October 3, 201015 yr Made a road trip today over to Chickamauga, GA to pick up a 16-32 Drum sander I found on Craig's list.It is an older model Performax but is in very good shape. Looking forward to putting this to work in the shop. The footprint was a little bigger than I was expecting and this 24x32 shop is getting full fast.Any ideas on where to get the best deal on sandpaper for the drum? Where do any of you get yours? Got to do a little cleanup on the infeed and outfeed tables. Other than that it looks like it has been taken pretty good care of.
October 3, 201015 yr Great find John. Looks like it's in great shape. Actually, I have had my performax for about 5 years, I bought some rolls of sand paper at time of purchase from Rockler's, and I haven't had to buy any since, those rolls last a really long time with care. They are not like sheet sand paper, in that they wear down after about 15 to 30 minutes of sanding, these rolls last a long time. I have a roll of 100 that has had about 1000 feet of mix wood run through it, and shows no sign of letting up. So, if your fighting your conscious over a couple bucks either way, don't sweat it, cuz you'll have those rolls for along time.
October 3, 201015 yr Author Did you purchase the cut to fit size or did you purchase a roll and cut it your self? does that make sense and I really don't know what I am asking, I haven't even checked the price yet. The American Woodworker said:Great find John. Looks like it's in great shape. Actually, I have had my performax for about 5 years, I bought some rolls of sand paper at time of purchase from Rockler's, and I haven't had to buy any since, those rolls last a really long time with care. They are not like sheet sand paper, in that they wear down after about 15 to 30 minutes of sanding, these rolls last a long time. I have a roll of 100 that has had about 1000 feet of mix wood run through it, and shows no sign of letting up. So, if your fighting your conscious over a couple bucks either way, don't sweat it, cuz you'll have those rolls for along time.
October 3, 201015 yr I purchased the pre cut size John, it was on the shelf next to the Performax machines at Rockler. The full rolls that you cut to fit yourself no doubt are probably cheaper.
October 3, 201015 yr Author Does it take you long to swap out the paper? The American Woodworker said:I purchased the pre cut size John, it was on the shelf next to the Performax machines at Rockler. The full rolls that you cut to fit yourself no doubt are probably cheaper.
October 3, 201015 yr It takes about 1 minute once you get the hang of it, I remember when I first got my machine, I had to scratch my head for about 5 minutes each time I'd swap it out, but after awhile, it becomes second nature, just like swapping out a 1/4 sheet sander. John Moody said:Does it take you long to swap out the paper? The American Woodworker said:
October 3, 201015 yr Author Good deal. Thanks for your help. The American Woodworker said:It takes about 1 minute once you get the hang of it, I remember when I first got my machine, I had to scratch my head for about 10 minutes each time I'd swap it out, but after awhile, it becomes second nature, just like swapping out a 1/4 sheet sander. John Moody said:
October 3, 201015 yr Author I did. Just haven't read through it yet. Watching the Alabama vs Florida ball game while posting here. The American Woodworker said:Did you get the manual too John?
October 4, 201015 yr Author Got all of the dust cleaned out of the drum and it runs so smooth now. It had a little vibration in it to begin with and that worried me but as I read the manual it recommended to clean the dust from the inside of the drum. Ran a few pieces through it just to check it out. Worked good except the paper that is on it is in bad shape. Can't wait until the new paper get here and get it going.
October 5, 201015 yr Excellent! I never would have guessed some dust in the drum would have thrown it off balance like that.
October 5, 201015 yr Author I was a little worried when I fired it up here. I was thinking bad bearings. You know you always think the worst when you go and purchase something from an individual. Glad is was just dust.
October 5, 201015 yr Congrats John, I think you'll like you machine not that I have ever used that particular machine. I have a sanding machine at home and we have one at work. It's real nice to run a piece of wood threw and it does 95 percent of you sanding for you. Save you self a lot of trouble and take very light cuts. Don't ask me how I know that.
October 5, 201015 yr Author I played with it a little bit even though the paper on it was not very good. I saw that it was best to take off a small amount pretty quick. I don't have a problem taking the small bites. I think it will still speed up my process and get rid of some dust. Richard McComas said:Congrats John, I think you'll like you machine not that I have ever used that particular machine. I have a sanding machine at home and we have one at work. It's real nice to run a piece of wood threw and it does 95 percent of you sanding for you. Save you self a lot of trouble and take very light cuts. Don't ask me how I know that.
October 7, 201015 yr My dad has a 22-44 that I've been using a lot lately for my nightstands I'm doing. I really like that thing, except I need to get some new paper for it. I'm using it was a little too fine a grit on it right now, need to get some courser stuff. I've also got a a small one of my own, I think it's a 10 or 12 inch Jet, but it's in storage. Hopefully in the next few months I'll be a in place where I can start setting up my own shop.
