Drum Sander

Hi All:

I am seriously thinking about buying a Grizzly G0716 10" drum sander. I am looking for feedback on this sander.

I am thinking of this sander instead of the Jet/Performax 10-20 Plus because the Jet seems to have the following problems.

1. Difficulty in changing the sanding belt - the Grizzly has an easy open dust hood that makes drum access easy.

2. Feed belt alignment problems on Jet making it difficlut to adjust.

3. Drum is difficult to align with table if it gets out of adjustment on Jet.

4. Price is a lot less for Grizzly ($345 + $74 shipping) than Jet ($699 at Rockler).

5. Grizzly is owned by a luthier who knows what we want and need.

I would love to hear from some owners about which is the better sander and why.

Konala

I'll probably upset some folks here but I think a 10" drum sander of any brand is too small. !0" measures the exact width of the drum, I never trust the extreme edges of the drum to do as precise of a job as I want it too. I know you can feed the wood through twice through the open feed bed but that's a compromise I'm not willing to settle for. There are also times when I want to sand across grain such as when initially cleaning up the glue line of top and back plates. There are other times when I want to feed the wood diagonally. The 10" just seems too small. I have the Performax Plus 16/32 and I've never had any of the problems you've mentioned. I recently replaced the conveyor belt because the seam was coming apart. But I expect that kind of wear after building over 300 instruments (and a lot of other jobs) with it. I do like the Grizzly tools I've had though, the service is excellent and the price is right. I would consider more of a hobby tool; which may be just what you want.
Maybe it's just me, but too many times I've started out with a tool that was minimal in size and have had to trade up in short order.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles said:

I have the Performax Plus 16/32 and I've never had any of the problems you've mentioned.

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+1.

I own a Jet 16/32. Changing the sanding paper is easy. Alignment is not that difficult: I loosen al 4 screws, place two identical wooden blocks under the drum (left and right) pushe the drum unto it and tighten the screws.

If you make only a few instruments a year there also other options like a Scraping Plane (Stanley, Veritas etc.) for back and sides. A Stanley scraping plane costs only a few dollars through e-bay.
You don't need a drum sander to make great instruments.



Kind regards,


Edzard

+1 on the 16/32, although I have the Performax version, so a little older. Even for `ukulele, I think its too small, but I'd love to have a 15" widebelt sander - yes, smaller drum, but with the oscillating belt, you can send it through straight instead of at an angle as with drum sanders, and eat through more wood efficiently (without burning).

I know the OP is looking for feedback on the Grizzly, but it looks like you're already sold on it by your biased "data", and that's okay. Personally, I like Grizzly stuff - not the BEST, but certainly good enough, especially the Cyclone Dust collector, and LARGE jointers with the spiral cutterheads.

I agree with Chuck, go bigger and the (Delta replica) 18" instead (I'd get this instead of the 16/32 at this point).

-Aaron

I just took ownership of a brand new jet10-20 and had none of the problems you mentioned.

The sanding belt goes on piece of cake. I didn't use the little tool, I just poked my finger in and popped it in place

The conveyor was tight and running perfectly right out of the box

Drum alignment was a easily managed in about 2 mins.

All up it was about a 5 min setup from unpacking the box to sanding tops, backs and sides

I agree with Chuck. I recently bought a 18/36 Palmgren direct from the importer. It is the exact same machine that Grizzly sells as G0458, but got it for half the price. I was leaning towards the 10" that you are talking about but I have a friend who has a 10" and a 16" and he says he rarely uses the 10" except for little stuff like bridges and fretboards. I found the Palmgren on Craigslist from a guy in Chicago.

I too have just purchased the Jet 10/20 and have had no problems as stated. I am really having fun with this machine. I read maybe in another thread about drum sanders that this machine should be called the "Ukemaker". I believe it now. Really the only thing I don't like about it is that the 4" dust exhaust is just above the exit on the conveyer belt. But a simple enough solution, just add an elbow to divert your dust hose. And changing rolls has not been a problem. I can do it in a few minutes.

But I do agree with yall that say you should get the bigger machine. I kind of wished I had done so.

You all are right. I do have a preference, but it may surprise you that my preference is for the Jet. All of the major tools in my shop are Jet and I love them. The first two points I made about Jet problems came directly out of the Rockler buyer reviews for the 10-20 and so I wanted to see if others were having similar problems. The bed alignment point came from a luthier problem with the drum and conveyor being out of alignment and not being noticed until a top was sanded with thin edges. I'm glad that re-aligning is so easy.

The reason that I was looking at the Jet 10-20 Plus or Grizzly G0716 is because I am going to have to down size my shop in a few years when I sell my house and move to a town home with attached 2 car garage. One bay of that garage will be my shop and when you allow room for car door opening the shop space is much less than half. My thought was that the Jet 10-20 or Grizzly G0716 could be stored on a shelf and moved onto the table saw top when needed - floor space will be at a premium. That is why I was favoring the smaller sander versions.

