Drum sander upgrade

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  • Carlos
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2004
    • 1893
    • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

    Drum sander upgrade

    A couple weeks ago I said the words, "And I really won't be buying any more wood tools for a long time."

    ONE HOUR later, someone lists a Woodmaster 2675 drum sander for only $900 with a few sanding strips (which are crazy expensive). Sigh, just take my wallet. But I think I should get at least that much for my Jet 22-44 Plus, and get a heck of an upgrade in the process. I did have to add new wiring to support it all. I have been running off a 30a SJ cord run from garage 1 where the power is, to garage 2 which had nothing more than marginal 120v power. So I had my network cabling guy run a pull tape through the space between floor, and I'll pull in some #4 and put in a subpanel in the shop garage.

    So far I've listed the 22-44 on eBay at a very high price to see if there are any takers ($1490). I won't have the Woodmaster until the end of the month so I'm in no rush to be without a sander.

    I'm so excited to see what 5 HP of sanding power does. Plus with the belt reduction it's actually increasing torque too, while slowing down the drum for less burning.
  • capncarl
    Veteran Member
    • Jan 2007
    • 3564
    • Leesburg Georgia USA
    • SawStop CTS

    #2
    The woodmaster looks like a great machine, of course it limits your width compared to the Jet... if you ever need to sand that wide material. I have a Jet 10-20 machine that I purchased for using building Tiny Tables knowing that I wouldn’t need the extra width capabilities. Before I had made up my mind on which sander to purchase I happened to go to a Woodcraft store on the last day of their total clearance cause we are moving sale and found a shopping buggy full of 10-20 sand paper for some rediciolious low price and was able to purchase what I thought was a lifetime supply of sand paper for less that $50. That obligated me to buy the 10-20. I absolutely hate the paper holding gizmo on the 10-20. Really poor designed junk. I won’t make that mistake again,

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    • Carlos
      Veteran Member
      • Jan 2004
      • 1893
      • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

      #3
      I've never been able to get that "feature" to do a good job. I very painstakingly adjusted the drum perfectly parallel, to under .001 error, and still get a ridge when I sand oversized. So I'm actually gaining 4" of width--usable. I also hate the paper holder on my 22-44, and look forward to the velcro-style paper on the Woodmaster.

      Comment

      • capncarl
        Veteran Member
        • Jan 2007
        • 3564
        • Leesburg Georgia USA
        • SawStop CTS

        #4
        I find that I spend about as much time sanding the sanding lines cause by the drum sander out of my wood as I would have spent if I had not sanded it with the drum sander and had sanded it by hand from scratch.
        Jet really missed the engineering boat on the 10-20 in regards to the paper holding gizmo, not making any attempt to open the frame up so you could at least get 2 pinky fingers in there. I’ve been tempted to take it apart and build my own paper holders. Maybe should have done that and marketed them.

        The conveyor belt is a joke too! Nobody in their right mind could operate a business using this tool with a conveyor that could self destruct if operated by a novice worker or by someone trying to multi-task a large job.

        When asked now if I had to give up a large tool from my shop that I don’t use much, it would be the Jet 10-20.

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        • Carlos
          Veteran Member
          • Jan 2004
          • 1893
          • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

          #5
          I love the drum sander. It changed my life. I'd sooner get rid of the table saw, seriously. If I had to have a very small shop it would have a jointer, SCMS, bandsaw, and drum sander.

          What grit are you using?

          Comment

          • capncarl
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 3564
            • Leesburg Georgia USA
            • SawStop CTS

            #6
            I think that 120 stays on my drum most of the time. I’ll put on 80 ifI have some planer marks to try to get rid of. I seldom put on 220 or 320.

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            • atgcpaul
              Veteran Member
              • Aug 2003
              • 4055
              • Maryland
              • Grizzly 1023SLX

              #7
              I'm not sure if it's possible for the 22-44, but I converted my Ryobi 16-32 to Velcro using a kit from Grizzly. I still used 1" wide fiber reinforced packing tape to hold the paper roll securely to the drum on the motor side, though.

              I always had a ridge running down the board if I tried sanding wider than the board. That was my biggest frustration with the sander but it was indispensable for many projects.

              Comment

              • Carlos
                Veteran Member
                • Jan 2004
                • 1893
                • Phoenix, AZ, USA.

                #8
                I generally run 100-150 depending on the wood, and never find that I have too much scoring. I go from the drum sander to the next grit up with an Abranet disk on a PC sander, and it's gone. I will occasionally run 50-80 when I'm using it as a planer, for things like birdseye maple. The actual planer rips out the eyes. Or running wenge that's been cut certain ways, and tears out. If I do the low-grit planing, then I go back up to something in the 100-150 range, then the handheld sander.

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