Is there a wide belt sander out there, geared for the small shop?

[Dee Dee Martin]

I create a fair amount of thin boards. 1/8", 3/16, and 1/4".
My drumsander is way to slow.
And even tho my planer will plane that thin, I get tear out.

Is there a wide belt sander on the market, geared for the small workshop guy?

[tod evans]

dee dee, by geared to the small shop, i take it that you mean single phase, small footprint and relatively inexpensive? the taiwan/china importers offer an open-ended design starting at about 3k same neighborhood as the import drums. some of these units are odd sized and you`ll be at the manufacturers mercy when you need belts so pay attention! if you have the power and bucks the 37x60 single head has been the small shop standard for lotsa years and supplies are readly available from several sources. if you have the time and inclination these units can be found used for close to the money you`d spend on an open-end design. there`s a usa company that makes a pretty good drum sander for around 3k, woodmaster out of kc mo. just remember build quality and speed of cut are directly influanced by price........02 tod

[lou sansone]

I agree with Tod on this, and will add that there are some 24" Wide belts out there on the used market that are probably fine for certain things, just not face frames for base kitchen cabinets.

Lou

[Steve Rowe]

Dee Dee,
You may want to check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/17inchWidebeltSanders/
There are several users of the Northstate sander by Leneave that appear to be very satisfied with their machines. I am considering one of these as well but before I pull the trigger, I want to see one.
Steve

[Dee Dee Martin]

So Todd, and Lou, are you saying that a sander like the Shop Fox 15" uses propritary belts, and is a piece of junk?

http://tinyurl.com/l8a7z

[Dee Dee Martin]

Steve, I find it odd that performing a Google search on:
Northgate widebelt sander

gets zero hits.
Same with:

northgate wide belt sander leneave

Do they have any kind of web presence?

[Dee Dee Martin]

Any of you familar with the Grizzly 15"?

http://www.grizzly.com/products/G9983

[Allen Grimes]

So Todd, and Lou, are you saying that a sander like the Shop Fox 15" uses propritary belts, and is a piece of junk?

http://tinyurl.com/l8a7z

Wow, I don't know how you came to that conclusion. All I got from what Tod and Lou said was to be cautious and make sure you know what you are buying.

As for Tod's recommendation about Woodmaster, If I was on the market for a drum sander (read, if I had the money to buy one), I would definately take a really good look at their machines. The 38" double drum http://woodmastertools.com/s/price1.cfm specificly. I have looked around, a little, at other comparable (size, specs) sanders, and the price here seems to be very competetive.

I have no affiliation with Woodmaster.

Hope this helps.

[Bob Justin]

Dee Dee

I recently picked up a PerformaX 22-44 Drum Sander and am very happy with it right out of the box. The manufactures $100.00 rebate didn't hurt either.

My plan is to surface plane to "close" and finish to final thickness with the drum sander for my thin work.

I have the option of buying ready made belts or simply trimming the ends from standard 3" abrasive stock.

Factory alignment of the drum head was very close and a simple mod improves the locking bolt to help keep things in alignment.

With 3 sizes, one may very well fill your needs and fit within your budget.

[tod evans]

dee dee, i would never intentionally slander a tool importer on a public forum and i think i`m safe in saying that lou wouldn`t either... i`ve never driven the shop-fox sander or the griz (one in the same i think?) but i have had occasion to use powermatics open ended sander that looks quite similar and the fellow who owned it tried his darnedest to get me to buy it from him so he could get a 37" model... after driving his i bought the 37" and left him to lament his discision... will one of these sanders work for you????? i have no idea. can you find readily available belts/parts?? again, i have no idea... should you speak to folks who have used both styles of sanders?? yes by all means! .....02 tod

[Robert Waddell]

Dee Dee,
It's "Northstate" not "Northgate". Try your search again with the right brand. Leneave is right here in my hometown, Charlotte, NC.

Rob

[lou sansone]

I won't speak for tod... but I was not saying that the shop fox was a piece of junk. I went round and round on this issue before buying my wide belt timesavers. I called a bunch of guys who had different machines and came up with the same answer over and over again when it came to wide belt sanders. If you have the room, power and can support the load of the machine ( I have an older timesavers ( 37" x 75" with the 12 1/2" contact drum ) that was really heavy - close to 3000 lbs ) , get a 37" machine. I say get a 37" machine if you plan on using it for all of the regular types of furniture and such that will come through your shop over the years.

If you are doing some special stuff and never plan of sanding face frames, table tops or what have you, then maybe these little open ended jobs would be ok for you.

In the end I looked for a timesavers because they are pretty much the original and one of the main players in this industry. I could call them up and give them my machine serial # and I could hear them pull out a file cabinet drawer, grab the original build folder and say ... oh yea this machine was bought by so and so and has all of the following options..... it needed a particular part in 1992 and then they ordered another part for the machine in 1998 and so on .. BTW check out the weight of a modern import and compare it to the older machines, and they have not switched to aluminum to save weight.

You could try to call china and see if they can help you years later with a machine from there, my guess is probably not

best wishes in the sander hunt

Lou

[Dee Dee Martin]

Allen, I agree. I did misinterpret what they wrote.

Bob, I'm looking for a widebelt, not a drum sander. I already have the Performax 22/44, and it's just way too slow. I've got hundreds of linear feet of 1/8" material to sand, every week.

I'd love to resaw my material about 1/16" over, and then take it right to the sander to finish by taking 1/32 off each side.

Todd, are you talking about the Powermatic 1791250, model 1632 16" ?
I think it's about $1,300 more than the Grizzly. Powermatic 37", is over 11 grand, right? Waaaay too much for my budget.

This is for creating 1/8" and 1/4" material for scroll sawing.

[tod evans]

dee dee, as far as i know powermatic only offers one open ended sander? i`m not going number hunting.....in sanding accuracy is paramount, closed end units are stiffer than open end ones...horsepower=speed, the more you have the faster you sand. fast and accurate cost bucks, period. when you start cutting corners you give up something, the choices are yours to make. only you can decide how much lumber you need to run and how accurate the results need to be, from that point you`ll have narrowed the field then you need to make sure you`ll be able to keep your investment running at a cost that doesn`t break the bank. .02 tod

[Steve Rowe]

Dee Dee,
Its Northstate. The website for Leneave is; http://www.leneavesupply.com/
Hope this helps.
Steve