Shop Fox W1854 Drum Sander

[Larry Blighton]

I am looking at a used Shop fox W1854 Drum Sander. It looks good and was told that it had very few hours on it. I have tried to research it online to check out some reviews but haven’t been able to find a lot.  I intend to use this for doing the final sanding on pretty much everything flat that I build. Right now I an starting to get into making cutting and charcuterie boards.  I would like to make some end grain boards but only have straight blade planer and jointer so this would make that possible. Drum sanders do not come up very often on the used tool side locally for me and as far as price goes I am pretty sure that I can get this sander for $600 maybe a little less.

 

I would like to hear people’s opinions on this sander, if you own it, know anything about it  Pretty much any info would be great.  

[p_toad]

Sorry i have no valid info for you on this.   maybe someone else can chime in. 

[lew]

https://www.amazon.com/Shop-Fox-W1854-Open-End-Sander/product-reviews/B07D12NZH6?reviewerType=all_reviews

 

https://www.grizzly.com/products/shop-fox-18-1-1-2-hp-open-end-drum-sander-w-vs-feed/w1854#

 

https://bestreviews.tips/shop-fox-power-drum-sanders_372901/

[PostalTom]

Did anyone read the reviews from https://bestreviews.tips/shop-fox-power-drum-sanders_372901/ ?  What a bunch of gibberish.  They looked like a series of reviews-for-hire by people who just picked words at random from the dictionary.  I'm guessing someone with little to no command of English.

[HARO50]

Did you also notice that all the names of the reviewers were female?

[Smallpatch]

Larry you mentioned you would use it for the final sanding....No matter what brand you use, a drum sander will create lines that will have to be sanded out one way or the other. Yes they will sand flat and even if you use 120 grit on the drum this is how it sands. Is sands in a straight line and one of the things one has to sand out.  Also if you use a random orbit or DA as some call them to get the lines out you will get cupping or a wavy surface when you highlight it with the light. I can already hear it from others, I can run a random orbit sander where the wood is perfectly flat so buddy you ain't talking about me...

   The best sander to keep the wood flat is the biggest area pad that is sold and to keep the half moons at a minimum make sure it is the highest vibrating speed you can find.

I'm thinking the people who buys a drum sander and until they learn one can not hog off lots surface on each pass...or else those things will happen as was mentioned in their bitching...one should realize it is only a machine and the brains to run one is standing there getting upset cause this darn machine won't do what I want it to do! 

[Larry Blighton]

2 hours ago, lew said:

https://www.amazon.com/Shop-Fox-W1854-Open-End-Sander/product-reviews/B07D12NZH6?reviewerType=all_reviews

 

https://www.grizzly.com/products/shop-fox-18-1-1-2-hp-open-end-drum-sander-w-vs-feed/w1854#

 

https://bestreviews.tips/shop-fox-power-drum-sanders_372901/

Thanks Lew I found the same ones, was hoping that I could get a real honest opinion, those reviews are all over the place and maybe those are correct and I should just stay away from this sander. 

[Larry Blighton]

7 minutes ago, Smallpatch said:

Larry you mentioned you would use it for the final sanding....No matter what brand you use, a drum sander will create lines that will have to be sanded out one way or the other. Yes they will sand flat and even if you use 120 grit on the drum this is how it sands. Is sands in a straight line and one of the things one has to sand out.  Also if you use a random orbit or DA as some call them to get the lines out you will get cupping or a wavy surface when you highlight it with the light. I can already hear it from others, I can run a random orbit sander where the wood is perfectly flat so buddy you ain't talking about me...

   The best sander to keep the wood flat is the biggest area pad that is sold and to keep the half moons at a minimum make sure it is the highest vibrating speed you can find.

I'm thinking the people who buys a drum sander and until they learn one can not hog off lots surface on each pass...or else those things will happen as was mentioned in their bitching...one should realize it is only a machine and the brains to run one is standing there getting upset cause this darn machine won't do what I want it to do! 

