very well. I don't have the extension tables and frankly, I don't think they really offer that much assistance or advantage. The wood moves so slowly through the sander and the rollers clamp the work piece down well, it's easy to manually support the work on the in feed side and transition to the out feed as necessary. If I needed extra support, I'd just use standalone roller stands.

I also ditched the stand that my SuperMax came with and build this to utilize the dead space beneath it.

https://i1094.photobucket.com/albums/i452/cedwards874/Woodworking/DrumSanderCabinet_zps0qitlgbf.jpg

[Ron Selzer]

I have a 15" wide belt sander bought used that I would not have bought new strictly due to price. 1500 versus 5-6k. I just never could get happy with a drum sander, had three different ones. Table saw was bought new to be able to get exactly what I wanted. One panel saw was bought new and one was used at a great price that allowed me to fully option it out with new parts and still be less than new price for basic saw. So all depends on what you can find out there, and what options/features are highly important to you.
Good luck with yours
Ron

[Rod Wolfy]

Depending on your needs, any of the machines you mentioned will do a decent job. I happened to have scored a (barely) used Supermax 19-38 this past fall and I don't anticipate ever using it for things wider than 19".


I had one in my cart a couple of times, too. But I was diligent on CL and found one (after 6 months) that the owner had recently bought & assembled, including wheels. He was cutting down wood on a new Powermatic 14" bandsaw, then sanding the 2” strips to laser engrave. He then found a source for pre-cut plates. I got there and thought it was new (almost). No argument for the $800. Works great on cutting boards! He sold the new bandsaw & DC for like $800 too, but I didn't need either.

[Don Jarvie]

I've been struggling with the same decision lately. I want (need) a drum sander for cleaning up segmented rings. I can clean up 3/4" rings on the disc sander but any thinner and it gets dicey. The Supermax has some nice features, but at a cost. I like the folding extension tables and the quick adjust lever. I suspect that the battery operated digital thickness gauge being operated on a sanding machine will not be long for this world. The Jet has a 5 year warranty and is on sale for 15% off and free shipping now but no folding tables and space is a premium. For my purposes, I think the 16-32 would be just fine. I just haven't convinced myself to make the leap yet.

i bought the Supermax 19/38 for this purpose. Sanding rings by hand was a pain in the behind so this is a time saver. I have no complaints.

[Alex Zeller]

The spending creep always gets me. I'm looking for one to sand rings after glue up for segmented bowls. Each time I look at new I end up looking at the Grizzly 24" drum sander with the thought that not being an open ended sander I wouldn't have to deal with adjusting the sander not to get a tapered board. Of course I've now gone from something I can find used for $500 to $800 around here pretty easily to $2k so I revert back to keeping an eye on the used market. One thing I have noticed is when it comes to drum sanders the open end ones are always coming up used on the market (and selling quickly). I don't know if that means they are a great option and when people outgrow them they hold their value or if it's people who bought them thinking they can sand a 36" table with ease.

[Jim Becker]

Alex, I think one of the reasons that drum sanders come up used (and often barely used) is because folks buy them in anticipation of using them a lot, only to find that their actual project work isn't there and the space they take up is more valuable. That happened to me the first time around....bought a very nice Performax 22-44 and used it exactly once over a long time period. It turned out that the kind of work I was doing at the time didn't benefit. So I sold it in the Classifieds here (for good money) to another 'Creeker and moved on. Things change...with the guitar work I started a year ago, having a drum sander became an asset, so when a (barely) used Supermax 19-38 came up in the Classifieds here last fall...I grabbed it...at a very good discount off new. Given I now have the business, it was also fully depreciated on my 2019 corporate tax, too. I haven't used it a lot but it's the "right tool for the job" a lot more now than that first time around.

[Stephen White]

Thanks! I am producing a dozen boards a day and will probably be in the same range with small frames and no way I'm going to finish sand those everyday so the drum had to happen.

