Has anybody seen this drum sander?

[Gary Keedwell]

http://www.rjrstudios.com/index.php

Check out the video...seems real interesting. First time I seen it. American made, too.

Gary K.

[Jason Beam]

A friend of mine tried to order one two years ago.

Long story short, over a year later he had to file a fraud claim with his credit card company to get his money back. Things may have changed since then, though. You won't catch me buying one, though. :)

Edit: Alternatively, you could build one: http://www.stockroomsupply.com/V_Drum_Sander.php

[Scott Welliver]

I just saw these for the first time a few days ago on Woodcraft's website. Interesting concept, although I think I still prefer a standard drum sander for the feed mechanism. Not sure if Woodcraft carries them in their stores, but if so that might be a good place to get a closeup look.

[Craig Stueve]

While I have not used one I have seen used ones come up for sale in the past. I was intrigued by the concept and started to look around to see what the owners of them thought. It always seemed that more often then not they were selling to upgrade to something different, more in the drum sander range. It seems to me that they would be very useful for small delicate work but for larger work I don't think they are capable of handling it.

The company has been around for at least a few years now so they must be making a decent product. Depending on your application I think the machine might be just the ticket for you.

Craig

[Paul Williams]

I saw the sand flea at a show about three years ago. I was impressed by the machine but not by the price, nor the fact that the motor is higher than the table. The next year I saw the unit that Jason linked to and purchased the drum and bearings to make one. While not as accurate as the sand flea primarily due to the smaller infeed and outfeed areas, I get good service from it. It will not replace the commercial drum sander with power feed. I find myself just using an orbital sander for most sanding, even though my homebuilt sander sits a few feet away.

[Jon Lanier]

I know someone that lives a mile from them. Got one, didn't work right and it took 6 months to get the thing resolved.

[Don Bullock]

I saw one at a show in February. They were pretty slick with the demonstration and didn't post any prices. Sure, it looked interesting, but when I heard the price I couldn't believe what I heard. I wasn't all that impressed for that kind of money. It didn't seem to me that the abrasive rolls would last very long.

[Michael Schwartz]

Get a real drum sander or wide belt sander. Otherwise I would just keep things simple and use a good random orbit sander :rolleyes: It doesn't look like a sander like this would be of much use for truly flattening a surface. I guess if you were careful you could remove an even amount over the whole pass.
If I had my choice between the two I would go with the cheaper shop built version. You could modify it with a larger table pretty easily, and mount the motor however you like.

The concept is interesting and It would be interesting to hear more from somebody who has worked with them as to what their actual capabilities are and what they have found they work well for.


For the price of this thing you could easily buy a fesstool rotex of all things.

[Vernon Taylor]

I bought one used from a WWA member ,I like it . Used mostly for sanding componet parts pre assembly to remove pencil marks. Is very controlable. Sandpaper wear has not been an issue, uses hook and loop rolls. You can load different grits when doing small parts. I have a dual drum sander that I hate,I use the sand flee whenever possible as an alternative ,to me it is much easier,no probloms with burning etc. The top is hinged and depth control is accomplished by raising or lowering the front of the top, there are adjustable supports on the front of the machine which support the top,simple but effective. That being said the retail price would disuade me from buying a replacement, I expect this one will outlive me,fairly simple construction and has a Baldor motor.

[Lloyd Brown]

I have one now for many years. I bought it at the traveling wood show. If you are a scrollsaw person (like me) it is worth its weight in gold! If you think you can plane down a board like you can with drumsanders , no. sanding delicate scrolwork is where it really shines. it is built to last all quality parts.

[Art Mulder]

Gary,

IMHO the price on the sandflee is outrageous. Why do I say that? because to me it looks the same as the v-drum from Stockroom Supply (http://www.stockroomsupply.com/V_Drum_Sander.php), which can be had for about a third of that price.

The Stockroom folks are at every woodshow around here. I have no idea if they also go to any of the shows in the states. Show price deals are usually $20-25 less than what I see on the website.

No, I do not own one - yet. But I'm tempted every time I see one at the show.
(I have a small shop and a small wallet, so I'm very choosy as to what I buy :()

I have read reports from a few people here or on other forums, who have one and are very pleased with it.


best,
...art

[Paul Williams]

One item I didn't mention in previous post is the good dust collection. Virtually all of the dust ends up in the box with or without a shop vac or DC connected. Hook up your shop vac and no dust escapes. Still not worth teh money unless you have a specific use such as scroll work.

[Eric Gustafson]

I am not in the market for one, but Grizzly has their 12" drum sander on sale for $495. If I wanted a small sander, that might be the one.

[Bill Wyko]

For the price I'd go with the jet 16-32 model. IMHO