Performax 16-32 drum sanders

[Steven Bolton]

Does anyone have experience with a Performax 16-32 sander? Worthwhile? Worth the coins?

Thanks

Steve Bolton

[Craig D Peltier]

I have one. I like it for sanding face frames and pieces not any wider than say 8 inch. I havent had much luck sanding wide stuff. I always seems to a black mark on the paper (build up of sort) that leaves a burn mark in the wood and a dent. Also nice for sanding edges.
Paper is very pricey also. If I had the room id save up for a enclosed 3o inch or larger.

[Grant Charlick]

Does anyone have experience with a Performax 16-32 sander? Worthwhile? Worth the coins?

Thanks

Steve Bolton

I have the delta 18-36 and i couldn't be happier. Saves on the planner knives and the constant worry of chipout in highly figured and exotic woods. Worth every cent in my opinion.

[George Bregar]

I have one. Greta for taking planer marks out of stock before glue up...egts that out of the way. Less risk than a planer for lots of task. I squared up my lock mitered legs on my Morris Chair after glue up. Stuff like that.

You can do wide panels, just use fresh paper and a very light cut. Very light. And slow the feed rate.

[Randy Davidson]

Mine is in the top group of tools in my shop I could not live without. I just wish I had ordered it a year sooner.

[Bill Wyko]

I've got the 22-44 and I love it. One of the best features is that the feed is stationary so you can build an out feed table that doesn't have to go up or down. Strong machine too. It gets more use than my table saw.

[John Bush]

Had one, loved it, moved up to a ShopPro 25. Love it too. Keep a diligent eye on CL and you will find one at a decent price.

[Jim Becker]

I have the next step up, the 22-44 Plus. I mainly use it for surfacing slabs that are way too big for my J/P. I'm not convinced that I'll keep it "forever" at this point since my usage is so little and the space it takes is substantial.

[richard poitras]

I have a 16-32 and have had good luck with it and I really like the fact that I can sand most of the piece before I assemble the work I am doing, then all I need to do is a little finish sanding on the piece once it’s all together … painless!

[Mike Malott]

I also had a 16-32, didn't love it, but liked it. I have since moved up to a General International 25" dual drum.

Mike

[John Hedges]

It is one of the most loved and hated tools in my shop. One day I'll get a wider dual drum, but till then I'll continue the love hate relationship.;)

[Steven Bolton]

Mike, does the General have hoop and loop fastners? I am not sure that is the correct term. Velcro like?

I was at Valley Hardwoods today. They have some great hardwood but don't have a website. Located near Fargo, North Dakota.

They said they didn't like the Performax and liked the Grizzy because the sandpaper was easier to adhere to the drum.

SB

[Joe Mioux]

I have been very pleased with mine.

joe

[Earl Reid]

I bought my performax 16-32 when they were first introduced. about 1993, all wood goes through it. I found that thier paper left a lot to be desired and was costly. I was lucky, I was able to get several cases of paper (free) from a co. that was upgrading a stroker sander. the only problem I have had ,is sanding pine that has not been in the shop for a year or so. It ruins the paper.
I had to replace the drive belt once (I was making veneer )
no other problems.
Earl

[Gary Muto]

I recently got the 22-44" Plus. I really like it. It's slow as everyone says, but it takes one of my least favorite tasks and makes it easy and nearly dust free. I had a hard time justifying it and decided that it was worth the extra $100 to go from 16 to 22". Aside from the capacity, the 22" has a bigger 1 3/4 HP motor and a beefier casting.
BTW the extension tables are a must.

[Al Willits]

I suppose we all should really have a Timesaver to do it right, but unfortnately I/many of us neither have 3 phase, room, or the latest lottery numbers, so I finally ordered the 22-44, seems like a nice unit for the price.

The upgrade from the 16-32 wasn't that bad and it should help the "ooops shoulda bought a bigger one", least till I become a world famous furniture builder, then I'll get a Timesaver....fat chance...:D

A bit left of topic, but as long as we're on drumsanders....I was going to order sandpaper for the 22-44 but they list paper and cloth backed, which one do I need???
tia

Al

[Curt Harms]

