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+-- Thread: Underpowered drum sanders? (/showthread.php?tid=7348405)
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Underpowered drum sanders? - Smashedfinger - 05-25-2019
I recently bought a supermax 25/50 drum sander. Although I found it was built right up there with a very good fit and finish; the power I believe is lacking.
It seems to bog down pretty easily and the auto speed kicks in, then sometimes it just shuts off. I guess I'm expecting too much for 2,200 dollars? Maybe a 3 hp motor and 220 volt option would be a better choice. It does work great at sanding highly figured wood like burls,curly figure and so forth; but bogs down very quickly when doing anything wider than 6 inches or so. I was sanding burl for small boxes and the lines left by 80 grit sandpaper (comes with) were very hard to sand out. I found a sharp scraper much better at getting those lines out. I'm wondering if this is a limitation of this design? I don't have seven thousand dollars to plop down on a wide belt sander. What are your thoughts?
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - paarker - 05-25-2019
How much are you trying to sand at once? I use the 19-38 and will only bog down when too deep of a pass happens. Get the height correct, then only take 1/4 turns and you should be fine. This works on my machine don't see why it wouldn't on yours.
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - handi - 05-25-2019
I had a Woodmaster 718 with a 5hp motor on the head and a separate feed drive.
Taking too deep a pass with the drum sanding head would slow it right down. Anything over 1/32” per pass was too aggressive even at 5 hp.
I suspect you are taking too much at a pass.
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - CARYinWA - 05-25-2019
I have the 25-50. this is not a planer . You have to take light passes. I only use 120 grit on mine. Much higher and I get burning. Lower and the lines are harder to remove. Nature of the beast.
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - Woodenfish - 05-25-2019
How is the outlet wired for the tool? Is it capable of delivering 20A? What gauge wires for circuit? Is this a dedicated circuit or is it shared? Is it plugged in directly or through an extension cord?
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - jteneyck - 05-26-2019
I have a 3 HP on my 24" dual drum General. 0.010" is a big bite; much more and it will stall. I had a Delta 18x36 before that with a 1.5 HP motor. 0.005" was about all it could handle. I found that planing to about 0.030 - 0.040" over and then 2 or 3 passes on each side works very well to remove planer marks and most tearout w/o taking excess time.
John
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - MichaelMouse - 05-26-2019
(05-25-2019, 09:21 PM)Smashedfinger Wrote: I was sanding burl for small boxes and the lines left by 80 grit sandpaper (comes with) were very hard to sand out. I found a sharp scraper much better at getting those lines out.
A clue there. You're taking too big a bite, and the heat generated is case-hardening the surface. You can break the case-hardening with a damp rag and dry before next grit, but the real answer is to take a smaller bite.
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - Bobby Thompson - 05-26-2019
(05-25-2019, 09:21 PM)Smashedfinger Wrote: I recently bought a supermax 25/50 drum sander. Although I found it was built right up there with a very good fit and finish; the power I believe is lacking.
It seems to bog down pretty easily and the auto speed kicks in, then sometimes it just shuts off. I guess I'm expecting too much for 2,200 dollars? Maybe a 3 hp motor and 220 volt option would be a better choice. It does work great at sanding highly figured wood like burls,curly figure and so forth; but bogs down very quickly when doing anything wider than 6 inches or so. I was sanding burl for small boxes and the lines left by 80 grit sandpaper (comes with) were very hard to sand out. I found a sharp scraper much better at getting those lines out. I'm wondering if this is a limitation of this design? I don't have seven thousand dollars to plop down on a wide belt sander. What are your thoughts?
I have a 37" supermax. When I first got it (used) I had a tendency to try to take off too much. I doesn't have an auto speed so the belt would slip. It also would burn the paper or the wood. Cherry is real easy to burn. Pine will clog up the paper. I will not put either of those through my sander. I had to remember that I was just sanding and not trying to take off a lot of wood. Try light passes at a slower speed.
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - Stwood_ - 05-26-2019
I had a 5HP Grizzly 24" and 5 to 10 thou was about all it would sand without stalling
RE: Underpowered drum sanders? - kurt18947 - 05-27-2019
(05-25-2019, 10:19 PM)CARYinWA Wrote: I have the 25-50. this is not a planer . You have to take light passes. I only use 120 grit on mine. Much higher and I get burning. Lower and the lines are harder to remove. Nature of the beast.
I guess this is a lesson most new users of small sanders must learn, I know I did. I rigged an ammeter on mine so I knew how much of a load the main motor was under. Keep the amps around 15 with feed speed and depth knob and life is fine. Sort of a manual smart sand I guess.