What do you use your drum sanders for?/ Which model?

[Loren Blount]

I am considering buying an open ended drum sander and would like to know what fellow creekers use them for, or do they gather dust in the corner? If some one has a particular favorite model I'd like to know what it is and why. I was leaning toward the Delta 18X36 inch at $999, but the tool salesman at the machinery store says they have had people complaining that the cog belt that raises & lowers the table through 4 corner posts is stretching/jumping the teeth & causing the tables to get out of parallel to the drum. He leaned in the direction of the Jet 22X44 inch model at $1200. Do think he is trying to up-sale me, or is this really a better unit.

Thanks Loren

[Matt Meiser]

I had the Delta you are referring to. The problem people complain about is a misalignment issue. I spent a week of weeknights getting it aligned just so. In the end, it turned out that one of the bearings for one of the jackposts was overly tight. Once that was fixed it worked fine other than that it was tough to get it adjusted perfectly so that you could run a panel wider than 18" and not get a line in the middle. You also need to learn to take light cuts--its not a planer. In the end I decided it wasn't a tool I NEEDED and sold it off along with a bunch of other tools. Regardless of which drum sander you choose, you are going to need a good dust collection system. Drum sanders make a lot of ultrafine dust that will clog filters in no time. If I ever decided to get one again (which I don't forsee) I would go for a closed end unit like the General.

[Craig D Peltier]

I have the performax 16-32. I use it mostly for edge sanding of stiles and rails. I havent had much luck with wide pieces. Lots of folks here use it all the time and would be lost without it. I use it once on each project usually.
Id like a bigger enclosed one that has more power.

[Joe Chritz]

I have the Grizzly 1066 and I like it a lot.

Once I upgraded to better paper and sprayed the coarse drum with 3m77 it works well.

I still have trouble with the paper on the felt covered wheel but this time I think it is fixed. Strapping tape on the paper (avoiding the clip) and duct tape around the clip and strapping tape.

I use it a lot more than I thought I would and for cabinet doors it is indispensable.

I is about $300 more than the 22/44 but dual drum and 5 HP. I would like the variable speed conveyor but so far it hasn't been an issue.

Joe

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I have the Delta. One of my hobbies is going around finding posts like this so I can say what I think of it. It worked well to start with but now it's a continuous battle. I think the alignment is fixed.....for a while anyway. the problem I'm having now is getting burn marks at the edge of the sanding roll if I let the piece I'm sanding stick past it. It works pretty well for narrow stuff, but the main thing I got it for was sanding panels up to about three feet wide and it's a challenge, to say the least.

If it comes to the point of shoving it in the lake I will get another one (drum sander - but not a Delta). For what I do a drum sander sure is nice to have - it's impossible to sand panels flat with a belt sander, which is my alternative.

Good dust collection is imperative for a drum sander. They don't work without it. Also they will try your patience as you have to take tiny 'bites' each time. It's not like with a planer where you can take off a sixteenth...sanding off takes a lot more work than cutting off as you're acting on the entire amount of material. I wish I could get a wide belt but for the cost of the wide belt plus the cost of the belts....sigh.

[Ryan Bess]

You might try looking on the used market as well. I know it's a bit of a gloat, but I bought a five year old SUPERMAX 37 inch double drum for $1300 last winter. I would concur that a drum sander can be an invaluable tool when set up properly. I will also agree that DC is an absolute must! Not only will it spew fine dust particles everywhere without, but it will also plug the paper quickly, cause burns and generally poor results.
I use mine for a bit of thicknessing, but mostly to sand freshly cut resaws from the bandsaw.
Ryan

[Jim Becker]

I own the Performax (now Jet) 22-44 Plus. It's a great machine. That said, I rarely use it and am considering selling it to free up the space it takes in my shop. I anticipated more use when I bought it, but that has not been the case.

