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.....but my intentions are good and my heart is in the right place. Just got back in the engineering field as a Welding Engineer after a year and a half off due to a layoff in the O&G industry. That means my "build budget" has been revived a bit. I believe in good tools. I also believe in being realistic. So, let me beat a dead horse for a moment. I actually have read every post here, over 480 of them, as it is good reading material and I take my laptop to the throne room. Drum sanders..........yep. I want to be able to have good control on thicknessing sides, tops and backs. I want to be able to thickness tops and sides after joining. Need dreadnought capability (18" width). I have a budget of around $1500. If you were to go out right now and purchase "something" to accomplish what I have laid out, what would it be? Is there a "here's the universally accepted" answer? I am familiar with the abundance of possibilities. I am looking for experienced input (I know this is the place to get that).

I'm sorry I brought this up, please forgive me. thanks

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

Obviously you have a few more threads to read as you seem naïve to think there's ever gonna be a "Universally accepted answer" here (other than "Yes dear..."). Your best bet is to eat a bunch of junk candy over the next few days so you get more reading time.

I been browsing this site for nigh on 10 years now and don't think there is an answer to the thickness sander debacle. I keep going from the dark side to the other dark side and wavering on whether it makes sense to buy a unit, make my own or just keep thinning by hand.

I kinda like the idea of building my back muscles as I always have been a fan of the Hulk.

Welcome to the board and good luck. Your going to find your decision is going to disagree with 50% of the members and you'll wish you made the other decision 50% of the time.

Curtis,

I am just down the road from you in The Woodlands, so welcome to the OLF! I assume you have read not only info on here but on other sites about the pros and cons of the different thickness sanders. I have owned in the past a Jet 16-32 and was pleased with it's results. It's in your price range and OCCASIONALLY you can find a used one on the local craigslist for less than new. Recently in the Houston CL was a 22-44 for about $1500 even and it looked brand new. You don't need the 22" model though. Nice to have if you intend to do a LOT of guitars but you can run your jointed backs and tops thru the smallest Jet 10-20 (sanding just over half) then flip the wood and sand the other half giving you the ability to thickness up to 20" total material. A new 16-32 is slightly under your budget and the 10-20 is less than half your total budget. If you want to go with a lot of quality tools and don't want to break the bank I'd choose the smaller 10-20 and use the rest of the budget money on other items, band saw, dust collection (NEEDED on SEVERAL power tools) and the ton of small things like chisels, jigs, bending machines etc you will eventually need. Building the first acoustic can cost you a couple hundred dollars in tools if you're a very experienced woodworker up to and over $10k if you gear up and buy a lot of new and quality tools to make the process expedient, simple and repeatable. Feel free to msg me and pick my brain anytime. There are a couple other's on here who are close to you also who have a lot of experience and I have found to be very willing to talk guitar building.

Good luck,
Bobby

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Bobby Masten

"You guys will learn to hate me".

Why bother with the wait when we can start now?
Have a great Thanksgiving!

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

How many guitars have you made? How many do you plan on making (hobby making 1 per year, production to sell, somewhere in between)? How much time do you plan on spending making guitars? Do you do any other types of woodworking?

If you haven't made any instruments yet and are just gearing up for a new hobby, it might be best to seek out other instrument makers, woodworkers and/or woodoworking clubs/guilds that are close to home. Start the first guitar and lean on these resources to beg and borrow time on a thickness sander. That first instrument will reveal a lot of information to you about where you want to devote your finances. You'll also get some experience with at least one sander and that might help you identify what works (or doesn't) for you.

You may decide that a $1,500 sander is what you want but you may decide that a cheaper option will suit your needs and expected level of production leaving money left over for something you haven't considered yet.

When I got started, I made a 22" thickness sander out of mostly junk I had laying around. I probably spent $75 getting it up and running. It has its faults and is slow going but I don't make a lot of instruments so I have never bothered to upgrade. My situation would not be ideal for many here!

