drum sander info
2/19/15
Looking to buy double drum sander looking for pros and cons of diffrent manufactures maybe an article somewhere
2/22/15 #2: drum sander info ...
Hi Jeff, I recently purchased a Woodmaster 38" single drum sander. I have been really happy with its performance and it is well built. The upgrade to a double drum was more than I wanted to invest and I had read about issues with fine tuning the rear drum. This is my first drum sander so I don't have anything to compare it to but doors that I have ran through it have come out flat and true. It is kinda large, requires 220 power and good dust collection but has saved a ton of time hand sanding. Hope this helps.
3/1/15 #3: drum sander info ...
Website: http://www.rmkdesigns.com
I purchased a Powermatic dual drum sander several years ago. It was one of the best investments I made. I put 60 grit paper on the front drum and 120 grit on the rear drum. With 60 first I can take a much heavier pass. I would not recommend anything finer than 120 because it will burn. Besides 120 comes out fairly smooth with just a little 220 orbital sanding needed to complete the piece. I have not had any problems adjusting the drum height. I do not know how other units adjust but the Powermatic has knobs on each side with numbers on them so you can set them the same. With just 1 pass after adjustment you will know if the rear drum is adjusted right. This piece of equipment has saved me countless hours of time.
3/3/15 #4: drum sander info ...
I had the Powermatic dual drum as well. Very well made unit significantly stouter than some of the competition I looked at. It does a fine job if you don't try to overwork it. I sold it to another shop when I finally upgraded to a wide belt and had to go over twice to help him figure it out. Guy kept trying to hog material off like a wide belt and was burning though paper and causing problems. Keep the passes light and it'll get you by until you can upgrade!
good luck,
JeffD