Auction Brag Post with a Question (Supermax 37x2 Sander)

[Erik Litts]

So, I got the "dirty old tool" discount at an auction last Saturday and picked up a Supermax 37x2 dual drum sander for $550. I'd gone there looking for stuff to flip to support my own personal tool buying, and thought that's why I was buying the sander, but now that I have it, I think I'm going to have to keep it. It takes up a lot of real estate, but it's easy to move around and I know I'm unlikely to ever be making enough through woodworking to justify buying one of these (or anything like it) at anything close to a reasonable price. Plus, I just sold an Oliver 8" jointer for a $450 profit on Friday, so I can justify it in my own head as something like a "trade".

So, having made that decision, anyone that has experience with these that wants to offer tips on using it effectively? Anything I should watch out for or particular supplies to either use or not use? I've heard that changing the paper on drum sanders can be a real PITA, is that the case with this one? How much suction do I actually need to run the dust collection effectively? I assume a shop vac isn't going to cut it, but will my 1HP Delta dust collector or am I going to need more HP?

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[John C Bush]

Congrats on the score,
I have the 25" version with a 1.75 hp 120v motor and it works great for my hobby needs. Would like to have more power but with patience and not being too aggressive you can get nice flat panels, etc.
I usually lower the drum 1/8+ turn per pass and do a couple of spring passes to finish. I usually keep 120 or 150 grit in and use an ROS for finish sanding. 80 grit is good for quicker dimensioning but sometimes it takes longer to use the finer grits to remove the scatches from the more coarse grit. It looks like yours has the SandSmart controller so that helps figuring out how much to adjust per pass. Changing paper is not difficult and takes just a few minutes to do. After a few passes with new paper I stop sanding and retighten the paper to manage any stretching--overlap is the PITA. Get the large rubber eraser and clean the paper often --it will last a lot longer. I get paper in long rolls(100ft ???) and precut a few to have ready for a quick change. Good luck and have fun with you new machine.

[Patrick Kane]

Nice score. Is it single phase or 3 phase? I think i purchased my 37x2 many years ago for about $1,000-1,500 from a one man cabinet shop. Used it for a few years and then sold it for $3,000. I think its worth every bit of $2,500+ if its single phase and you blow the 1/2" of dust off it before taking listing photos. Especially with how the used tool market is right now, so keep that in mind if you would rather have a few grand in your pocket instead.

My opinion of the tool:
It is dreadful for surfacing large workpieces. If you think you are going to feed a 3' by 6' table top through the sander with no problems, i think you are dead wrong. Unlike a planer, it doesnt produce enough downward pressure to keep the workpiece parallel to the sanding drums. I gouged a lot of large counters/islands on the front and back ends because of this.
It is pretty slow. I know you think 37" and dual drum with 5hp sounds powerful, but it is not. The small drum diameter and HP are severely limiting for stock removal. I had 40 and 60 grit, and it was very slow for surface material. This was mostly for misaligned panels or end grain cutting boards.
If you use it a fair amount, it will really clog your DC filter. I have a tall cyclone, and this still did a number on my filter.
It is a very nice machine for delicate work. I wish i still had it anytime i have highly figured material that my spiral planer roughed up a bit. Or for finish sanding resawn shop veneer or bent laminations. It is very good at light duty sanding. However, much like owning a boat, my happiest days of owning the sander were the day i bought it and the day i sold it.

I agree with John, i had long rolls of sandpaper that i cut to the right taper. It isnt bad at all to roll onto the drum with their spring loaded clips. I also had a huge rubber eraser that i used often. Finally, i upgraded my conveyor belt to a rubber one similar to a widebelt conveyor. It was $250+, and you dont retain the same level of accuracy as a sandpaper belt(rubber squishes a bit under pressure), but it tracked SO much better than the sandpaper belt. It also seemed indestructible and like it would last forever. Once you get a rip, tear, or hole in the sandpaper conveyor, it is the kiss of death.

[Erik Litts]

It's single phase, 220v, 5hp.

I'd heard some folks run 2 different grit papers in their dual drum sanders. Is that something that's only practical for the heavier duty sanders with the huge drums?

I figured it was worth $1500 on the used market, but $3000? If that wasn't just a fluke, I'll have to use it a while and see how I like it, then think hard about whether I want a single $3000 piece of equipment or a 2-4 of the other things on my wish list.

the feed paper does have a 1" tear, but it's right on the edge of the paper. I kind of figured if I just keep anything well away from it, it should still be servicable for a while. What's the price on replacing the sandpaper conveyor?

