I run a small one man operation and I am looking to cut my sanding
time/displeasure. I fear that I could purchase a contraption that does
not save much time, compared to my current method.

I work alone, and have no real woodworking community in my life, so may
I describe what I do now? and perhaps someone could offer there advise.

I build chests and coffee tables out of solid red alder, I have been
making these designs for over eight years. I make batches of 10 to 15
units at a time. I currently plane the alder to dimension and sand the
planer marks off with a 6x48" belt sander at 150 grit then touch that
up with a random orbit sander at 220. Most of my stock is sanded while
it is a flat part no wider than 3.5 inches and an inch thick. One
exception is the alder edge glued panels that I purchase (15" x 36") -
they come sort of sanded to 150 grit - I touch them up with random
orbit 150, then 220.

My 6x48 belt sander is near death and in need of replacing. I currently
spend about 15% of the job sanding. It goes along ok but holding pieces
of wood up to the vertical belt sander is exhasting. So is sanding if
there is some way to sand a little bit faster.

I frequently stain the alder and really desire an even sanding, as it
gets quite blotchy if the sanding is uneven. I have also noticed that
150 grit is really not fine enough for alder. Some people claim it is,
but it has a terrible look if finished with a darker stain. (a whole
other topic I am sure)

Perhaps my planer leaves too crappy of a finish. I have found that
alders knots are very hard and have proven to repeatedly nick my
blades. I now just live with a few lines on the surface. Are my blades
too soft? Maybe I run the blades too hot? (old crappy delta 12 inch
steel blades) Maybe if that was fixed, I could get by with only the
random orbit 220 clean-up.

I am looking at machines like the woodmaster 18" planer/sander , or the
grizzly 16" dual drum sander. My shop is somewhat small, and only has
220.

I spend a few weeks of my life sanding. Is there a way I can lessen it?

Thanks for the time

Tor

http://www.musicalfurnishings.com

tor wrote:

I run a small one man operation and I am looking to cut my sanding
time/displeasure. I fear that I could purchase a contraption that does
not save much time, compared to my current method.

I work alone, and have no real woodworking community in my life, so may
I describe what I do now? and perhaps someone could offer there advise.

I build chests and coffee tables out of solid red alder, I have been
making these designs for over eight years. I make batches of 10 to 15
units at a time. I currently plane the alder to dimension and sand the
planer marks off with a 6x48" belt sander at 150 grit then touch that
up with a random orbit sander at 220. Most of my stock is sanded while
it is a flat part no wider than 3.5 inches and an inch thick. One
exception is the alder edge glued panels that I purchase (15" x 36") -
they come sort of sanded to 150 grit - I touch them up with random
orbit 150, then 220.

My 6x48 belt sander is near death and in need of replacing. I currently
spend about 15% of the job sanding. It goes along ok but holding pieces
of wood up to the vertical belt sander is exhasting. So is sanding if
there is some way to sand a little bit faster.

I frequently stain the alder and really desire an even sanding, as it
gets quite blotchy if the sanding is uneven. I have also noticed that
150 grit is really not fine enough for alder. Some people claim it is,
but it has a terrible look if finished with a darker stain. (a whole
other topic I am sure)

Perhaps my planer leaves too crappy of a finish. I have found that
alders knots are very hard and have proven to repeatedly nick my
blades. I now just live with a few lines on the surface. Are my blades
too soft? Maybe I run the blades too hot? (old crappy delta 12 inch
steel blades) Maybe if that was fixed, I could get by with only the
random orbit 220 clean-up.

I am looking at machines like the woodmaster 18" planer/sander , or the
grizzly 16" dual drum sander. My shop is somewhat small, and only has
220.

I spend a few weeks of my life sanding. Is there a way I can lessen it?

Thanks for the time

Tor

http://www.musicalfurnishings.com

Have you looked at a Performax 22-44? I almost bought one last month,
until I realized the TCO was higher than I'd anticipated. (Don't tell
my wife, but I might get one in the future g )

Dave

Wood Worker's Supply has a belt sander item # 876-789 it's a big
green Woodtec with a yellow table. The belt runs horizontal.

Tom in KY. No affiliation with WWS, except for the occasional purchase
for my collection.

