Official Luthiers Forum!

I do not know much about them. Anybody here have any thoughts on this thickness sander? It looks an awful lot like a performax...

Ryobi is cheap garbage. Looks like a preformax because it's supposed to. But it's just a piece of junk.

You can get a Jet 16/32 from Woodcraft right now for $999.00. I just bought one and had it delivered for $1130.00. Not a bad deal as they are usually price around 1200 to 1300.

I should also mention that I have zero experience with the Ryobi drum sander. But every single other Ryobi tool I've ever touched has turned out to be complete garbage. All of them fail, it's just a matter of when. I've taken them back to the store the same day or the next day, others lasted up to a month. Finally my boss decided that the headache wasn't worth the savings and started buying quality tool instead.

Mike-
How cheap is the Ryobi you are looking at?

I have the same sander (different name plate).
It was also marketed by SteelCity and I believe, Jet?

Cheers
John

$300. But if it is junk, not interested. But it does look like a performax

Really? How do you know that?


That's what I figured.

Mike, I've had one for a number of years. I can assure you that they are not junk. They are as solid and as well put-together as the Performax/Jet units. I've used all three and have no huge preference for any one of them over another. I'm half convinced that all of these sanders came off the same assembly line somewhere over in APAC anyway.
There are a few minor differences you might want to be aware of, though. The Ryobi does not have an adjustment knob to level the table at the open end. It uses shims instead. Not a big deal to me. I leveled out my table years ago and haven't touched it since. The other thing is the Ryobi uses a 1HP motor instead of the 1 1/2HP you'll find on the Performax/Jet sanders. I've never stalled my sander but you have to use some common sense. All of these open-ended cantilevered sanders are light duty in my mind. Light passes and fast feed rates are the ticket. On the plus side the Ryobi comes with a rubber feed belt which I like much better than the abrasive belts. The thing you need to be able to live with is the fact that Ryobi no longer makes this sander although, as John pointed out, it is exactly the same thing as the Steel City 16-32. Finding parts might possibly be an issue down the road, but I can guarantee it's not a problem yet. If the drum and feed motors are good and the frame is square, $300 sounds like a pretty good deal. Maybe John will chime in and tell you what he thinks of his Steel City.

_________________
Jim Womack

"Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. "
Will Rogers

I'm quite happy with it now, but I had 'bad luck' with it when I bought it (used) - my fault for not doing the 'usual' when I get used tools and not checking it out completely. The conveyor assembly was binding the drive roller (needed a shim and was probably not checked at the factory) and that led to the conveyor drive motor burning out.
.....my saga with it.....
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=25420
http://www.luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10101&t=25693
I like working on tools; and I'm very happy with it now. Basically it's a good machine- which should have had a fuse and thermal cutout on the drive motor.
After I got it going again, I realized from the smooth runnin' that it wasn't 'normal' for thickness sanders to 'shake rattle 'n roll' so I did some balancing on the drum of my homebuilt- much better!
BTW, it's King (not Jet) that's 'inherited' the sander from Steel City who took it over from Ryobi.
Aftermarket conveyor belts are available, brushes are common type, otherwise forget about major parts as they are quite expensive from the distribution companies.
So, Mike-with Jim and me here at OLF, I think your 'tech advice' department is fully staffed!
Cheers
John

Sergei de Jonge had one when I took his course ten years ago. Bought one when I got home. Have made ten guitars with it, mainly EIR and walnut. Some snipe issues (I think that’s the term), but they can be worked around. It has not failed me yet, and it’s not on my list of tools to replace/upgrade. Morgan

Ryobi makes decent stuff. It's made by Techtronics, the same company that makes most Ridgid stuff as well as some Milwaukee tools and others.

Well, u can now get the 22-44 for 1099 deivered

Got one for $300 also, and couldn't be happier with it. Take the time to set it up, which isn't hard, and it works well for me. The one reliability complaint I hear is with the switches. They aren't sealed well and get dust in there, which destroys the switch. Mine came with a spare, and I'd recommend getting one too.

_________________
Rob

What company is selling the 22-44 for 1099?

Several are selling it... Amazon, toolsplus...

If anybody is interested in the 16-32 Ryobi, its over at woodnet.net. Located outside of Atlanta

I am sure its an ok sander... and if it were within 40 miles, I would go get it. One thing I would do to it would be to separate the power switch for the conveyor and drum motor so you could run the drum without the conveyor moving (setup issues).

Mike

PS: My 10-20 is for sale in the classifieds

If you look on amazon, the 16-32 is still $999. But the 22-44 is $1099. If space is not an issue, the 22-44 is the no brainer, especially with free ship!

Mike

Snipe with a thickness sander? I not sure I understand how this could happen. Btw, my sander sold in one day. Not bad, but now I have no sander for the weekend's work. Whaa!

With the (slightly 'springy') rubber conveyor belt and thin material, you get snipe the same way you do in a thickness planer- the material is only under one of the hold-down rollers and it springs up toward the drum a bit.

I use a carrier board now, for most work, as it prevents this to some extent. (It's only an issue with quite thin/light material.)

Cheers
John

Ok, that makes sense, though I have never seen it with my 10-20. Maybe more so with Velcro paper? (which I do not use)