Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Apr 21, 2007 04:21pm | #1

   A couple of issues with drum sanders. They rotate in a straight line. Each piece of grit on the sandpaper cuts a linear groove in the work. Heat gets generated, paper gets worn and can load up and stretch. Dust collection is a must. With most drum sanders, you can only kiss the surface. This isn't too bad if you are only doing a few pieces. If you are running numerous pieces, you have to deal with the degradation of the paper.

   I had a large Performax. When it worked perfectly, which wasn't often, you still needed an extra step to remove the sanding marks. If the paper loaded up, it would ruin the piece that was in the machine. The number of passes you had to make, the cost of the paper and the extreme frustration when a piece got burned made us park the machine in a corner until it was sold. It just wasn't cost effective and couldn't be counted on for consistent or repeatable results.

   If you decide to try one out, make sure you can return it for full credit. It may be perfect for the work you do or it may turn you into a sledge hammer swinging lunatic.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
1. 
   Cincinnati | Apr 21, 2007 04:45pm | #2

   I don't have a drum sander, but I do have one on my wishlist for later on. I spoke with one manufactuer (I can't recall which one) who said the biggest issue they had with these sanders is people attempt to thickness their stock and not surface sand it. Taking too big of a bite causes excessive heat build up and clogging of the paper.

   For those of you who have/had one, can you verify this?

   How fine of a surface do they leave? Does it leave a better surface than a hand sander just because of the linear direction?

2. 
   vance | Apr 21, 2007 05:44pm | #3

   Hello,

   I have a 16/32 sander. It works very well but you can only take about 1/125" of depth at a time when leveling a board. This can take 45 minutes to flatten out a wide board.

   The sandpaper will clog up and burn very quickly if you try and take off too much in one pass. My machine works very well if you use it properly.

   Yes it sands only in a straight line, yes the sandpaper costs a lot of $. After using mine for 2 years it is a nice tool to flatten out doors etc or removing burn marks from the table saw.

   I use mine to smooth/flatten veneer after it comes off of the bandsaw but I can only go down to 3/16" or so. I know this is very thick for veneer but it has worked out ok for me so far.

   Understand this tool before you buy one. It is not a planer, but for custom thicknessing soild wood or plywood, it has a place in my shop.

   I hope this helps,

   Vance

3. 
   SpeakerScott | Apr 21, 2007 08:31pm | #4

   In agreement with others...

   1. The sandpaper does get expensive..

   2. It can leave grooves..

   3. It does clog up and can burn the surface.

   However,

   After producing several maple bench/counter tops for myself without one...I wouldn't trade mine in for any other tool. I found a used Delta X5 (USA made) drum sander. I'm currently doing a 29"x60" maple counter top for my new house. WOW...this thing is a huge time saver, and if you keep in mind the limitations above you end up realizing:

   1. The wood and time invested in a project is FAR more expensive than a $5 piece of sandpaper. So...change them when needed.

   2. Use progressively finer grits of sandpaper...(see number 1)

   3. Doing numbers 1 and 2 along with heavy duty dust collection and being patient with the amount of material you take off means that burning becomes a non-issue.

   I have spent entire days getting bench tops half the size of the above counter top sanded flat and ready for final surfacing (scraper and fine grit hand sanding). Last weekend I did it in about an hour. Well, 7 hours of my time was DEFINITELY worth the $15 of sandpaper I used up.

   Scott

4. 
   user-189774 | Apr 21, 2007 09:57pm | #5

   gnanders,

                 I see this is your first day, welcome to the family. There are a lot a knowledge on board here, I know the folks in these threads have helped me out quite a bit. Check out Woodmaster's drum sanders, if you have the extra cash it is worth it. Last year we purchased a Woodmaster planer/molder and could not be happier. They are still a family owned company and made in Kansas City U.S.A.

                               Regards,

                                            Jayhttp://www.woodmastertools.com

5. 
   cadiddlehopper | Apr 23, 2007 12:37am | #6

   It is difficult to advise you since we don't know what you want to do with this sander.

   I went cheap by buying a Performax 10-20. I am glad that I did not spend more on the machine. It has very limited use for me and has a severe fault: the feed belt refuses to track straight. It is so bad that I am convinced that physical laws are being defied by it somehow. Mostly it serves as a thickness sander on wood that is not suitable for running through a planer such as custom-cut veneer. Working with it is a slow process. The surface finish is far from ready for a finish coat no matter the grit of the belt. I save a little bit on belts by buying belting in rolls and cutting my own. That may be too much work for a machine with longer belts.

   Just giving you the benefit of my experience. Good luck!

   Cadiddlehopper

6. 
   Julmer | Apr 23, 2007 06:44pm | #7

   Do an archive search for "performax" and/or "drum sander", there have been numerous past discussion threads that I have contribuited to that covered lots of good and bad points with these machines.

   I've had a Performax 16/32 for about 8 years and consider it a valuable addition to my shop. I get great results from the machine and the extra time I spend using it comes back in precision thickness/width parts and less time hand sanding (you must still ROS/hand sand parts even if you use extrafine grit on the drum). I've also found you don't have to buy the expensive sandpaper rolls from the OEM's , you can get other "rolled" abrasives to work just fine.

   JohnU

   Everything in moderation, including excess.