October 7, 201015 yr Author I think I am going to really enjoy it Roy. I have ordered some new paper for this one and it should be at home by the time I get back there Friday. I can't wait to load up the new paper and give it real test. Roy Boomershine said:My dad has a 22-44 that I've been using a lot lately for my nightstands I'm doing. I really like that thing, except I need to get some new paper for it. I'm using it was a little too fine a grit on it right now, need to get some courser stuff. I've also got a a small one of my own, I think it's a 10 or 12 inch Jet, but it's in storage. Hopefully in the next few months I'll be a in place where I can start setting up my own shop.
October 10, 201015 yr Author Whooo Hooooo The sand paper for the drum sander came in today. Hope to get to give it a test tomorrow afternoon on some cutting boards.
October 13, 201015 yr Author Well I got the paper on the drum last night and ran my first cutting board through with some 80 grit paper. Took it easy only moving the handle a small amount (in that not even an 1/8 turn). The boards I am making for this order are Maple, Purple Heart and Cherry. The Purple Heart was the one that seemed to show signs of trying to burn, but did pretty good with the 80 grit paper. I got the two board that were ready for sanding flat and sanded in short order. I then switched the paper on the drum to 120 grit. That's when the problems started. The Purple Heart wanted to burn really bad. Didn't have any problems with the Cherry or the Maple, but wow was the Purple Heart bad. I tried to speed up the feed tried to slow down the feed and hardly moved the handle. I finally did the 120 grit sanding with my belt sander. I guess I have a little more learning and experimenting to do with the drum sander. Using the belt sander was still better after it had been run through the drum sander. I finished those two boards last night so that was good. So with the finer grits will it be more likely to burn and should the speed be faster or slower? Just your thoughts.
October 14, 201015 yr There may be some woods that just don't sand well by machine, at least the sanders that hobbyist can afford. When I was having trouble sanding the Blood Wood with my Bridgewood Wide Belt I went over to the woodweb and asked about wide belt sanding Blood Wood. In a nutshell they said you need to speed up the feed rate and take small cuts. The idea was the get the wood threw the sander with as little heat build up as possible. Not much I could do because my sander is single speed. John Moody said:Well I got the paper on the drum last night and ran my first cutting board through with some 80 grit paper. Took it easy only moving the handle a small amount (in that not even an 1/8 turn). The boards I am making for this order are Maple, Purple Heart and Cherry. The Purple Heart was the one that seemed to show signs of trying to burn, but did pretty good with the 80 grit paper. I got the two board that were ready for sanding flat and sanded in short order. I then switched the paper on the drum to 120 grit. That's when the problems started. The Purple Heart wanted to burn really bad. Didn't have any problems with the Cherry or the Maple, but wow was the Purple Heart bad. I tried to speed up the feed tried to slow down the feed and hardly moved the handle. I finally did the 120 grit sanding with my belt sander. I guess I have a little more learning and experimenting to do with the drum sander. Using the belt sander was still better after it had been run through the drum sander. I finished those two boards last night so that was good. So with the finer grits will it be more likely to burn and should the speed be faster or slower? Just your thoughts.
October 14, 201015 yr John, I had a hard time with the finer grits too. Richards advice sounds good, give that a try, I know I will when I use it again. I have come to accept my 16-32 as a great leveler. Your cutting boards are a perfect job for the drum sander. But no matter what you do and no matter how fine you can run it through, your always going to need to hit it with the ROS after wards, or any other type of palm sander. The drum will leave lines on the work no matter what grit you use. I know you weren't asking about lines, but I'd thought I'd just throw that in too. John Moody said:Well I got the paper on the drum last night and ran my first cutting board through with some 80 grit paper. Took it easy only moving the handle a small amount (in that not even an 1/8 turn). The boards I am making for this order are Maple, Purple Heart and Cherry. The Purple Heart was the one that seemed to show signs of trying to burn, but did pretty good with the 80 grit paper. I got the two board that were ready for sanding flat and sanded in short order. I then switched the paper on the drum to 120 grit. That's when the problems started. The Purple Heart wanted to burn really bad. Didn't have any problems with the Cherry or the Maple, but wow was the Purple Heart bad. I tried to speed up the feed tried to slow down the feed and hardly moved the handle. I finally did the 120 grit sanding with my belt sander. I guess I have a little more learning and experimenting to do with the drum sander. Using the belt sander was still better after it had been run through the drum sander. I finished those two boards last night so that was good. So with the finer grits will it be more likely to burn and should the speed be faster or slower? Just your thoughts.
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