In the hunt for a drum sander. My garage is pretty full of machines
now, so have been seriously looking at the 10-20 which I can store down
low if necessary.

But at $500 bucks I wonder if I should step up.

Has anyone taken the 18" New craftsman drum sander home yet? At $699
and free payments for quite a while, the extra $200 might be worth the
space pain in the much larger capacity.

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00 921568000&tab=opt#tablink

part number 00921568000 at sears if the link doesn't work, cookies and
etc..

If I could get the same sort of deal on a delta X5 18" I might buy it
instead, but their seems to be no "deal" to be had out there.

Alan

arw01 wrote:
In the hunt for a drum sander. My garage is pretty full of machines
now, so have been seriously looking at the 10-20 which I can store
down low if necessary.

But at $500 bucks I wonder if I should step up.

Has anyone taken the 18" New craftsman drum sander home yet? At $699
and free payments for quite a while, the extra $200 might be worth the
space pain in the much larger capacity.

If I were you I'd consider a Performax. The big difference is that the
*drum* moves up and down rather than the table as in the Sears & Delta.
So? So that means you can make table extensions - you'll need them -
for the Performax and they will always be in the correct position
relative to the table. Can't do that with the Sears & Delta.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

dadiOH wrote:

If I were you I'd consider a Performax.

Should have said a *bigger* Performax.

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:V99ae.253$Nc.115@trnddc09...
arw01 wrote:
In the hunt for a drum sander. My garage is pretty full of machines
now, so have been seriously looking at the 10-20 which I can store
down low if necessary.

But at $500 bucks I wonder if I should step up.

Has anyone taken the 18" New craftsman drum sander home yet? At $699
and free payments for quite a while, the extra $200 might be worth the
space pain in the much larger capacity.

If I were you I'd consider a Performax. The big difference is that the
*drum* moves up and down rather than the table as in the Sears & Delta.
So? So that means you can make table extensions - you'll need them -
for the Performax and they will always be in the correct position
relative to the table. Can't do that with the Sears & Delta.

On the other hand, the Performax (at Rockler) is priced at $899.99 and
belts (spiral wound on the drum) run $32.49 EACH. And the Performax
is 2" narrower (effectively, 4" narrower).

Just mulling...

Jim Stuyck

dadiOH wrote:

If I were you I'd consider a Performax. The big difference is that
the
*drum* moves up and down rather than the table as in the Sears &
Delta.
So? So that means you can make table extensions - you'll need them -
for the Performax and they will always be in the correct position
relative to the table. Can't do that with the Sears & Delta.

I wouldn't (ok, didn't) think this that big a deal. I fed my workbench
top, in halves, through the delta with no problems (each half about
13x84x3). I did use support rollers, way out, but didn't adjust them
much, they were just there to help support before I could adjust the
bed and resume. The pressure rollers put a lot of pressure and has
never been a problem.

Got a friend with the older 22x44 Performax and it is a nice beefy
machine. The new Performax 16x32 (and even the new 22x44, I believe)
just didn't seem as beefy as the delta. Both can have alignment
problems and racking under heavy loads, but the Delta drum isn't as
likely to flex as the arm is welded steel box beam, the Performax,
while rigid, has a mechanical connection that must have some give or it
would not slide. Delta table is supported all around, although the
sprocket system has the potential (never observed) of getting one side
out of alignment.

Bottom line, both good machines.

"J Smith" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 16:10:18 -0500, "Jim Stuyck"
wrote:

On the other hand he could make one himself with link below:
http://www.rockslide.org/drum%20sander.html


I *HAVE* made that gizmo! It does have some limitations vs. the
commercial versions mentioned in this thread, such as about 1.75"
stock thickness and 12" width. Works well, but can't really compete
with a 16" (32") or 18" (36") machine with 5" thickness capacity and
an automatic feed.

