"tor" wrote in message
oups.com...
Thanks Bob,

Well I haven't read any good reviews on the woodtek, but there is
barely anything out there on it. It has been on the market since the
early 90's - I read some about it in an "American Woodworker" article
that can be found online, they say very little, but score it below the
performax. The Woodtek is a 220 18 amp unit and that is a fair bit more
motor that the 16-32 performax. They take up about the same amount of
space.

Last night I sat with a tape measure and imagined a 10 feet a minute
feed rate. I could see sending a few pieces at a time through a
machine, but I wouldn't want that rate to go a whole hell of a lot
slower that 10 fpm, as I think I would fall asleep. It would seem that
I would be less likely to slow the rate down on the woodtek.

The performax cannot accept my 3.5" thick legs either, (though thats
only 2% of my sanding needs). While I am not extremely excited about a
rebuilt machine, it doesn't scare me a whole lot. I have had a very
good working relationship with woodworker supply, their warrantee calms
my concerns some.

In regards to a rebuilt performax, no I haven't found one, but that
doesn't speak volumes of their quality to me. In fact, I am finding it
difficult to locate any one of my three sanding machines options on the
used market (in the seattle/portland area) Even the enormous craigslist
falls short. Looks like its new/rebuilt for me. I have been looking for
weeks.

I have only read good things regarding the performax, I like them, but
that woodtek still appears to be more machine. There is a five year old
fine woodworking artile that is very uncritical, and says all the
machines tested sand very well. They did not test the woodtek. What I
would love to know is which machine (between the woodtek and performax)
can make the smoothest surface with the least amount of final cleanup
on an alder board. Most people speak of stopping at 150, I would love
to go up to 180, or hell 220, and just lightly hit everything with a
sanding block. But I fear one or both of these machine have a bit of
chatter that makes for a fair bit of post sander cleanup. If I need to
use both 150, and 220 to clean up my drum sander, I ain't buying one.
(some have mentioned this)

Does anyone have a recent one of those fine woodworking tool guides
sitting around? What does it say?

Tor

Tor,

You make some good points and maybe someone in the group has some hands-on
experience with the Woodtek you're considering. I've used both the Delta
and the Performax (which I have) but never had any time on a Woodtek.

One thing you need to know about sanders in this class. You still need to
do the finish sanding either by hand or with a ROS. These drum sanders use
a rotating drum, meaning they leave straight line striations on your stock
and are noticeable no matter what grit you use. Be extremely careful going
above 150 grit as it's easy to burn and burnish the wood faster than you can
blink. That's what others meant about light passes. About the most I take
off in one pass is 1/8th of a turn (1 turn = 1/16") for fine grit rolls.

From what you have stated so far - you're not using it to plane rough stock
(i.e. use 36 to 80 grit) where you can crank it down and remove more stock.
I don't care if the Woodtek has a 10hp motor, when you're using fine grit
you'll just be touching the surface and that 3hp motor isn't doing you any
better than a smaller motor. So from what I see, if you need more than 3"
height adjustment, then get the Woodtek or even have a look at the Delta. I
beleive there drum sander has been modified so as to overcome the table
problem (belt slips on raising/lowering table) on the earlier models. I'm
not positive but I think that does more than 3" and the table moves up and
down versus the drum.

Whichever you end up with be sure to buy extra rolls of paper to get thru
the first weeks learning curve. Cheap paper will not save you any money so
get the best and do not be impatient with the feed rate and your paper will
last. Also get a big gummy eraser for cleaning the paper and do it often.
After you waste the first $50 worth of paper - you'll beleive me. And don't
forget to get a good ROS and plan on using 180, 220 and 320 (if needed) on
that to do the finish sanding.

Bob S.