Nate B wrote:

snip


Given that most of my work would be, it seems, 18" or less on solid wood
panels, does it seem I should be looking at a 22-44 kind of sander? IOW, is
the 16-32 too tedious or inaccurate in general for work over 16" ??


A 16-32 would, with two passes, do adequately. Drum sanders are
getting
easier to adjust. As long as it's not digging a "V" down the overlap
area you're fine - slight high spot in the middle will probably not
be noticable.

Or - should I go with the 20" planer in my case (18" work, in general) and
my work time would be better spent with an orbital sander after planing?


The planer is great for getting stock thinner and the top surface
paralleling the bottom surface - but is lousy for leveling a glued
up face frame or paneled cabinet door because with those your playing
with the grain and acrossed the grain. Planes eat up "acrossed the
grain" parts.

Finding 20 inch wide boards is tough so thicknessing stock that size
is not likely. If you were to run glued up panels to level the
surface that became misaligned during glue up you'd probably dull
of nick your planer knives. Glue is usually a lot harder than wood.
Drum sanders don't mind a little glue.

The two machines have completely different functions - the planer
mainly reduces thickness quicker - 1/16th to 1/8 inches per pass.
The drum sander is more for finer leveling in very small increments
1/64th or so in a pass.

As for using an orbital sander in place of the drum sander - it's
real easy to lose sharp edges, straight edges and square corners
with a 5 or 6 inch ROS. A drum sander won't do that - if the drum
is metal and the paper strips are wound on and clipped at both
ends that is. The velcro to hold the sandpaper strips on the drum
type of drum sander can mess up edges and corners.

The other thing most of us have to deal with is floor space.
A 20 inch planer and a wider drum sander may not both fit in
your shop. A 12 and 16 might.


charlie b