Jim Stuyck

On Fri, 22 Apr 2005 16:10:18 -0500, "Jim Stuyck"
wrote:

On the other hand he could make one himself with link below:
http://www.rockslide.org/drum%20sander.html

Or, buy a Ryobi's generic from woodwright Tools Inc.
(Disclosu I bought this sander at Ebay, excellent machine and an
honest and responsible seller).
http://www.woodwrighttools.com/store...products_id=38

"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:V99ae.253$Nc.115@trnddc09...
arw01 wrote:
In the hunt for a drum sander. My garage is pretty full of machines
now, so have been seriously looking at the 10-20 which I can store
down low if necessary.

But at $500 bucks I wonder if I should step up.

Has anyone taken the 18" New craftsman drum sander home yet? At $699
and free payments for quite a while, the extra $200 might be worth the
space pain in the much larger capacity.

If I were you I'd consider a Performax. The big difference is that the
*drum* moves up and down rather than the table as in the Sears & Delta.
So? So that means you can make table extensions - you'll need them -
for the Performax and they will always be in the correct position
relative to the table. Can't do that with the Sears & Delta.

On the other hand, the Performax (at Rockler) is priced at $899.99 and
belts (spiral wound on the drum) run $32.49 EACH. And the Performax
is 2" narrower (effectively, 4" narrower).

Just mulling...

Jim Stuyck

I had a Performax dual drum that had the bed move up and down, not the head.
It was a pain.
Did you guys notice that the Sears unit is a belt sander. It takes belts,
not wraps.
max

arw01 wrote:
In the hunt for a drum sander. My garage is pretty full of machines
now, so have been seriously looking at the 10-20 which I can store
down low if necessary.

But at $500 bucks I wonder if I should step up.

Has anyone taken the 18" New craftsman drum sander home yet? At $699
and free payments for quite a while, the extra $200 might be worth the
space pain in the much larger capacity.

If I were you I'd consider a Performax. The big difference is that the
*drum* moves up and down rather than the table as in the Sears & Delta.
So? So that means you can make table extensions - you'll need them -
for the Performax and they will always be in the correct position
relative to the table. Can't do that with the Sears & Delta.


--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

Jim Stuyck wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in message
news:V99ae.253$Nc.115@trnddc09...
arw01 wrote:
In the hunt for a drum sander. My garage is pretty full of machines
now, so have been seriously looking at the 10-20 which I can store
down low if necessary.

But at $500 bucks I wonder if I should step up.

Has anyone taken the 18" New craftsman drum sander home yet? At
$699 and free payments for quite a while, the extra $200 might be
worth the space pain in the much larger capacity.

If I were you I'd consider a Performax. The big difference is that
the *drum* moves up and down rather than the table as in the Sears &
Delta. So? So that means you can make table extensions - you'll
need them - for the Performax and they will always be in the correct
position relative to the table. Can't do that with the Sears &
Delta.

On the other hand, the Performax (at Rockler) is priced at $899.99 and
belts (spiral wound on the drum) run $32.49 EACH.

Why buy pre-cut wraps? I buy bulk (forget the length, 100'?) for about
$50, cut as needed and get enough from one roll so the individual cost
is less than $5.00.
_______________

And the Performax
is 2" narrower (effectively, 4" narrower).

Depends on which one you get

Even with the 16-32 I'd rather lose the width and have the ability to
have an extended support table. Try sanding a 30" wide, 8' table top
without a support...

--
dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

max wrote:
I had a Performax dual drum that had the bed move up and down, not the head.
It was a pain.
Did you guys notice that the Sears unit is a belt sander. It takes belts,
not wraps.
max

I was wondering about that. It surely looked like a belt sander. The
"general features" describes it as "sander type: belt". The full
product description mentions a "# 4 in. diameter drum wrap". Mebbe
Sears is not sure what it is. Anyway you can't buy one since it is
"temporarily out of stock...".
twitch,
jo4hn

On Sat, 23 Apr 2005 16:29:20 GMT, "dadiOH" wrote:

Why buy pre-cut wraps? I buy bulk (forget the length, 100'?) for about
$50, cut as needed and get enough from one roll so the individual cost
is less than $5.00.

I bought some precut Klingspor abrasive roll at Ebay for about $3-$4,
plus shipping. If you have the time to monitor Ebay closely, you can
find very good discounts.