Today I checked the data sheets for Grizzly and Jet and was shocked at the weight of the Grizzly. The smaller sander weighs 221 pounds and the 18 inch weighs 350 pounds. By contrast the Jet 10-20 weighs 74 pounds and the 16-32 weighs 145 pounds. The weight takes Grizzly out of the running unless I intend to leave it on its legs taking up floor space. The weight of the Jet 16-32 is light enough that two people can get it on and off a shelf without problems when needed.

While the price of the smaller Grizzly is great it is not the right machine for what I am looking for. With the small price difference between the Jet 10-20 and 16-32 ($700 v $1,000 list) you all are right in saying that the 16-32 is the right way to go.

I thank you all for your comments and help.

Konala

The 16/32 is not something you want to be moving around unless its on wheels.

I think your decision is made base on space and weight. In your case, the 16/32 would be better, but the 10/20 should be good enough for your needs (I think).

You should look for a used one, someone wanting to upgrade from a 10/20 - shouldn't be too hard, they've been around a few years. Maybe post a WTB in Craigslist?

They sell a mobile base for the Performax 16/32. I have a small shop and every power tool I own, except for the drill press, is on wheels. Tools like the drum sander and bandsaw often get rolled out onto the deck when I need more room to work.

The only problem i've had with the Jet 10-20 is the sanding belt getting clogged up..But thats down to me putting just about every type of material I use through it
Mahogany..Ebony...Padauk...Rosewood..Spruce..... Pallet wood ...Plastic...Corian etc: The Pallet wood was the worst it had so much resin in it, that it stuck like "the proverbial to a blanket"

Like Chuck, got the 16/32 on wheels (had to replace the original wheels, which sucked - they wore out), and the infeed and outfeed tables. If you don't have the tables, I'm not sure if you'd miss them, but once you get them, you'll always need them.

Ken, two words: Dust Collection, and 60-grit (okay, 4 words).

I'm not sure what the issue is with a 4" dust port at the top, but that should provide more than ample dust collection. I used a reducer for my shop vac initially and burned everything in sight. Hooked up @ 4" to my Cyclone, MUCH BETTER!.

The 10-20 is a great machine if you're not one of the 10% that gets a bad one. If you get one that doesn't track, like I did... take it back immediately, do not play the "we'll send you another conveyor belt" game that lasts until the warranty is out. Don't even call Jet, trust me. Take it back immediately to the store you bought it from.

Otherwise all the adjustments on the 10-20 are pretty easy and it's a well built machine you can tell. The only thing I don't care for is that you have to really wrap it tight and tuck it in really tight at the end or the paper (80 grit) will raise up a little there where it tucks into the clamp thingie... making the paper rub the conveyor belt there when you get down to .060"... smaller grits don't have that problem so much.

I agree with everyone else... get the 16/32... it's not that much bigger and I've seen them go 500 bucks or so used.

I just had a dangerous idea. When sanding stuff down to .060 or less, use a board or some mdf that has sandpaper stuck to both sides and let the peices ride on that... hmmm

Vic D said:

I just had a dangerous idea. When sanding stuff down to .060 or less, use a board or some mdf that has sandpaper stuck to both sides and let the peices ride on that... hmmm

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This works. I even send thin pieces through my planer that way. I don't recommend it...but I do it.

Vic D said:

I just had a dangerous idea. When sanding stuff down to .060 or less, use a board or some mdf that has sandpaper stuck to both sides and let the peices ride on that... hmmm

Click to expand...

Yes, a backer board. I don't have much experience with drum sanders, but I do this on a wide belt sander all the time. It works.

Kekani said:

Ken, two words: Dust Collection, and 60-grit (okay, 4 words).

I'm not sure what the issue is with a 4" dust port at the top, but that should provide more than ample dust collection. I used a reducer for my shop vac initially and burned everything in sight. Hooked up @ 4" to my Cyclone, MUCH BETTER!.

Click to expand...

I just got hold of another dust extractor.. one of these http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/kitty692.htm ..I pick it up today..hopefully it will work better than the current one

Vic D

There is usually something to the user reports on Rockler (belt tracking issue). I will definately follow your advice if I buy the 10-20 and will only buy from a local dealer like Rockler that stands behind the products they sell. Do you know whether there is a similar tracking problem with the 16-32 or is it isolated to the 10-20?

I use a backer board on both my planer and my shop built "Dominator style" drum sander. It works great even without sand paper.

Konala

Konala, just the 10-20 from what I've read... I'm going to take the whole thing apart and put it back together sometime this summer.

Timbuck said:

I just got hold of another dust extractor.. one of these http://www.dbkeighley.co.uk/masters/kitty692.htm ..I pick it up today..hopefully it will work better than the current one

Click to expand...

Good news..My drum sander is now working superb..no sign of dust on the belt or under it..i'm very happy with this new dust extractor ..a well spent 50 quid