Drum Sander Questions

[Rob Sack]

I guess most of those with open end drum sanders have been happy with their sanders. I Initially bought a Performax 22-44. I was never able to get flat panels. If the panel was under 22 in. wide, it would always be thicker near the open end and if the panel was wider that 22 in and was fed through in both directions, the panel would have a crown in the middle. Performax finally bought back the machine. I then purchased a well used Woodmaster 38 in. single head sander. Although changing the velcro sandpaper was a bit of a pain, the machine performed flawlessly for years, producing consistently flat panels. In my experience, the Woodmaster is quite underrated and an excellent value.

[John Stankus]

Ok... First off I want to say that you all are a bad influence on me.

Went down to the local Woodcraft and put an order in for a 25-50. I do have a few months to reshuffle the stuff in the shop to make space for it. (I guess that's a benefit of the supply chain back up)

My reasoning really came down when I realized the 25-50 isn't too much bigger of a footprint than the 19-38... Both use the same conveyor belt. And the stands are the "same", the closed stand on the 25-50 is the same stand as the optional closed stand for the 19-38. There is just an outrigger on the 25-50 that extends over the end. Besides, my wife the engineer, said to not mess around and get the bigger one since the price differential wasn't that huge.

Now I just need to figure out how to get rid of some of my accumulation of stuff that is clogging up the shop.

Thanks for the input

John

[Thomas Colson]

I'll never buy a supermax product again due to the absolute nightmare of experience I had with tech support regarding a defective out of the box 16-32. The (second) replacement seems to be working as intended, but for me, 1400$ was quite an investment, was a little shocked that tech support was that bad. Worse than calling the cable company! And yes, the digital read out is worthless and whatever you zero it at, will be different in a few days.

[glenn bradley]

I'll never buy a supermax product again due to the absolute nightmare of experience I had with tech support regarding a defective out of the box 16-32. The (second) replacement seems to be working as intended, but for me, 1400$ was quite an investment, was a little shocked that tech support was that bad. Worse than calling the cable company! And yes, the digital read out is worthless and whatever you zero it at, will be different in a few days.

Sorry you had that experience Thomas. I went back and reviewed your Drum Sander thread and apologize for not responding more aggressively in that thread; I worry about offending others too much some times. Apologies in advance to 16-32 owners out there. I should have stated that after your first 16-32 experience I would have returned it and gone for the proven 19-38. The 16-32 is a different design than the 19-38 and 25-50. I'm sure the designer was trying to include some cool convenience features and added a little "value engineering".

This is not just a rant. I had read so much for so long about the shortcomings of drum sanders that I had done without for a long time. When the 19-38 started getting a lot of praise right out of the gate and this praise continued with nearly every review that I considered reliable I took the plunge. My unit did have a sort of whine in the feed belt motor. Although considered normal, Supermax sent me a new one just to make me happy. The machine had been rock solid since my initial setup. I moved. It has been rock solid since the post-move setup as well.

I am only blathering on to add more data to the thread for those interested . . . I do that sometimes . . .

[Jacob Mac]

Laguna owns Supermax now, correct? If so, customer service is probably way different than it used to be?

I'm in the market for a drum sander, too. Customer service, ease of adjustability, and availability are important. I was thinking Grizzly G1066Z until the price went up to 2,750. I could get a Powermatic for less than that.

The Supermax seems like a good deal, but if Laguna owns it, I'm a lot more concerned.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I've had to do nothing to my 19-38 other than adjust belt tension once in the 3 years I've had it. Of course I've replaced the abrasive a bunch of times, but no repairs or work have been needed. It seems to be very solid and dependable.

[Russell Hayes]

I have the Jet 16-32 and like it, but absolutely hate the small clip on the motor side for holding the paper...and I know others have struggled with this as well. If anyone has a "trick" to make this easier I would love to know about it! I did wonder if anyone has tried to load the paper from the motor side, so that you would have better access to the clip on the outboard side to make the final "clip in".... keeping the direction of rotation of the roller in mind... does anyone know if this works? Thanks!
Izzy

Have you tried the Jet tool 98-0060 for the inboard clip? You can grab the clip AND slip the tool up on the drum to hold the clip hands free. Then take your time and feed the paper into the right spot before releasing the tool and clip. A lot of people don't understand how to use the tool correctly. Download the instructions. You just have to make sure you get the paper in the right spot under the clip. I recommend taking the curl out of the paper, straighten it, before you stick it in the clip area. Otherwise it curls up in the wrong place and isn't locked down. I have 3 performax 22-44's with the same clip.

[Chip Seltzer]

I have been on the fence for some time on a drum sander. I have $750 of accumulated gift cards from Woodcraft so I guess they are getting the order and I understand the price on the 19-38 is going up $300 +/- at the end of the month. Think I will place an order and pay this week and let my kids take delivery after i die! (Actually, I think they are saying August).

[John Stankus]

I have been on the fence for some time on a drum sander. I have $750 of accumulated gift cards from Woodcraft so I guess they are getting the order and I understand the price on the 19-38 is going up $300 +/- at the end of the month. Think I will place an order and pay this week and let my kids take delivery after i die! (Actually, I think they are saying August).

yeppers...the delivery of my 25-50 has been delayed yet again. Originally was supposed to be August and had drifted back to December. Yesterday, got a voicemail saying it'll ship end of January. Probably need to call them back to see if that is a firm ship date or just the latest slip of the schedule. At least I bought before two prices increases.

John

[glenn bradley]

Maybe I need to make cardboard cut outs and lay them on the shop floor.

John

This was invaluable in planning my new shop layout. That's the 19-38 with extension tables on the left.

New Shop (67).jpg

They didn't make the smaller unit when I got my 19-38. Given the sizes of things I wanted to sand the 19-38 is great 90% of the time. Look at what you usually sand and go from there. It is impractical to build for the exception versus the norm.

[Robert London]

yeppers...the delivery of my 25-50 has been delayed yet again. Originally was supposed to be August and had drifted back to December. Yesterday, got a voicemail saying it'll ship end of January. Probably need to call them back to see if that is a firm ship date or just the latest slip of the schedule. At least I bought before two prices increases.

John

Yes sir, the price increases have been crazy. I paid $2699 in summer 2020 for my 25x2, and now it's $3999.

[Bill Dufour]

I thought Max sanders went out of busniess around 1980. Are they any relation to supermax?
Bill D

[Bryan Hall]

I've used a few different sizes and ended up buying the 25-50. I couldn't be happier and am shocked at how often I end up needing the full width.

[Keegan Shields]

John,

If you’re willing to drive to Houston…

https://houston.craigslist.org/tls/d...407134234.html

[John Stankus]

John,

If you’re willing to drive to Houston…

https://houston.craigslist.org/tls/d...407134234.html

Thanks, but since the new one I am waiting for is already paid for. And accounting for purchasing ahead of two price increases plus fuel and time price is comparable. This is a reward for myself for pulling summer teaching duties for the past 5 or 6 years. So a little more wait, while annoying, is not impeding any projects.

John