[Rob Diz]

I have been looking for a used drum sander for a looooong time. The delta has known problems, which may or may not have been fixed in the model they are trying to sell you. With such an expensive machine, I would have seirous concerns about buying it with a consistent series of complaints. I like to work with my tools, not on them.

It's interesting to hear folks say that they are ready to sell their drum sanders. Most of the posts I have read on other forums are from people who say they don't know how they lived without one in the past.

I have a buddy who has the 22/44. I use it more than he does. It's a nice machine, but you still need to hit your work with the ROS to get the lines out. I think I have used his machine on average of 3-4 times a year. It may not be that much, but when you need it, you need it. If you use a semi or high gloss finish on any of your flat work, the drum sander will make sure your glue up is actually flat. Perhaps I could work more on my gluing skills. In any case, I won't be perfect. When I ahve been close, I have "gotten there" with a number 80 scraper plane. Otherwise, it's off to see my friend.

Oh, and you know the tool rule - always go bigger and better, you know you won't regret it.

[Doug Jones from Oregon]

Having owned 3 different drum sanders, open end and closed, I would not have one again since I purchased and used my wide belt griz.

No more wrapping paper around the drum, much lower cost of operation in regards to sandpaper costs. The belts are so easy to change it was not a hassle to use the correct grit at the correct time, and they were very reusable. I even clean the belts with my pressure washer.

Save your money up and buy a wide belt, you will not be sorry.

[Joe Jensen]

If you use a semi or high gloss finish on any of your flat work, the drum sander will make sure your glue up is actually flat. Perhaps I could work more on my gluing skills. In any case, I won't be perfect. When I ahve been close, I have "gotten there" with a number 80 scraper plane. Otherwise, it's off to see my friend.

Rob, can you say how you prep panels for glue up? Do you buy surfaced lumber or plane your own? Do you plane your own? Cut each piece oversize from erough stock and then prep it and I get very flat glueups.

I've been scouring Craig's list to find a sander to sand resawn veneers. Its a slippery slope. I bought a Laguna LT16HD to upgrade my Powermatic old iron 14" so I could saw veneers. Now that I've tried it, it seems that I really need a drum sander to sand the veneer once I've sawn it. I have the money and a good cyclone setup, but shop space is really tight. I'd be sanding up to 12" wide veneer so I would want very even thickness...joe

[Mike Cutler]

It's interesting to hear folks say that they are ready to sell their drum sanders. Most of the posts I have read on other forums are from people who say they don't know how they lived without one in the past.

It's a machine that I put into the "grunt work" category. The finish out of a drum sander still needs to be hit with an ROS or a cabinet scraper, but they can really save some time. Especially on bigger projects with lots of panels.
There is also a significant investment involved, even at the "lower end" they aren't cheap.

I'm fortunate in that I have room to store mine out of the way when not in use. I wouldn't want to not have one available. But I understand how the type of work a person does would make owning one not a necessity. They do take up some floor space too.

Loren

A drum sander will not sit in the corner and gather dust. Once you own one, you will use it. Not on a daily basis, and maybe not even on every project, but it will get used.
I use it for the initial sanding of wider panels and boards, and then finish up by hand, usually with a plane or scraper.
I will clarify that I use a lot of tropical hardwoods that are very dense and oily, so there are always lines left in them that can be seen, which prompts finishing by hand. I've been told that domestic hardwoods do not always require hand finishing after passing through a drum sander.
I have a Steel City 26" dual drum sander, and a Performax 16-32. I've never had problems using either one of them. They both work fine.

[jason lambert]

I have a performak 22-44 pro. I don't know how I lived with out it. Works great powerful motor no burning the only issue I have is it can be a pain to fine tune it and aling the drum and the dust cover could be better on the the smaller one has a nicer dust cover for changing the paper but that is not really a issue. However most other brands also has this issue. So far I am happy with this sander.

