Jet 22/44 sander question

[ed kerns]

For those of you who are experienced with this, or a similar sander, I'm curious as to how big of pieces you've successfully sanded? I've used mine for many things and really appreciate the machine, but I was recently trying to use it to sand some glued up panels, about 18" X 80" of 4/4 hickory and the sander (or my technique) was clearly over matched. Mostly my issue was keeping the panel balanced and moving under the drum and unfortunately I wound up sanding divots in the panel. And yes, I do know that this is a sander, not a thicknesser. I was attempting only the lightest possible cuts. Thanks for sharing your experience and any pointers.

[MsNomer]

You nailed it. It’s a question of what you can handle, not what the sander can handle. It took two of us to do a 38” by 60” pine table top and it’s not perfect.

[fredhargis]

A piece that big is almost certainly a 2 person job, you might manage it with some infeed/outfeed stands (more than a couple). Did you use any of them?

[2beast]

A piece that big is almost certainly a 2 person job, you might manage it with some infeed/outfeed stands (more than a couple). Did you use any of them?

My thoughts exactly 

[Wayne G.]

I bought mine to do a large order of large table tops.  Most of the tops were 48 wide and up to 96 long.  As it turns out, it was a bad investment for this purpose.  I ended up sanding for hours before giving in and seeking a local shop with a belt sander that charged $45 an hour for use.  He said my panels were so inconsistent that it would take all day to correct with his belt sander.  He suggested I cut them down to 20 wide panels then he would plan and sand each to correct thickness.  

I've found that 4' length is about my max but what's really disappointing is the width.  I cant use the oscillating part or the full drum.  My one clip continues to completely break free and release the paper.  It literally is dangling when I get to it.  I snap it back in place and start over and its good for days.  I finally got mad enough and contacted Jet.  Check out this ridiculous response.  Avoid sanding under the clips??  Seriously??!!   Then its not a 22 / 44, its a 20" sander plus he doesn't address the clip.  Then I look at how this is wrote and wonder if it's someones kid that wrote it.  None the less, I've found my use to be limited to 4' x 20"






To: Web Customer Relations <customerservice@jpwindustries.com>
Subject: RE: 22/44 oscillating sander issue
 
If you doing wide boards where you must sand under the clip area you mus keep a close check on the tightness of the paper , if the drum wrap gets lose you must retighten every few passes or check to make sure it has not loosened, try to avoid sanding under the clip slots

[ed kerns]

Interesting replies, thank you all. It appears that my experience is fairly common. I did set up infeed and out feed rollers, but obviously could have done better. I think if I could have maintained perfectly level in and out, I would have been ok. There was maybe 1/2" drop onto the out feed which of course leveraged up the work piece onto the sanding roller. Another set of hands would have been helpful as well. Live and learn. As the saying goes, you never know what your limits are until you try to exceed them!