Thanks

[lew]

11 minutes ago, Larry Blighton said:

Thanks Lew I found the same ones, was hoping that I could get a real honest opinion, those reviews are all over the place and maybe those are correct and I should just stay away from this sander. 

Sorry, I wasn't sure. Just a shot in the dark.

 

I built my own drum sander. I needed to get consistent results for pieces slightly under .125". My planer works good on some woods but not all. The sander does a great job on all types of wood/grain and end grain cutting boards.

[Larry Blighton]

10 hours ago, lew said:

Sorry, I wasn't sure. Just a shot in the dark.

 

I built my own drum sander. I needed to get consistent results for pieces slightly under .125". My planer works good on some woods but not all. The sander does a great job on all types of wood/grain and end grain cutting boards.

Its hard for me to pull the trigger on a tool that I just cant find the reviews on for me if I cant feel comfortable about the purchase I usually pass.  I have heard from some other friends that the grizzly open end sanders have some issues with the head sagging and as this is pretty much the same machine. So I am still debating but leaning closer to pass side.  Thanks for the help.

[HandyDan]

See if the owner will let you run a piece of wood through it and measure edges to see it it is still aligned. 

[Larry Blighton]

13 minutes ago, HandyDan said:

See if the owner will let you run a piece of wood through it and measure edges to see it it is still aligned. 

Thanks, I will do that.  I intended to run some material through it to check functionality but wasn't thinking about measuring to check alignment.

[Larry Blighton]

I think I am going to pass on this sander as I was just talking to the seller and he is now sounding a little wishy washy.  I have found Performax 22-44 Plus that is still new (never opened)in the box.  I am waiting to hear back from the seller.  What do you think would be a good price to try and pick this up for? 

[HandyDan]

One in my area they're asking $999.00

 

[Smallpatch]

Larry I ended up with a double drum sander and a 22-44 Performax drum sander. 

The double drum sander is a Grizzly 16" model. I bought it new. It works great but

the only thing I don't like about it is I have to take a few pieces off the top to get to

the 2 rollers. And I would spend about two hours before I got back to woodworking..

At first I occasionally used pine but realized the sap would cost another trip to tear 

down the sanders for more replacing to rolls of sand paper...I don't ever sand any pine

anymore. Lesson learned

  I just now looked up where you live but you didn't include that when you came aboard.

And so I was gonna check to see if you might be interested .. I just checked the new

catalog and the 16" now list for 1295.00 and I would take 500 but I don't ship anything

unless folks comes and checks my stuff out in person before it leaves my shop...

I would suggest if you have time to keep a check on school auctions. This is where I got

this 22-44. Maybe most schools have closed the woodworking classes and have already

 got rid of what they had.  This seemed to be going on about 10 years or so ago.

 Anyway since I have both models of drum sanders I really like the open ended type the 

best and think this is the way to go.

   I use to make all auctions and three fourths of all my toys came from schools including

the Case back-hole and the Kubota tractors.

   My reasoning was when I went to high school nothing ever got used enough to be worn out.

Oh some things were misused and pieces missing but hey with the things put back in

  working order all the stuff was very good bargains. I bought 7 Dewalt 788's 

 for 427.00.. and when I went two hundred miles or so to pick the stuff up they kept bringing 

out things that weren't even listed like 4 random orbit sanders and lots of different types of clamps

and the 2 best things I use every day is the 1 x42" belt disk sanders. I already had one of those but 

all that stuff extra put a smile on my face...This last group of stuff I didn't even go and check the 788's

out for they were in Killeen, Tx and I live in Breckenridge. Tx. So I bid sight un seen but all they had

listed to bid on was the 7 Dewalt 788's.

 Good luck but don't get in a hurry and do check the schools even if they are far from where you live. We always enjoyed the drive. Some places were so far away from home we had to stay over night on a few of those trips.

[Larry Blighton]

10 hours ago, HandyDan said:

One in my area they're asking $999.00

 

Thanks, waiting to hear back from the seller.

