Talking to my drum sander

[Jim Becker]

Its a 1200 cfm 4"; I think the problem might be the type of wood I'm running through it.

The maximum amount of air flow you can physically fit in a 4" duct is only 400-500 CFM at the given air velocity produced by most DC blowers. It doesn't matter what the DC is rated (real or imagined)...it's about what can actually flow through the duct work. I agree that air flow may be contributing to the issue you illustrate in your photo...it's somewhat common on drum sanders, unfortunately, because manufacturers design the dust collection based on what many folks have available rather than what's actually needed...which is a huge amount of air flow to cover the needs of the tool.

[Stewart Lang]

Dueane,

First off, convert your steel drum to hook and loop. You can buy velcro from suppliers online. The small amount of cushion makes a HUGE difference in eliminating heat and gumming. I'd honestly never bother even using a drum sander with a standard steel drum. Once you put H&L on it, it becomes a whole different machine.

Second, you can certainly use standard sandpaper, but if you want to go higher than 120, use Abranet rolls. I can go up to 240 sanding hard maple taking a heavy pass, and not worry at all about build up on my twin drum 25".

Third, if you need to clean your belts, use a mix of 1 part simple green (I use the heavy duty concentrate) to 16 parts water. Spray it on your rolls (after they're off the machine), let it sit for about 3-5 minutes, and everything just falls off. I use it on all my sandpaper stuff.

[Pete Staehling]

First off, convert your steel drum to hook and loop. You can buy velcro from suppliers online. The small amount of cushion makes a HUGE difference in eliminating heat and gumming. I'd honestly never bother even using a drum sander with a standard steel drum. Once you put H&L on it, it becomes a whole different machine.

I have a question about that approach. Would it limit the ability to make very thin veneers with the sander? If I remember correctly the sanders that used abrasive feeder belts belts were rated at being less able to run thin stock than ones with rubber feeder belts. My assumption was that is due to the give in the feeder belt. I'd expect a similar limitation with the velcro conversion on the drum. Can anyone confirm or correct my thinking on that?

For my particular usage a lot of the work is making pieces that are pretty thin (most often around 0.090", but sometimes thicker or thinner).

I have a Jet 10-20 sitting unused that could be put into use for fine sanding and could imagine using a hook and loop setup for a light pass with a fine grit after the pieces are already about the correct thickness. I'd probably leave 80 grit on the Jet 16-32 and something finer on the 10-20 possibly even maybe changing grits on the 10-20 assuming that would be pretty quick and easy with hook and loop (I always found changing belts to be a pain on the standard setup of the 10-20).

[Dueane Hicks]

I am going to try a 5" hose with a 4" adapter on the machine.

[Doug Dawson]

I bought this overly expensive piece of equipment, thinking it was good at sanding. I bought a Supermax 25/50; mostly to sand burls for making small boxes. This darn thing gums up so easily that I have just given up even using it! I use zirconium belts, at 80,100,120 grit. They always gum up with burl, and pretty much anything but poplar and walnut. What a waste money! Now I'm trying to find the secret trick that will clean this junk off the once used sandpaper without taking it off multiple times and scrubbing it with harsh chemicals. Does anyone out there in maddening gum world know how to get this crud off the paper? Those rubber sticks do not work! I am running very light passes and going through as fast as I can.
A couple pics.....

Attachment 418545Attachment 418546

Looks like you are using crap sandpaper.

[Stewart Lang]

I have a question about that approach. Would it limit the ability to make very thin veneers with the sander? If I remember correctly the sanders that used abrasive feeder belts belts were rated at being less able to run thin stock than ones with rubber feeder belts. My assumption was that is due to the give in the feeder belt. I'd expect a similar limitation with the velcro conversion on the drum. Can anyone confirm or correct my thinking on that?

For my particular usage a lot of the work is making pieces that are pretty thin (most often around 0.090", but sometimes thicker or thinner).

I have a Jet 10-20 sitting unused that could be put into use for fine sanding and could imagine using a hook and loop setup for a light pass with a fine grit after the pieces are already about the correct thickness. I'd probably leave 80 grit on the Jet 16-32 and something finer on the 10-20 possibly even maybe changing grits on the 10-20 assuming that would be pretty quick and easy with hook and loop (I always found changing belts to be a pain on the standard setup of the 10-20).

Pete,

I've ran veneers through mine (which has H&L) just fine. The H&L doesn't start to compress unless you take a very heavy pass, and even then I think the compression is relatively small. Just enough to allow the sandpaper from being completely smashed between a rock and a hard place, figuratively, as is the case with regular steel drums. In addition I think the rotational force the spinning drum helps to negate any compression. The H&L provides a little air pocket between the sandpaper and drum, which helps reduce heat too. Take light passes if you're worried about it, you'll be fine. But converting to H&L is absolutely worth it.

