Any Recommendations for a 25" plus Drum Sander

[Johnny Fischer]

I started setting up my shop about 18 months ago and still need one more item, a drum sander.
I'm at the end of my budget and not quite sure what to purchase.
I would appreciate comments from those who actually own what ever, pro's, cons, etc.
Thanks

[Vernon Taylor]

I have a 25" Nortstate drum sander marketed by Leneave machinary of Charlotte NC made by Mao Shan,THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST MACHINE I HAVE EVER PURCHASED. Service has been non exitant from Leneave. I can not fet the clips to hold the paper on the drums,I made several calls to Leneave early on and asked them to get me new clips for the drums,this was three years or more ago and I have simply given up on them,granted I am not a big industrial customer but I had previously purchased my unisaw,delta 14' bandsaw, and a two stage dust collector from them assuming dealing with a small dealer would provide some level of service,not so I would of been better off dealing with Amazon.FYI the same machine is also marketed by Woodworkers Supply under the Woodtek label,my experience with them has always been excellent.

[Mike Heidrick]

Interested in a used one? The best thing to do is start watching your local craigslist and look for tool auctions. Many are big and get sold for fractions of new. I gave $900 for a like new Grizzly G1066Z double drum. They are $1800 new.

[Peter Quinn]

I have a performax 22-44 Pro, fine machine, does what I expect, worth a look.

[Bruce Page]

Woodmaster makes a great 26" heavy duty sander, model 2675.

[Craig Summers]

Woodmaster makes a great 26" heavy duty sander, model 2675.

Bruce

I just bought a used Woodmaster 2675 in an estate sale (lot sale of all tools and wood). Looks like the drive motor has been disconnected. I still have to pick it up tommorrow, then I'll get a better look at it.

Have you had any trouble with yours, or needed to replace anything?

Craig

[Mark Singer]

My General is a great tool! 24" in width

[Louis Reed]

Hi John,

I have owned a woodmaster 36" drum sander for three years. No problems and the this tool has saved me hours of hand sanding. The speed as well as the hight is very easy to adjust. Great for face frames, shelves, cabinet sides, etc.It is american made in the midwest. Look it up on the web, call them and they will send you a cd or tape to highlight this tool.

Louis

[Bill Wyko]

I use a Performax 22-44 (JET) The thing I really like is that the feed table is stationary, the belt has its own motor and the drum moves up and down. This allows you to use an outfeed table that can a fixed height and the feed has a clutch feature that will save on belts.

[Jeff Duncan]

What are you using it for, hobby, or pro use? What's your budget? Are you open to used, or prefer new? There's an awful lot of machinery out there if you narrow it down a bit it will be much easier to help you out.
JeffD

[Robert LaPlaca]

I own a Woodmaster 2675, the machine is well built (although it looks like it was made in someone's garage) and really seem to work well. I use the machine to final surface shop sawn veneer and once in a while I use it to sand pieces in mass.

[Roger Barlow]

I have owned a Woodmaster 38" for at least 10 years. Completely satisfied, zero issues, runs great. Highly recommend any Woodmaster drum sander.

[Michael Schwartz]

I own a woodmaster 26" and it works fine and while I have not had a chance to work with it much it seems to do a nice job.

[Johnny Fischer]

I have been remodeling homes for 25 + yrs and occassionally build custom whatever for customers. Eventually I plan on this shop to help out financially during retirement. Which will still be in 10yrs or sooner if its up to me.
I'm all for saving money as long as the item hasnt been abused.

[CPeter James]

I have a Performax 25X2 machine that works pretty good. No major problems, but new thay are WAY over priced. They are made in the USA. I just helped a friend pick up a General 15-250 double drum unit and I thought it looked really well built. It would be very high on my list of machines to check out if I were in the marker now. Much smoother running than my Performax.

http://www.general.ca/pagemach/machines/15250a.html

http://www.general.ca/machines/gi/15/g_15250.jpg

CPeter

[Bruce Page]

Bruce

I just bought a used Woodmaster 2675 in an estate sale (lot sale of all tools and wood). Looks like the drive motor has been disconnected. I still have to pick it up tommorrow, then I'll get a better look at it.

Have you had any trouble with yours, or needed to replace anything?

Craig
Craig, I bought mine used also. I have had zero problems with it. It is sooooooo much better than my old Delta cantilevered 18/36, it’s like the difference between night & day.
I added the reversing switch for the conveyer which is nice on small pieces. I also added Woodmaster’s new digital height gage (similar to a Wixey), it makes sneaking up on the finish dimension easy.

[Roger Barlow]

that general is made overseas. the woodmaster is made here. just a thought............

[Jerry Todd]

I purchased a Woodmaster drum sander in 2003. It has never let me down. It gets a lot of use by me and my woodworking friends. The customer service is outstanding.
Jerry

[Lawrence Smith]

I just purchased from Stockroom Supply thier 18 inch drumsander kit. They have kits up to 30 inches. The construction of the sander was straight forward with no problems. The only item I had to add to the sander was a motor which I purchased on ebay for $20.50. Total cost was less than $350 dollars for the whole sander and it works beautifully. They utilize a different approach to drum sanding in that they use the centrifical force generated by the drum to sand in lieu of squeezing the sandpaper between the drum and whatever you are sanding. I wish I had found out about it years ago. I saw it this year at the Tampa, Florida Wood Working show and decided to purchase it a few days later. I am not sorry that I did. I might add they give a DVD with the purchase and it is quite helpful with the construction. Check them out, www.stockroomsupply.com (http://www.stockroomsupply.com)

my $.02

[Mike Davin]

I have a Steel City 26" duel drum sander. Top quality resulting in a beautiful product.

[John Bush]

I bought a used PerformaX ShopPro 25 and find it is a huge improvement over my 16-32. I added the Smartsand amp/belt speed control and it has been a good investment. I was always tripping the overload on the 16-32(too impatient??) and now I can just let it run without having to watch the amp load. The Jet consortium now markets the 22-44 and smaller units and has rights to the PerformaX name. The larger units are now SupermaX and still made in the US.(I think). There was an article in an old issue of FWW that compared this class of sander and it covered most of the models mentioned before. Not sure of the more recent models tho.

I saw the Steel City dual drum sander at Woodcrafters and that looks like a good unit, but I'm not sure of the complexity/ advantage of two grits used on the same pass. I tend to use one grit to make several runs before I move up in grit. Good luck.