25" Dual Drum Sanders---lets talk

[Jameel Abraham]

So I'm really thinking about getting a drum sander. I really need one. Yeah, need. See, I'm using a homemade one now, and it works for little stuff, not big though.

I'm looking at both performax 16 and the 22, but I don't like the open end, and for a few bills more, I can get a heavy machine with two drums and 25" width.

Narrowed it down to Steel City, Woodtek, General (dual and single--these are pricey) and the Accura, a brand I found on ebay.

Lots of these machines look the same. Anybody got one? Comments? Not too interested in the Grizzly--too many negative comments here. And I didn't find much on the ones I listed.

[Tom Cowie]

Hi Jameel,

I bought a Powermatic DDS-225 a couple of months ago. Very impressed so far, but I haven't had it long enough to give a fair review. It is a very powerful machine that requires a good dust collector to operate. I don't mind the 25" limit on width because most all of my projects stop from 22"-24" in width. Panels are flat and smooth. The only dislike so far is breaking in the conveyor belt, meaning that there seems to be a lot of tracking adjustments made. No big deal and they say this will become stable in a short time.

Bottom line is .I don't know how I did without it. ( my Wife's heard that before.):D

Tom

Ps: It is very good on thin veneers too.

[Joseph N. Myers]

Narrowed it down to Steel City, Woodtek, General (dual and single--these are pricey) and the Accura, a brand I found on ebay.

.

Jemeel,

Did you check out the WoodMaster? I have the 18" combo (planer/sander/gang rip/molder) and it is pretty solid. Haven't used the sander yet as I have the 16/32 Performax which works ok.

Regards, Joe

[Mike Thomas]

I have recently had both the Grizzly 25" dual drum and the Performax 25" supermax dual drum. I sold the Grizzly. The main benefit that I found with perfomax is the variable feed rate. Both machines would sand the heck out of stuff. Hope you have some good dust collection. I aquired both of these machines used as I have most of my stationary equipment. If you don't find it necessary to buy new you may be able to buy much more machine if you go used. I just saw a used 37" supermax on craigslist, so they are out there. Good luck.

[sascha gast]

I have had my 24" dual drum general in the shop for about a week and a half and am very pleased so far.
Woodmaster was the other option, but after I checked the double drum out, I knew I was ok and still saved several hundred dollars over the woodmaster.

either way, you'll enjoy it

[David Weaver]

Have you checked around for old Iron? I just took a panel to a guy who has what has to be at least a 42-inch Beach brand sander - who knows when it was made - probably 40s or 50s?, but it did a fantastic job, and I know there's tons of them out there. They might not be quite as shiny as some of the new sheet metal machines, but I'll bet they'd have the edge in longevity.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Same machine (Powermatic DDS-225) for about three years now. Everything running through the shop goes through it.

It's a beast. I've yet to touch the conveyor belt adjustments, must be dialed in OK.

[Mike Cutler]

Jameel.

I've been looking at the General sander for awhile now to replace my Performax 16-32.
I have seen on ebay, a sander sold under the name of Accura, by Hamilton Tools of Beaver Falls Pa. It sells for about $400.00 lower than the other sanders of the same style. I'm not sure how much of a savings it would be for me with shipping. I can drive to the store and pick up a General. The sanders look very similar. Maybe another possibility for you to consider.

[Jameel Abraham]

Thanks everyone.

Powermatic/Woodmaster is out. Too much $$$ and too big.

Old iron is out, again, too big. My size limit is 24" (shop is only 26'x26')

So it's basically the sub-$2k machines (general, steelcity, accura, woodtek--others?). Yeah Mike, I'm interested in the Accura too. Does anybody know about this brand? I have about $12k to spend, but might be able to go higher.

[Nancy Laird]

Jameel, we have the WoodTek in our shop, and it does a fantastic job - variable feed rate, adequate dust collection, and very reliable. LOML did have to do some electrical work on it (I can't recall just what), but ours was an early production model that he got for a song at the store and it had been sitting in the warehouse for a while before we got it. Since he's "fixed" it, it has been running strong. We've run everything from door frames to 6/4 through it without a blip. Can't go wrong with WoodTek, IMNSO.

Nancy

[Al Willits]

Just curious, why not a open ended sander?

