Im in the market for a new drum sander. A 24" will suite my needs my budget
is about $1500.00

Ive narrowed it down to the following choices :

General International 25" Double Drum Sander

WOODTEK® 25" Dual Drum Sander

Grizzly G1066R 24" Drum Sander

All of there are pretty much the same price and have basically the same
features.

Does anyone have any of these they can give me some feedback on?


Thanks,
Rob

You can reply to me at
r_b_v at v_e_r_z_e_r_a doht c_o_m
(remove the _ to get the address)

Rob V wrote:
Im in the market for a new drum sander. A 24" will suite my needs my budget
is about $1500.00

Ive narrowed it down to the following choices :

General International 25" Double Drum Sander

WOODTEK® 25" Dual Drum Sander

Grizzly G1066R 24" Drum Sander

All of there are pretty much the same price and have basically the same
features.


Considering they're imported, they probably ARE the same machines. G

Barry

B a r r y wrote:
Rob V wrote:
Im in the market for a new drum sander. A 24" will suite my needs my
budget is about $1500.00

Ive narrowed it down to the following choices :

General International 25" Double Drum Sander

WOODTEK® 25" Dual Drum Sander

Grizzly G1066R 24" Drum Sander

All of there are pretty much the same price and have basically the
same features.


Considering they're imported, they probably ARE the same machines. G

Barry


Sorry to reply to my own post, but the General is either 100 or 400+
pounds heavier than the Grizzly, depending on which General.

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 18:39:43 GMT, "Rob V" wrote:

Im in the market for a new drum sander. A 24" will suite my needs my budget
is about $1500.00

Ive narrowed it down to the following choices :

General International 25" Double Drum Sander

WOODTEK® 25" Dual Drum Sander

Grizzly G1066R 24" Drum Sander

All of there are pretty much the same price and have basically the same
features.

Does anyone have any of these they can give me some feedback on?


Thanks,
Rob

You can reply to me at
r_b_v at v_e_r_z_e_r_a doht c_o_m
(remove the _ to get the address)


ive got the woodtek and it does fine so long as you dont try to remove
too much material at one pass. [ dont ask how i know this ! ] its
great being able to sand 2 grits in a single pass. i use 80 and 120
respectivly and the stuff turns out great. BTW dont try removing old
finnish with it. dont ask that one either!!!!!!!!!!!!! it gums up the
belts. if ya wanna check it out in person im outside youngsvillle.
coffee is on me! lol

skeez

"Rob V" wrote in message
nk.net...
Im in the market for a new drum sander. A 24" will suite my needs my
budget is about $1500.00

Ive narrowed it down to the following choices :

General International 25" Double Drum Sander

WOODTEK® 25" Dual Drum Sander

Grizzly G1066R 24" Drum Sander

All of there are pretty much the same price and have basically the same
features.

Does anyone have any of these they can give me some feedback on?


Thanks,
Rob
I've got the GI. It works ok but like Skeezic said with the woodtek, it
doesn't take much to bog down the 3 hp motor! It's also ok for rough
sanding but I've found that trying to sand with 220 usually ends up burning
the wood. 150 grit works fine. Trying to parallel the front and rear drums
is also fun since the manual sucks and doesn't say which way to turn the cap
screws to raise or lower so it's a bit of trial and error. Today I've had
problems with the sand paper slipping on the second drum but I think this is
due to an error in my cut of the paper (to steep of an angle). If you do
buy any of the three make sure you have extra sand paper because there's a
bit of a learning curve. I like the panic off button because when one of
those long sanding strips lets go it makes an awful lot of racket!

Gary

On Tue, 13 Dec 2005 18:39:43 GMT, "Rob V" wrote:

Im in the market for a new drum sander
General International 25" Double Drum Sander
WOODTEK® 25" Dual Drum Sander
Grizzly G1066R 24" Drum Sander
All of there are pretty much the same price and have basically the same
features.

Does anyone have any of these they can give me some feedback on?

I've got the General, it is heavier and maybe a bit more quality
controlled than the others I've seen, which are all very similar for
sure. There is some difference in belt drive motor ratings as well
(1/20hp to 1/6hp I think I saw). I have 80/120 on it so far, I have
not been able to bog down the motor yet, most I've done is 3 pieces of
5" alder at the same time though, still I can't imagine trying to take
that much material off in a single pass. Belt speed can also be
slowed down for heavier cuts.

Keeping the belts from heating/expanding/moving looks like it needs
carefull attention, mine came with paper already installed for
"testing", it was poorly cut and installed, and has loosened up many
times. It's got rips and worn edges from overlapping, but I've used
tape right overtop of the ends to keep it tight to the drum, and taped
any large rips/flaps, mark the location of the tape on the front and
keep going, not everything you sand will be 24" so you can keep the
paper going for quite a while. The paper still seemed to expand and
loosen from the drum so I used a bit of spray glue on the paper only
and let dry for a bit before mounting. Think I'm going to try some
PSA paper since that's all I can find 150 grit in locally.

So it's only due to buildup that my crepe block wont touch do I have
to change this first wrap of 80, and I've probably thrown over 2000'
of wood through it. So avoid glue squeeze out and green sappy wood,
take light cuts, and use the crepe often.

--------------------
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 have one of the Asian dual drum sanders. They are all pretty much the
same except for the feed belt. Some have a reversible belt... I dont see
this as being a big deal. Some use old fashioned conveyor belt material
which does not have sufficient grip. Mine has a kind of soft rubber open
weave belt which is excellent. It does a very nice job of SANDING. It
will not remove any amount of material without trashing the paper..there are
DIMENSION sanders for this and they cost a lot more. My big problem is
getting the paper to attach to the drum securely. Someone else here
mentioned using spray glue... I tried a little of this on the last few
inches but the paper seems to absorb it all and wont stick to the drum. I
tried duct tape too but the edge lifts up and flies off after a few
minutes. I would sure like to find out how to mount the paper correctly.
I kept the ends of the original paper to use as templates but I still
haven'nt got it right. The angle of the cut seems to be critical.

On Wed, 14 Dec 2005 10:13:46 -0800, "Tom Woodman"
wrote:

I have one of the Asian dual drum sanders. They are all pretty much the
same except for the feed belt. Some have a reversible belt... I dont see
this as being a big deal. Some use old fashioned conveyor belt material
which does not have sufficient grip. Mine has a kind of soft rubber open
weave belt which is excellent. It does a very nice job of SANDING. It
will not remove any amount of material without trashing the paper..there are
DIMENSION sanders for this and they cost a lot more. My big problem is
getting the paper to attach to the drum securely. Someone else here
mentioned using spray glue... I tried a little of this on the last few
inches but the paper seems to absorb it all and wont stick to the drum. I
tried duct tape too but the edge lifts up and flies off after a few
minutes. I would sure like to find out how to mount the paper correctly.
I kept the ends of the original paper to use as templates but I still
haven'nt got it right. The angle of the cut seems to be critical.


The angle is "drum diameter x 3.14" across the paper, check your
template. Make sure you use the 3M glue, there's another brand out
there that's just CRAP! I use spray glue every day at work. Or try
some contact cement, maybe have to dilute it, just on the paper only
and let dry. Tape on the ends of the drum can work if you also expose
some of the drum for it to adhere to, otherwise it will just move with
the paper, wrap in the direction of travel. I need to find the right
tape as well, what sticks to sandpaper? And of course wrapping
that sucker as tight as you can pull it.
If all else fails you could try spray gluing the drum as well as the
paper, following the directions it should hold. Avoid heat as it seems
to stretch the paper as well.


--------------------
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!