In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

On Feb 25, 9:30*am, "Frank Howell" wrote:
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

I have the small proformax sander and it does a great job on finish
sanding up to about 10" wide.
I dont like the the result when I use 60 or 80 grit and try to take
off alot.
But for finsh snading its great.
Randy
http://nokeswoodworks.com

"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell


I have the 22" Performax, I don't see any reason to doubt the quality of the
rebadged Jet version.
It works great but you must realize that it has its limitations. It will
rethickness wood except about 5-10 times slower than the typical thickness
planer. I like to use mine to smooth a surface and or sneak up on a precise
thickness. You must use dust collection.
The larger 22" model Performax and "probably" the Jet have a feed speed
regulator. If you are feeding too fast it will automatically slow doe to a
more acceptable rate. This is a nice feature that probably has helped to
prevent stalls. Buy your paper in bulk rolls for about 1/3 the price of
precut rolls.

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:30:04 -0800, "Frank Howell"
wrote:

In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"

I have an 18 X 36 Delta and it has really improved the speed and
quality of my panel sanding. Us it to clean up any glue up mismatch,
get to a flat panel, then go to the ROS for finish.

However, if you don't have dust collection you need to be able to take
it outside (what I do). It makes a lot of dust.

It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

Performax was made in a US factory in Minnesota. WHM after purchasing
Performax,closed that facility, moved it to the far east and
eventually rebadged the brand to JET. It would be good to get opinions
from anyone who has used both versions. I have not.

Of course, my 18 x 36 was also made in the US and now it comes from
the far east.

Frank

Frank Howell wrote:

Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"

I have been very happy with my Performax 22/44. I've also read some of
those reviews. The main I idea I saw is that some of the folks expected
the tool to require less operator skill than it does. Some of the much
more expensive tools probably don't require much skill, but...

Random thoughts:
- The sander is a finesse tool, it is not a thickness planer. Forcing
too heavy of a cut, too heavy of a cut with too fine a grit, failing to
properly guide it in or out, etc... May do as much damage as a router
mistake. 8^(
- I've sanded parts as large as 40" x 86" x 5/4 (a QSWO table top) and
a small as 3" x 3" x 1/8" (walnut panels). The table top required two
people, but with 15 seconds of adjustment, turned out great.
- I now use the sander on every part that won't be hand planed, as
well as some that will, as they come out of the thickness planer. I can
stop thickness planing a pass early and easily have tearout-free stock
ready for a single ROS pass for trim, or suitable smooth plane or
scraper for furniture.
- I've run 100's of feet of s4s red oak trim through it at 120 grit,
followed by a fast ROS pass, directly to a finish, with great results.
- It needs a good dust collector. I wouldn't even consider using one
without at least a 1200 CFM DC and unrestrictive ductwork.
- I don't like the optional in/outfeed tables. I got tired of futzing
with them and simply developed operator techniques to get great results.
I only bother to install the tables when doing long boards, simply as
a place to rest one end as I maneuver the board into place on the belt.
- Changing and replacing paper is easy after you do it once or twice,
there is a special tool that makes it easier. My sander included the
tool, but I don't think older or smaller models do the same.

My sander is on my short list of tools I'd replace in a minute if it
died tomorrow.

It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

I have no idea, but Performax was a WMH (Jet's parent) when I bought my
22/44.

Leon wrote:
"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander.
Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on
these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?" It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet.
If so, is it the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell


I have the 22" Performax, I don't see any reason to doubt the quality
of the rebadged Jet version.
It works great but you must realize that it has its limitations. It
will rethickness wood except about 5-10 times slower than the typical
thickness planer. I like to use mine to smooth a surface and or
sneak up on a precise thickness. You must use dust collection.
The larger 22" model Performax and "probably" the Jet have a feed
speed regulator. If you are feeding too fast it will automatically
slow doe to a more acceptable rate. This is a nice feature that
probably has helped to prevent stalls. Buy your paper in bulk rolls
for about 1/3 the price of precut rolls.