Al

[Yuchol Kim]

General is a good machine. For the samel price, I bought the Steel City. It was exactly the same price, yet, was 26" instead of 24" on General. I used to have Performax 16/32 and 22/44. Once you go close-end, you never go back to open-end.

[Bruce Page]

Jameel, I have been thinking of upgrading from my Delta 18/36 to a double drum. So far, the General is my favorite but I haven’t researched it fully yet. I also like the PM but it is a little too pricey for me.
Sascha Gast just recently bought the General; http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57255
Maybe he could give us his opinion.

[guy knight]

love my pm dds-225

[Mike Cutler]

Just curious, why not a open ended sander?

Al

Al.
One of the problems with open ended sanders, In my case I am referring to a Performax 16-32, is that the wood acts as a wedge and causes the open end to deflect upward just slightly. This results in a board that is wedge shaped across the face.
To counter this effect the material has to be rotated 180 degrees and run through the sander again to get both edge sides of the same face sanded equally. This process has to be repeated a few times, with no change in depth setting to get a perfectly uniform flat face.
It's not a big deal until you have to do a wide panel glue up, and then all of those discrepancies show up, and you have a ton of hand sanding to do.
On veneers they are excellent, and for shorter 4/4 stuff they can do the job with time.
An 8'-10' long, 14" wide, 1 1/2" thick Padauk, Wenge or Jatoba board is an entirely a different story. It's asking too much of the sander. This is where I am at, and why I am looking at the General.

[Nancy Laird]

Jameel, I have been thinking of upgrading from my Delta 18/36 to a double drum. So far, the General is my favorite but I haven’t researched it fully yet. I also like the PM but it is a little too pricey for me.
Sascha Gast just recently bought the General; http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=57255
Maybe he could give us his opinion.

Hey, Bruce, come on over and try out our WoodTek. You just might like it!!!

Nan;cy

[Jameel Abraham]

Thanks Nancy. The woodtek is very attractive due to price, but the warranty and extra features (depth) of the steel city are attrative too.

I definitely dont want a performax. I've been doing this wood thing long enough that I know the performax will only do for so long, I'll eventually want/need a heavier machine. Maybe if I was just doing veneers or instrument wood, but I also do cabinets and stuff. I think these dual drum units are the minimum under a wide-belt.

Aren't the general and the steel city basically the same machine? I mean lots of the parts looks exactly the same. The only difference I see is the 12" depth capacity on the steelcity. The woodtek has steel rollers, do the other? They don't mention it.

[Al Willits]

Thanks Mike, makes sense.
I suppose running though only taking just a hair might cause less stress on the drum arm, but it at least would add a lot of time using the sander ??

Don't imagine there's to many times you need more than 25-26" anyway?

Al

[Nancy Laird]

Jameel,

Here's some comparison stats:

Footprint: SC is larger - 17-3/4 x 43" vs. General 16-1/2 x 42-1/2"

SC has a wider sanding width - 25-1/2" vs. 24" with the General

SC has a larger max thickness of stock - 12-1/4" vs. 5" with the General

General has a shorter minimum sanding length of 5" vs. 6" with the SC

SC has a longer warranty of 5 years vs. 24 months with the General

Pricing found at Toolseeker.com:

SC at Woodworker's Supply is $1849.99 plus $93.00 freight

General at tools-plus.com is $1749.00 plus motor freight to be quoted:( .

WoodTek at Woodworker's Supply is $1489.99 plus $146.00 freight.

Woodworker's Supply motor freight will remove the machine to the ground for you (normally with a lift gate) at no extra charge in 48 contiguous states - no hidden costs to surprise you :) .

You make up your mind.;)

Dave

[Bruce Page]

Nancy, thanks for the great info. As I said in my email the other day, I’m in Alaska for a couple of weeks so I’m doing my wood working vicariously through my laptop.:rolleyes: Do you know if WW’s has the SC and/or Woodtec on display? I would like to check them out when I get home.
Ps, it’s still snowing up here!:( well, at least up in the mountians... but it is cool enough that I'm keeping my beer cold on the window sill!

[Mike Cutler]

Thanks Mike, makes sense.
I suppose running though only taking just a hair might cause less stress on the drum arm, but it at least would add a lot of time using the sander ??

Don't imagine there's to many times you need more than 25-26" anyway?