[Edward Garrett]

Loren - In February I bought a 25" Accura dual drum sander, and I have been very happy with it so far. I am a hobbiest, so I am not in the shop every day, but I have used the sander to flatten door panels and drawer fronts (the sander gets these dead flat), and to flatten out glue-ups.

My only "wish" is that it were wider....wouldn't you know that one of the first glue-ups I wanted to pass through it was 26" (1.25" too wide!)...so, get the widest capacity your budget will allow.

On a side note, after reviewing/researching the Accura, Woodmaster and Steel City I suspect that they are all essentially the same machine just with different decals and paint...even the user manual is "generic" for my machine. The primary difference with the Steel City is it is 26" wide. I decided on the Accura primarily based on price and the "down to earth" approach and helpfulness of the saleman/owner at Hamilton Tool (Fred).

Good Luck!

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Loren,

I have a Woodmaster 712, it isn't an open end sander. But I use it all the time to surface sand wood prior to building a project. I have a 120 grit drum and 220 grit drum. The benefit is the it saves a lot of hand sanding and you don't get highs and lows in the boards as you can with hand sanding. So to answer your question I use it all the time. Hope this helps.

Joe

[Roger Bull]

I also have Performax (now Jet) 22-44 Plus. I chose the Plus over the Pro model on the advice of Jet. The table height remains the same on the Plus (drum height changes) but on the Pro the table height changes and the drum remains fixed. This makes using other infeed/outfeed tables more difficult.

I use my drum sander a lot and if given the choice I would buy another in a heartbeat. Unless it is supposed to be round, it goes through the sander. My favorite woods are tearout champions so I get them close in the planer and then finish dimensioning with the drum sander.

I also resaw a lot and it works great to clean up the cut sides.

-Roger

[Rob Diz]

Rob, can you say how you prep panels for glue up? Do you buy surfaced lumber or plane your own? Do you plane your own? Cut each piece oversize from erough stock and then prep it and I get very flat glueups.

I've been scouring Craig's list to find a sander to sand resawn veneers. Its a slippery slope. I bought a Laguna LT16HD to upgrade my Powermatic old iron 14" so I could saw veneers. Now that I've tried it, it seems that I really need a drum sander to sand the veneer once I've sawn it. I have the money and a good cyclone setup, but shop space is really tight. I'd be sanding up to 12" wide veneer so I would want very even thickness...joe

I prepare all of my lumber from rough stock, largely because I'm cheap and because I would be really pissed if I ruined an expensive piece of wood, but somehow if I paid $2/bf it really doesn't matter that I have a few hours into it.

My issue on getting the boards to line up dead square is twofold 1) I largely use air dried stock so it does move some after it is milled to size; 2) my jointer is on a mobile base and gets moved around a lot. I don't do as good of a job as I shoudl to get the fence to 90 each time before I edge joint, and my hand tool skills are not yet perfect. I know I could fix this problem with some effort, but I have been just fine tuning my minor mistakes with hand tools, and adjusting for the more significant issues with the drum sander. I would say that for larger panels, I wouldn't do anything without putting it through the drum sander.

Is it a crutch, perhaps, but it keeps me going toward the satisfying assembly. I also don't ahve that nagging feeling every time I look at a table and see a little bit of a dip where I used the scraper card.

[Jim Tobias]

I don't have an open ended type sander, so take this for what it is worth. I have a Woodmaster 38" drum sander and I probably use it more than my planer. If you use very much figured wood, it is easier to get it to an acceptable surface without tearout on my drumsander. It obviously does not produce a surface ready for finish, but gets it smooth without damaging wood.
Jim

[Bill Wyko]

DITTO Rodger. That's exactly what I was going to say. I also have a performax 22-44. It also has a separate feed motor with a clutch. This will help save belts when you try to take too much off at one time. You can also buy a box with a big roll of sandpaper that has lines on back and cut them off as you need to. It really saves money that way. Get back to us when you take the plunge.:D BTW I probably use my Drum Sander more than my Table Saw.

