Grizzly Baby drum sander G0459

[tod evans]

For some, life is void without large machines, but the majority of the people on the market don't need large machines, nor do they have space or, sometimes, the budget for. I think that I can speak with quite some authority on what customers want and buy.

exactly why i posted a response in the first place. many people are under the assumption that a drum sander, even a little one, will make the drudgery of sanding either less labor intensive and quicker or more accutate or both.

while drum sanders do offer accuracy as a matter of design most offer very little in the way of speed. if you`re currently sanding cabinet doors with a handheld belt sander and cleaning up with a random orbit sander it`s very likely that you`ll see your sanding time increase when using a drum sander with a 5hp mptor or less. yeah no kidding, it`s slower to sand out doors with a drum sander than by hand.. the doors comming out of the drum sander will be flatter but once you get the hang of sanding with handheld equipment you can do a darn good job.. now if a person is looking for a flat sanding job and doesn`t mind repeated passes through various grits then a drum sander will do an acceptable job just keep in mind that the smaller the motor the slower the stock removal rate. for a person say building guitars as a hobby the ability to thickness without tearout on some prized wood is very important especially considering that the 6 square feet of wood may be all he needs for several weeks.

but if joe hobbiest thinks for a moment that his furniture building or cabinetmaking speed will be enhanced with the purchase of a smaller drum sander he`s in for a rude awakening........
i`ve spent untold thousands trying to increase speed and accuracy economically, in the end most of the money i spent trying to save a few bucks was a waste.
no shiraz, life isn`t void without big machinery, but given the choice of small fustrating machines or putting in the hard work to be able to afford larger effective machines i`d opt for toiling longer to obtain a machine that will actually reduce my labor instead of increaseing it regardless of what the advertisments say...02 tod

[Sam Chambers]

I got an idea...a feller could buy the griz baby sander and then pimp it out with a 5hp motor, billet aluminum centerless ground drum, a glass scale digital readout (with absolute and incremental resolution), stepless DC servo feed belt control (3hp of course) and a Rockford Fosgate sound system 1.5kW.

You forgot the Hemi and dual exhaust!

[john whittaker]

I am glad Randy asked the original question and I appreciate Everyone's input/opinion given. I have seen very little in the way of a review for this sander and have been holding off until it has been "beta tested".

Reason for my interest....I have an application which requires very accurate thicknessing of figured wood for instruments. Specifically violin, viola, cello, guitar, & mandolin sides...and backs if flat.

One or two man very low production shop.

As it is now, violin/viola/cello sides are brought to thickness by hand using a scraper. This baby drum would be wide enough for the job and speed is not too important... but accuracy is.

As Tod pointed out..."If someone was using a drum sander for figured wood in guitar building..." And I agree...but I would like specific review info regarding this particular drum sander.

If anyone has an experience or opinion ...Is this baby drum unit accurate enough to do the job...please respond.

[Bob Lang]

I actually do have some experience with this machine, I wrote the review in the June issue of Popular Woodworking, and we continue to use it in the shop here at the magazine. In that review I said that this machine is "the best value in a thicknessing sander suitable for small shop use that I have seen." I think Grizzly hit a home run with this, and while it isn't a perfect machine or suitable for everyone, if it suits your needs it is money well spent. The closed end design and hook and loop attachment of the paper to the drum solve many of the problems inherent in open ended machines.

Bob Lang

[Randy Cox]

Guess I should have been more descriptive of my intended use. I like to make small jewelry boxes and other small items mostly. Want to get into small veneering panels in some of my projects. I think this is the sander that will work for me as my shop is small and I work mostly on small projects. Thanks for all the input.

On a side note...WOW! where else could you ask a question about a product and get a response from the president of the company no less. Kind of makes you think that their customer service would be top notch also. Thanks again for all the replies.

Randy

[tod evans]

john,
you and randy may very well be served well by this unit? both of you guys are wanting small stuff sanded slowly. according to shiraz accuracy isn`t a problem, and it`s unlikely it would be at 12". be sure you guys have read brians accounting of the time required for his sander, i`m betting that his real world times are right in the ballpark..
be sure, either of you, if you buy one, to run a few boards through it and post your opinions. .02 tod

[Steve Clardy]

Shiraz.

Whats the feed speed on this sander?

[Don Baer]

According to the Griz web site 0-15 FPM

[Shelley Bolster]

The message is gone, so am I

[Vaughn McMillan]

Shiraz.

Whats the feed speed on this sander?

Steve, according to the Grizzly site, it's a variable speed that's 0 to 15 fpm. (Dangit Don, ya beat me to it.)

I've also been keeping an eye on this model, since it seems it would be a good fit for some of my projects (small stuff, with an eye on possible future guitar making). No cabinets in my foreseeable future, and any furniture that might get built could be sanded by other means.

- Vaughn

[Chris Barton]

Ya know, I know of a lot of tools that come in different sizes and power levels. And people seem to buy plenty of them so, they must be doing what they are designed to do and fullfilling the buyer's expectations. I am guessing that anyone buying the unit in question has a clue about that. While opinions can be interesting, and even helpful, I believe the question was about experience?

[Ian Barley]

I cannot speak for this machine and don't want to get involved in any quality arguments about it on that basis. I will however say that my experience of drum sanders as a basic methodology is that they are slow and somewhat temperamental in use. You need to be taking very fine cuts, using low feed speeds and using first class extraction to be able to sand well without exposing yourself to the risk of burning. I ran a bigger drum sander unit for about 2 years and was intensely relieved to be rid of it when it went. Between fiddling around getting loadings attached, secure and straight and how slow the process was, a belt sander costing 6 times as much has been much better value for me. That process is now typically completed in about 1/4 of the time.

A small machine like this is probably better for some of those factors than a larger one and the H&L fastening probably makes life easier BUT if you offered me twice my money back and a free drum sander I still wouldn't give you my (not very) wide belt. Probably not relevant in a hobby shop but from my experience anybody who is looking at working at this game commercially will be better saving their pennies for a belt based machine.

[Alan Tolchinsky]

Isn't that the sander that requres a 30 amp circuit? I seem to remember reading that somewhere and if so that's a possible problem for most people. I may be wrong on that size though.

[Shiraz Balolia]

Shiraz.

Whats the feed speed on this sander?

Steve - Don and Vaughn are right. It is variable speed 0-15 FPM. That's the little knob you see on the bottom front left of the machine (just dial the speed).
Alan - the sanding motor draws 18 amps. Here is the link to the specs of this machine http://images.grizzly.com/grizzlycom...s/g0459_ds.pdf

Just for information on anyone thinking about buying this machine. Do it before the end of this year as it will be taking a huge jump in price Jan. 1, 2007. There's plenty of time between now and then.

[Lee DeRaud]

Just for information on anyone thinking about buying this machine. Do it before the end of this year as it will be taking a huge jump in price Jan. 1, 2007.

Ok, feel free not to answer this question, but...
Why on earth would this particular machine do that?
Or is it due to some overall bump in supplier pricing?