Drum sander - seeking suggestions and insights

Look at woodmaster. American made, simple, strong machines that are made to last.

I use mine with jepuflex paper from mirka. Excellent results.

Dug in to look a prices…ouch! Might be off the list unless some amazing sales pop up.

Dug in to look a prices…ouch! Might be off the list unless some amazing sales pop up.

- BB1

All I can say is I had a 16/32 before. It was the worst 800$ I ever spent. I made sure I wasn’t going to have that problem again. I am also making furniture full time so sanding is a major priority.

I understand that the newer, smaller models like 16/32s have drastically improved. With smartsand tech and such.

I love the fact they are American made. It’s important to me and there service is second to none.

How do you like this one for about $1500
https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/supermax-19-38-drum-sander-71938-d?cm_mmc=Google-_-PRODUCTFEED-_-Supermax_Tools-_-71938-D&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwMP9BRCzARIsAPWTJ_EXFbsKvroBFkZgQeEO9moSdvqmbclnWFDkJG9PG4jxUPwMbhFJbr0aAmmGEALw_wcB#

-- Jim Jakosh.....Practical Wood Products...........Learn something new every day!! Variety is the Spice of Life!!

Dug in to look a prices…ouch! Might be off the list unless some amazing sales pop up.

- BB1

All I can say is I had a 16/32 before. It was the worst 800$ I ever spent. I made sure I wasn’t going to have that problem again. I am also making furniture full time so sanding is a major priority.

I understand that the newer, smaller models like 16/32s have drastically improved. With smartsand tech and such.

I love the fact they are American made. It’s important to me and there service is second to none.

- CWWoodworking

Woodmaster looks like a very quality tool. Scanned there webpage and, wow, definitely high end. I try to buy for longterm but have to balance with the reality of this being a hobby (at least until I retire…maybe a second career??). I appreciate your insights.

How do you like this one for about $1500
https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/supermax-19-38-drum-sander-71938-d?cm_mmc=Google-_-PRODUCTFEED-_-Supermax_Tools-_-71938-D&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwMP9BRCzARIsAPWTJ_EXFbsKvroBFkZgQeEO9moSdvqmbclnWFDkJG9PG4jxUPwMbhFJbr0aAmmGEALw_wcB#

- Jim Jakosh

Thanks for the link.
Seems to have overall positive reviews. Hoping to see some sales as the holidays approach (saved a bit a few years back on my table saw). Supermax and Jet seem to pop up in this price range. Haven’t looked a Grizzly (I’m near Springfield Missouri so could go in person there).

I have the Grizzly G0458 and I would not recommend it. Compared to Supermax 16/32 it is terrible.

WoodCraft has the Jet 16-32 on sale for $200 off

-- socrbent Ohio

Drum sanders bring a variety of frustrations to woodworking. One of them is stalling from taking too deep a pass. Passes must generally be quite shallow so you’ll spend a lot of time standing around waiting for the sander to do its thing. A more powerful 220v motor will handle deeper passes more effectively, imo.

There are oscillating sanders on the market now. If I were buying new today I’d put a 3-5hp oscillating model on my list of possibles.

I have the Supermax 19/38, and it’s turned out to be quite an improvement over a Delta I had some years ago. It’s worthy of consideration. Don’t forget you need really good dust collection for one of these things.

-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.

Must haves? Dust collection!

There is a big learning curve with all the “gotchas” like avoiding snipe, burning/fouled belts, technique, etc. More so than most larger power tools but that is just the world we create in.

I bought a Performax 16/32 years ago and it has been a solid performer for me. No mechanical issues at all, though I was able to fix a few electrical issues, most were “defects” like cheap parts (circuit breaker) and some were just typical failures of components that I was able to fix myself and save $$.

When I first started using it, I thought it seemed fairly limited in its utility. Now it is probably the second most used tool (behind the table saw). It completes me 8^)

I bought the Supermax 16-32 and it arrived two weeks ago. After 120 board ft thru the machine it sounded like a dropped bearing. I called and they have sent me a new head assembly. Good warranty. As far as the time I used it the quality was good with little to no snipe. I had a hard time getting the infeed and outfeed tables aligned / took some time.

Seriously consider the wood master I owned the 16/32 performax and agree it was the worst $800 I’ve spent on a tool. I’ve owned the Woodmaster 26” for 14 years. Bought it used and from an individual who used it in hi business
for 6 years. Only thing I’ve done is change sandpaper. You won’t be sorry!

Woodmaster sure looks like a winner but new is a bit too much $$$.

Socrbent noted the sale on the Jet (plus free shipping) – anyone have experience with that model? Price isn’t the only factor – but it is one of them.

How do you like this one for about $1500
https://www.acmetools.com/shop/tools/supermax-19-38-drum-sander-71938-d?cm_mmc=Google-_-PRODUCTFEED-_-Supermax_Tools-_-71938-D&gclid=Cj0KCQiAwMP9BRCzARIsAPWTJ_EXFbsKvroBFkZgQeEO9moSdvqmbclnWFDkJG9PG4jxUPwMbhFJbr0aAmmGEALw_wcB#

- Jim Jakosh

Looked more at this and sure does get positive reviews. With the special handling fee it is close to $1600.