[Joe Jensen]

I don't have an open ended type sander, so take this for what it is worth. I have a Woodmaster 38" drum sander and I probably use it more than my planer. If you use very much figured wood, it is easier to get it to an acceptable surface without tearout on my drumsander. It obviously does not produce a surface ready for finish, but gets it smooth without damaging wood.
Jim

I had the same experience until I upgraded to a Byrd head in my planer. Now I have zero tearout and a surface that is ready to 120 grit orbital off the planer. too bad I can't run my resawn veneer through the planer :mad:

Do those of you who have smaller open sided planers think I would get good results sander veneers that would be 1/8" thick or slightly thinner? They would be 12" wide or less...joe

[Greg Pettis]

I've had the Delta for several years and have apparently been lucky as I went through the bed alignment process for a couple of hours as part of the initial setup and testing of the machine with no problems since. I have never tried to do a wide panel wider than the 18" drum so I can't advise on that. I do use it frequently on glued up panels and find that any irregularities clean up well. As mentioned by others, a light touch is required, something around a quarter turn of the crank is a good place to start.

Concerns: The clips which hold the abrasive are hard for me to work with as is getting a tight wrap. After a few minutes of operation I need to re-wrap the last third of the drum and attach. Might just be me...

I bought a bulk roll of abrasive from Delta which is premarked for length and angle - unfortunately following the patern yielded a strip too short. As a result, I now cut the leading end, wrap the drum, cut it a little long and "sneak up" on the right length and angle. The precut lengths have all worked.

At the time I bought, Delta included the outboard sanding drum which I have not used.

I have been doing some marquetry with resawn veneers. I use the drum sander to finish the veneer at 5/64ths. The machine does produce a consistent thickness veneer.

For highly figured woods, the drum does a great job of cleaning up the tearout and chips the jointer and planer can leave in the surface.

re veneers: Oak, maple, walnut, butternut, holly, ebony all surface well with the drum sander. Bubinga, redheart, paduk, purpleheart, wenge - oily or brittle woods tend to burn. I have tried abrasives from 80 to 150 grit, extremely light cuts, high speed and low speed stock feeding and no luck. Once the abrasive starts to load from these woods, it's all over. I've tried the eraser sticks, even oven cleaner to clean a burned abrasive with minimal success. Maybe the drum just turns too fast? I need to do some research on prep for these materials for a better solution.

Hope this is helpful.

Greg

[Peter Quinn]

Performax 22-44 pro user here. It works well. Nice tool. Works for me given my other tools and prefered methods of work.

[Mike Cutler]

Do those of you who have smaller open sided planers think I would get good results sander veneers that would be 1/8" thick or slightly thinner? They would be 12" wide or less...joe

Joe

Yes, I believe that you will get acceptable results using an open ended sander for veneer work.
The open ended sanders, and I'm referring to my Performax 16-32, are not the most "robust" of sanders. Long heavy wide thick pieces are their downfall. There just isn't enough mass to them, and the feed/pressure rollers have trouble with the weight as the material is fed into and exits the machine causing snipe.
Additionally the thickness of the material can cause the drum head to not come down parallel to the table. the wider and thicker the material, the more pronounced the effect. I counteract this effect by rotating the material 180 degrees and feeding the same side back through the sander, without changing the drum height. It's pretty time consuming.

On veneer type materials these issues are not there. the weight of the material and the thickness becomes a non issue.
My Perfomax does an excellent job on veneer type material.

[Greg Pettis]

I will clarify that I use a lot of tropical hardwoods that are very dense and oily, so there are always lines left in them that can be seen, which prompts finishing by hand. I've been told that domestic hardwoods do not always require hand finishing after passing through a drum sander.
I have a Steel City 26" dual drum sander, and a Performax 16-32. I've never had problems using either one of them. They both work fine.

