The longer I work in my shop, the more I see a need for a drum sander. I have almost all the usual suspects in power tools, jointer, thickness planer, floor drill press, band saw, table saw, chip collector. It seems every day I feel more and more inclinded to believe I just can’t get by without a drum sander for prepping faces of thin stock that is too thin for my thickness planer @ <1/4″. I just added a vacuum veneer press to my shop and plan to do a fair amount of veneer work using purchased veneers and shop cut veneers. It’s the shop cut veneers where I think a drum sander will also really come in handy, along with edging material as well. Then there’s the wild grained boards that I fight tearout on my thickness planer. I’ve retrofit my jointer with a shelix carbide cutter which I LOVE, and that’s effectively ended all tearout problems on that machine, but I just can’t pony up the $$ to retrofit my 16″ planer. That’s a major investment and slightly more expensive than a comperable width drum sander. Seems the drum sander would complement my shop and add more versatility than retrofitting my thickness planer, even if I COULD find a 16″ shelix cutter, which I can’t.
My question to you all is how common is it for you all to have drum sanders in your shops? Am I being extravengant adding the drum sander, in spite of the fact that yes…I am…a tool junkie?
Second, I’m sold on the four post drum sanders compared to the open sided drum sander. They seem more accurate/rigid. What is your all’s experience? Are the open sided drum sanders really rigid enough to hold tolerance?
Jeff
Replies
Jeff,
I bought a Performax 16-32 a few years ago when I was doing a lot of kitchens. My plan was to use it for sanding doors after glue up, but I feel it is just not quite up to the task. I wish I would have saved my money and bought a four post machine instead. I do use it once a week or so for small parts and thin stock, but is is one machine I could get by without. Nice to have in the quiver, but for me not a necessity.
Matt
http://www.oldgreenwoodworking.com
I have the ShopFox 26" double drum, you could'nt pry it away from me.
Great machine, I highly recommend it.
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Jeff,
There were several threads about various sanding options just a few months back. Worthwhile to look for them.
In order to make an intelligent choice you need to clarify what you expect from the sander:
If you want to sand large slabs, or a wide variety of tasks, I'd consider using a stroke sander. It takes some getting used to but they're relatively cheap and extremely versatile. Very low-tech machines that last forever.
If you want to "thickness" shopmade veneer, then a fairly simple 4-poster would do. But it won't be very useful for other tasks. I wouldn't go near an open-sided sander if I could help it.
If you want to sand veneered panels, or accurately sand door assemblies after glue-up, then you need a calibrating drum sander with platten head. They are complex machines (by WWing standards) with servo-mechanisms and also serious DC requirements. These are expensive (10 times the cost of stroke sanders), but they do the job they're meant to do.
David Ring
http://www.touchwood.co.il/?id=1&lang=e
I Have the Delta version, it has held up well in my shop and gets a lot of use. I have had to replace the feed belt a couple of times and the front roller bar. It does OK as a finish sander mainly I use it to get rid of tearout. What it does great is sand and even out sawn veneers a little slow but there is no fear of the piece being chewed up and spit out. I send them through with 80 grit and that seems to work well. For the price I don't think it can be beat. Performax has one at about the same price I would look at both and see which one looks better to you.
http://sunhillmachinery.com/store/index.asp?department=2
I would have gotten the helical head for the planer, not the jointer. The sunhill helical 16" is fine. I don't feel there is a significant difference between the two.
I'm with Ring on the stroke sander. I've been in the indistry for 30 years and I rarely recommend a drum sander. A stroke sander is by far a better and more economical choice. If you go with a drum sander I find the hook and loop is the worst way to go. Even with a widebelt I find there's stuff you can do better with a stroke sander. Also a widebelt without a platen is only slightly better than a drum sander in performance. You can go from the stroke sander right to finishing. A drim sander leaves slight ripples like a planer and must be sanded off before finishing so it's not the cure all most people think.
This is a topic FWW has never covered. It would make for a good article. They used to write about the stroke sander years ago. Just because they don't address it doesn't mean they are up to date with technology.
Edited 5/9/2007 12:19 pm ET by RickL
Thanks, that gives me a lot to think about. I had seen stroke sanders recommended before but had never seen one till I Googled them after reading your post. The only downside for me is that I have a small shop and the large footprint of the stroke sander would be an issue. Still, I'll have to chew this over for awhile...As for the helical head, the cutter head I retrofitted to my jointer is from Sunhill, I live near their Seattle store and was able to purchase it in person. In fact they were kind enough to give me a tour of their operation. Nice people and I highly recommend them as a business. Do you know...if the 16" JOINTER cutterhead would fit my Jet 16" PLANER?? I guess I'll have to give them a call and investigate this. Maybe this conversion is the better solution than the sander itself....Jeff
Not all stroke sanders are large. Old Boice Cranes are next to nothing in cost. FWW had a great DIY over 25 years ago. Grizzly and other make them as well. The old Mattison and Beach can have the pedestals at any distance so they can be big.
FWW example of home made one
http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=29715&highlight=build+machines&s=56351b226d149cd62e26aafb751c633b&
See post # 15, you will have to join to see it.
Although I've never used one, it is my understanding that a stroke sander is a finishing machine and is in no way considered to be a dimensioning machine. Thus, it would not be applicable for your stated use.I've got a 16-32 Performax. It's frustratingly slow but it does a fine job of doing the final sanding and dimensioning for shop sawn veneer. I use it mostly when preparing edging stock. It stays in adjustment just fine for this. I don't think I'd want to depend on it to sand 32 inch wide panels.
I have the Performax 22-44 Plus with the closed base stand. It is a fine tool and I couldn't work without it. I have a Yorkcraft 15" planer with Byrd Shellix head and it is much smoother than a knife blade planer but it is still very beneficial to stop the planing a 32nd or more from the finished thickness and to sand to the desired final thickness. It is slower than a planer but the precision of the thickness and the smiooth surface is worth taking the extra time. Even with the Shellix head on the planer you can still get some tearout on very fancy grain woods. The 22-44 will surface these boards dead smooth with no tearout. When I bought the 22-44 it was stressed that this is a finish sander and not a dimensioning machine. If you follow that rule and use the sander to make the final sizing passes you will be very happy. You can remove 2-3 thousands of thickness if you are careful, and a normal pass with 150 grit is about 15 thousands of a inch. One thing that is a must is an adequate dust collection system. You cannot run the sander without one! The 22-44 costs around $1200 currently and that is a big investment, but I believe that you get your money's worth.
Jeff,
I live out in Sammamish, on the plateau. I have a Performax 22-44. If you would like to try the sander on a few test pieces of whatever you consider your target material, you're certainly welcome to come over. Use the email system and we can set up some time that works for us both.
Bob
Hey Jeff,
I have a Woodmaster 38" drum sander. One of the features that I particularly like is the fact that it uses hook and loop abrasive. It allows me to put more than one grit on the drum at a time.
You're welcome to come to my shop and see it in person. I'm in the Fremont neighborhood in Seattle. On Sunday, May 27, we're having a pig roast/woodshop party. You're invited to join us, if you'd like.
Tom
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