Ken -

DAGS on the NG - this topic has come up a zillion times and you'll find a
wealth of information.

I've had the 18-36 for about 3 -4 years and am happy with it. Leon's
remarks about the table issue are correct, but since 99% of my work is
surfacing 3/4 stock, I can use my bench as an outfeed table most of the
time.

I don't know about the performax, but one caveat is that you really can't
take off very much material in a single pass - I think this is a function of
horsepower (1.5 HP for both the Performax IIRC, and the same for the Delta)
rather than design.

Also, softwoods tend to clog and burn the sanding paper pretty quickly if
you're not careful - so if you do work with softwoods either be careful or
plan on going long on sandpaper. I've never had a clogging problem with oak
or other hardwoods.

Would I get this sander again - Yes! Once you understand the limitations of
the machines and how to best use them, it's like green through a goose - an
absolute timesaver!

YMMV,

John


"ken" wrote in message
news:QxoZc.270788$eM2.251049@attbi_s51...
I have the option of buying the 18-36 Delta X5 or the 16-32 Performax Drum
Sander , Any pros and cons?

Ken