[Jeff Clode]

Dueane,

First off, convert your steel drum to hook and loop. You can buy velcro from suppliers online. The small amount of cushion makes a HUGE difference in eliminating heat and gumming. I'd honestly never bother even using a drum sander with a standard steel drum. Once you put H&L on it, it becomes a whole different machine.

Second, you can certainly use standard sandpaper, but if you want to go higher than 120, use Abranet rolls. I can go up to 240 sanding hard maple taking a heavy pass, and not worry at all about build up on my twin drum 25".

Third, if you need to clean your belts, use a mix of 1 part simple green (I use the heavy duty concentrate) to 16 parts water. Spray it on your rolls (after they're off the machine), let it sit for about 3-5 minutes, and everything just falls off. I use it on all my sandpaper stuff.

Stewart - I am intrigued by this hook and loop approach. Could you please elaborate a bit on how you did this? Assume PSA backed H&L in sheets? Did you find a particular brand or thickness of it and sandpaper to be most effective?
Thanks in advance
Jeff

[John Lanciani]

Dueane,

First off, convert your steel drum to hook and loop. You can buy velcro from suppliers online. The small amount of cushion makes a HUGE difference in eliminating heat and gumming. I'd honestly never bother even using a drum sander with a standard steel drum. Once you put H&L on it, it becomes a whole different machine.

Second, you can certainly use standard sandpaper, but if you want to go higher than 120, use Abranet rolls. I can go up to 240 sanding hard maple taking a heavy pass, and not worry at all about build up on my twin drum 25".

Third, if you need to clean your belts, use a mix of 1 part simple green (I use the heavy duty concentrate) to 16 parts water. Spray it on your rolls (after they're off the machine), let it sit for about 3-5 minutes, and everything just falls off. I use it on all my sandpaper stuff.

The drums on almost every sander that I have seen (Performax, Delta, General International, Steel City, Ryobi, etc) are extruded hollow aluminum, not steel. By design they are almost perfect heat sinks and work very effectively to keep the paper cool. My biggest use of the sander is bringing stock, especially shop sawn veneer, to precise flatness and thickness quickly; putting Velcro on the drums would only serve to slow me down and round over the edges of my stock - no thanks.

[Cary Falk]

Doesn't hook an loop conversion require you to tape the ends of the roller? If that is the case you loose the advantage of a open end drum sander.

[Dueane Hicks]

Looks like you are using crap sandpaper.

zirconium sandpaper is not crap. not at 60.00 a roll. supposed to last a bit longer than the red stuff.

[Doug Dawson]

zirconium sandpaper is not crap. not at 60.00 a roll. supposed to last a bit longer than the red stuff.

Apparently not! I use the OEM sandpaper rolls in my 25/50, and I've never seen anything like what you're experiencing.

[Stewart Lang]

Stewart - I am intrigued by this hook and loop approach. Could you please elaborate a bit on how you did this? Assume PSA backed H&L in sheets? Did you find a particular brand or thickness of it and sandpaper to be most effective?
Thanks in advance
Jeff

Jeff, some companies like Grizzly sell a retrofit kit for their sanders. It's just a long roll of adhesive backed H&L. I bought a 100' roll of HookandLoop.com, since they're only about an hour from me. Obviously the higher quality stuff you buy, the better. I think I just bought their Duragrip with acrylic adhesive, since it's more resistant to heat than their rubber adhesive. I've had it on for years and it still grips very well. You can use whatever sandpaper you like, as long as it's H&L backed.

[Stewart Lang]

The drums on almost every sander that I have seen (Performax, Delta, General International, Steel City, Ryobi, etc) are extruded hollow aluminum, not steel. By design they are almost perfect heat sinks and work very effectively to keep the paper cool. My biggest use of the sander is bringing stock, especially shop sawn veneer, to precise flatness and thickness quickly; putting Velcro on the drums would only serve to slow me down and round over the edges of my stock - no thanks.

John, you're correct. Mine are aluminium as well. Not sure why I was thinking steel. They do work well as heat sinks, and that's definitely in their design. The H&L just further helps reduce the heat, that's all. Less heat's always better. My drum sander is used largely for flattening solid wood glue-ups, so the H&L is advantageous for me. There isn't much rounding over on the edges, even with H&L. If your drum sander works well for your uses, then don't fix if it ain't broke. That's what I always say lol.

[Stewart Lang]

Doesn't hook an loop conversion require you to tape the ends of the roller? If that is the case you loose the advantage of a open end drum sander.

Cary, only the side that gets layed with the rotation of the drum, as it's going to want to fly off. The other side gets pressed down with the rotation, so tape isn't necessary. If you cut your sandpaper right, you can use H&L with an open-ended drum sander.

[Cary Falk]

Cary, only the side that gets layed with the rotation of the drum, as it's going to want to fly off. The other side gets pressed down with the rotation, so tape isn't necessary. If you cut your sandpaper right, you can use H&L with an open-ended drum sander.

I figure that but the place I worked at as a kid had a dual drum sander and they taped both ends.