Mike - I missed your post earlier. As noted in my post, I am having a terrible time with tropical hardwoods. Any suggestions on technique, grits etc?

Thanks

Greg

[Jeff Miller]

Craigs list find,in like brand new shape,with table extensions,and performax casters that are the best casters I've ever used. Also one box of paper.

Paid $650.00........not a great price but I got tired of waiting for a cheaper one.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f32/woodfarmer/performax/owwm074.jpg


http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f32/woodfarmer/performax/owwm084.jpg


Jeff:D

[Mark Singer]

Just about everything! I have the General 24" and it really works well

[Bruce Page]

"but the tool salesman at the machinery store says they have had people complaining that the cog belt that raises & lowers the table through 4 corner posts is stretching/jumping the teeth & causing the tables to get out of parallel to the drum."
Thanks Loren
I find it amazing how some manufactures downgrade tools over time. I had one of the early Delta 18/36 drum sanders and it had a chain & sprockets to raise/lower the table. I never had a problem with it going out of adjustment.

[Kevin Groenke]

We have a performax 37x2 which is used most frequently (almost daily) for thicknessing sheet stock (mdf and homasote mostly - for model building).

It's ok for light, not too frequent use. I got it at auction for ~$1200. The Pmaxes have a pretty good reputation. I've been thinking about an open sided wide-belt for a while, but as long as the Pmax is working...

We had the Delta for a few months before we got the Pmax, I wouldn't wish it on a nemesis. I couldn't get it out of the shop fast enough, I felt guilty knowing somebody would by it at our local tool consignment place. [insert plug] (Tried and True Tools)

I know I'm stepping on some toes here, but I don't get the drum/wide belts being used to finish doors (outside of a production shop). If you need more than a scraper and/or a ROS to flatten out stiles and rails you need to work on technique.

Of course they're great for surfacing veneers. We have the benefit of a 20" planer, so can surface panels in pretty wide swaths. Of course a drum would also work for this, though glue and abrasives don't work together so well, so I prefer the planer (w/byrd head)

-kg

[Phil Harding]

I had a Performax 16-32 for a number of years and used it infrequently. I just couldn't seem to get the drum parallel enough to the table. It was always a battle between tightening the adjusting bolts enough to prevent the head from deflecting on the open end. When I got it tight enough for that it was too tight to crank the head up or down.

I did complete a project that required a lot of shop made curly maple veneer. The 16-32 was OK and I was able to get it dialed in enough so that the 6" - 8" wide veneer sheets were even from edge to edge. However I couldn't sand glue ups that were wider than the 16" drum without burn marks or significant ridges.

Finally I sold it when I got a great deal on a Jet 22-44 Pro. This one I love. The 22-44 Pro is also an open end drum but it is designed quite differently than the 12-24, 16-32, or 22-44. The drum is mounted to a rigid truss that has very little flex. Also the drum is stationary and the table moves up and down.

-- Phil

[Joe Jensen]

What 24" would you buy if price was not a consideration? I am not super comforable with open ended designs? I hear woodmaster a ton. I've been watching for one locally for over a year and no luck, even in the large Phoenix market. My wife almost bought me a general dual drum for Christmas two years ago but I found a great deal on Laguna LT16HD and chose that instead...joe

[Mike Cutler]

Mike - I missed your post earlier. As noted in my post, I am having a terrible time with tropical hardwoods. Any suggestions on technique, grits etc?

Thanks

Greg

Greg
The oily woods are just a trial to begin with, even on my 26" Steel City.
I use acetone and a rag and wipe the surface of the oils prior to sending it through. I've also used Naptha and lacquer thinner with some success, but the acetone seems to work better than those. Alcohol might work also, but it would have to be stronger than rubbing alcohol, which doesn't work.
I buy the acetone at the local Tractor Supply. I soak a rag in the acetone and wipe the surface down just prior to sanding. The acetone evaporates pretty fast so you have to be quick with that rag.