I had really thought I would get the tools as I need them and then research to buy but like you seem to be very tuned unto what you want so you can snag the right deal when you see it. My plan of figuring it out when I need it makes it hard to do that. I have an absurdly cheap $99 special table saw that I just feel should be replaced at some point but it has always done what I needed. That might a good one to figure out and start watching the used market.

Good advice, thanks!

[Jim Becker]

Stephen, keep in mind that a drum sander is not a finishing sander. It's for leveling and minor thicknessing. You'll still be finish sanding with ROS and by hand... ;)

[glenn bradley]

Lots of opinions in this category, all with value. I went through your "review hell" but, for a purchase of this importance I percolated through data for weeks, not days. The importance factor for me was quality of product, refinement of design, price point, footprint and available shop space. I ran machine specs, long term user responses and reviews through my filter for weeks on end. As much as I wanted to go for something smaller, the entry point for me boiled down to the Supermax 19-38 with no contenders.

The place in history when you make your decision can alter your choices. When I needed a powerful trim router the Bosch Colt was the only game in town. If choosing a direction today I might go a different way. I made my Supermax choice in mid 2013. At that time Supermax had resolved tracking issues, alignment issues, paper changing issues and came from a long line of quality machine designers. It has been a wonderful machine.

There are now other offerings, reports of drive mechanism failures in the 16-32, some cosmetic changes to the 19-38 and the sale of the line to Laguna Tools. I will say that I learned from previous mistakes; I couldn't bring myself to pay what the oscillating belt sander I wanted cost. I bought the Jet at a decent price and it is a usable machine. It is not the machine I wanted and despite some after purchase add-ons and efforts . . . I should have just ponied up. This led me to go with the data when I was looking for the "right" drum sander for my situation. I paid a few hundred more than I planned but, I haven't thought about that since I got the machine . . . thanks for bring up a painful memory :p. Just kidding. Work your data and get the machine you want. Buying regret is a losing proposition.

[Stephen White]

true but It should give me a strong head start with so many to do. The frames will benefit the most I think. My plan was to run everything through at 80, the 120 and then go with something like 220 and then drop down to 180 for ROS. We'll see. It was also needed for some end grain cutting boards I don't want to put through the planer. In one of the tons of articles someone mentioned the drum was what they called 'aggressive' and recommended that approach.

I have never worked with one so it may well fall short of my expectations but I'm hoping it will help reduce my sanding load every day and make some thinks profitable that wouldn't otherwise be with too much labor.

[Ron Selzer]

"Buying regret is a losing proposition."

So very true, been there done that, and trying hard not to do it again
When I bought my 6" Jet Jointer new, there was a used 8" Delta in the back room for sale in great condition for a few hundred more (1986). Almost bought the Delta was bouncing back and forth, went in to get one to take home and found out that a highly experienced person had used the Delta one evening for a quick small job since I was last in and had to make a trip to the emergency room. I don't buy tools once they taste blood, just a phobia I have. The Jet 6" has worked good all these years, decided to upgrade to an 8" in January which has been quite the experience. Quickly raised sights to a 12" jointer, then a 12" combo machine and now trying hard to figure out how to fit a 16" combo in the basement. Once everything settles down and if I still have a job then I will have to get very serious and make my mind up.
Good luck
Ron

[Rod Wolfy]

Also, don't make the mistake of buying a drum sander to thickness your pieces. It is a very slow tool that only does one thing well, which is sanding already flat and thicknessed pieces of wood for small irregularities or smoothing.

For example, when a cutting board comes out of glue up, I can't just drum sand it to get it flat or use it to take the excess glue off (the glue will gum up the paper). I have to hand plane it flat (as it doesn't fit in my planer) and then sand it.

[Alex Zeller]

Stephen, keep in mind that a drum sander is not a finishing sander. It's for leveling and minor thicknessing. You'll still be finish sanding with ROS and by hand... ;)

And this is the other reason why I end up looking at the Grizzly 24" drum sander. With two drums it has the ability to have two different grits. I don't know how effective it is sanding with a course grit and then a finer grit on the same pass but I was hoping that the second drum could be lowered enough so only it would come in contact with a board if wanting to do more of a finish pass. I'm thinking that 200ish grit will leave very little hand sanding. One thing that's not talked too much about with open ended or single drum sanders is the time needed to swap grits.

