Jet vs Supermax drum sander

[Andrew Seemann]

I'm considering breaking down and buying a drum sander. I've narrowed it down to the Supermax 19-38 and the Jet 2244 as being the most likely candidates. The Supermax seems to be the more popular of the two, but the new Jet model has this neat table parallelism adjuster that the Supermax does not. I'm leaning towards the Jet as it is wider and and can easily adjust away any ridges when doing wider work.

Does anyone have experience with either of these machines? As much as I would like a 37" Timesaver, an open ended drum sander is more realistic for my needs, budget, and space. The Supermax has a lot of reviews, but I haven't found much on the Jet, other than a video by Jet.

Thanks!

[Jebediah Eckert]

I picked up a used Jet 2244 a couple of years ago. Adjusting it for parallel (and everything else) was pretty easy and it has held the adjustments fine. Changing the paper is easy enough once you get the hang of it. Although I find it not easy and quick enough to change multiple grits for one piece. It came with a bunch of paper and grits so I have tried a bunch. My machine pretty much stays with 120 or 150 grit, not sure everyone would agree with that but it works for me.

As I am sure you know they are slow, but not as slow as I expected after all my research before buying it. If you try to take too large a pass you will pay for it. So, after wrecking a piece from your project or the paper, you become extra cautious and just spend the extra time.

I do not sand every piece of a project with it, not even close. I find the scratch pattern brutal to remove, even with 180 grit, 80 is brutal. If I flatten a door or a panel with 120, I drop back to 80 with the random orbital to remove them. Even with 80 I spend a bunch of extra time then I would off a planer. Otherwise it will show up when you finish it. But, it does keep it nice and flat. If I just have a single board for a project it will not get used. I find handplaning, or sanding, is quicker to remove machine marks then the drum sander marks,and it’s not even close.

Basically, I use it for flattening glue ups, and flattening something with crazy grain, or when sneaking up on a dimension.

As strange as I found this, it doesn’t save me any sanding time (sometimes causes more), but it does keep things flat. I bought it (also it was a good deal) to save myself sanding, it doesn’t for me, but I do find it useful and am glad I have it.

The few times I went wider then 22” it worked fine, but I have only done that a handful of times.

The Jet oscillates but I don’t always use that. I think it keeps the heat down but I am on the fence which scratch pattern is worse to remove.

[Robert D Evans]

I just bought the Supermax 16-32 drum sander. Do not underestimate the value of that quick adjust handle the Supermax has. It's a great feature. I too debated between the Supermax and the Jet. The Supermax was a little more expensive but had a few more features standard.

[Jebediah Eckert]

What is the quick adjust handle? Just curious, my selection was based on the Jet being offered up for sale....nothing more.

[Tom DiBiasio]

I had to really LEARN to love my Supermax 1938 - one of the key learnings for me, even if I already knew it, is that a drum sander is not a planer. What that means is that you need to make at minimum two passes before changing any depth settings - most of the time I make 3 passes now as I am never in any sort of rush and want to use my machines to the fullest. The one game changer for me with this machine was when I installed a DRO unit, not only on the Sander but also on my planer. Once these two DRO's were calibrated together the real efficiencies of this machine came into the picture. What I do now with all project parts that need dimensioning is that I first Joint\Plane down to desired thickness but leave at minimum 1/32" proud. What ever that dimension is on the planer DRO I then set the DRO on the sander to the exact setting and use the sander to bring my parts down to the exact final dimension needed. This ensures really flat, consistent stock pieces without any snipe or mill marks caused by the planer. I use 180 grit only on the sander and at least for me for the time being - this process has been pretty bullet proof and im really happy with the results.

TomD

[Jim Becker]

I owned a Jet 22-44 years ago and it was a nice, sturdy machine. I would expect that improvements like the feature you state are very nice to have. I currently own the 19-38 and it's also a worthy machine...I actually added the DRO to mine this past weekend.

As to width, if the 22" single pass width is better for the majority of the work you do, then that's likely the better choice. The 19" on the SuperMax is right in my sweet spot for what I largely use it for.

[glenn bradley]

Hard to find anyone who doesn't love their 19-38 if they've ever had another similar sized drum sander. The table leveling, paper changing and the "Fast Lever" are all things that led me to Supermax. The "Fast Lever" is simply a lever on a rod with a flat machined the length of one edge. When you move the lever it slightly tips the table to avoid a seam where the drum ends when sanding larger than 19" panels.

I don't have room for many one-trick-ponies in my shop and so ease of changinh abrasives was high on my list. The Supermax is quick enough that I don't hesitate to swap paper to get the most surface prep I can out of the machine. I keep a range of paper handy in the back of the stand I made for it.

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The stand that comes with it is surprisingly heavy duty for its appearance but, I can't spare a footprint that size without it earning its keep in storage.

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As mentioned earlier, if you will routinely sand wider than 19" then the width on the Jet could override other features and conveniences. Both have a hard drum and feed belt / platen which were also important to me. That doesn't mean they're important to you ;-) The value of a certain set of features on a tool varies with how much we will use them.

[Steve Wurster]

I just bought the Supermax 16-32 drum sander. Do not underestimate the value of that quick adjust handle the Supermax has. It's a great feature. I too debated between the Supermax and the Jet. The Supermax was a little more expensive but had a few more features standard.

The quick adjust handle for overall drum height is only on the Supermax 16-32, not the Supermax 19-38. I recently bought a Supermax 19-38 and it's all hand-cranking.