As for cleaning the belts when they do get oil on them, which is inevitable. I just fill a 2 gallon pail with a solution of Simple Green and water and let the belts soak for about an hour. Then I clamp them to a 2x4 and scrub them down with a hard bristle brush, and hose them off. Leaving them clamped to the 2x4 to dry. It actually works very well.

[Edward Garrett]

"I know I'm stepping on some toes here, but I don't get the drum/wide belts being used to finish doors (outside of a production shop). If you need more than a scraper and/or a ROS to flatten out stiles and rails you need to work on technique...."

Kevin - using a ROS sander to finish the doors and drawers tends to leave deviations in "flatness", specifically at the corners due to the concentration on the intersection of the rail and stile. When building full inset doors & drawers (which is most of what I do), this deviation becomes very pronounced when trying to match the face of the frame to the face of door/drawer. Using the drum sander has allowed me to get a uniformly flat surface across the entire face of the doors and drawers in a fraction of the time/effort....even though I am not a production shop, it has made getting to the finished piece more enjoyable and more aesthetically pleasing.

[Loren Blount]

Thanks for all the advise. So far I believe the consensus is the Delta is more prone to problems (for most but not all users) The Jet/performax 22-44 pro is receiving better than average reviews. Buy as much or more than you can afford, and don't expect more for the tool than it is designed to do. I like the looks of the 22-44 pro over the plus, but it is quite a bit more cash. I think I will also look at the General as well.

Thanks Again I've learned a-lot keep the opinions coming

Loren

[Rick Gifford]

Maybe you'll put it up at the right time when I have recovered from this SawStop purchase. I'd like to pick up a drum sander. I've spent so much lately when I mention anything my wife gives me that look. She might have to go up on Craigslist if she stands in my way :p Im a fool for tools.

Actually even with all her rolling of the eyes when I explained the SS purchase, I came home yesterday and she was in my shop showing off the saw to a friend of ours. So I might not have to put her up on Craigslist right yet...


I own the Performax (now Jet) 22-44 Plus. It's a great machine. That said, I rarely use it and am considering selling it to free up the space it takes in my shop. I anticipated more use when I bought it, but that has not been the case.

[Joe Jensen]

"I know I'm stepping on some toes here, but I don't get the drum/wide belts being used to finish doors (outside of a production shop). If you need more than a scraper and/or a ROS to flatten out stiles and rails you need to work on technique...."

Kevin - using a ROS sander to finish the doors and drawers tends to leave deviations in "flatness", specifically at the corners due to the concentration on the intersection of the rail and stile. When building full inset doors & drawers (which is most of what I do), this deviation becomes very pronounced when trying to match the face of the frame to the face of door/drawer. Using the drum sander has allowed me to get a uniformly flat surface across the entire face of the doors and drawers in a fraction of the time/effort....even though I am not a production shop, it has made getting to the finished piece more enjoyable and more aesthetically pleasing.

I don't understand where you have to concentrate the sanding? Are the joints between the rail and style not flat and even? This is where truely flat and straight stock revolutionized my craft.

[Chris Padilla]

Just to continue this thread, I just found a Delta 18-36 for sale locally to me. I've emailed the seller with questions but if I end up visiting the residence of this drum sander, what should I be looking for? Should I bring a gnarly piece of wood to sand? Also, how to check for some of the classical problems with this sander? I don't know how old this one is but that was one of my questions for the seller. He wants $500 for it.

[Peter Quinn]

I don't understand where you have to concentrate the sanding? Are the joints between the rail and style not flat and even? This is where truely flat and straight stock revolutionized my craft.

When I make a few cabinet doors at a time in my own shop and the time between milling/shaping/assembly is minimal a card scraper is all that is required to flush any minor deviations. When ever possible I avoid machine sanding doors as I loath sanding out cross grain scratches. And yes, most of my cabinet doors are inlay not over lay these days. But when I do experience alignment issues the drum sander is a great help. I'd guess that when you glue up a cope and stick door the end grain on the rails often swells more than the edge grain on the styles and stays that way once the glue is cured. Bad technique or the nature of the exercise?