That looks like a hell of a machine. I wonder if I could get one of my
36x15 panels sanded on that with it turned flat. I also wonder what its
dust collection looks like. It could be a nightmare.

t

I would assume dust collection for this machine would consist of a room
partitioned off specifically for this macine and a giant sucking device
that would pull air through the room much faster than you could heat
your shop. I would probably not wear a hat in this room or any other
loose clothing. Nor would I allow small children or pets to enter. So,
therefore you could not use child labor with such a sucking device.

Seriously, I don't know how dust collection would work in your shop. My
Uncle Don actually has a sanding room with high powered cross
ventillation. He has had a machine like this for years. It works great
for cabinet stiles and rails. Easily retains the square edge on the
material, wich is hard to do with a free hand sander. I love it when he
comes out. His comb-over is always nearly touching his shoulder when he
comes out of there.Heh-heh-heh. Nuttin' funnier.

Tom in KY, remembering the days spent with uncle Don in the cabinet
shop.

It has some sort of 4 inch dust port, no?

t

"David" wrote in message
...
tor wrote:

I run a small one man operation and I am looking to cut my sanding
time/displeasure. I fear that I could purchase a contraption that does
not save much time, compared to my current method.

I work alone, and have no real woodworking community in my life, so may
I describe what I do now? and perhaps someone could offer there advise.

I build chests and coffee tables out of solid red alder, I have been
making these designs for over eight years. I make batches of 10 to 15
units at a time. I currently plane the alder to dimension and sand the
planer marks off with a 6x48" belt sander at 150 grit then touch that
up with a random orbit sander at 220. Most of my stock is sanded while
it is a flat part no wider than 3.5 inches and an inch thick. One
exception is the alder edge glued panels that I purchase (15" x 36") -
they come sort of sanded to 150 grit - I touch them up with random
orbit 150, then 220.

My 6x48 belt sander is near death and in need of replacing. I currently
spend about 15% of the job sanding. It goes along ok but holding pieces
of wood up to the vertical belt sander is exhasting. So is sanding if
there is some way to sand a little bit faster.

I frequently stain the alder and really desire an even sanding, as it
gets quite blotchy if the sanding is uneven. I have also noticed that
150 grit is really not fine enough for alder. Some people claim it is,
but it has a terrible look if finished with a darker stain. (a whole
other topic I am sure)

Perhaps my planer leaves too crappy of a finish. I have found that
alders knots are very hard and have proven to repeatedly nick my
blades. I now just live with a few lines on the surface. Are my blades
too soft? Maybe I run the blades too hot? (old crappy delta 12 inch
steel blades) Maybe if that was fixed, I could get by with only the
random orbit 220 clean-up.

I am looking at machines like the woodmaster 18" planer/sander , or the
grizzly 16" dual drum sander. My shop is somewhat small, and only has
220.

I spend a few weeks of my life sanding. Is there a way I can lessen it?

Thanks for the time

Tor

http://www.musicalfurnishings.com

Have you looked at a Performax 22-44? I almost bought one last month,
until I realized the TCO was higher than I'd anticipated. (Don't tell my
wife, but I might get one in the future g )

The 16/32 won't run on 240v. Don't know, but presume the 22-44 won't
either.

"tor"
I run a small one man operation and I am looking to cut my sanding
time/displeasure. I fear that I could purchase a contraption that does
not save much time, compared to my current method.

snip
I build chests and coffee tables out of solid red alder,
My 6x48 belt sander is near death and in need of replacing. I currently
spend about 15% of the job sanding. It goes along ok but holding pieces
of wood up to the vertical belt sander is exhasting. So is sanding if
there is some way to sand a little bit faster.
snip
I am looking at machines like the woodmaster 18" planer/sander , or the
grizzly 16" dual drum sander. My shop is somewhat small, and only has
220.

http://www.musicalfurnishings.com

BYW your chests (and other furniture) is very clever! I would, as others
have said, get a Performax drum sander. I have the 16x32 and it would work
out very well in your application.

As for the planer, most any blade will chip/nick when going through knots.
Just get a small diamond stick sharpener and touch them up once and a while.

Dave

"tor" wrote:


Thanks for the time

Tor

http://www.musicalfurnishings.com



Brilliant!!!

