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Hi folks,

I'm contemplating a drum sander for my workshop and I'm wondering what other people would recommend and their reasons.
I'm in Australia, and the only manufacturer i can determine who'se machines are locally available, and operate down to suitable thicknesses is Jet/Performax.
So I'm looking at either the 10/20, the 16/32, or the 22/44.

I think i read somewhere that EIR clogs up the paper unless its placed into the machine a little bit crooked, which is why i was thinking of the wider 22/44. But I'm also worried that could be overkill, and expensive to re line the drum.
I really don't know what i'm doing with regards to those machines and i don't know what to look out for. I don't even know what snipe is but i keep reading about it in the forums.
If anyone could give me some pointers I'd be really appreciative.

I'll probably need a dust extractor if anyone has any local knowledge/reccomendations.

Cheers,
Claire

You just missed a long thread on drum sanders that has some discussion for your question:

viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=31989&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=drum+sander

I have the jet 22/44 pro and love it. I do like to run EIR and and Koa through at an angle. Actually I run eveerything crooked until the last couple of passes.

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http://www.Harvestmoonguitars.com

Have an older 16/32 16 yrs old . It still runs, but prefer my woodmaster 37 in wide single drum with 5 hp. There might be some asian imports to oz from taiwan. I would definitely get the biggest machine you can afford. cheers ernie

I also use an older 16-32. IMO, its fine for the smaller shop, and with decent dust collector EIR doesn't seem to be a big problem for it. If I had a bigger shop and a much bigger budget, I'd get a widebelt sander of some sort. For now, the 16-32 is working well. If you have the extra cash though, I can't see how more sanding capacity would be a bad thing.

Aaron

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Aaron Craig

It also really depends upon how hard you are going to work it.

If you are only running an occasional set through it will take a long time to wear out or clog the abrasive to the point where it is no longer usable. You can buy a lot of abrasive before you make up for the cost of the more expensive machine!

Also, if you are only making an occasional guitar, say one or two per year, you can buy some REALLY nice hand planes with that money!

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Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

The one tool that is talked about here more than any other tool is the drum sander. It's the first tool I ever bought (went a bit nuts after that, but leveled off now). I bet some suffer from "drum sander discussion fatigue". But seriously, if you searched this forum, you will find endless discussions about them.

For the record, the most popular appears to be the Performax (Jet) 10-20. Get the base (it is really heavy). In the lower 48, they can be bought for $450-$500 with legs if you shop smart... and buying used is normally not a problem. But they do hold their value.

Mike

I started with a used 10 x20 and a week later another used drum sander came along and this one was the 16 x32. I bought it also and then sold the 10 x 20 to a friend who was looking for one also. I found that both drum sanders worked for my purposes which have been some general woodworking and a bit of guitar construction. I was lucky to get the 10 x 20 for 190 I think and I got the 16 x32 for 300 if I remember correctly. With the 16 x 32 I also got three large boxes of sanding paper. More than I will need for a long, long time.

So I would say get what you can afford and what you think you will enjoy. I don't do enough guitar work to have a large machine, not that I don't wish that I did or wish that I had a large one. Partly, I don't have a lot of space and at the present time anything larger would be hard for me to figure out where I was going to put it. So I am guessing I will stay with what I have.
Chuck

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Ciao,
Claire