When I worked in a production mill work shop making passage door (1 3/4-2 1/4 thick) typical runs were 10-40 doors, things were done in stages, and wood moves, even mahogany and walnut! The chances you can count on that much lumber staying perfectly straight over a few weeks here in New England are frankly minimal, and the cost of building the doors in smaller lots is prohibitive. Some how between very good milling, accurate shaping and gluing by well trained professionals things moved enough to be a problem. I am talking about .016" or less, but that's still not flush. Sanding all the intersections on a 6 panel door with a ROS creates an unsightly scalloped effect, I don't care how good your technique is. The drum/wide belt flattens and levels doors beautifully in virtually no time at all, then a little light work with the ROS produces a surface ready for finish. Charging a client $75-$90/hour to sand doors flush with a ROS would lose you a lot of business.

My thinking is a typical wood worker doing things over time on nights and weekends winds up working more like a production shop than you might think, albeit the quantity of items made might be smaller. At home I try to stage my production in logical steps that get me from final milling to glue up quickly, I keep anything that must sit over night wrapped tightly in shrink wrap, and still things don't always turn out perfect. I don't think a drum sander or wide belt is essential for a hobbiest, but for a small professional shop it is a luxury that is hard to live without, and for a production shop it is often the difference between between profit and failure in a competitive market place.

Just my $.02 plus a quarter.

[Chris Weishaar]

Just to continue this thread, I just found a Delta 18-36 for sale locally to me. I've emailed the seller with questions but if I end up visiting the residence of this drum sander, what should I be looking for? Should I bring a gnarly piece of wood to sand? Also, how to check for some of the classical problems with this sander? I don't know how old this one is but that was one of my questions for the seller. He wants $500 for it.


Chris,

I would try to get an honest answer from him as to why he is selling it. I bought that machine shortly after it came out and keeping it aligned was a nightmare. Luckily the shop I bought it from took it back after a month or so and gave me a good deal on the performax 16/32 that was their last floor model as Jet bought them. This was several years ago and I only had the machine for a month so I can't really let you know what to look for. Hopefully one of the earlier posters on this thread that still own the machine can lend you a hand.

He may just not be using it much. I don't use mine as much as I thought. It is still a great machine and I will keep it and use it because I hate sanding. I generally take the wood up to 150 grit in the performax and then start at 150 grit in the random orbit sander. It takes nothing with the RO sander to get the marks out, just the weight of the sander and a couple of passes.

Chris

[Chris Padilla]

He's had it for two years and it hasn't been used too much. "Pretty good alignment" is what I got back. They sanded a buncha fir for inside the house and mahogany doors but they haven't used it beyond the 18" capability so no comment on sanding wider stuff. He is looking for the manuals.

I have more questions into him. The sander isn't too local so I'm trying to see if it is worth the drive or not and besides, I couldn't get out there until the holiday weekend anyway so someone more local than me could snap it up. That's life! :)

[Anthony Whitesell]

My primary use for my performax 16-32 is short pieces of rough stock. I can get 1 sqft exotic pieces for $1 ea. The problem is that my Delta planer needs 14" minimum length. The drum sander requires only 2 1/2".

After reviewing the options I first settled on the Jet (the 10% off sale a WoodCraft did hurt the decision either), due to the fixed table. I opted for the 16-32 size based on 'chance'. In other words, what are the chances that I would need to sand a piece between 10 and 16 inches wide. I thought the chances were pretty good as 12" width would be in that category. So that ruled out the 10-20 unless I wanted to deal with the two pass sanding on a regular basis. Then I evaluated what the chances were that I would need to sand something between 16 and 22 inches wide. I didn't think the chance were high, also noted what are the chances I would need to sand pieces between 32 and 44 inches, I haven't done anything that wide yet, and don't forsee it any time soon. I bought the 16-32 and couldn't be happier.