Thanks for the info. Does the smaller Performax, ie 16", have speed
regulator?

--
Frank Howell

randyswoodshoop wrote:
On Feb 25, 9:30 am, "Frank Howell" wrote:
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander.
Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on
these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?" It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet.
If so, is it the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

I have the small proformax sander and it does a great job on finish
sanding up to about 10" wide.
I dont like the the result when I use 60 or 80 grit and try to take
off alot.
But for finsh snading its great.
Randy
http://nokeswoodworks.com

Thanks for the feedback.

--
Frank Howell

"Frank Boettcher" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 07:30:04 -0800, "Frank Howell"
wrote:

It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

Performax was made in a US factory in Minnesota. WHM after purchasing
Performax,closed that facility, moved it to the far east and
eventually rebadged the brand to JET. It would be good to get opinions
from anyone who has used both versions. I have not.


I have the US version, badged Performax, and have looked at the JET badge.
Fit and finish are somewhat less, but I really didn't see obvious crummies,
though I haven't had the best experience with Chinese motors.

"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:



I have the 22" Performax, I don't see any reason to doubt the quality
of the rebadged Jet version.
It works great but you must realize that it has its limitations. It
will rethickness wood except about 5-10 times slower than the typical
thickness planer. I like to use mine to smooth a surface and or
sneak up on a precise thickness. You must use dust collection.
The larger 22" model Performax and "probably" the Jet have a feed
speed regulator. If you are feeding too fast it will automatically
slow doe to a more acceptable rate. This is a nice feature that
probably has helped to prevent stalls. Buy your paper in bulk rolls
for about 1/3 the price of precut rolls.

Thanks for the info. Does the smaller Performax, ie 16", have speed
regulator?

As I recall, no. The easiest way to tell on these models if they have an
automatic speed regulator is to look for a small Red LED light on the
control box close to the speed regulator switch. When the load is too much
the speed regulator slows down and the red light comes on.

Leon wrote:
"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander.
Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on
these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?" It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet.
If so, is it the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell


I have the 22" Performax, I don't see any reason to doubt the quality
of the rebadged Jet version.
It works great but you must realize that it has its limitations. It
will rethickness wood except about 5-10 times slower than the typical
thickness planer. I like to use mine to smooth a surface and or
sneak up on a precise thickness. You must use dust collection.
The larger 22" model Performax and "probably" the Jet have a feed
speed regulator. If you are feeding too fast it will automatically
slow doe to a more acceptable rate. This is a nice feature that
probably has helped to prevent stalls. Buy your paper in bulk rolls
for about 1/3 the price of precut rolls.

Never mind about smaller Jet having feed control, I found out it does.
Another question I forgot to ask, is about dust collection. When looking at
Grizzly sanders, found negative info on dust collection. How well does Jet
dust collection work in your opinion?

--
Frank Howell

Frank Howell wrote:
Leon wrote:
"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander.
Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on
these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?" It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet.
If so, is it the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

I have the 22" Performax, I don't see any reason to doubt the quality
of the rebadged Jet version.
It works great but you must realize that it has its limitations. It
will rethickness wood except about 5-10 times slower than the typical
thickness planer. I like to use mine to smooth a surface and or
sneak up on a precise thickness. You must use dust collection.
The larger 22" model Performax and "probably" the Jet have a feed
speed regulator. If you are feeding too fast it will automatically
slow doe to a more acceptable rate. This is a nice feature that
probably has helped to prevent stalls. Buy your paper in bulk rolls
for about 1/3 the price of precut rolls.

Never mind about smaller Jet having feed control, I found out it does.
Another question I forgot to ask, is about dust collection. When looking at
Grizzly sanders, found negative info on dust collection. How well does Jet
dust collection work in your opinion?