[Stephen White]

I'm thinking that 200ish grit will leave very little hand sanding. One thing that's not talked too much about with open ended or single drum sanders is the time needed to swap grits.

That's what I'm hoping too. I'm doing a couple of dozen at a session so I think the few minutes to change the paper will feel like a bit change on the CNC. The change in the YouTube video's I saw for the Jet anyway looked fairly easy and not too troublesome.

[Stephen White]

Ya know it seems that the best thing to do is keep taking a run at it. All of you guys have tons of experience and I have no doubt each opinion is well founded and based on direct experience. As a programmer by day I would only say that process work can have so many factors that two or more people will have different results with seemingly the exact same process.

I ran across this reply in another article:


Dave T Pilot April 19, 2009 5:48 am



I rarely disagree with Marc but this time…sorry Marc but I gotta do it. I just got a great buy on a barely used Jet 10-20 drum sander. After about 1/2 hour of reading the very thin manual and adjusting the setup I ran boards between 10 and 20 inches through, making two passes with absolutely no ridge. Having said that, I was getting a ridge at first but adjusted the outboard end of the drum a tiny bit at a time until it was slightly higher than the inboard end and voila!
I have only had the drum sander for a couple of weeks but am wondering how I ever lived without it. When making my first end grain cutting board, for example, the board was not flat and “rocked” on a table after the final glue up. The drum sander and 80 grit paper solved the problem easily.
The paper is easy to change so I moved up through the grits to finish the cutting board. It was the easiest and most enjoyable sanding experience I have ever had.

[Jim Becker]

I suspect that you will ultimately be like many of us and keep 100 grit on the drum sander...changing it can get to be a pain because of the careful wrapping needed, etc.

[Richard Coers]

200ish paper will glaze incredibly quickly, and put a lot of heat into the wood. I don't ever use that fine on cherry, it can get a line from a pitch line very quickly and then leave a burn line down the entire board.

[Rod Wolfy]

Oh great! I just received my 220 rolls this week. What about with light passes?

[Stewart Lang]

I have a double drum 25" from General International that I use for sanding. Yes, regular 220 grit will not last long on bare steel drums. There's two tricks you can use though. First, put hook and loop on the steel drum and use H&L sandpaper. It gives enough cushion and a little air gap to keep the sandpaper from getting crushed between the drum and wood. Helps keep the paper from burning. Second, use Abranet rolls. The mesh keeps you from getting clogged up.

I regularly sand hard maple panels 20" wide for a niche product I make. I put 240 grit Abranet on both drums with moderately heavy passes with no clogging or burning ever. However, be aware you still need to sand with a ROS afterwards, 1 grit down. So 180 afterwards.

[Steve Demuth]

Oh great! I just received my 220 rolls this week. What about with light passes?

220 is pretty fine. One thing that helps a lot if you are going that fine is to spray the drum with teflon fairly regularly. Helps the paper release sanding dust. And never more than 1/64" per pass, and even that won't fly in a wood that burns easily, like maple or cherry.

[Ben Grefe]

I recently started putting Abranet rolls of h&l on my drum sander and it’s a game changer. Before this I would frequently get little burn lines in my work if I cranked the handle a fraction of a turn too much. The Abranet h&l paper gives you just enough cushion to make a tiny mistake without any repercussions.

I also went from 80 grit normal paper to 120 girt on the Abranet. My 80 grit was very worn out, but even when new it didn’t remove material as well as the 120 grit I replaced it with.

I might sound like an advert for Abranet, but it really changed my drum sander from a niche tool that only came out in very specific projects to a more regular steps in my work.

Like another poster, ditch the stand. It’s a massive waste of space. I just finished a cabinet under mine (has been on the to-do list for 5 years now). Really kicking myself for not doing that earlier.