Motor Upgrade Question on Performax (Pre Jet) 16-32 Drum Sander

[Will hanson]

Hey there,
Yesterday I picked up a Pre-Jet 16-32 DS with a 1HP motor from an estate sale. It appeared to be in decent shape however the coupler half drum was cracked so I had to order a new one. Anyhow, I have a ton of cherry to sand and I am a little worried about burning issues if this thing pops a breaker. As such, I have been thinking that the SandSmart upgrade might be worth it given my needs and the low price I paid for this thing. Here is my worry, I read that you cannot upgrade this version to Sandsmart as there is a compatibility issue between 1hp machines and the Sandsmart controller, i.e. it only plays with the 1.5hp.
If this is not the case, please let me know as I will be very happy. That said, if I wanted to upgrade to a 1.5hp motor, what exactly do I have to make sure matches the current motor? I assume the RPMs, 5/8” shank, 60H cycle, but what do I need for the FLA and frame size? (56CZ frame is the current one but can I use a 56C or 56). Is there any other thing I need to be aware of when selecting a electric motor? Could someone tell me what frame size they have on their post Jet-acquisition Performax 16-32? I am perhaps being too anal here but just want to make sure it works with the Sandsmart if I decide to go down that route. And yes I will be getting the 4” dust shroud, so I have the important stuff covered.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Will

[Mike Henderson]

I suspect the way that sandsmart works is that it monitors the current drawn by the motor and adjust the platen speed based on that. A 1HP motor will not draw as much current so the sandsmart will never see it heavily loaded. Which means it won't work with a 1HP motor.

Rather than put a lot of money and time into this unit, I'd use it as is, or sell it and buy one with the sandsmart built in.

Mike

[Will hanson]

I suspect the way that sandsmart works is that it monitors the current drawn by the motor and adjust the platen speed based on that. A 1HP motor will not draw as much current so the sandsmart will never see it heavily loaded. Which means it won't work with a 1HP motor.

Rather than put a lot of money and time into this unit, I'd use it as is, or sell it and buy one with the sandsmart built in.

Mike

Thanks Mike! Yes, I am leaning toward just using as is, seems like it should work fine. For $300 and with the stand and extentions and two 12" woodscrew clamps was a decent deal I think.

[John K Jordan]

Will,

I have the Performax 22-44 with a 1-3/4 hp motor (I think). In general, I don't rely on the Sandsmart feature but just keep the belt speed low enough and set the height for a very light removal. I found cherry, in particular, susceptible to burning. I never got burning from maple, oak, walnut, mahogany, etc. Most of my cherry is from air-dried slabs I sawed from the same tree so maybe it is different somehow.

I have done some boards but use mine more for flattening woodturning blanks, for example 2" thick and 8-12" in diameter which I wouldn't want to put through the planer. For this, coarse paper gave me cleaner surfaces in cherry. Since it is slow to change grits I usually just keep 80 or 60 grit on the drum, fine for my application. Your first test run with a cherry board should tell if the sander will work for your job. I would certainly try it as it is before spending a ton of money on upgrades.

JKJ

Hey there,
Yesterday I picked up a Pre-Jet 16-32 DS with a 1HP motor from an estate sale. It appeared to be in decent shape however the coupler half drum was cracked so I had to order a new one. Anyhow, I have a ton of cherry to sand and I am a little worried about burning issues if this thing pops a breaker. As such, I have been thinking that the SandSmart upgrade might be worth it given my needs and the low price I paid for this thing. Here is my worry, I read that you cannot upgrade this version to Sandsmart as there is a compatibility issue between 1hp machines and the Sandsmart controller, i.e. it only plays with the 1.5hp.
If this is not the case, please let me know as I will be very happy. That said, if I wanted to upgrade to a 1.5hp motor, what exactly do I have to make sure matches the current motor? I assume the RPMs, 5/8” shank, 60H cycle, but what do I need for the FLA and frame size? (56CZ frame is the current one but can I use a 56C or 56). Is there any other thing I need to be aware of when selecting a electric motor? Could someone tell me what frame size they have on their post Jet-acquisition Performax 16-32? I am perhaps being too anal here but just want to make sure it works with the Sandsmart if I decide to go down that route. And yes I will be getting the 4” dust shroud, so I have the important stuff covered.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Will

[Chris Hachet]

That is not a real heavy duty unit, I have the same tool. Light passes would seem to be the order of the day.

[Richard Coers]

Curious if you started on that ton of cherry? When you said that, it seemed like you thought you have a thicknessing machine. These little sanders are great for preparing stock of shaker boxes, of doing a few end grain cutting boards. They are not great for sanding a ton of anything. Add to that the small diameter drum brings the sandpaper back around really quickly. You'll be wearing the tips of your fingers off keeping sharp sandpaper on it so that cherry doesn't burn. Let us know how it goes.

[Will hanson]

John,
This is great advice. I plan on sanding a few of the less desirable boards before I do the one's for my project. I had these project boards already planed so I am thinking of just hitting them with a higher grit, 220? and see how it goes. The project is a king bed and the pieces are rather long, i.e. around 80 inches, so I am hoping with the extension tables that came with this it should be fine. I also have a roller I can set up since it is likely a one man operation unless I can get someone to come help. Similar to your situation, I had a large cherry tree that I was able to get a ton of slabs off, so hopefully burning won't be an issue. Thank you!

[Will hanson]

Curious if you started on that ton of cherry? When you said that, it seemed like you thought you have a thicknessing machine. These little sanders are great for preparing stock of shaker boxes, of doing a few end grain cutting boards. They are not great for sanding a ton of anything. Add to that the small diameter drum brings the sandpaper back around really quickly. You'll be wearing the tips of your fingers off keeping sharp sandpaper on it so that cherry doesn't burn. Let us know how it goes.

Noted. These live edge slabs are 5 to 9 feet long and I had the ones for the project professionally planed as my planer only goes out to 12.5 inches. I am hearing these sanders are more for finishing than hogging off stock, so I will keep that in mind as I start the project. Still waiting on a couple of parts and with a 5 month old and 6 year old getting shop time is a challenge. Here is some of what I am up against, though I have sold some of this already.. Will keep the group posted. Thanks!
20150429_173549.jpg20150509_124102_Richtone(HDR).jpg

[Curt Harms]

I have the 1.5 h.p. pre Jet machine and put an ammeter in line - plug -> cord -> ammeter -> cord -> motor. I installed a heavy duty two position toggle switch for starts because I didn't trust the ammeter to handle starting electrical loads. Start in the bypass switch position then switch to the ammeter so I sort of have a manually controlled smart sand. If I were doing it today I'd use a shunt and wouldn't have to worry about starting amp surges damaging the meter.

This machine, even the 1.5 h.p. version is certainly no 'hogging' machine. Look at the motor sizes on sanders that are intended for rapid stock removal, they 7 - 10X the power of the Performax/Jet.