Drum Sander Purchase Recommendations???

[Admiral]

I'm seriously considering a drum sander purchase.  Know little, zero experience with these.  Jet, Supermax, Grizzly, other?  Size/width capacity, e.g., can you really flip a panel and get both halfs of a side to come out ok?  Is HP important?  Plans for use are essentially to prepare resawed veneer, panels, etc.  Budget hopefully $1.2- 1.5k.  What experience can y'all share ......

[jteneyck]

I'm seriously considering a drum sander purchase.  Know little, zero experience with these.  Jet, Supermax, Grizzly, other?  Size/width capacity, e.g., can you really flip a panel and get both halfs of a side to come out ok?  Is HP important?  Plans for use are essentially to prepare resawed veneer, panels, etc.  Budget hopefully $1.2- 1.5k.  What experience can y'all share ......

I had a Delta 18x36 for nearly 10 years and it was a very good machine.  I sanded lots of panels 24" up to even about 32" on occasion and had no trouble doing so as long as you follow the directions and open the outboard end about 0.003 - 0.004".  Is HP important?  Well, yes, of course, and that was the biggest complaint I had about that machine.  It had a 1.5 hp motor and that just was not enough to prevent stalling on wide panels if you tried to take off more than just 0.002" or so, or more than maybe 0.005" on a piece of 12" veneer.  One very nice thing about the Delta is that you can run the head down right onto the conveyor.  That may not seem like a good thing but it is if you want to sand veneer down to 1/32" but your machine won't allow you to drop the head that low. The sanding strip retainers on the Delta were easy to use and never slipped, a problem with many machines, so whatever you buy be sure to look into the holding clips as they are a big deal.  
 
I sold the Delta and moved up to a 24" double drum General International with a 3 HP motor.  It's still not over powered by any means, but it does a very good job, faster and easier than the Delta.  Dust collection, however, is not as good and that points out that you need a good dust collector to go with any drum sander.  It's just not an effective machine unless you can remove the dust as fast as it's generated.  FWIW, I have rarely regretted not being able to sand anything wider than 24".  

If I had unlimited funds I'd get a wide belt sander over a drum sander.  But not many hobbiests can afford one or justify one even if they can afford it.  The good news is drum sanders work very well as long as you understand and abide by their limitations.  They are great for sanding shop sawn veneer and for dealing with tearout off the planer for those of us that have straight knife planers.  Keep in mind, however, that drum sanders leave behind linear scratches and still require final sanding with a ROS to get a surface acceptable for finishing.  And like all stationary machines I would look for a good used machine first.  I bought the Delta for less than 1/2 the price of new, used it for nearly 10 years, and sold it for 80% of what I paid for it.  

John

[fredhargis]

I also had a Delta 18/36 for many years. Mine was one of the first ones and I was lucky enough to not have any of the problems that plagues the first iteration (fixed on subsequent models). Anyway, I sold it at a time I thought I wouldn't need a DS anymore. After about 3 years I realized the are handy to have so bought another one. I didn't consider any model other than the Supermax 19/38. Yes, you can flip boards and sand a wider piece. One the Delta the manual suggested adjusting the table slightly out of parallel (just a few thousandths) to avoid a ridge in the center...on the Supermax there's a lever you move to do that when needed; when done you drop the lever.  The Supermax feed belt is wider than the drum, something I wish I had had on the Delta, it handy for supporting slightly wider boards. The Supermax may be a little underpowered, but it does have circuity (Intellisand) that slows the feed down when it senses a heavy load. Now, I wouldn't suggest one of these for professional use, but for a hobbyist they are a great sander at a reasonable price...well within your range.

[fall]

In that price range the Supermax sanders seem to get the best reviews.

[Admiral]

Thanks John, good input and food for thought for me.

Fred: did you buy the in/outfeed accessories, and are they really needed if you have roller stands up the wazoo, as I do?

[fredhargis]

I just use roller stands, I don't have them out the wazoo, but i do have 2...and they do the job. It's a lot easier with a Supermax than it was with the old Delta...on a Supermax the table stays put as you adjust the cut. Besides, those extensions just add to the space it takes up. (BTW, I think those sanders are on sale now...at least at Rockler...and I'd bet everywhere else as well.)

[cpolubin]

Admiral,

If you decide on the Supermax 19-38 I have a set of infeed/outfeed tables that you can have for the shipping cost. They're the non folding ones.

Cliff

[Admiral]

Admiral,

If you decide on the Supermax 19-38 I have a set of infeed/outfeed tables that you can have for the shipping cost. They're the non folding ones.

Cliff

Cliff:  that's very generous, thanks.  I've yet to make a decision but I'll clearly keep that in mind.  Rich

[fishhh4]

sale at Rockler

[kurt18947]

I have a Performax 18-36. Bear in mind it's a sander not an abrasive planer. I put an ammeter on mine so I could vary the feed speed with the amp load. Sort of a manual smart sand it sounds like.