Al

Al
It can add a lot of time. It can take three or four rotations of the material before the drum stops removing material.
You know, It seems like I am continually needing sanders wider than 25". Latest project will have a padauk table top 87"x42"x1 1/2".
I'm not trying to imply that the Performax sanders are junky, far from it. They are very nice machines, and when used within their boundries they are very, very nice to have around.

Jameel. Thank you for starting this thread. It was very timely for me.
One more machine to add some confusion for you. Have you considered a stroke sander? I've looked at them, online, but have never seen one up close. I like the concept. The $$$$ is up there though.

Nancy. Thanks for that comparison post. It kinda sorta things out.

[Nancy Laird]

Do you know if WW’s has the SC and/or Woodtec on display? I would like to check them out when I get home.


Bruce, not sure if the SC is on display at WW - we have the WoodTek in our shop that you can come over and check out and use if you like. Just call and make the trek across the valley.:p :D

Nancy

[Merle Clor]

A friend has one and they are great for large surfaces. Jameel has limited space (don't we all) so that might preclude this option for him. Grizzly lists has model G5394 for $1795 plus shipping. Looks like it might need 9' by 4' in your shop.
Merle

[Jameel Abraham]

Thanks for the info Nancy. Much appreciated.

One concern I have about all the machines is the steel feed rollers you mention on the woodtek. I don't see these on the steelcity parts explosion, and the general website makes no mention. I'm actually not interested in these, since I have some jigs I'll be using that incorporate magnets, and these would interfere. Another reason I like the aluminum drums. I actually called Woodmaster to see if they sold a unit with aluminum drums, since I have an issue with the magnets. They flat out said no (and were quite blunt about it), and when I asked if they'd be willing to make one with aluminum drums they basically laughed and said it would cost "thousands" to make one with aluminum drums. So I wrote them off right away. Not helpful at all.

Anyways, looks like it's narrowing down to the steelcity vs. general. Not too keen on the Accura, since I can't find any reviews, and no mention of the brand here.

[Nancy Laird]

Thanks for the info Nancy. Much appreciated. One concern I have about all the machines is the steel feed rollers you mention on the woodtek.

Jameel, I don't think I ever said that the WoodTek has steel feed rollers--I think that someone else may have said that, but not I:confused: . According to LOML, the feed rollers are aluminum, so that should alleviate that concern for you about the WoodTek.

Nancy

[Jameel Abraham]

Sorry, I meant to say the website mentions the steel rollers. http://woodworker.com/cgi-bin/FULLPRES.exe?PARTNUM=109-352

This is a big issue for me, so I guess the woodtek is back in the running. Thanks.

[Nancy Laird]

Jameel.

The feed rollers mentioned in the specs are the ones that drive the feed belt and they are rubber covered and should not give you any problem as they just drive the rubber feed belt to move the piece to be sanded past the alunumin drums. There are three hold down rollers that keep the piece to be sanded held firmly down against the conveyor belt. These rollers are made of steel and are approximately 3/4" in diameter each (they are placed one at the infeed, one in the middle and one at the outfeed).

I have run a lot of material through the one that we have and have never had any major problem with the unit.

You might want to PM me and tell me more about these magnets you are using and I can tell you more info then.

Dave

[Ray Scheller]

Nancy,

I live in Rio Rancho and would love to see the Woodtec as I'll be in the market for a DD sander later in the year. I just purchased the Powermatic 205 planer with the Shelix head so I have to wait for my end of the year bonus check before I can look at the sanders. Let me know. Thanks.

Ray

[Nancy Laird]

Ray, any time you want to come and see the sander in action, just give us a call--we are in the phone book!

Nancy

[Gary Redden]

Nancy,
I think you convinced me anyway. Think I will be ordering the Woodtek tomorrow.

Gary

[Gary Redden]

Thanks Dave and Nancy for your help and advice. I am looking forward to the sander when it arrives!!!!

Gary

[Nancy Laird]

Gary, you are quite welcome. That's part of what we are here for.

Nancy

[Gary Redden]

The sander is in the back of my truck. Can not wait to get it home today....

Gary

[Nancy Laird]

Isn't that what you call "fast service??" Glad you got it--now after you play with it a little, let us know how you like it.

Nancy