Do you think its possible to get a smooth sanding job from planer to
performax with only 220 on the drum? Will I have to touch up with a 220
random orbit pass? Or will I need to go from planer to 150 to 220 to
random orbit? This is on an alder board say, 2.5 inches wide.

I hear all these online folks warning that a drum sander is just so
weak and slow compared to a wide belt sander. I fear its more of a toy,
and my manual sanding may be just as fast. Am I wrong? I cannot afford
a wide belt right now, so it seems my choices are a drum sander, a belt
sander like the woodtec described above, or nothing. I would love to
automate a bit more, but only if it will actually help me.

t

ps thanks for the praise

Tor:

I have sold tools and equipment for years. The Performax line and any
drum sander for that matter is a light duty finicky machine. The 1632
is strickly for a hobbyist. I know you say that a wide belt is out of
your reach $$, but I sold a lot of wide belts on a lease to purchase
program. A wide belt would cut your sanding time by ten. A wide belt
would make you money. It is cheaper that any employee and works hard
every day. I would look into a Powermatic 37" model and phase
convertor. A 37" is really not that much more than a 25". A normal
1900cfm dust collector would take care of a wide belt.

good luck,
Mike from American Sycamore

Tor:

I have sold tools and equipment for years. The Performax line and any
drum sander for that matter is a light duty finicky machine. The 1632
is strickly for a hobbyist. I know you say that a wide belt is out of
your reach $$, but I sold a lot of wide belts on a lease to purchase
program. A wide belt would cut your sanding time by ten. A wide belt
would make you money. It is cheaper that any employee and works hard
every day. I would look into a Powermatic 37" model and phase
convertor. A 37" is really not that much more than a 25". A normal
1900cfm dust collector would take care of a wide belt.

good luck,
Mike from American Sycamore

sorry for the double postI suffer from Fat Finger Syndrome.....
Mike

On 9 Dec 2005 12:05:24 -0800, "tor" wrote:

Most of my stock is sanded while
it is a flat part no wider than 3.5 inches and an inch thick. One
exception is the alder edge glued panels that I purchase (15" x 36") -
they come sort of sanded to 150 grit - I touch them up with random
orbit 150, then 220.

Is there some way to jig up a portable belt sander to use it like a,
well, narrow wide belt sander? I mean if all your boards are getting
planed to the same thickness how complicated a sander do you really
need? I do a lot of intarsia and need a supply of 1/8" thick wood,
and I'd like to resaw it myself, but then surfacing it all, I don't
need, have room for, or could afford a 30" wide or even 16" wide
sander to sand 3 inch wide boards.


-Leuf

In article .com,
"tor" wrote:

I run a small one man operation and I am looking to cut my sanding
time/displeasure.

First of all, kudos. Wonderfully clever ideas. I like to see fresh
ideas‹they're a bit rare these days.

I have had my share of sanding issues in my history. First thousands of
loudspeaker boxes (started off as a hobby business). They were mostly
made of 32nd" walnut veneers on high density particle board. They were
assembled with v-grooves and then glued with RF adhesive technology.
Then the sanding. After a long time of research and talking to a lot of
mass production types, the same answer kept popping up. Stroke sanders.

They're basically a very long belt which moves close the work under it
and then the belt is pushed down, manually, with a pad which travels on
a set of rails. That way you cover a lot of area, quickly.. and flat.
here's one example, albeit a big one:
http://www.industrial-supply-store.c...y/machine8.php
I got mine from a defunct piano factory in Rochester NY back in '88.

They're mighty versatile machines and come in a variety of sizes.... at
auctions too.

It's one of those deals: beg, borrow, whatever...just do it... you will
never regret it.

Drum sanders are not what you want. IMHO.

Respectfully,

Rob

Uncle Don also had a home made machine. There is one much like it in a
book. The Workshop Book by Scott Landis from Taunton press, Page 82.
It's called a stroke sander. A flat table holds material while a long
belt moves over the material, without touching it.You use paddles that
look like jointer push blocks with well waxed bottoms to apply pressure
to the back of the belt, wherever you want the sanding belt to do its
work. Does the same job as a belt sander without digging the edge in or
popping a wheelie and marring your work.Never changes direction to
cross the grain of your expensive and fancy hardwood either. I KNOW we
would all miss that! wouldn't we?