If you have already made some instruments, you probably have a handle on what you need, want and can live without. Then it is just a matter of deciding how robust of a sander will suit your expected production goals and figuring out what is the best machine in that category.

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Bryan Bear PMoMC

Take care of your feet, and your feet will take care of you.

I have a Performax 22-44 (had it before I started building guitars) and no regrets. Taking the time to get it properly set up is worth every minute.

I have the 10-20 and get a heck of a lot of use out of it. I thickness everything on it, including small bridge plates and bridge blanks without issue. I've recently realized that it's probably one of my most used tools and have reconsidered my position on being able to get by with just a handplane. I can thickness tops, backs, side, and brace stock just fine with a plane, but holding smaller pieces like headstock veneers and bridge plates so that I could use the plane would be tough.

I love fancy tools, too. Would I love a wide belt sander? Sure thing. The Performax 10-20 will do anything this amateur builder will ever require though. Spend the rest on dust collection, if you're not already set up. The money can be better spent elsewhere IMO. What's your current shop like?

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sweat the small stuff.

If you are just starting out, I highly recommend using a hand plane. You will develop invaluable sharpening/planing skills, which are required for something like this and not all that difficult to learn. It is a satisfying experience (not to mention less dust and noise) and you definitely get to know the wood. Figured Woods can be a bit of a challenge though. I paid for time at a big shop to do my first figured Maple plates.

That said, a sander is nice eventualy. I have had a 10/20, 16/32. The going rate for a used jet 16/32 is $450-600. Ryobi wich are fine about $300. Just have play the waiting game on Craig's. (great time to hone your planing skills!)

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Pat

If you are a hobby builder, like many of us, you may want to keep an open mind as to the make and model and see if you can find a good used machine. The cost is usually a fraction of the new price. Wood working is something many people seem to gravitate into in their later years, so estate sales can sometimes be a good source for lightly used equipment.

Let me simplify things. I don't want to sidetrack you into a discussion of whether there is a universally accepted best choice, or whether spending money on a drum sander is a good idea, or any of that. Those are important and valid things to ponder, but I would rather not get pulled into all of that. Let me just give you recommendations on what to buy that fits in your budget. You can make up your own mind after everybody gives their recommendations.

If you want to buy a new drum sander within your price range, I would go with the Supermax 19-38. It is a cantilevered design, but it is wide enough to handle a joined top or back, with a little room to spare. The other cantilevered designs with a narrower width are, to me, very frustrating. I build most of my guitars 16" wide, so a 16-32 from Jet is not wide enough. You could go with the 22-44, but that gets pretty wide for a cantilevered design. You could save money and get a 10-20. I loved my 10-20 for everything except tops and backs. But, there is some fiddling to do with the drum if you want to do tops and backs.

If you can find a decent price on a used Performax or Supermax with pillow blocks supporting both ends of the drum (i.e., not cantilevered), buy it! I recently bought and refurbished (just a little here and there) a Performax Shop Pro 25, and it is AWESOME. No, I can't run a 4' wide table top through it one side at a time, but I don't build tables. I build guitars, and 25" is more than wide enough to handle everything I need to sand.

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks guys. A little background. Been woodworking most of my life. Have built 17 solid body electrics and 1 acoustic (Martin-style 000). I also build tube amps, mostly Fender Blackfaces and a Tweed or two. Over the past 2 years I took up building bamboo fly rods (took a week long class over in N. Georgia) so I am very intimate with hand planes....you ain't planed till ya plane skinny bamboo strips on 3 sides within +- 0.002". I just never got around to obtaining a thickness sander. I have an 18" bandsaw, a nice planer, drill press, and most every "hand" tool there is. Oh yea, I also restore 60's-model Lincoln gas-driven welding machines when I'm not working with my horses. Dang, maybe I don't have time for all.......

