Drum Sander Kickback

[Jeffrey Kibler]

Hello and hope everyone is doing well. So i recently had some issues with my performax 22-44 drum sander which ended up being the motor coupling. Replacing the coupling resulted in me basically disassembling the sander. Anyway, i got it all put back together and did the entire setup process exactly like the manual said. Aligned the drum and and the infeed/outfeed rollers and had the thing set up perfectly.

Fast forward a few weeks i was sanding a bunch of 12" veneer panels yesterday, and I got KICKBACK from a drum sander (which i didn't even know was possible) and i took a veneer bullet right to the pills. Was curious if anyone has ever seen this. I'm pretty good at aligning tools and i'm positive it is set up per the manual. The infeed/outfeed rollers are supposed to be set up one revolution in drum height above the bed. Looking at other sander manuals like the supermax they recommend 3 revolutions. Also kind of weird the sander actually made a weird like honking noise when the veneer was almost out of the sander, so the stock was only contacting the drum and the outfeed table. Super weird.

Thanks!

[Edward Weber]

There's really only two things that can create the conditions for kick back.
1. Roller pressure to light.
2. Worn feed belt, too slippery.
This is assuming that everything else is set properly.

[Richard Coers]

Poor dust collection is a third problem. The feed belt can be fouled with a heavy layer of dust. Sometimes made worse by static.

[glenn bradley]

Any machine that engages the material with force towards the operator can kickback. In the distant past I've had a piece of material shot out of my push blocks by a jointer, shot back by a planer, and of course the tablesaw. All were due to things not being right with the operation of course.

I would check that something has not slipped out of alignment. As Edward states, the sanding force being able to overcome the material control of the feed rollers and the abrasive belt obviously speak to something that is not right. I also agree with Richard that poor spoil collection at the drum sander can foul operation. Please circle back and let us know what you find.

[Jeffrey Kibler]

Thanks guys. yeah i'm going to check the roller tension again tonight and see what happens. It honestly makes me think the manual is wrong. I wish i had thought to record the height of the rollers prior to disassembly but i assumed the manual would be correct putting them back together. Worst case i will just lower them a bit and keep trying. The feed belt is like new, tracking perfectly, and the dust collection is more than adequate. It has to be the rollers just doesn't make sense

[andy bessette]

Also make sure you're not trying to take too much off in one pass.

[Jeffrey Kibler]

Also make sure you're not trying to take too much off in one pass.


Yeah i'm all over the basic stuff. Had this machine for 15 years and have also had to tune it up in the past with zero issues. That is why i decided to post just to make sure i'm not missing some unique thing to this tool. I will give it another try tonight and maybe i can figure out a way to post a video if she is still acting up

[Richard Coers]

Yeah i'm all over the basic stuff. Had this machine for 15 years and have also had to tune it up in the past with zero issues. That is why i decided to post just to make sure i'm not missing some unique thing to this tool. I will give it another try tonight and maybe i can figure out a way to post a video if she is still acting up
Are you still using the original feed belt? How much material were you removing when the kick back occurred?

[Andrew Hughes]

I used to have a 16/32 performax drum sander. I do remember small strips would shoot out sometimes. I believe it was different thickness in the wood strips. Thick and thin
I don’t miss that machine it was a time thief slower then molasses in the winter time.
Good Luck