Tom in KY,it's after midnight, what am I doing up on a Friday night
writing to you guys?

tor wrote:
Do you think its possible to get a smooth sanding job from planer to
performax with only 220 on the drum? Will I have to touch up with a
220 random orbit pass? Or will I need to go from planer to 150 to 220
to random orbit? This is on an alder board say, 2.5 inches wide.

Drum sanders - at any grit - leave straight line scratch marks. As
would belt sanders. Personally, I always sand after with random orbit
at the same grit.

I *love* my Performax 16-32 ; however, I almost never use anything finer
than 120. I have, on occasion, used 180 but it requires a very light
touch.

__________________________

I hear all these online folks warning that a drum sander is just so
weak and slow compared to a wide belt sander.

I have never used a wide belt sander so can't compare but - despite what
the tool sales guy says - I don't consider it either weak or slow. Nor
finicky. I use mine mostly for getting rough lumber down to a uniform
and flat thickness as opposed to finish sanding and it does that very
well. I have run 1000s of board feet through it without a problem.

--
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

On 9 Dec 2005 18:53:02 -0800, "tor" wrote:

Do you think its possible to get a smooth sanding job from planer to
performax with only 220 on the drum? Will I have to touch up with a 220
random orbit pass? Or will I need to go from planer to 150 to 220 to
random orbit? This is on an alder board say, 2.5 inches wide.

I hear all these online folks warning that a drum sander is just so
weak and slow compared to a wide belt sander. I fear its more of a toy,
and my manual sanding may be just as fast. Am I wrong? I cannot afford
a wide belt right now, so it seems my choices are a drum sander, a belt
sander like the woodtec described above, or nothing. I would love to
automate a bit more, but only if it will actually help me.

I just purchased a General 24" Dual Drum sander, looked at all the
options. Right now I have 80 and 120 on the drums, does a decent job
but does leave ridges, it is not a finish sander. I still have to use
a hand sander, starting with 120, tried 150 but the ridges are to
large. Think someone else said the same. You could probably go to a
120/150 or 100/150, although I haven't been able to purchase any 150
to try it...only had the thing for a month. Would need a very light
touch and good DC though.

HOWEVER....I find most of the time sanding I was doing was done to get
the planer marks out and any uneveness at the joints, after that came
the finer grits, so even though my sander only goes part way to final
surface, I think it takes away a LOT of the work, you can throw
multiple pieces through it at the same time, with a 3 HP motor it
walks through anything I've done so far (including a bunch of resawn
5" alder, and oak).

So if you want a machine to get you to the point at which you'd
normally abandon the 80 grit, this is it, don't think the single drum
cantilevered type is that great myself, didn't see one I liked the
construction of. Since I only have a thicknessing head for my 8"
jointer, the fact I can now sand a larger panel flat is also a plus
for me.

--------------------
Steve Jensen
Abbotsford B.C.
chopping out the mortise.
BBS'ing since 1982 at 300 bps.
Surfing along at 19200 bps since 95.
WW'ing since 1985
LV Cust #4114

Nothing catchy to say, well maybe.....
WAKE UP - There are no GODs you fools!

I am seriously looking at the discontinued Woodtek 13" wide belt
sander. While it is not like other wide belt sanders, it is a powerful
sander and 90% of my stock is under 4 ". I would love to run 180 grit
through it. When you folks say that a fine grit would take a very light
touch.... what do you mean? Why?

I am bouncing between the performax 16-32 (cheap, weak, small), the
woodtek (rebuilt at $950, strong, still small) and the woodmaster (not
cheap, very strong, not so small)

All I do is clean up planer marks. Aren't most people wanting the power
for stock removal with coarse grit? I wonder if that performax would
work for hours on end with 150 grit cleaning planer marks. But if power
is useful for me, that woodtek looks like a far better machine for a
hundred bucks more (woodworker supply is willing to part with a few
rebuilt ones for $940 with a full warrantee).