I have the 16" Performax and use my Sears shop vacuum for dust
collection. Works much better than I thought it would. Very little
visible crud. An air filter picks up the rest of the airborne stuff.
mahalo,
jo4hn

"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:

Never mind about smaller Jet having feed control, I found out it does.
Another question I forgot to ask, is about dust collection. When looking
at Grizzly sanders, found negative info on dust collection. How well does
Jet dust collection work in your opinion?


Actually yes they all have speed control, IIRC not all have "automatic"
speed control, in case you have set the speed control to fast.

I use a Jet Pleated Element 1100 CFM dust collector. Dust is simply not an
issue when using the 22" drum sander or my 15" stationary planer. None,
zip.

Frank Howell wrote:
Leon wrote:
"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum
sander. Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can
find on these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?" It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under
Jet. If so, is it the same quality that was manufactured by
Performax?

--
Frank Howell


I have the 22" Performax, I don't see any reason to doubt the
quality of the rebadged Jet version.
It works great but you must realize that it has its limitations.
It will rethickness wood except about 5-10 times slower than the
typical thickness planer. I like to use mine to smooth a surface
and or sneak up on a precise thickness. You must use dust
collection.
The larger 22" model Performax and "probably" the Jet have a feed
speed regulator. If you are feeding too fast it will automatically
slow doe to a more acceptable rate. This is a nice feature that
probably has helped to prevent stalls. Buy your paper in bulk
rolls for about 1/3 the price of precut rolls.

Thanks for the info. Does the smaller Performax, ie 16", have speed
regulator?

Yes. At least it did when I bought my 16-32 around 11 years ago. It
isn't automatic though...I usually set it somewhere between 50% and
80% depending on what I am sanding (how wide, how hard).

A decent place for abrasive rolls is
http://www.econabrasives.com/index.mv?Screen=SFNT

As far as the sander goes, I wouldn't be without it. And get one
where the drum moves up and down (like Performax) not the table.
Reason? So you can build on some in/out rollers that will stay even
with the table...you need them for anything long or heavy.

--

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

"Frank Howell" wrote:
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander.
Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on
these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?"

Before I spent a "boat buc" ($1,000.00) on a drum sander, think I would see
if there are any commercial shops in your area.

The one I use charges $26 for the first 15 minutes and $1/minute there
after.

Most of my jobs are less than 20 minutes.

You have to sand a lot of wood to recover $1000.00 at those rates

Lew

"Lew Hodgett" wrote in message
...

"Frank Howell" wrote:
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander.
Can't afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on
these are not encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar
range?"

Before I spent a "boat buc" ($1,000.00) on a drum sander, think I would
see if there are any commercial shops in your area.

The one I use charges $26 for the first 15 minutes and $1/minute there
after.

Most of my jobs are less than 20 minutes.

You have to sand a lot of wood to recover $1000.00 at those rates


Good point Lew. It takes a lot of sanding to warrant the expense. BUT!
having said that, it is invaluable for insuring small assemblies are of
uniform height. Back in December I was building 2 jewelry chests that had
24 drawers IIRC. To tweak for the perfect height spacing and fit I ran the
drawer assemblies in pairs to get exactly what I wanted, height wise. I am
finding more to do with the sander than the typical flattening or sanding of
a wide surface.

I have owned a few and used many.

1. I agree I find a drum or wide belt sander indispensible. One of the
few tools used on every project.

2. You can tune in the open ended versions and they are way better
then not having anything but I would much rather buy a used standard
drum then a new open ended one.

Used can be found. I recently purchased an older performax double drum
sander, 25" I think. It is in storage right now but I think it was
less than $1000, but I'd need to look in my records to be sure.


On Feb 25, 7:30*am, "Frank Howell" wrote:
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

"Leon" wrote:

Good point Lew. It takes a lot of sanding to warrant the expense.
BUT!
having said that, it is invaluable for insuring small assemblies are
of
uniform height.