Models from both manufacturers have the table adjustment that helps remove ridges when sanding something wider than the drum.

[Jim Becker]

Geepers, Steve...we have matching tools only a mile apart. LOL That said, mine at least cranks up and down pretty fast and as I noted above, I put the DRO on it last weekend...big improvement for me!

[Robert D Evans]

The quick adjust handle for overall drum height is only on the Supermax 16-32, not the Supermax 19-38. I recently bought a Supermax 19-38 and it's all hand-cranking.

Models from both manufacturers have the table adjustment that helps remove ridges when sanding something wider than the drum.

Ok, my mistake. I thought they both had the same features.

[Rod Wolfy]

... but the new Jet model has this neat table parallelism adjuster that the Supermax does not. I'm leaning towards the Jet as it is wider and and can easily adjust away any ridges when doing wider work.

Thanks!

The guys that designed the original version of this type of drum sander did it under the company name "Performax". After some years, they sold their patented design to Jet, (along with a non-competitive clause,).

After some years, the designers wanted to get back into the business and started "SuperMax". Both the 16-32 and the 19-38 have the same features, with the exception of a "quick height adjustment lever" on the 16-32 model. This is a "quick release" bar that lets you disengage the threaded post for quick gross height adjustment, like on a router base. It came out right before I got my 19-38 and I don't know why they haven't added it to that model. However, the wider base of the 19-38 was what swayed me to get it.

As someone else mentioned, both of the SuperMax models have a little lever that you turn up/down on the back right side of the outfeed table which quickly adjusts the table height on the outside by .03” for when you are running a piece through that is wider than the 19”, so that there are no sanding lines from the offset. I did a 22” wide by 40” long cherry dining room table leaf and used this when I turned the piece around ever other pass.

Also as someone mentioned, this kind of machine is not to be confused with a planer; don't think that you can get it in lieu of a planer. I wouldn't even want to use it immediately after a glue up, for fear of getting the glue stuck on the belt. It's best used for taking 1/32” or less off to clean up a planed board or something with difficult grain, like an end grain cutting board.

They are handy to have, but are not usually one of the first dozen large power tools that I would consider. Mine takes up a lot of floor space, but it's handy for cabinet doors, bigger slabs and difficult grained woods.

[Steve Wurster]

Geepers, Steve...we have matching tools only a mile apart. LOL That said, mine at least cranks up and down pretty fast and as I noted above, I put the DRO on it last weekend...big improvement for me!

Yup. Although it's more like 2 miles "as the crow flies". lol

And I've had no problems with the cranking, either. It's a pretty fine thread, but at only 4" of total travel it doesn't really take that much time.

I didn't get the DRO; I figured I'll see how I end up using this before deciding whether to go that route.

[Jim Becker]

I didn't get the DRO; I figured I'll see how I end up using this before deciding whether to go that route.

I got it because...metric...which is what I primarily work in. The DRO doesn't eliminate the need to use my calipers, but reduces that need to "final sneaking up" on the thickness. It's easy to add in the future if you decide you want it...about ten minutes to install. I bought it via Amazon but it shipped from Acme Tool.

[Lisa Starr]

I have the Supermax 16-32, and wouldn't trade it for the world. Don't use it on every project, but when I do, it is a joy. It makes "sneaking up" on dimensions so easy.

[Robert D Evans]

I use the Supermax 16-32 for sanding segmented rings. Works great for that.

[glenn bradley]

The quick adjust handle for overall drum height is only on the Supermax 16-32, not the Supermax 19-38. I recently bought a Supermax 19-38 and it's all hand-cranking.

Models from both manufacturers have the table adjustment that helps remove ridges when sanding something wider than the drum.


Ok, my mistake. I thought they both had the same features.

Good clarification. Don't confuse the Fast Lever that slightly tilts the table with the Quick Height Adjust feature. I have never missed the QR feature BUT, I also don't have it on my router lift and sent my QR workbench vises down the road years ago. This is a feature that has great value to some and not to others; both are right.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I have the 19-38, I got it over the 16-32 because it has a 4" depth capacity, vs 3" for the 16-32. I use mine almost every day, often to flatten glued up rings of blocks, and with 80 grit the glue has never been a problem. Mine saves me a lot of time and gives me some more precision, for instrument building I wouldn't want to be without one. For things like cutting boards they might be too slow to be practical, but I need to machine small amounts of wood to a very consistent thickness and avoid tearout, so it works great for me. I've never been around a Jet, though I have other Jet tools and am very pleased with them.

[Andrew Seemann]

Well, I ordered the Supermax 1938. In the end, the Jets I was looking at were out of stock until late June/July, and Acme had the Supermax in stock. It should be here next week. Thanks everyone for the info!

[Robert D Evans]

I bought mine from Acme last month and they were a pleasure to deal with. Enjoy your new tool.

[Jim Becker]

Congrats! Acme is who actually shipped my DRO for the 19-38 when I ordered it on Amazon.

[Steve Wurster]

I ordered mine through Acme as well, although I ordered the extension tables from someone else (Beaver Industrial) because I think they were out of stock at Acme at the time.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I got mine from ACME two years ago, it took a little while to get here by truck from North Dakota but I expected that, and everything went very smoothly.

[Ted Diehl]

I'm looking at one from Toolnut but have not pulled the lever - still investigating which one I want. I've always had good luck with Toolnut

[Robert Hayward]

Good luck with your purchase, whichever one you go with. Do you realize this thread is about 2 1/2 years old?