I have had the 18 X 36 Delta drum sander for about 12 - 18 months. I like it
for light, medium grit, sanding jobs and I have used it a lot. It will
flatten the surface of a panel extremely flat - much more so than any other
method I have used. It will do a good job of preparing stock for final
finish sanding - I have been consistently successful in sanding up through
120 grit on most stock without any trouble and doing a finish sanding by
hand using my random orbital sander to higher grits. Since the panel is so
flat it requires only minimum sanding by hand at higher grits to have the
panel ready.

It does have some limitations. The drum will leave burn marks on stock
accessional - particularly at higher grits if much stock is being removed.
It will not remove very much wood in a single pass - It is powered with a 1
½ hp motor. I have had difficulty on several occasions in working stock that
is more than 4 or 5 inches wider than the sanding drum - The stock came out
slightly cupped.

It has consistently preformed very good on stock up to about 22 - 24 inches
wide. It will not leave a seam, when properly adjusted, on stock wider than
the sanding drum. The machine was delivered properly adjusted and has
remained in adjustment with moderate amounts of use. Based on my experience
in using my machine, I will not continue to try to get it to sand panels
that are wider than 28 - 30 inches






"Pierre Boucher" wrote in message
...
Can anyone give me some feedback??? I'm considering buying this tool in
the
near future. Is it worth the $1000-$1200? Can you really do a 32 inch
wide
panel without seeing a seem?

thanks