[Robin Cruz]

The Laguna Tools open end drum sander 16/32 is the least expensive at 595. It a tweeked version of the Steel City or the discontinued Ryobi drum sander. Laguna must have negotiated with the OEM to make some improvements as with the 4" dustport, table extensions and roll around wheels. http://www.lagunatools.com/platinumsander2.htm. One of the woodworking mags gave the Ryobi an excellent review.

[Kevin Newman]

I have owned a performax 16/32 for about 10 years or so. I have considered selling it on more than one occassion until a couple months ago. Up until a couple months ago, it seemed to be a waste of money. Surfacing on the sander is very slow and time consuming and I personally have not had good results with sanding or surfacing boards over 14". I have had problems with burn marks on the board and the belts overlapping after installation. I ended up spending more time hand sanding burn marks out than it was worth to use it.

I ended up buying a 20" planer to do a lot of what I thought the drum sander would do for me. It does it faster and more reliably than a drum sander.

I have since found a good use for it. I got into segmented bowl turning a while back and it does work well for sanding the layered segments before gluing the sections together. Not sure I would go out and buy one again just for sanding segmented bowl layers, but I have been able to put it to some use.

[Chris Padilla]

The Laguna Tools open end drum sander 16/32 is the least expensive at 595. It a tweeked version of the Steel City or the discontinued Ryobi drum sander. Laguna must have negotiated with the OEM to make some improvements as with the 4" dustport, table extensions and roll around wheels. http://www.lagunatools.com/platinumsander2.htm. One of the woodworking mags gave the Ryobi an excellent review.

Hmmm, so for an extra c-note and shipping/tax, I could get a new sander of slightly smaller stature...hmmm....

[Robin Cruz]

You must be comparing to a used drum sander as the Laguna Tools drum sander is the least expensive of all new sanders in that size range. If you include the cost of table extensions and wheels (which the Laguna includes at that price) it $300-400 less then the Jet DS on Amazon which is $850 last I checked with free shipping.

Id rather have a used one too for less then the Laguna DS, but Im not so patient to wait for one to appear as I have a project I need one for now. I dont know what Laguna wants to ship, but its not a consideration for me as I can pick it up from their store front. But until it arrives, I am keeping my eyes open for used one. I did see the delta 18/36 used for $700 but the Laguna Tools is still a better deal.

[Cary Falk]

I bought a lightly used Grizzly 18/36 last month on CL. I probably couldn't have justified paying full price because I am not sure how much use I will actually get from it. I have flattened some glue-ups that would not fit in my 13" planar. I am suppose to be trying to build a guitar for my good friend this summer and it is why I had it in the back of my mind in the first place. Since I have it I might be more apt to venturing to to resawing. The sander seems to be a solid tool and I haven't had an issue with it, but if I had to buy new I would probably have gone with the Jet because that seems to be the most common one. There was very little info on the Grizzly and the prices were roughly the same.

[Chris Padilla]

You must be comparing to a used drum sander as the Laguna Tools drum sander is the least expensive of all new sanders in that size range. If you include the cost of table extensions and wheels (which the Laguna includes at that price) it $300-400 less then the Jet DS on Amazon which is $850 last I checked with free shipping.

Id rather have a used one too for less then the Laguna DS, but Im not so patient to wait for one to appear as I have a project I need one for now. I dont know what Laguna wants to ship, but its not a consideration for me as I can pick it up from their store front. But until it arrives, I am keeping my eyes open for used one. I did see the delta 18/36 used for $700 but the Laguna Tools is still a better deal.

Yep, found one on CL for $500 that sounds like it is lightly used: a Delta 18-36 drum sander. Still sorting through some questions but it sounds like it could be a decent deal.