Ryobi WDS1600 drum sander

[Brian G]

This is a bit of a gloat, but I also have a few questions. First comes the story.

I noticed in the classifieds an ad for a 13" Ryobi drum sander. I sat on it for a few days thinking that the advertiser must have confused the Ryobi planer with a drum sander. My curiosity got the better of me, so I called the guy last Friday and asked about it. I asked if it was really a 16" drum sander (I gave him the model number) and he was shocked to find it was indeed, a Ryobi WDS1600 drum sander. He wanted $385.

Turns out, he lived only about two miles away. So I high-tailed it over just check it out. The seller was retiring from the remodeling business, and dispersing of his tools and such. He said he only used the drum sander for a few projects several years ago, and hadn't used it for about 3 years. Here it is in my basement.



It came with the stand and one box (3 remaining rolls) of 80 sandpaper. It's in excellent shape, just a little bit dusty. One of the tensioner blocks and the bolt is bent a little, but I was able to order a replacement from M and D Mower for a few dollars (I had to order a few other things to avoid a handling charge). Considering that it is in such good shape, came with the stand, and he tossed in the sandpaper (worth about $15), I thought $385 was a fair price for a 16/32 drum sander.

I have not run anything through it yet, because I want to clean it up, fix the bent tensioner block, and check all of the settings. My questions are:

1.) How much tension should there be on the feed belt? The manual doesn't explain this very well.

2.) I did some searching for sandpaper. . . man, it's pricey. What vendor do those with drum sanders prefer?

Thanks in advance for the responses. I'm probably going to make a more useful mobile base similar to what Rod Kirby did for his close cousin to the Ryobi. Right now, I have a few other things to get finished first.

[just4funsies]

The whole thing looks a little cockeyed in the photo. Is it just my eyes?

[RodKirby]

To answer 1.)

"Out of the box" it should be already "tight enough". A few test passes should confirm that. The tricky bit (I found), is getting it to track dead straight. To see if it will run true, crank the feed speed way up and watch it run - there is a tension bolt on each side for adjusting. Adjust a half a turn at a time and let it run for at least 30 seconds to see the effect.

The other interesting adjustment is ensuring the drum is dead parallel to the feed belt - took me a while to understand the manual.

To answer 2.)

The manual should give you the dimensions of the sanding belt - to make your own - maybe cheaper?

[Brian G]

just4, it's not your eyes. Blame the photographer. He was standing off to the side so that his shadow wouldn't be in the way. Plus, the left and right swivel casters are not even.

Rod, thanks. I missed the "out of the box" experience because it was used. I'm waiting for the replacement tension adjustment block (that black plastic thingy that the tension adjustment bolt goes through) before I do any fiddling and fine-tuning.

I'll have to do a little more scouting locally for uncut rolls for making my own sanding belts. I found the dimensions in the manual.

I'm certainly going to make a better mobile base. The one it came with is too tall for me to work comfortably even for my height (1.89 m ) Plus, it wastes too much open space that could be used for storage. I'm going to steal heavily from your design.

[RodKirby]

Machine sure does look identical - you got a GREAT price!

[Pappy]

Take a look at http://www.supergrit.com/

I haven't bought anything from them, but their prices look good. Something like the strips should be safe to try.

[Brian G]

Thanks for the link.

I did a quick comparison among the prices (rounding up) for 3" rolls of X-weight (minimum) Aluminum Oxide listed at Rockler, Woodcraft, Klingspor, Supergrit.com, and onlinedustrialsupply.com.

Rockler, Woodcraft, and Klingspor each had the Performax pre-cut rolls. Klingspor ($29.95) cost less than Rockler by about $3 per box, and less than Woodcraft by about $6 per box.

Klingspor also had uncut rolls (18 meter is what I priced) for (depending on the grit) $30 to $38, which calculates to $1.54 to $1.96 per yard, or $4.27 to $5.42 per "drum wrap". That's a much better deal than the pre-cut boxes, which would be from $7.50 to $9.00 per "drum wrap" at Klingspor, Rockler, and Woodcraft. Klingspor has a flat $6 UPS ground shipping fee.

Supergrit will sell by the yard, which allows for the most convenient way to purchase. Depending on the grit, they price at $1.40 to $1.75 per yard, which equates to $3.75 to $4.37 per "drum wrap". Supergrit has what appears to be a flat $8 UPS ground shipping fee.

Onlineindustrialsupply.com sells in 50 yard rolls; just a little over $1.00 per yard, or close to $3 per "drum wrap". Although they have what appears to be the best price, the amount is too large to be a sensible purchase.

I hope that helps someone else. I'm thinking Supergrit.com would be the better choice because of the lower price, and less "cull".

[gerti]

Brian,

there is also "Abrasive Resource", a local company from Anoka. Their web site is at http://www.abrasiveresource.com/

I don't have any direct experience with them and can't comment on their prices, but they are supporters of the Minnesota Woodturners Association and I believe also the Minnesota Woodworkers Association.

Gerd

[Brian G]

Thanks, Gerd.

I gave them a call today, because they don't list prices for rolls on their website. They sell the rolls in 50-yard lengths only, and those were priced around $2.25 to $2.75 per yard. Denise said she was going to send me a catalog with the prices.

Supergrit is still the leader.

{edit}

I placed an order with Supergrit for 5 yards (i.e., 2 "drum wraps") each of 36, 60, 120, 180, and 220 grit AO X-weight. Total cost was $45.25.

[KenScalet]

Ryobi WDS1600 User Manual

Brian - I just bought a Ryobi WDS1600 at a yard sale (I won't gloat about what I paid) but don't have the user manual. Do you (or anyone out there) have the manual in a PDF form that you can forward onto me? I appreciate all the posts on where to get the sand paper!

Ken

[djcannon]

Looks like a preformax 16-32 Plus

I recently recieved a used Preformax 16-32 Plus as a gift and from what I can tell it looks the same as the Ryobi model that you have. It has been great I put some 36 grit paper on it and it will clean up old dirty wood with sand, adhesive, finish and nails as good as a planer but replacing the paper is alot cheaper then replacing planer blades. It is also great for removing slight cupping on wide boards.

I have infeed and out feed tables on mine and they are a great help expecially when sanding long boards.

It wasn't a tool I had on my list of had to have items but now it would be hard to live without it.

I'm sure the instructions on the preformax site would give good directions shat should work for your sander also. Here is the link to the manual.

http://www.wmhtoolgroup.com/partfiles/man_629004K.pdf

Good luck with your new toy.

[bigsteel15]

Please post REAL pictures

Rod, will you please post pictures of equipment in your shop instead of the showroom...
Oh yeah, that is your shop.

[Brian G]

Ken,

Mine came with the manual. I did a web search, and struck out with finding an electronic copy. Perhaps if you contact Ryobi customer service, they might have a hard copy somewhere.

If you strike out, let me know. I can take mine to work and scan it to pdf.

I'm in the last stages of applying finish to a project, and I have not had the chance to get my WDS1600 fired up and tuned.

Supergrit still has best value. I think they buy stock overruns or something. Service was great, and they threw in a few freebies (sanding pads) with my order.

[mikeps]

did anyone have any luck finding a manual for the wds1600? I've looked everywhere, and cannot find one. Can anyone send me an electric copy, or direct me to a place where I could buy a hard copy?

Mike

[RodKirby]

I have a scanned manual (PDF) with only the "important" stuff - 5MB. It's not specifically for the WDS1600, but I believe it's the one you want. Google on DS-1632A and have a look.

If it's what you need, send me an e-mail address.