Last time I had some stuff sanded, a contractor was there with a
pick-up full of face frames for a cabinet job.

A couple of passes thru that 48" wide, 3 drum sander with a 25HP dust
collector took care of the job.

Contractor estimated he saved at least a half day's sanding.

Lew

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:50:13 -0800, Lew Hodgett wrote:

Before I spent a "boat buc" ($1,000.00) on a drum sander, think I would see
if there are any commercial shops in your area.

The one I use charges $26 for the first 15 minutes and $1/minute there
after.

Most of my jobs are less than 20 minutes.

You have to sand a lot of wood to recover $1000.00 at those rates

Only 34 jobs at 19 minutes :-). How many jobs have you done that way so
far?

Of course, that doesn't include operating costs, but my guess is
that somewhere between 40 and 50 jobs would still be break-even.

"Larry Blanchard" wrote:

Only 34 jobs at 19 minutes :-). How many jobs have you done that
way so
far?

Of course, that doesn't include operating costs, but my guess is
that somewhere between 40 and 50 jobs would still be break-even.

From memory, probably 8-10 jobs over the last couple of years.

This piece of commercial equipment has been fully depreciated for
years.

Motor nameplates indicate 68-69 construction.

Unit has three (3), 25HP motors, each driving an individual drum.thru
the old VariDrive, the mechanical variable speed drive from US Motors.

Another 25HP motor drives the dust collector which has it's own bag
house.

Now you know why it's $26 to turn the machine on.

100HP demands a lot of inrush current to get started.

My guess is that today, it would cost well in excess of $100K to
replace it.

A home shop unit is not from the same gene pool, not even close.

Lew

"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

Lots of good info for you Frank...one thing I will mention is that if you
can find one used, the Ryobi makes a decent 16/32 drum sander...not a great
one, but good.

From what I've seen, the same basic design as the Performax/Jet and I got
mine with a couple dozen belts fr under $100.

Check out CraigsList for one.

Mike

"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...

Thanks for the info. Does the smaller Performax, ie 16", have speed
regulator?


The JET has "Sandsmart," if you believe WMH rather than the replies.
http://woodworking.jettools.com/Prod...Part=62900 4K

Lew Hodgett wrote:

Last time I had some stuff sanded, a contractor was there with a
pick-up full of face frames for a cabinet job.

A couple of passes thru that 48" wide, 3 drum sander with a 25HP dust
collector took care of the job.

Contractor estimated he saved at least a half day's sanding.


How long did it take him to remove the cross grain scratches?

I can buy imported furniture with doors sanded as units, then I won't
need a sander at all.

"B A R R Y" wrote:

How long did it take him to remove the cross grain scratches?


My guess is that he didn't bother.

The final drum is at least 150 grit, maybe finer.

Lew

Lew Hodgett wrote:
"B A R R Y" wrote:

How long did it take him to remove the cross grain scratches?


My guess is that he didn't bother.

The final drum is at least 150 grit, maybe finer.

Lew

When I look at premade cabinets, I see an awful lot of them where they
should have bothered. G

I bought and eventually sold a 16\32 Ryobi. It was OK. The main hed
adjustment screws were a bit inconsistent. The design in general is a
bit problematic because you are always lowering the head with each
pass but for a real accurate offset it should be raisng (against
gravity). Inexplicably my unit would work fine with a 1/4 turn drop on
each pass and then suddenly a 1/4 turn would drop the head so far it
would gouge the material and killed the unit. It would take 6 or 8
more passes to sand out the gouge. I eventually found that I'd drop it
a full turn and then back up 3/4 and it seemed to fix the issue.

I also heard the Ryobi was sued into submission by Performax and had
to stop production because of infringement. The units look almost
identical, right down to the belt tracking adjustment mechanism.

BW

On Feb 25, 5:33*pm, "The Davenport's" wrote:
"Frank Howell" wrote in message

...

In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?

