Should I jump on this Jet drum sander? w/ pic

[brad hays]

I'd love to have a drum sander and I'm seeing this available for $200. Should I jump on it?


Also, how do the pieces get fed through. I don't see any kind of conveyor belt on it.507407

[Zachary Hoyt]

I would if I were in your position, if it seems to work. I watched for a good price on a good used drum sander for years and finally gave up and bought a new one and it has been truly life altering for the kind of work I do, though it might not be for everyone. I did see and pass on a Delta X5 drum sander for $300 because they had such a bad reputation, but the Jet should be all right, I think.

[brad hays]

I agree, can't beat the price. I'm just confused how pieces get fed through it. I don't see any conveyor belt there.

[glenn bradley]

Looks like the conveyor went kaput and they jury rigged a toggle switch. Could explain the "great" price. Easy enough to ask.

[Aaron Inami]

I agree. The conveyor belt system is completely missing. You will have to manually push/pull wood through the sander. This may become difficult with very short pieces. Up to you, but it may be a $200 pain in the butt.

[Chris Schoenthal]

Go look at it and ask for a demonstration (with using small pieces too). That will give you a good enough idea as to whether you want to mess with it.

[brad hays]

I'm just gonna skip on it altogether. I don't see any sign of a conveyor and I'd rather spend my money on something better. Any thoughts on this one? Asking price is 600. They say everything works as it should.

507408

[Mike Cutler]

You will have some dust collection issues with the Ryobi.
These sanders, even though small, can still generate a lot of dust. Any dust that isn't collected falls back into the drum and can cause burning marks on the material and the drum sander strip, which them has to be changed.
The Performax 16-32, which is the model most of these are copied from, had a 2-1/2" dust collection port in the beginning, that was changed to be a 4" dust collection port laterto help resolve the issue, and even it was not enough at times. I had one and put many a board feet through it. I got really fast at changing sanding strips. ;)
Jet, Grizzly, Powermatic, Delta, Steel City,Perfomax, all made made, or still make machines, based on this same design. Most of those you can still get the basic parts for, and or the parts are identical if swapped between manufacturers. I don't know about the Ryobi. That one looks a little different than the rest.