I finally did it and the salesman tried to talk me out of it!

[glzahn]

I've been dreaming about purchasing a SuperMax 19-38 for a few years. As I get older, the arthritis in my wrists reek havoc after an afternoon of sanding, whether its using my belt sander or various random orbital sanders.

Seeing the SuperMax deal at a local Rockler (digital readout, and 9 rolls of various grits sandpaper), I decided to bite the bullet. I've read all the reviews and they seem pretty positive about the quality of this machine. I'm talking to the salesman and he's telling me about his experiences with different models of drum sanders and he recommends I don't purchase one.

I've only run a few boards through the machine and they turned out really nice.....and my wrists don't ache. I'm hoping this will help keep me in the game for yrs to come.

[skizzo]

Congrats on your acquisition. I hear people complain about their various drum sanders all the time, relating all kinds of bad experiences. I've had my Performax 16-32 for going on 10 years now and still use it on nearly every project. It's one of the most useful and important machines in my shop, couldn't imagine going back to not having it available.

[fredhargis]

Don't you fret about the salesman, he was either using reverse psychology or doden't know doodely-squat about anything. Kind of like talking to Skippy Stockboy in the plumbing dept. at a box store. If you're happy that's what counts.

[Bill_de]

My guess is that you will be very happy that you ignored the salesman. My Jet 16-32 not only gets used quite a bit, but way more than I thought it would. Pat yourself on the back for a good decision.

[BloomingtonMike]

One way to stay VERY happy with it is to NEVER use a widebelt machine.

Are you final sanding with your machine?

[Sassafrasman]

BloomingtonMike said:

---

One way to stay VERY happy with it is to NEVER use a widebelt machine.

Are you final sanding with your machine?

---

You hit that nail on the head. I now have an American made 36" wide belt which I nabbed for a crazy deal.

[3finger]

You get different opinions depending on the particular woodworker's work patterns. Some guys love them, others not. I got a killer deal on a new Performax/Jet 16-32 a few years ago. It ended up just taking up space and I sold it. I found it finicky to use and with a segmented cutterhead on my planer and a good ROS, finishing boards and flat panels was faster than dragging out the Performax. But then, small shop with single piece runs. If I were doing a whole kitchen full of cabinets, I might have seen it differently.

[John Mihich]

I use my 18x36 Delta a lot. I am so glad I bought it. When I needed 1/8" boards it did the trick. I did a whole bunch of figured wood and sent it through the planer. Of course I got a terrible finish. I figured I would so the last 1/16" I smooth it out with the sander.

[TDKPE]

Before:

glzahn said:

---

As I get older, the arthritis in my wrists reek havoc after an afternoon of sanding, whether its using my belt sander or various random orbital sanders.

---

After:

glzahn said:

---

I've only run a few boards through the machine and they turned out really nice.....and my wrists don't ache.

---

You bought a machine, it does what you asked of it, with the benefit of elimination of aches and pains. Sounds like a worthwhile investment to me.

Wish I had one.

[AHill]

I normally don't do big stuff, so right now I have no need for a wider drum sander. However, I do own a Jet 10-20 and was never able to get it to work right without stalling. Finally took the thing apart and corrected a misalignment problem (drum not parallel to the feeder belt), and then took very small bites with it. Works like a charm. Absolutely the best way for me to get consistent thickness on shop sawn veneers.