Drum sander

[Fisherman]

Hi folks

I’m looking for a new 16/32 size drum sander and it seems there’s pretty limited availability at the moment.

Does anyone have experience with Sherwood brand- sold by Timbecon? Price seems ok and it comes with dual dust ports.

My previous unit was an older Jet Performax 16/32 which worked pretty well when I took things slowly. Can’t seem to find anyone selling these anymore. The Laguna Performax sounds good to me but I can’t find any in stock at the moment.

[kiwigeo]

Carbatec I think deal with Jet machinery. Covid seems to be affecting supply judging by the amount of stock on the floor in their Adelaide store.

Re the Jet 16/32...Ive had more than my share of problems with this machine and I wouldn't buy one again. Sounds like you got lucky with your machine.

Others will no doubt chime in with their recommendations.

[WJ Guitars]

I seem to recall that the Carbatec Store, Auburn, NSW, advised that Carbatec no longer imports JET products.

I have a JET 22-44 drum sander that I purchase new from Carbatec around seven years ago (I waited nine months for my order). So far I have only had to readjust levelling the drum and replace the conveyor belt. From my experience using this drum sander generally has been good. I have found it better to operate with small incremental passes and regularly clean the drum sand paper to achieve a good results eg thinning tops, backs and sides etc. I remember Gerald Gilet told me that if you want an efficient drum sander with minimal sandpaper clogging issue then purchase a drum sander that has a large diameter drum. These type of drums sanders were beyond my budget reach. Apart from the industrial sized drum sander in the Gilet workshop. Gilet showed me the clogging problem on a basic smaller Jet drum sander that he also had in his workshop. As I would expect you would know keeping the sand paper clean helps to stop this problem.

I have seen the Carbatec brand drum sander. However, I am not sure how reliable it is. Keep searching and I hope that you find the right Drum Sander that will work the best for you.

Wayne

[Fisherman]

The Jet 22-44 looks like a good unit (and I’ve considered it as there’s an older one advertised second hand for a couple of grand) but I think my limited working space means I need a 16-32 size that I can shift around as needed.

The Carbatec branded model (not in stock) works to a minimum of 3mm according to the specs. The Hafco machine only to 3.2mm. I know I could use a backing board with a stop but that’d be frequently inconvenient as I’m often aiming to thin things to 2mm or so.

The Sherwood unit apparently sands all the way to the belt, but I can’t find any recommendations for or against (some really old posts only). Before dropping a couple of grand it’d be nice to see a recommendation.

[kiwigeo]

If I was purchasing a drum sander I'd demand that the store change the conveyer belt and set it up so it doesn't drift to one side. I'd give them 2 hours to do the job and then evaluate whether or not I want to buy the machine.

[kiwigeo]

A thread on my adventures with my Performax 16/32" drum sander. Also trawl through the net for discussion on the many issues with these machines. http://www.anzlf.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=7676

[seeaxe]

Ive got a generic 16/32 here in Auckland. I regularly use it to thickness sides and backs and have gone down to 2mm so i wouldn't get too stressed about the "no less than 3mm" spec. You do get snipe at either end but that seems to happen with any thickness

[Allen]

You can ignore the minimum sanding thickness on all machines if you use a platten to put your veneers on. Somethingn like 12mm MDF with a strip on the end to catch the material from shooting off of it when feeding it through.

[lamanoditrento]

You can ignore the minimum sanding thickness on all machines if you use a platten to put your veneers on. Somethingn like 12mm MDF with a strip on the end to catch the material from shooting off of it when feeding it through.

You can leave off the strip at the end too and just have a flat board if you cover it in sandpaper, either self-adhesive or glued down with contact glue.

[Fisherman]

Thanks guys - helpful advice

[J.F. Custom]

OK, late in with info but FYI -

• No one currently offers JET in Australiaand haven't for well over a year

• Carbatec's model is made in Taiwan and has not changed in 15+ years

• Hafco also have a Taiwanese model largely unchanged for a similar time

• Timbecon's old model was a Chinese copy of the aforementioned Taiwanese models

• Timbecon's new model is also made in China but looks much better - new to market and no experience with it though

• Laguna's 16/32 model is made in Taiwan, with some unique features not on other machines

• The use of a sled is standard procedure for thin material sanding. The machines themselves often have limitations so you do not wind the running drum into the bed of your machine and damage it.

• Use of a sled in the ways mentioned in posts above, will allow you very good control over your final thickness, well beyond the needs of back/side material and into various veneers if desired.

• A small strip of double side tape at the front of a piece is useful for holding stock that you are sanding to veneer thickness on a sled.

• COVID has had compounding effects on supply globally and well beyond woodworking machines

The Chinese/Taiwanese commentary is not judgement in any way, as both countries produce quality equipment - It's just information for you.

Regarding the supply chain issues, it's been a perfect storm. Demand for product during COVID lockdowns actually increased by a huge margin, despite forecast downturns and often, cancelled orders. At the same time, factories were forced to close due to lockdowns, so production was interrupted. Staff were then laid off during the lockdowns, that led to further impeded manufacturing. Raw material demand went up, supply went down, but was likewise affected by supply continuity issues. The resulting equation? Demand up, supply down = pricing up. Raw material shortages and increased demand increased costs, which were passed directly on to the factories, who passed them to the retailers and often backdated new pricing to months-old orders. Lead times blew out on all product and as factories came back online, they had what would previously be a years worth of orders come in within weeks, and then not stop coming. Shipping then quickly became a bottleneck and even containers became scarce, let alone space on a ship. Again, demand up, supply down, prices up. Despite the world starting to "reopen", the accumulative effect of this is still and will be, felt for some time yet. Irrespective of the retailer you are dealing with, there is little control they currently have in stock supply and not for a lack of trying or having orders in place dating back months if not years. When lead times that were an average of 3 months from a given manufacturer, suddenly become 6, then 9, then 18 months... You can have as many orders in as you like - but they won't get to yours any faster.

The services we all were used to previously, have now become luxuries. It's not all doom and gloom - there are improvements on many fronts and "light at the end of the tunnel", but all in all, patience will be required for some time yet.

1st world problems.

FWIW.

[Fisherman]

Thanks for the info Jeremy

I was told that the earliest the Laguna would be back in stock was the end of Jan 2022, so I’ve just now placed an order for the Timbecon machine.

There was another similar-spec’d machine available locally (digital readout built in, 4inch dust ports, etc) but it was $500 more expensive.

Will report back in a while about my experience with it. Hoping it will be as good as their customer service, which I’m happy to note is excellent.

[Redbloke1956]

I built my own for about $200 and absolutely love it, when sizing top/back/sides I always end up being within
+/- 0.1mm.

[nkforster]

SE QLD Woodworking in Beenleigh sell a decent single drum machine - it isn't actually on their new site but give them a ring.

A few months back I hired the 2hp machine they sell as I live pretty close to their shop and used one for a couple of hours to thickness a load of tops and backs. I wanted to road test one before buying. When I did call in to buy it they had a almost new twin drum on special offer so bought that instead, but their more powerful single model is decent.