Supermax 25-50 Questions

[Bob McBreen]

I am thinking of upgrading my Performax 16-32 drum sander that is about ten years old. I have a couple of projects coming up that will have 23" panels & would like to sand in one pass.

The Supermax 25-50 looks like it might meet my needs, but I have two questions for people familiar with the machine.

Has the clamping mechanism for holding the paper been improved since I purchased my 16-32? My current machine is a pain to get the paper tight & it slips after a short time of use.

Has the parallel adjustment been improved? On my current machine I loosen four bolts, then turn a knob, then tighten the bolts. Kind of hit & miss and needs frequent adjustment.

Thanks for the help.

[Erich Elfeldt]

Bob, we have been using our 25-50 now for several years. The clamping mechanism for the paper is improved on this model over the old 16-32, we had one of those before. As for the parallel adjustment, we set our machine up originally with feeler gauges and have not had to reset it. This is not a machine that we use every day. We do however check it before we run a piece through it. We also check the work with Mitutoyo digital calipers during production. The last suggestion that I have is alternate your feed direction.

[Keegan Shields]

My 25-50 is a set-and-forget tool just the way I expect. After a thorough initial setup, I haven’t had to mess with it. I haven’t used the earlier generation but I would recommend it to a friend with confidence.

[Richard Coers]

No one replied to your sand in one pass comment. I've hardly ever sanded anything with one pass on my 16-32, especially when it nears the 16" width. I take my panels to a cabinet shop with a wide belt for that. All you need is one slightly bowed panel to cause you to start over on all the panels.

[Jacob Mac]

How fussy is the parallel adjustment?

[Robert London]

I have the supermax 25 x 2 dual drum. Once you have it dialed in, it’s pretty smooth and yet to adjust the drums again. The clip system works fine and I like it much better than having to tape the ends on some other machines. Paper changes are easy. I find the paper needs changing and pretty wrecked about the same time the ends start slipping a bit.

I was going to get the single drum and went 25x2 when the other was out of stock. Very happy I spent the extra money to get 5 hp. But that was before the big Covid price increases.

[Bob McBreen]

Thanks to all that responded. Lots of great information.