My shop is two-part. I do messy stuff in a two-car garage that I have full run of. I do the finesse stuff in a 12 x 15 bedroom in my house. I never sell stuff I build, it's all giveaway. I find that when I'm idle, I spend too much time in bars. I've toyed around with building a sander. I know it wouldn't be much of a problem, but it might not get built for a few years....I know how to stretch out a project. A sander would just compliment some of the other things I do. Kind of a "bite the bullet" and get it over with approach. I can cover the space and dust issues. I know a lot of you builders have a drum sander in many makes and models and I know the one you have is the best one. I'm probably more interested in what to stay away from. Thanks all.

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

If you already have an 18" bandsaw, then a drum sander is the next most used tool in my shop. I have a Performax 16-32, and have been very pleased with it. It's a cantilever design, and it's possible to set it up so that it's within a few thousands end to end. If it isn't perfect, the open end needs to be wider. I've heard the 10-20 machines require more adjustments to keep them tuned up.
By the way, I grew up in Conroe, just north of you guys. My folks still live there, and I get down that way whenever I can.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

Don't know what the deal is with 10-20's and tuning them up. Maybe I just got lucky? I tuned mine up when I bought it about 6 years ago. It still sands the way I set it up. It is slow so you have to be patient. If I had room and more $ I would get something bigger.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

A 16-32 Jet will serve you well. Sure, one of the commercial machines would be better but then they are many thousands more.

Unless you have a dust system don't forget to include something like this in your budget. Drum sanders are excellent makers of dust.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I have the 16-32 and while I would like a wider unit, it works great and fits the shop well.

I don't think anyone will learn to hate you. I ask lots of newbie questions and get great support from the members here.

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Insta - https://www.instagram.com/cbcguitars/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/cbcguitars

If I had more space and cared about increasing my productivity, I'd go for a larger, non-cantilevered unit. As it is, the 10-20 I found on Craigslist basically unused for less than 50% of new (including a few dozen pre-cut sandpaper rolls in various grits) works great for me. Like Steve, I use it for most everything.

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George :-)

The Ryobi 10-20 is the one I'd heard was problematic. I know Clay S. had/has one, and it worked fine for thicknessing the maple top for my first acoustic.

With most drum sanders, the key is taking very light cuts at a relatively high feed rate. I can tell by the sound if I'm trying to take too much in one pass. I've found with most hardwoods trying to take more than about 0.01" per pass with 80 grit is too much. I suspect that may have been the cause of any problems with the smaller sanders.

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A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon

I didn't know Ryobi made one. Mine's a Jet.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

So sanding a joined top with rosette in place doesn't present any real problem doing it in 2 passes...provided the drum is dialed in to the feed table. That was really my main concern

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

Not at all, maybe four or five passes but if your set up is spot on it will work. My D-28 rosette in the "rosette" thread is right out of the sander.

The Ryobi is a 16/32 and works great. Jet/performax is the 10/20. Mine and a lot of others 10/20 blew its fuse too easily. But worked fine given that you make the open end slightly higher (a few thou) if you want to do a full soundboard and make VERY small cuts. Like .005".

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Pat

FWIW, I've never had issues with my Performax 10-20. I bought it used approx 10 years ago. I have it dialed in so that the outboard end is a few thousandths higher than the inboard, but only a few (three or four I believe). This takes care of any issues in the middle.


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22-44 here. CL $240.

Every time I use it, I think how nice it is to have the right tool for the job.

Every single day, I think it's giant and heavy and takes up half of my shop and I should get rid of it.

Dust collection is a must, not just for your lungs, but for it to work well.

Be careful of getting impatient and slapping on some 36 grit to thin things faster. By the time you get those scratches out, your back is much thinner than you intended.

The wider you get, the more new sandpaper costs.

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Mike Lindstrom

So... From the first post... I was thinking - No way a first time builder should consider a drum sander as "required" for his #1 build....

But with almost 20 guitars under your belt.... Yes... And moreso - how did you make it to 20 guitars WITHOUT a drum sander?

I bought myself one after my #3 build.

Understand that a dust collector is a mandatory part of the setup... Plan it into your budget.

Thanks