Drum Sander

[Turtle49]

I purchased it about 18 months ago. It functions as they claim and I have had some excellent results from it. It doesn't burn the wood as there is virtually no loading of the the abrasive paper. I have never had any other access to any other sort of drum sander, so there is little I can compare it with.
I am quite pleased this this item.

You see, my concerns about this product had me leaning away from it, now you got me thinking again.
Perry, have you ever had any issues with his sander in regards to flatness or any issues with it sanding one side more than another?

Do you use it a lot?

Anyway, thanks for your comments, its always good to hear from somebody who has used one.

Tim

[TReischl]

I should clarify my remarks, before folks start thinking I am a curmudgeon.

If all you are doing is sanding to remove marks you don't need a true drum sander, like a Performax. Heck, you can take out the scallop marks with an orbital hand sander!

For thicknessing a board the best route is a planer or drum sander. I have been woodworking 25 years now, I use them both on a regular basis. I tend to use the sander if I am removing cup, the planer if I am just thicknessing.

Since I have both machines, maybe I just don't see the use for the table style sander, since it will NOT thickness, and taking out cup could be a real issue on it.

[Perry]

Hey TReischl and Turtle49:
The only issue I have had with my machine is snipe which is a result of my doing. As for the ability of it to remove evenly from side to side is governed by you and how you set it up. You can tweak the table (which is supported by 2 screws, one on each end by the drum) and set the elevation of the drum protrusion or rather the amount of material that you are going to remove (within limits and understanding the concept of the design behind the roller - ie: centrifugal forces) to be dead on, or heavy on one end and lighter on the other.
If you follow the instructions that come with the kit, it is the best setup. Remove more material by changing the grit of the abrasive. Setup the screws supporting the table so that material sitting on the table just clears the drum (when drum is turned off).
As for flatness, I haven't used the sander on anything larger than the 24" drum (you know, they advertise that you can offset your wider material and make multiple passes?) I haven't used the sander for this application.
I presently have a 90 degree fence on it for cleaning up the edge of a board. I use it fairly frequently, as need, and don't hesitate too.
But as with any toolor piece of equipment. The end results are directly reflected by A: the quality of the material you are using,B: your knowledge and experience and lastly C: the urgency of the the job!!

[TReischl]

Thanks Perry.

Like you mention, a lot of things have to do with who you are, your experience and your willingness to futz around trying to make something do more than it was originally intended to do. I do that myself sometimes, we all do.

When it comes to sanding though, I would much rather just reach over, turn the handcrank to change depth of cut and skip changing paper, putting two screws in, etc, etc.

I would think a good idea on a sander like that would be to have offest tables just like a jointer, that would help with your snipe issue. When you think about it, it is really a jointer that uses sandpaper. Which is not a bad thing at all.