Was thinking about a drum sander. Anyone have pros/cons? I have a 15" planer already too. Was considering the delta drum sander.
https://deltamachinery.com/products/sanders/31-481/
[OP]
Contributor
Was thinking about a drum sander. Anyone have pros/cons? I have a 15" planer already too. Was considering the delta drum sander.
https://deltamachinery.com/products/sanders/31-481/
Member
As some one said once:
"The difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys".
I have a garage shop full of toys.
[OP]
Contributor
I'm not sure how this helps, but thanks?Originally Posted by lowell holmes
Contributor
I have thoroughly enjoyed my General International double drum sander. It has served me well for many years. Had some frustration initially with paper flying off the thing. The clips on each end that hold paper on drum are not great but a wrap of gorrilla tape fixes that.
[OP]
Contributor
Did you consider a open ended type sander? They dont seem to be double drum though.
Contributor
I have the Supermax 16/32 and like lit a lot. Initially got it to smooth (lot of) thin strips that I was using for a bent lamination chair seat. Worked great for that project and I've found lots of other uses for it since
Contributor
I worked for many years without one, then bought one when I was trimming out our house with cherry A&C trim and was faced with a couple thousand feet of boards to sand. I goth the Supermax 19-38.
I now use it on pretty much every single project. Was making veneer for my current guitar project yesterday. Anything that wants precise thicknessing with no risk of tearout
[OP]
Contributor
Thanks for all the feedback.
Contributor
That Delta looks just like the Steel City my friend has and the General International I have, just different paint. Both his and mine have performed w/o complaint by the machine or us; everything just works as it's supposed to. I don't think I would do business with Delta these days, however.
John
[OP]
Contributor
my other option would be there powermatic Model# 1792244
[OP]
Contributor
Why no business with Delta?
Member
I have the Jet 22/44 open ended drum sander. It is fantastic for sanding glued up panels flat that won’t fit through my planer, too thin, or prone to tear out. Anything that is going to be painted I also will use it. As everyone with one will agree, you need to take numerous very very light passes so it’s slow. If I get greedy the paper burns and you change it or work around the burnt spot. Then I go back to very very light passes for a few weeks then repeat the cycle again when I’m in a hurry and burn the paper.
I avoid it at all costs for pieces I’m putting any type of clear finish on. Pretty much 120 grit stays on mine all the time. Even with that the scratches are deep and take forever for me to remove. I actually drop back to 80 grit with the RAS and I still find it terribly time consuming to remove them. But it does keep stuff nice and flat, and obviously tear out isn’t an issue.
I bought mine used for a great price, and would do it again. It is super handy for a bunch of things. However, if I bought it to “save time” sanding it would have went on CraigsList after a few times using it. Unless I’m using it wrong, or it is setup incorrectly, I find it adds to sand time for clear finishes. I would rather use a RAS right off the planer when possible, takes half the time for me.
Member
Delta failed to have parts available and none to pass on to the next owner. I won’t buy anything from them.
Contributor
I have a SuperMax 19-38 and keep 80 grit in it 99% of the time. For building musical instruments it's great, and that's most of what I do. I need relatively small things made perfectly flat with no tearout, and I use a lot of figured woods. Precision matters more to me than speed for what I'm doing. If you're making cutting boards probably a drum sander will not be useful, I have a sawmill customer who mass produces cutting boards and was disappointed with the Delta sander he bought years ago, he says it is too slow. He didn't think I'd like mine when I told him I was going to buy one, but once I bought it I found that it is very handy and I wouldn't want to be without one again. He gets his value from volume, and I get mine from exactness, and some folks will be somewhere between those two extremes, I imagine.
Contributor
As some one said once:
"The difference between a man and a boy is the price of his toys".
After trying two different drum sanders and getting totally pissed off at both of them to where they went away. I finally found a great deal on a used 15" wide belt saner with open end. I probably would get rid of my SawStop ICS 5hp before doing without a wide belt sander and the ICS is going nowhere while I am alive. The lack of burning the wood while sanding, dips and gouges, feeding issues, etc are GONE now. Especially like starting sanding at 36 grit until flat, then 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, and sometimes 150, 180, 220 one pass each side, turn sander off change belt as soon as it stops and back sanding in less than a min. Drum sander you are stuck with one grit or hassling with changing paper each time. NO WAY NO HOW for me anymore.
In the end it only is money and like any thing forgot how much money when life is so much easier. Wish I would have bought a wide belt sander a lot sooner, I would have a 36" or wider if there was anyway to fit it in my basement shop. Also would like to have an A3-41 instead of a 8" jointer just no room.
Look around hard there are used 15" wide belt sanders out there occasionally for 1500-2000
good luck
Ron
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