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Sassafrasman said:
You hit that nail on the head. I now have an American made 36" wide belt which I nabbed for a crazy deal.
Drool! A 37" from any country is on my desire list. Wiring for one these days.
Someday!
Glad its my shop I am responsible for - I only have to make me happy.
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Gary
They work great but there is still some sanding after using it. I am very glad you got it.
Klingspor has the sandpaper for the very best price.
Arlin
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification. Thank You Everyone.
It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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Many sales people don't know the machines they sell worth a hoot. I think if you use your machine as it was intended to be you'll be very happy with it. You just have to recognize that these machines are sanders, not abrasive planers, so you are limited to cuts of about 0.010" or less. I have a Delta 18 x 36 and cannot imagine woodworking w/o it any more. Nearly every piece of stock goes through it. You really don't know what flat and smooth is until you see what comes out of your drum sander. And for laminations and shop sawn veneers it's a must. I agree with Arlin, Klingspore sanding strips are very good.
John
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Hey Guys,
Thanks for the positive feedback.
I'll still hand sand prior to finishing. If I had the space and money, a widebelt sand would have been on my list.
There's a cabinet makers shop just a few miles down the road for those really large jobs if I need one. In fact, he had a 52" Timesaver dual head sander for sale, but it took up approx 40 sq. ft of floor space and $10,000. Neither of which I had. He replaced it with a quad head sander. So...if anyone is looking I can still call him and see if it's available.
Gary
Living under the radar, heading for "off the grid."
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Congrats!
Ive had a 16-32 for maybe 10 years....its a performax so that says something on the age.
I struggle with selling it and downsizing all the time. What stops me is the smaller units dont really save any space. I never ran a board more than 5" through it so its overkill.
But with what they cost new and what they sell on the used market for, it isnt worth it.
It is worth its weight in cleaning up resaw boards bandsaw marks.
Once Favre hangs it up though, it years of cellar dwelling for the Pack. (Geoff 12-18-07)
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AHill said:
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.
Mine does the same thing but I do not know how not can I fix it. Really frustrating.
Arlin
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification. Thank You Everyone.
It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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Arlin, if it's stalling you are trying to take off too much. These machines are not intended to take off more than about 0.010", max., and 0.005" is a much more reasonable bite. On most of these machines one turn of the elevation crank is 1/16" = 0.0625". So, 0.010" is 1/6 of a turn. And they work much better with a smaller bite than that.
If your wood is not coming out constant thickness side to side then the table is not parallel with the drum. The owner's manual should have instructions on how to adjust it.
John
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You also have to be careful on how much you take off on subsequent cuts even when following the maximum depth of cut for that specific machine. Unlike planers where if the stock goes through once it should not take off anymore on the subsequent passes if you don't lower the head (or raise the table), with drum sanders, you can take stock off on the 2nd, 3rd... pass even if you don't lower the head. So I'm usually very careful with the 2nd pass to take an even lighter pass and am quick to turn the machine off and raise the head if I feel like it's going to stall. I think the you really have to use it as the very last step before finish sanding and have your stock prepped pretty much dead on final thickness.
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I agree about taking too much. I find even a 1/4 turn it can bog down.
Patience is the key.
Yes - check for parallel. It's a tedious job but really important. I don't know how to check yours. But I'm sure there is a video out on u-tube.
John
Always use the right tool for the job.
We need to clean house.
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glzahn said:
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.
Maybe you should have offered to buy his if he's so unhappy with it.
Congratulations.
We do segmented turning, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
