Replies

1. 
   TomMGTC | Nov 04, 2003 04:35am | #1

   What do you want it to do. I have one and it is a good machine but it does have it's limitations. I don't use it all that much as I am doing mostly one off custom work but it does come in pretty handy from time to time.   

   Tom

   Douglasville, GA

1. 
   Douglas | Nov 04, 2003 04:42am | #2

   I want to sand panel doors and face frames. I also do mostly one of a kind work. But sometimes to pay the bills I build kitchens and sanding doors and face frames with random orbital sanders take forever

1. 
   TomMGTC | Nov 04, 2003 04:57am | #4

   It will do what you want. Not as well as a wide belt but I get good results with it. I don't recommend trying to run two grits at once on the seperate drums. It's just too fussy to set up (at least for me). I keep two grits installed all the time but never run both at once. I sand with one then lower the next grit and finish that way. I feel like I have more control over the process that way.Tom

   Douglasville, GA

2. 
   johnhardy | Nov 04, 2003 04:52am | #3

   Well, I can tell you that I had a Performax 16/32 and got rid of it because it was grossly underpowered. I replaced it with the Woodmaster, and I love the horsepower. I'm still getting used to the velcro fastening system for the paper ... when first installed the wood doesn't really want to start the sanding process ... at least not as easily as the Performax. I suspect the velcro has to be squashed down a bit. Anyway, short of a large belt sander, which is lots more $$$, I think you'll find nothing better.

   John

3. 
   Jeff | Nov 04, 2003 03:35pm | #5

   Acyually, I bought John's underpowered Proformax sander.

   Works great for small bites and pieces, panals need to be done real slow in small steps.

   I'm fine with it for my small shop, if I had a larger shop doing alot of panal work, I'd buy a larger more powerful unit.

   Jeff

4. 
   camel | Nov 04, 2003 06:26pm | #6

   I ended up buying the Extrema 37" double drum sander after looking at every option. My needs and my budget. I couldn't be happier. It does exactly what I bought it for and saves alot of time. I do mostly built-in libraries, home offices that have many solid wood tops, doors, faceframes. The average size top for those projects are usually from 25"-30"deep x 12-14' wide. I used to scrape the glue off then work it with the jointer plane followed by scraper plane then sanding. Alot of work and time compared to having it done in about 15-20 min. with the drum sander. And the customer don't know the difference and wouldn't appreciate the handwork if they understood it anyway. I'm rambling for some reason. I'd would reccomend it if you can't afford the wide-belt sanders right now. Keep in mind, you'll still have to use your orbital for cross grain scratches on your doors and just general finish sanding on anything, but it is dramatically reduced.

   John E. Nanasy

5. 
   riverr1 | Nov 04, 2003 10:23pm | #7

   I have a GI 24", dual drum and I'm happy with it, but the reason I'm responding is because I have never seen a drum sander, including mine that works well with removing paint. The paper builds up with paint fast, because of the heat it gets gummy and pulls the paper off the drums and burns the wood. Of course I haven't seen all drum sanders, but I've done and been told the above story, and never been told of a successful paint removal experience.

   Don

6. 
   PlaneWood | Nov 05, 2003 07:31am | #8

   I built my own 14" drum sander a few years ago.  I wish now I had built it 20 years prior!  Also wish I had put a 1hp motor on it instead of the puny 1/2hp.  But, i just do small stuff, so it's ok most of the time.  Mine is manual feed.  I have used it to sand down to 1/16".  Can't do that with a planer!  It was a good shop addition and has been well used.

   You will definitely need a high power DC for one though.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)
   PlaneWood

1. 
   adrienne4468 | Nov 05, 2003 07:18pm | #9

   I would love to see some pics of the drum sander you built. I am thinking of building one myself and have a couple of ideas of how to do it. One of them using a junked out treadmill for the feed bed. I could either put a handcrank for feed or I have a gear reduced variable speed motor that I could adapt. Some pics of a homemade working model would greatly help in my design.

   Thanking you in advance,

   Tony

1. 
   PlaneWood | Nov 05, 2003 09:26pm | #10

   Tony -

   Go here:  http://pages.sbcglobal.net/mike_in_katy/ds1.jpg

   The images are ds1.jpg thru ds6.jpg

   I took it off the stand and now have it mounted on my rolling workbench with the motor inside the workbench and using the weight of the motor for belt tension.  I modelled it after a lot of the 4 bed-screw planers you see around. 

   It was fun to make and i have certainly used it a lot.

   If I could just figure how to prevent wax buildup on the sandpaper from the exotic waxy woods.........

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

1. 
   adrienne4468 | Nov 05, 2003 10:12pm | #11

   It's funny that you have this picture and this is your sander. After doing a web search awhile back I book marked a page. http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/thicknesssander/gallery.html

   If you go there you will find your sander. This is one of the designs that I will be incorporating in my designs. By the way, what do you think of using a bed of of a treadmill for the bed of the sander?

   Thanks

   Tony

1. 
   PlaneWood | Nov 05, 2003 10:16pm | #12

   I'll be darned!  I just sent the guy a note.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

2. 
   PlaneWood | Nov 05, 2003 10:38pm | #13

   Tony -

   If your going to make one, then here are some things I would have done differently.

   1) use at least a 1 hp motor

   2) use a 3/4" thru rod for the drum.  The reason I used 5/8" is I could only find the endplates in that size.  Got those at Sears Hardware.

   3) given it about 1" more space between the bed and the drum.  I'm limited to 3" or less.

   The drum is MDF circles glued together with poly glue.  I used mdf because of the consistency in density.  A wooden drum will be more difficult to balance.  It took about 10 coats of poly varnish to finish the drum after truing up.  MDF really drinks it in!

   The thick mahogany I used really drinks up vibration.  Note the grain orientation for the bottom and the vertical posts. 

   One thing you could do is go buy 1.5" flange bearings at Sears and a piece of 1.5" metal electrical conduit.  With that you could rig up rollers on the ends of the bed onto which you could attach a heavy wide canvas belt impregnated with sand on the top surface.  That could be the basis for a hand crank feed or with a little more investment, a motorized feed.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

7. 
   uncletim | Nov 08, 2003 05:10pm | #14

   I recently purchased a grizzly 24" drum sander, and couldn't be happier, I make many small tables and had a need for a machine to sand my lay-ups, this machine solved all my problems and was almost perfect " out of the box" only minor adjustments were needed. the price is around $1200. but they do offer a 16" model for $750.