--
Frank Howell

Lots of good info for you Frank...one thing I will mention is that if you
can find one used, the Ryobi makes a decent 16/32 drum sander...not a great
one, but good.

From what I've seen, the same basic design as the Performax/Jet and I got
mine with a couple dozen belts fr under $100.

Check out CraigsList for one.

Mike

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:32:42 -0800 (PST), "SonomaProducts.com"
wrote:

I bought and eventually sold a 16\32 Ryobi. It was OK. The main hed
adjustment screws were a bit inconsistent. The design in general is a
bit problematic because you are always lowering the head with each
pass but for a real accurate offset it should be raisng (against
gravity). Inexplicably my unit would work fine with a 1/4 turn drop on
each pass and then suddenly a 1/4 turn would drop the head so far it
would gouge the material and killed the unit. It would take 6 or 8
more passes to sand out the gouge. I eventually found that I'd drop it
a full turn and then back up 3/4 and it seemed to fix the issue.

I also heard the Ryobi was sued into submission by Performax and had
to stop production because of infringement. The units look almost
identical, right down to the belt tracking adjustment mechanism.

Except the Performax adjust properly. G

I bought and eventually sold a 16\32 Ryobi. It was OK. The main hed
adjustment screws were a bit inconsistent. The design in general is a
bit problematic because you are always lowering the head with each
pass but for a real accurate offset it should be raisng (against
gravity). Inexplicably my unit would work fine with a 1/4 turn drop on
each pass and then suddenly a 1/4 turn would drop the head so far it
would gouge the material and killed the unit. It would take 6 or 8
more passes to sand out the gouge. I eventually found that I'd drop it
a full turn and then back up 3/4 and it seemed to fix the issue.

I also heard the Ryobi was sued into submission by Performax and had
to stop production because of infringement. The units look almost
identical, right down to the belt tracking adjustment mechanism.

Except the Performax adjust properly. G

Hmmm...I haven't had the head drop on me at all...I'll keep an eye on that.

On the other hand, the belt on mine has tracked great from the day I got it.

If it's luck, I'll take it.

Mike

Leon wrote:
"Frank Howell" wrote in message
...
Leon wrote:

Never mind about smaller Jet having feed control, I found out it
does. Another question I forgot to ask, is about dust collection.
When looking at Grizzly sanders, found negative info on dust
collection. How well does Jet dust collection work in your opinion?


Actually yes they all have speed control, IIRC not all have
"automatic" speed control, in case you have set the speed control to
fast.
I use a Jet Pleated Element 1100 CFM dust collector. Dust is simply
not an issue when using the 22" drum sander or my 15" stationary
planer. None, zip.

Thanks for the feedback.

--
Frank Howell

Frank Howell wrote:
In my shop, I have just about everything I need, but a drum sander. Can't
afford a wide belt. Many of the reviews that I can find on these are not
encouraging.
Anyone have positive experiences with drum sanders in $1000 dollar range?"
It looks like the Performax brand is now marketed under Jet. If so, is it
the same quality that was manufactured by Performax?




http://www.stockroomsupply.com/Flat_Master.php
Picked up a 30" at the wood dorking show in Milwaukee...
Ordered on Sunday, arrives on Friday.
$688 delivered with 3 rolls of paper and 2 fences...
Pick up a new motor from Grainger... $140
DONE!

Demo vid....
http://www.theonlinewoodshow.com/sho...6&prod=FMSetup

Lex wrote:

http://www.stockroomsupply.com/Flat_Master.php
Picked up a 30" at the wood dorking show in Milwaukee...

Neat looking machine!

I'm looking forward to your in-depth review, once you get it set up.

Workin' on it!!!!!!!!!!



B A R R Y wrote:
Lex wrote:

http://www.stockroomsupply.com/Flat_Master.php
Picked up a 30" at the wood dorking show in Milwaukee...

Neat looking machine!

I'm looking forward to your in-depth review, once you get it set up.