I am contemplating the purchase of a wide belt sander. I would like to
get a 25" but haven't located one with a platen in single phase witihn
my budget ($5-6,000)
Anyone know of any?


I am considering the Powermatic 16" open end but have reservations.
Does the open end flex? Can you really sand wider panels by turning
them around????


I have used many different large wide belts at shops I used to work at.
With the big machines I was able to sand to 220 and keep stuff fairly
flat as long as I didn't remove more than ten thousands at a pass - how
do the small wide belts compare to this?

thanks,
Darrell Peart

www.furnituremaker.com

I used to have the Ryobi open end drum sander. It sucked. I've known
a few with the Performax that have been very happy with the performance.

I had the big Performax double drum machine. If you are careful and take
small cuts it works well. I can't imaging an open ended unit will work. The
performax would chatter and throw the sandpaper if you took other than a
miniscule cut.
max

I used to have the Ryobi open end drum sander. It sucked. I've known
a few with the Performax that have been very happy with the performance.