Looking for a wide drum sander

[ptt49er]

I'll soon start building our kitchen cabinets and am searching for a wide drum sander.

Was originally thinking I wanted a Jet 2550 but not sure the budget would allow. Found a Supermax 37" 5hp dual drum sander pretty local but think I like the idea of having an open ended drum to double the width.

Anyone have experience with open vs closed sanders? Will I regret capping my width at 37"? I know I won't need that width for the cabinets but it would be nice for table tops or similar to be able to get past the 37".

Thought I'd see if anyone here has any advice or a sander they want to sale to free up some space.

Thanks!
Phillip

 

[karoc]

I don’t have lot experience, but I did have Grizzlies 24” duel drum sander with hook & Loop paper. I had 100g on first drum then 120g on second. It was older model, believe the new ones now are lot better. I like it ok but end up selling it after few years using it. Then I purchase a used 16/32 Jet open end, which it’s smaller so little easier move around. I do like it, but I miss the Griz little. Only thing that’s more important far as drum sanders is, they are not planers. Lite passes and at least couple passes with each adjustment. No sap in wood and has to be dry or it gum up paper. I wouldn’t run painted wood through it due to gumming up paper. But if you do, make pass then let piece of wood and sanding paper cool down so paint dust won’t stick so bad.You also need one of those big sanding sticks for cleaning paper.
Dust Collector: Must have, and good one. Air hose handy to blow off dust off of the belt. No experience with 37”, but I wish I had it one.
Good luck!

 

[BombShelter]

I had an RBI Sander/Planer (made in USA), you could swap the drums out for either process, it also had cutter heads for molding etc. I think these used to be in Popular Mechanics as a "start your own business" product and the larger version looks pretty heavy duty. I used the planer for several projects before selling it off.

I've never used a drum sander for cabinets, basically a track saw, chop saw, router and a small drill press, with forstner, for hinges.

 

[HoosierBuddy]

I just couldn't get over the price of drum sanders. If you're generating money with it....I guess I get it.

When I fell down the cutting board rabbit hole and started getting all my relatives wanting one, I decided to build one.

My design does not have an open side. My width was kind of limited by the piece of melamine I used as a table.

 

[sawduststeve]

For sale

42” wide twin belt
Front roller, rear pad
Going cheap

 

[ptt49er]

that thing is HUGE! Not sure I'd have the ability to power it up!

Looks like shipping might be a bit out of my range too ;-)

 

[jar944]

For sale

42” wide twin belt
Front roller, rear pad
Going cheap

230v or 400v?

Shipping might be high.

 

[Bessy]

I picked up a performax 22 44 pro recently for doing doors and face frames. Haven't got to that stage of the project yet, or really even played with it much yet, so I don't have a tonne to offer at this point. I need to build a new dust shroud and adjust the drum to get it back in parallel with the table.

From everything I've read, they're finnicky to get totally dialed in, to the point it's almost inevitable to have a slight variation in thickness from side to side (*unless you go up to a closed system, supported on both ends). I'd much rather a dual drum with oscillation, but this was considerably cheaper than anything big-league like that.

 

[willy3486]

Although its not a drum sander I have a homemade stroke sander. It works good enough I probably won't ever get a drum sander. My dad had picked it up somewhere decades ago and I got it after my mom passed from his barn. By that time the stand and part of the deck wasn't the best so I mainly saved the sanding head of it.

The way it works is that it has a 6 inch wide sanding belt that you place the part under. It sits on a deck that can side under the belt. So I can sand a piece wider than the 6 inches. I had a old cart that I made a 2x4 base I mounted to the top. Then I used some old sliders from a cabinet I had to allow the deck to slide. Then I mounted the actual sanding head to that. The wheels were round pieces of plywood glued to make a wheel. On one side is a pulley that goes to a newer motor I had.

I have used it a lot in the 3 or 4 years I have had it rebuilt and only used one belt, I may change it soon. The only drawback is its larger than a drum sander would probably be, 6 feet wide by about 2 feet deep. But I have very little in it. It also sands really good. Another plus is that the top piece of the sanding deck is flat so I can sand corners on it like a flat sander with a belt would be.

 

[Renegade1LI]

I bought a Grizzly G0920 open ended sander, wanted the ability to go wider if needed. So far it's worked well, gives a good finish & easy to adjust. I bought for finishing up a bunch of rough sawn after it's plained, such a big savings vs buying at HD this will pay for itself just on the poplar. Bonus is my wife uses it for some of her crafting projects.

Grizzly G0920 - 22" Variable-Speed Open-Ended Drum Sander - Grizzly Industrial, Inc.

<h1>G0920 22" Open-Ended Drum Sander</h1> <h2>Need to sand wide panels or that live edge slab on your project list?</h2> <p>The open frame design of the G0920 22" Open-Ended Drum Sander allows you to sand workpieces up to 42-1/2" wide. Simply sand one half, turn the piece around, and sand the...

www.grizzly.com