I think I will get one of these before the end of the year.

t

tor,

I think you need to read your own post. "Performax (cheap, weak, small)"
and then you say you want to pay $940 for a rebuilt Woodtek. Do you know why
they're being rebuilt - something probably broke. Have you found any
Performax rebuilt units? I think you're dismissing an excellent quality tool
out of hand probably because the Woodtek states a 3hp motor - but is it
really?

If you're looking for a sander to act as an aggressive planer then you'll
need to look at bigger and better models but for what you want to do, these
units will be still be overkill.

The Performax has a continuous duty 1.5hp TEFC motor and I have run mine for
hours on end with grits from 36 to 220 and have not had a single problem.
Try to get your hands on a couple of different models before you dismiss
them - you just may be pleasantly surprised. Read any good reviews on the
Woodtek or comparisons?

Bob S.

"tor" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am seriously looking at the discontinued Woodtek 13" wide belt
sander. While it is not like other wide belt sanders, it is a powerful
sander and 90% of my stock is under 4 ". I would love to run 180 grit
through it. When you folks say that a fine grit would take a very light
touch.... what do you mean? Why?

I am bouncing between the performax 16-32 (cheap, weak, small), the
woodtek (rebuilt at $950, strong, still small) and the woodmaster (not
cheap, very strong, not so small)

All I do is clean up planer marks. Aren't most people wanting the power
for stock removal with coarse grit? I wonder if that performax would
work for hours on end with 150 grit cleaning planer marks. But if power
is useful for me, that woodtek looks like a far better machine for a
hundred bucks more (woodworker supply is willing to part with a few
rebuilt ones for $940 with a full warrantee).

I think I will get one of these before the end of the year.

t

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" 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.

Bob,

Thanks for the time. You are painting a good picture of what I can
expect. A shop here in town sells the performax 16 and it's got a few
rebates going on right now. I like it the most, I just don't want to
kill it. I appreciate the description of how you sand. That clarity was
what I was needing.

I am still very open to anyone with experience with the woodtek 13 wide
belt sander. In particular, how well it handles that sensitive place
where one uses finer grit papers.

thanks again Bob,

tor

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

Thanks for the time. You are painting a good picture of what I can
expect. A shop here in town sells the performax 16 and it's got a few
rebates going on right now. I like it the most, I just don't want to
kill it. I appreciate the description of how you sand. That clarity was
what I was needing.

I am still very open to anyone with experience with the woodtek 13 wide
belt sander. In particular, how well it handles that sensitive place
where one uses finer grit papers.

thanks again Bob,

tor

One thing I may not have made clear. You want to feed the stock at the
fastest rate (10fpm) on the Performax to minimize the potential for burning.
To give you an idea of how light you'll be adjusting the height of the
drum - with both motors off, place the stock under the drum and lower the
drum while spinning it by hand. Lower it until it will not spin by hand and
stop. Now back off (raise the drum) until you can again spin the drum - it
will be rubbing on the stocking. Remove the stock, now start both motors,
feed the stock in at a slight angle and let it go thru. Without making any
adjustments, flip the stock and put it thru.

Now take a pencil and draw a couple of lines (one on each side of stock) and
feed it thru again - both sides. If you adjusted the drum properly (light
touch) you should still be able to see the pencil line on about 90% of the
stock. Since you haven't tweaked the settings yet or know the secret
handshake for minimizing snipe (yes - snipe does happen on a drum sander).
Keep in mind that the drum and paper will warm up with use. You may have to
tighten the roll after a bit of use. So be aware that as the paper and roll
warm up, any resins in the stock will cause instant loading up of the paper
and a long burn streak/s will occur on the stock followed by a loud "Ah
Sheeeeeeeeet.....!". Can't overemphasis it enough - light passes, 1/8th
turn max on drum height adjuster or pay the piper. You will anyway......;-)

When you get your Performax, come on back and ask how it's to be setup.
There's a couple of minor tweaks and a very small modification you can make
to the head adjustment which makes life a bit easier. If you get the
WoodTek, hopefully somebody here can offer some advice but at the moment, no
one is jumping in and saying anything about a Woodtek - have you noticed?

Unless you have some reviews or others saying it's a good machine I wouldn't
let a 3hp chiwanese motor be the decision maker. Get your hands on one or
at least make an agreement with the store you deal with about returning it
if you don't like it (and watch the restocking fee's).

Bob S.