Performax sander question

[Jay Jolliffe]

I’m picking up a Performax sander tomorrow. It’s the 22-44 Pro model. Never used one before so is there any hidden secrets on setting one up. What would be the limitations of this machine. I can’t see it sanding a 3’ door. How would you support the whole door. Any information would be appreciated.

[Bob Rufener]

Jay,

I have the 16/32 model but I assume setup and operation would be similar. The instruction manual will give you pretty detailed instructions for set up. Like any good tool, take a lot of time for your setup and do it right. The thing that will take a bit of time to work out is your feed rate and depth of sanding cut. When you do your initial adjustment of the sanding head for the stock you are sanding, don't be too agressive with the amount you want removed. Better to take smaller amounts and more pass throughs. Also, it will take a bit of practice to determine feed rates. Too agressive and it will kick out the motor. Too slow and it may burn the wood. It is a very nice machine but takes a little time to feel comfortable with it. I have sanded things wider than 16" on it and it does a very acceptable job. Only a small amount of hand sanding to even things out. It sure can take the work out of sanding. Get yourself several different grit sandpaper strips as changeover is relatively simple. Enjoy!

[Jesse Cloud]

I’m picking up a Performax sander tomorrow. It’s the 22-44 Pro model. Never used one before so is there any hidden secrets on setting one up. What would be the limitations of this machine. I can’t see it sanding a 3’ door. How would you support the whole door. Any information would be appreciated.
Hey Jay,
Wouldn't classify myself as an expert on Performax, but I have a older 16/32. Here's a few observations, hope they will help.

These sanders are not great for thickessing. You have to take really shallow passes, so taking off serious wood will take a long time. Also, they are not as precisely parallel to the bed as a planer is. So, don't throw away your planer.

Best way to start is to lift up the cover with the drum turned off. Turn on the convyer belt and place your workpiece on it. Raise the drum height until the drum just barely moves, catching the workpiece only on the high spots. Close the lid, turn on the drum and start at that height.

No concrete rule about what conveyor speed to use. If you run to slow, you may get burn marks, too fast and you may stall the machine. I generally run at about 40 per cent.

Good dust control is a must have! Without it, the dust will accumulate on the drum and all kinds of problems come up. Use a belt cleaning stick often.

What these guys really excel at is highly figured wood. I always get a little tearout when machining this stuff on the jointer and planer. Leave your stock a little fat, and finish up with the drum sander - smooth as a baby's behind!!

[Doug Shepard]

What he said:)


....These sanders are not great for thickessing. You have to take really shallow passes, so taking off serious wood will take a LLLLLLOOOONNNNGGGGG time. Also, they are not as precisely parallel to the bed as a planer is. So, don't throw away your planer.
...

[Bill Wyko]

I've got the 22-44 but I've never done anything where I had to turn something around and do the other side. Did you get the enclosed stand? Personally I like the stands build but it's too narrow for stability on its wheels. It sure is a power house though. Something else I like too is that the feed belt is stationary so you can build in feed and out feed tables. There are others that the table moves up and down which makes an out feed table complicated.

[Curt Harms]

Bob & Jesse have it right. One addition I have is an ammeter. I found I wasn't good at being able to tell how much feed rate was too much and was tripping the thermal overload. I figure if the thermal overload trips enough, it'd trip too easily. I was able to find a source for a 15 amp direct read ammeter. Watch the needle and when it gets up to full load amps on the motor label, either raise the drum a little or slow down the feed. It works well. I mounted the ammeter in a plastic box and ran a cord with a plug to the box and mounted an outlet in the box. Plug the sander into that outlet. Everything in my shop has to be on wheels so I built this stand, works well and has additional storage. I'm going to try to attach a couple pics. I do mostly small pieces so haven't felt the need for infeed & outfeed support yet. I can add them if necessary

HTH

Curt





I’m picking up a Performax sander tomorrow. It’s the 22-44 Pro model. Never used one before so is there any hidden secrets on setting one up. What would be the limitations of this machine. I can’t see it sanding a 3’ door. How would you support the whole door. Any information would be appreciated.

[Jim Becker]

The Pro model is a little different than the Performax sanders that most of us own, but in principle, it works the same. Very light passes as someone already mentioned. Keep the abrasives clean to avoid burning. You can sand something wider than the 22" width as long as the machine is adjusted to insure a VERY slight crown on the outboard side. Since this is not a finishing sander, any slight variations will not be noticeable...

[Joseph N. Myers]

Jay,

And probably the most important thing is to get a couple of those "abrasive cleaning sticks". Studies show that the sand paper will last 3 to 5 times longer if used to remove the saw dust build-up. (Don't know who did the study but they really do work)! Around $5 to $7 each depending on size and they lasts a long time.

Also watch out for pine or any other wood that has resin in it. Nothing like putting in a new strip of sand paper, $4 to $6 depending on size, and having it ruined in one pass, especially the 1st pass.

And they do have methods in the instructions for cleaning the sand paper. Check them out in addition to doing a search on this forum for "performax" as some of the members here have other ways of cleaning the paper.