It's not a replacement for a planer. Way too slow for that. It does help with gnarly or highly figured woods, however
Take light passes. I put an ammeter on mine because I couldn't reliably tell when the motor was overloaded. There is a motor reset to protect against overload but I was afraid if it tripped too many times it'd trip too easily.
I haven't had a problem doing stock wider than16" though I don't do it much. You'll still need a ROS or other finish sander. Mine leaves a very small ridge between passes but it's easy to sand out.
As alluded to above, I wouldn't consider it a finish sander. It does, however, cut down on the amount of finish sanding required.
It will sand thin stock like shop sawn veneer. A planer doesn't work on thin stock.
A belt cleaning stick will prolong belt life considerably.
There are 3rd party sources for sanding and feed belts. One is Industrial Abrasives in Reading, PA. Google know where it is.HTH

Curt

[Scott Coffelt]

I have the Ryobi version. generally they are the same, which a couple of exceptions. The Perfromax has a slower belt speed which I miss on mine and the paper clips are better. As for the rest of the function, I have used both and see no difference.

I find a couple of things help. Take extremely fine passes, this is not a thickness planer. Clean the glue off, as the glue heats and sticks to the paper then creates burn marks. I clean the belt often with one of those sticks.

I also run mine at the slowest speed which seems to help.

If I had the space, I'd get a bigger closed in unit, but this works fine for my shop space.

[keith ouellette]

I bought a used 16/32 and really like it. If they are set up right they can be very useful. I run glued panels through mine even though I have a 20in planer.

[Bill Wyko]

Mike, does the General have hoop and loop fastners? I am not sure that is the correct term. Velcro like?

I was at Valley Hardwoods today. They have some great hardwood but don't have a website. Located near Fargo, North Dakota.

They said they didn't like the Performax and liked the Grizzy because the sandpaper was easier to adhere to the drum.

SB
With the grizly you will have a hard time making an outfeed table because the feed belt moves up and down to meet the stationary drum. I feel thats a much bigger problem than belt changes IMHO.

[George Bregar]

With the grizly you will have a hard time making an outfeed table because the feed belt moves up and down to meet the stationary drum. I feel thats a much bigger problem than belt changes IMHO. And they are important, or you will get snipe like a planer.

[frank shic]

after using my 16/32 recently to sand some raised panel doors i am now a fan of the performax as well. no, it's not a wide belt sander and yes, you do have to take very light passes (less than 1/4 turn) but it beats using a ROS any day of the week!

[Mike Malott]

Mike, does the General have hoop and loop fastners? I am not sure that is the correct term. Velcro like?

SB

No, Steven, the General uses strip sandpaper in spiral wraps around the drums. The ends of the strips must be angle cut and clips secure the strips at either end of the drums; the same system as a Performax.

Mike

[Grant Lasson]

I hate mine. It's fine for sanding smaller pieces (say 12" wide or less). The dust collection is great. Once you get into bigger pieces (say 20" wide panels) the performance just tanks. Longer pieces are really snipe challenged. This after I replaced the crappy abrasive pad with a poly belt and I purchased the tables. Before it was just a disappointment. Now it's a disappointment that takes up way too much space and cost too much money.

[Matt Meiser]

I had and sold the Delta. I thouught it would save me a lot of time on sanding, but I found that in real life I tripped the overload way too much and it took so many passes through the sander because you have to take such thin cuts that it wasn't worth it. Running something wider than the drum was hit and miss. Sometimes it would work just fine, other times I'd get a line. And the burn marks someone mentioned happened to me from time to time as well.

[James Suzda]

A long time ago I was pretty critical of my Performax 16/32 on a different forum and the response I received you’d have thought I just badmouthed the Pope or something. Because of that I’m a little gun shy about saying anything bad about my sander. But, here goes again.
Like many others I have a hard time with the minuscule about of material I can sand off without the breaker kicking out. Then when this happens you have a problem on your hands trying to get things to where there is no ripple in the wood. (At least I have problems.) The other difficulty I have with mine is that the right clip not holding the strip of sandpaper securely. I’ve had mine let loose and totally destroy a piece of wood that I was working on and demolish the sanding strip.
However, if you are willing to take the time to keep feeding the wood through the sander it does do acceptable job of flattening glue-ups and for taking some of the chatter marks out of the face of the wood.

[Jesse Cloud]

I'm a fan. It certainly has limitations, way slower than a planer. But it really rocks when you are working with figured wood. I usually start with the planer and as soon as I see a little tearout, switch to the performax. It really works well with very small pieces, too. I made a booboo the other day and needed some 1/16 stick x 1/4 x 8" patches. Bandsawed it close, then performaxed them smooth.

One thing I would add, don't skimp on the dust control!