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You guys that own these sanders how do you like them? I've been looking at the new grizzly one and am thinking of getting one. Not a bad deal at just over $400 shipped.http://www.grizzly.com/products/10-Drum-Sander/G0716

i have one. it does exactly what i wanted it to, however i wish i had a bigger sander. that's about all i can say!

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brendan 3.0 new and improved, with better interpersonal subroutines

I have an older 16-32 that I picked up off Craigslist for a song. I like the size, but if I were starting over again and needed a sander, I wouldn't hesitate on the 10-20 Grizzly. I've heard they are built well and do what they are suppose to do. Plenty of folks around here use or started out with 10-20 style sanders.

That said, if you buy the 10-20 and continue to build, expect to someday want a bigger sander. I don't build a large number of guitars per year, and the 16-32 works fine for me really. But I still find myself eying bigger and better sanders (I keep buying lotto tickets in the hopes I can afford a nice widebelt sander ). It is, after all, the American way, right?

Aaron

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Aaron Craig

John,

I have the Grizzly sander you are looking at. It works great. Mine did not require any set up to get the sanding arm to be perfectly level. Maybe I got lucky, but it was dead flat from the factory. I am very happy with it, it takes up minimal space, is quiet as can be when running, and is easy to move since the stand has two wheels and handles! I would definitely buy it again if I had the choice. I only build 3 guitars a year, and do not have a ton of space since my shop is my garage and I keep a 66 mustang there as well, so a larger machine, while it might have fit, would not have been convenient. Plus, I use a shop vac as a dust collector and it works just fine. I used my rosette circle cutter to make a piece of wood to cover the outlet port. I do not use the curved tube that came with the sander, just the outlet port right on top of the drum cover. I tried keeping the curved tube on, but dust would collect in it, and not make it all the way out. Putting the vacuum right on top seems to work much better. I get minimal dust coming out of the end of the machine. FYI: You can not sand down backs, sides, tops, or any other wood to less that .25" without a carrier board of some type since the minimum the machine will sand down to is .25" plus or minus. For the price, I am more than willing to deal with that issue. Plus, having never used a drum sander before this one, It is not like it added an extra step for me. Worth the money in my opinion.

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

One word of caution, the machine weighs 175lbs and I think the delivery weight is a hair over 200lbs. Make sure you have some friends around when it arrives!!

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

I have a 10-20 and I love it. That Grizzley looks pretty nice and it's about half the cost of the Jet. I wonder why they feel it necessary to have that support arm though?

The support arm comes right off and I also wondered about that. The machine is just as stable without it on. Insurance maybe?

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http://www.CostaGuitars.com
PMoMC

Maybe they see it as a stress reducer when the wider capability isn't needed.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Those of you with the grizzly... Does the head move up and down, or is it the platten that moves?

Mike

Based on the picture, the head moves up and down. The end support is slotted and has a lock down knob on it. Also the height adjustment scale is on the head part.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Hmmmm. They must have redesigned it. I'm almost certain that their original model moved the platten. This is good news!

Mike

the sanding head moves up and down. the height adjustment is pretty smooth. it takes a little tinkering if you sand down to less than .125". I use a carrier board to do thin veneers.

mine came well set up and needed very little adjustment from the factory.

i need to take a class on fitting new paper though. the paper from the factory measured just over 3" in width. this was annoying because i bought 3" rolls in different grits. of course when i used the original paper as a template, it didn't work due to the difference in width.

so yeah

b

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brendan 3.0 new and improved, with better interpersonal subroutines

How is a carrier board built? does it have a stop on it to keep it from throwing off the board you're sanding?

i have found that the pressure from the rollers keeps the piece from coming off. i have also used double sided mounting tape, although you want to make sure it doesn't flex.

When i'm thicknessing two identical pieces, say a set of sides, i stack on on top of the other, run them through, flip, run them through, check them, flip....etc.

works well.

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brendan 3.0 new and improved, with better interpersonal subroutines