[Bradley Gray]

I have the 25 x 2 version of a similar age. I would agree with all of what Patrick said especially about sanding big pieces. Mine is 5hp also and I have pretty good luck sanding before glue-up. The machine really shines for s4s door and drawer parts where you can gang sand parts.

Kingspor sells rolls that have cut marks that are color coded for different size sanders. I mostly run 80/ 100 grits.

I have a PDF of the manual I can email if you PM your address.

[Warren Lake]

If I wanted to sand wood Id sell it and buy a stroke sander.

[Robert London]

I have the 25 x 2 5hp version. Paper changes are easy with the clip system. No tape needed and one person can change paper in minutes. I had to upgrade my dust collector. Had an anemic 1 hp that wouldn't keep up and got a 2hp canister Grizzly that is much better.

I use both drums in tandem and it can power off material pretty well with the 5hp motor. 500 bucks for a 36 model was a steal as that's a 3500 machine new.

Paid 2600 new for mine last year and love it.

[Patrick Kane]

It's single phase, 220v, 5hp.

I'd heard some folks run 2 different grit papers in their dual drum sanders. Is that something that's only practical for the heavier duty sanders with the huge drums?

I figured it was worth $1500 on the used market, but $3000? If that wasn't just a fluke, I'll have to use it a while and see how I like it, then think hard about whether I want a single $3000 piece of equipment or a 2-4 of the other things on my wish list.

the feed paper does have a 1" tear, but it's right on the edge of the paper. I kind of figured if I just keep anything well away from it, it should still be servicable for a while. What's the price on replacing the sandpaper conveyor?

I either got really lucky on that sale, or something changed. I just checked and it looks like Supermax sells them for like $4,500+/- now. I swear years ago that was closer to $6,000, which is how i got $3,000 for mine with sandpaper, the upgraded conveyor belt etc. Sanders are great niche machines to have around, like i said earlier, i miss mine from time to time. However, in the same real estate is a 20" jointer, which i just used to surface three walnut slabs that ranged 16-19" in width. That is worth considerably more to me than what the sander can perform, but if i was doing a bunch of veneer work, or super figured musical instruments etc, then the sander would be much higher on my list. I would love to try out one of the tiny open-ended widebelts. The 15-18" wide ones that run on 5-7.5hp motors. I think that would serve me perfectly for the tasks i want a sander.

[Ron Selzer]

I either got really lucky on that sale, or something changed. I just checked and it looks like Supermax sells them for like $4,500+/- now. I swear years ago that was closer to $6,000, which is how i got $3,000 for mine with sandpaper, the upgraded conveyor belt etc. Sanders are great niche machines to have around, like i said earlier, i miss mine from time to time. However, in the same real estate is a 20" jointer, which i just used to surface three walnut slabs that ranged 16-19" in width. That is worth considerably more to me than what the sander can perform, but if i was doing a bunch of veneer work, or super figured musical instruments etc, then the sander would be much higher on my list. I would love to try out one of the tiny open-ended widebelts. The 15-18" wide ones that run on 5-7.5hp motors. I think that would serve me perfectly for the tasks i want a sander.

I bought a 15" wide belt with 5hp motor used back in 2017. Works fantastic for me. Start with a 36 belt get it flat and then change to 60, 80, 100,120 each change less than 30 seconds
Really, really like this sander
Had a couple of drum sanders and no more for me, no way, no how. Too hard and too much time to change paper
Ron

[Warren Lake]

five grits, five belt changes, five passes is not terrific.

[Rick Potter]

I am with Patrick on this one. I got my 37" Woodmaster thinking I would run 35" tall face frames through it after assembly. I tried that and it worked, but not all that well. The sanding did the rails fine, but left me with a lot of sanding on the stiles, which were naturally sanded sideways.

Now I have two grits, 150 and 100 on it, and sand all the pieces before assembly. It is great for insuring they are all the same thickness.

I have also found that running the parts through the 100 to final thickness them, works even better if I then run them through the same grit without changing the setting. Then I go to the 150 side and run them through several times, again without changing the height.

It comes out looking like I have sanded with a finer grit doing it that way, without changing paper. Sounds fishy, but it works for me. After the 150, I R/O with 180 or sometimes 220 Abranet.

My 2 bits (inflation).

[glenn bradley]

Congrats. Great score.

[Bob Falk]

I used to have a 25x2 and I agree with everything that has been said except for the paper changing. I hated those clips and they seemed to bite my fingers every time I changed the paper. I much prefer the velcro paper on my Woodmaster....seems more forgiving as it has a little more cushion.

[Ron Selzer]

five grits, five belt changes, five passes is not terrific.

why would you not use every grit between coarse to where you want to end up?
you do when hand sanding or using a Random orbital sander
Ron