[Larry Blighton]

9 hours ago, Smallpatch said:

Larry I ended up with a double drum sander and a 22-44 Performax drum sander. 

The double drum sander is a Grizzly 16" model. I bought it new. It works great but

the only thing I don't like about it is I have to take a few pieces off the top to get to

the 2 rollers. And I would spend about two hours before I got back to woodworking..

At first I occasionally used pine but realized the sap would cost another trip to tear 

down the sanders for more replacing to rolls of sand paper...I don't ever sand any pine

anymore. Lesson learned

  I just now looked up where you live but you didn't include that when you came aboard.

And so I was gonna check to see if you might be interested .. I just checked the new

catalog and the 16" now list for 1295.00 and I would take 500 but I don't ship anything

unless folks comes and checks my stuff out in person before it leaves my shop...

I would suggest if you have time to keep a check on school auctions. This is where I got

this 22-44. Maybe most schools have closed the woodworking classes and have already

 got rid of what they had.  This seemed to be going on about 10 years or so ago.

 Anyway since I have both models of drum sanders I really like the open ended type the 

best and think this is the way to go.

   I use to make all auctions and three fourths of all my toys came from schools including

the Case back-hole and the Kubota tractors.

   My reasoning was when I went to high school nothing ever got used enough to be worn out.

Oh some things were misused and pieces missing but hey with the things put back in

  working order all the stuff was very good bargains. I bought 7 Dewalt 788's 

 for 427.00.. and when I went two hundred miles or so to pick the stuff up they kept bringing 

out things that weren't even listed like 4 random orbit sanders and lots of different types of clamps

and the 2 best things I use every day is the 1 x42" belt disk sanders. I already had one of those but 

all that stuff extra put a smile on my face...This last group of stuff I didn't even go and check the 788's

out for they were in Killeen, Tx and I live in Breckenridge. Tx. So I bid sight un seen but all they had

listed to bid on was the 7 Dewalt 788's.

 Good luck but don't get in a hurry and do check the schools even if they are far from where you live. We always enjoyed the drive. Some places were so far away from home we had to stay over night on a few of those trips.

Thanks for all the info.  I will check around to see if there are any school auctions going on here in florida.  

[Cal]

Larry, how far would you go for a good Performax?  I have one in middle Georgia.  Without checking, I think it is a 16-32 model.  It worked fine but I haven't used it in several years.  If interested shoot me a PM.

I am not interested in stepping on Jess' toes, but it seems that Texas is a bit far...  school auctions can be a good source of tooling.  The auction site I watch is www.govdeals.com  If you do a location search you can look at any/all auctions within a certain radius of your zip code.

[Larry Blighton]

On 2/6/2021 at 7:25 AM, Cal said:

Larry, how far would you go for a good Performax?  I have one in middle Georgia.  Without checking, I think it is a 16-32 model.  It worked fine but I haven't used it in several years.  If interested shoot me a PM.

I am not interested in stepping on Jess' toes, but it seems that Texas is a bit far...  school auctions can be a good source of tooling.  The auction site I watch is www.govdeals.com  If you do a location search you can look at any/all auctions within a certain radius of your zip code.

Message sent

Edited February 7, 2021 by Larry Blighton

[Smallpatch]

Larry, I'm glad you posted that so I can say I have no interest in selling anything. I think I used what I said to maybe guide anyone to an open faced model.. I have both like I said and am more satisfied with the open faced model  And the equipment I have is almost two and three of all the machinery I use all the time. If something melts down to the ground it would be better to use my backups than go looking to buy something somewhere. Also some of the things I bought 10 years ago have almost doubled in price so why would I want to sell something that still works good just to go blow more money....

   And the part about not shipping any thing unless the person comes and checks every thing they can think of before it leaves my shop. This way if later they decide maybe they paid too much or something goes wrong with an item, tough luck.... Some brands I think takes many days using something before they actually learns what they have and how to treat any of the equipment.

   So good luck and thanks  and try to find the 22-44 model for you will wish you had later.