18 x 36 Drum Sander - New - $399

[Jeffrey Schronce]

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes


$399.97
$129.34 Shipping
$529.31

Thoughts? I am having a hard time determining who made this. 18 x 36 with 3hp motor 115v. 198 lbs. This seems like a great deal if we can get some back ground info together on the unit.

[onedash]

I don't know why these deals never have in store pick up available.....

[softop41]

That looks like the one on the Steel City website

[Jeffrey Schronce]

That was the first one I checked. The Steel City and former Ryobi seem to be pretty much identical. The motor specs are off, as is the size. I don't think this one came off the same line, though I could be wrong. 3HP motor is double what anyone else is putting in drum sanders this size. I don't think you can get more than 2hp or so out of a 115V right?

[Toolhound]

It looks like a new model from the same designer / manufacturer / factory. A lot of similarities but different size. Sears didn't have this listed on their site when they had the labor day sale, just this one http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes which is apparently the same as the Palmgren. The specs say "Maximum Developed 3HP". I don't think a true 3 HP motor would run on 110 VAC unless you had a 30 amp dedicated circuit. I believe that you need a 20 amp 110 VAC circuit for the 2HP Grizzly TS for comparison. They don't list the amp requirement in the specs for this. FYI - the old 1HP Ryobi WDS1600 twin capacitor motor draws 10 amps. Also for comparison, the current Performax 22/44 plus is listed as having 1 3/4 HP, which leads me to guess that this is probably around 1 1/2 HP realistically. The ribs on the arm on the Ryobi and Steel City 16/32 run diagonally instead of up and down on this and this looks like it has 2 separate switches (drum and feed?) instead of 1 combined power switch. 198 lbs is a lot heavier than the old Ryobi but the steel stand could be a lot of that.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Thanks for the research Toolhound. I think I am going to call them (next week when retail things calm down a bit) and see if I can't get them to ship this to a store for me.

[MikeMcCoy]

Jeff - I don't know if you are interested in spending the extra bucks but I just ordered the Performax at my Woodcraft store here in Charleston for $849. With the Jet $50 rebate and the Woodcraft 5% gift card, it's pretty attractive right now. Plus this is a no sales tax day in SC and I didn't have to pay shipping.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Jeff - I don't know if you are interested in spending the extra bucks but I just ordered the Performax at my Woodcraft store here in Charleston for $849. With the Jet $50 rebate and the Woodcraft 5% gift card, it's pretty attractive right now. Plus this is a no sales tax day in SC and I didn't have to pay shipping.

That is a pretty good deal. I really dont want a open ended drum sander, rather I plan on getting the 16" G1079 from Grizzly for $875. However, if I can get this for $400 and it is decent I will go that route. After seeing the arm support on the Steel City unit and Kirby's knock off he made, I am not as concerned with deflection in an open ended unit and will give it a shot for the right price.

[nicobie]

After seeing the arm support on the Steel City unit and Kirby's knock off he made, I am not as concerned with deflection in an open ended unit.

Any chance of getting a link to that?

I have a Ryobi and would be interested in any improvements.

[LCHIEN]

... The specs say "Maximum Developed 3HP". I don't think a true 3 HP motor would run on 110 VAC unless you had a 30 amp dedicated circuit. I believe that you need a 20 amp 110 VAC circuit for the 2HP Grizzly TS for comparison. They don't list the amp requirement in the specs for this. FYI - the old 1HP Ryobi WDS1600 twin capacitor motor draws 10 amps. Also for comparison, the current Performax 22/44 plus is listed as having 1 3/4 HP, which leads me to guess that this is probably around 1 1/2 HP realistically. ...

Sears has this godawful habit of rating power tols with what they call maximum developed HP.
Which is the HP based upon the stalled motor current (just before the breaker pops) which is basically due to the resistance of the windings and totally worthless. As a rule of thumb, the MDHP figures they quote usually come out to twice the HP ratings the way everyone else does it, which is to say the rated Amps (which is the current you can safely draw coninuously loading the tool) times the nominal volts (120) divided by 750watts/HP. So you would be in the ball park guessing thet a 3 MDHP sears tool was like everyone elses 1.5 HP tool and you could confirm this with a trip to the store and read the nameplate for the rated amps.

As a major and somewhat reputable supplier of tools, this really bad habit they have of using MDHP in my mind moves them closer to the disreputable suppliers list. Its a sorry marketing ploy. I admit it had me confused the first times I saw it and had me thinking their tools were a better value but as an engineer I could not quite believe this windfall power bonanza and saw the fine print - they had "maximum developed" in small print and 2 HP in 2-inch high letters. I went on to find out what thet maximum developed really meant.

[ddamoore]

Any chance of getting a link to that?

I have a Ryobi and would be interested in any improvements.

Steel City's version: http://www.steelcitytoolworks.com/pr...=10&tool=55210

Rod Kirby's version:
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=24819

[Jeffrey Schronce]

As a major and somewhat reputable supplier of tools, this really bad habit they have of using MDHP in my mind moves them closer to the disreputable suppliers list. Its a sorry marketing ploy. I admit it had me confused the first times I saw it and had me thinking their tools were a better value but as an engineer I could not quite believe this windfall power bonanza and saw the fine print - they had "maximum developed" in small print and 2 HP in 2-inch high letters. I went on to find out what thet maximum developed really meant.

Agreed. I bought my Dad a zip code saw for Christmas last year. My BIL tells my Dad that I got ripped because they had a 7 hp saw for only $129. My Dad starts questioning if I got a good deal on the saw I purchased for him!

[gjat]

It seems like it would be great for a part time, non-retired hobbiest like me. That seems like a great deal, especially with free shipping over $99, but...

when you click on the drum sander, it says it's not available. I've been eyeing one for months and I get my year end Bonus tommorrow and was going to get it. Alas...

[foneman]

$719.99 when I click on it. Wonder if it was a typo?

[Jeffrey Schronce]

It still shows here :

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/searc...rd=Drum+Sander

I don't think it would ever qualify for the Free Shipping over $99 thing since it is not a store item and it "Oversized Delivery" item.