And finally, keep Klingspor's name/number handy for their sand paper supplies, www.woodworkingshop.com (http://www.woodworkingshop.com), 800-228-0000.

Regards, Joe

[John Huber]

Here's another tip to add to those above: use a bent-tip needle nose pliers to grab the tail of the abrasive strip and pull it really tight. Any slack will allow the abrasive strip to walk sideways, overlap, scorch the wood, scorch the strip and generally ruin things. Slack also allows sawdust to build up near the ends of the strip and leads to more scorching. After you have the right end tight, go back and redo the left end.

[John Durscher]

I have the 22-44 and really like it. I would recommend purchasing the infeed/outfeed tables. They really make the machine easier to use. Using the rubber cleaning blocks really makes the paper last a lot longer.

One thing to watch for, especially when learning how to use the thing is to check the paper after a few passes to make sure it hasn't shifted/stretched. It can shift and make a mess of your work. Also mark the rotation of the drum and pay attention to it when you put the paper on - it will only work one way. This should be simple enough to keep straight, but I seem to put it on backwards every third time!

One thing I did to prevent ridges on my work is to mark the front of the housing to show where the sandpaper stops. This way at a glance I can make sure I don't get the piece too close to the edge and end up not sanding part of the work.

Good Luck!!

John

[Jay Jolliffe]

I want to thank everyone for their information. I picked it up yesterday. It's quite heavy. Have to get someone to help me get it out of my truck into the shop. Little to heavy for my wife to help. She is declining on helping more & more as the machines weigh more & more. Last thing she refused on helping was moving the furnace into the cellar. Only weighed about 300 lbs. She thought that was a little to much for her. I wonder what she'll be saying when the band saw shows up next week. Only weighs 450 so it says. I'll have to recruit a neighbor. This is getting way to long as I only wanted to say thank you for the info. I did get the infeed & outfeed tables & the enclosed stand that I have to pick up in two weeks.

[John Bush]

Hi Jay,
I had a 16-32 and was very pleased with its performance. I got a ShoPro 25(by chance from an estate sale) that is a closed end version that the table adjusts instead of the drum-otherwise it is the same design. With the 16-32 my impatience frequently led to tripping the overload and having to reset. I contacted Supermax, the group that now handles the larger machines, and got the SandSmart feed control "box". It wasn't too spendy and is a great help when milling a large number of components. It was easy to install and now I just "set it and forget it". IIRC they said this unit will work on the 22-44, and some are available with the SandSmart included. Maybe that is true with the Pro version. If not give them a call and they can explain the virtues, ect. more fully. Congrats, John.

[Mike Goetzke]

I’m picking up a Performax sander tomorrow. It’s the 22-44 Pro model. Never used one before so is there any hidden secrets on setting one up. What would be the limitations of this machine. I can’t see it sanding a 3’ door. How would you support the whole door. Any information would be appreciated.

Congratulations - stealth gloat????? Pictures?????

I started with the 10/20 then found a deal on a used 16/32. I really haven't used either much yet, but, I would suggest you practice on some scrap wood first. My biggest problem has been with burning. Sometimes it works like a champ and others I get burnt streaks. You can get burnt streaks if the paper is overlapped but I have had them w/o the overlap. Also, even though the height adjuster has fine threads it still has play. So, like a surface planer, I go down past my set point and them bring the drum head up.

Oh....make sure you have a good DC hooked up to it.

Hey - that ammeter idea is slick...it's even analog!


Mike

[Jay Jolliffe]

I tried the sander today. Works great. What tolerance should I look for. Working at one time as a machinist I can get pretty anal. I sanded a 6" wide piece & it was within .004 from one side to another. I think thats probably good enough for wood working. I'm not one for gloating about tools or machines that I buy.

[Gary Muto]

Good news. I just picked up a 22-44 Plus last week but had to leave town the next day. I should get it set up this week. I've been planning this purchase for at least 6 months and and pretty excited about trying it out. I went back to Rockler today to order the infeed/outfeed tables.
They said it would take about 10-14 days, so I have plenty of time to set it up.

[Jay Jolliffe]

Congratulations. I set mine up yesterday. Works great so far on the test pieces. It will save me a lot of sanding on drawer parts & small pieces I have to make. Shoji doors that I have to make have a lot of small strips so I'm hoping that they will sand all to size with this.

[Mike Spanbauer]

The Pro is nice Jay, congrats. I've a hybrid that Performax never brought to market that is between the 22-44 plus and the pro models. In essence, the head like yours and the belt driven drum, but only post to the floor. I love it and it really, really does the job.

Smartsand is SO nice, I believe you should have it as well?

As others have said, keep those belts clean. And when you're doing extra 'sugary' woods or high sap content ones (maple, cherry, etc) and it's a critical pass, be sure to clean the belt every pass or so. I've found that going much above 120grit is not worth it in general and requires too much babysitting to avoid burning.

Oh, and be careful w/ the belt... it's a PAIN to adjust if it gets cattywonkered...

mike