Thread: Drum sander selection advice, please.

Originally Posted by Phily

Ref the resin shatter, each board has around $40 of resin and if something goes wrong the whole lot is ruined. Having ruined several pieces I made the decision to take a more gentle approach - even if its more time consuming. Resin is great in the right conditions. After a minus 2 night in the Southern Highlands it tends to be less forgiving than a balmy 30 degree afternoon!

True.
but perhaps keep the boards in a warmer place during the winter? Depending on the resin you are using, below about 5 degrees curing will stop till the piece is warmed up anyways. (For some resins, curing continues down to around 2 degrees, for others it stops at about 18 degrees.)

Originally Posted by Cal

Have you got any pictures of what you have done currently? Or do you not want to disclose what you are manufacturing? It may help others if we could see what you are working with. Just a thought. Cheers Cal

Keeping under wraps until I’ve built up stock!

Originally Posted by Phily

I have tried several different approaches. The one I use makes it easier to feed the timber. Also I’m pretty careful to only use as much resin as needed. The nature of the job means that I have to remove several mm of resin to get the even, smooth finish. I think the issue is that I need to me more patient!

you haven't said much about the resin you are using, nor anything about its properties.
SystemThree general purpose (Medium hardener), which is the resin I'm most familiar with, is tack free after about 6 hours at 5 degrees C, and can be readily cut with a card scraper or plane blade up to about 30 hours after application.

Originally Posted by cava

The local Mens Shed has a Dual Drum Carbatec Sander and, from all accounts, if they could get rid of it they would.

I am lead to believe that it is a PITA.

I have one . The thing is fantastic.
Not as a sanding machine but as a thicknesser . It thicknesses where my normal thicknesser wont go . Under 5mm and down to 1mm . This makes the production of inlays and bandings possible. And Guitar back and sides . I have it loaded up with the two drums with 60 grit paper.

I Have just discovered a second use that I wish I thought of a long time ago . It flattens machined boards so well for laminating up larger into larger sections so fast that its a big time saver. I cant believe how flat and perfect for glueing it works. The first pass shows up the machine marks left by the thicknesser. My Delta 3 phase 500 wide machine.

Its all about the coarse grade paper . Way to rough for polishing . Ill try 40 grit one day . The 60 seems very good though.

I tried it with 80 and 120 on the second drum as a sanding machine when I first got it and it was a PITA . Next to useless .

Rob

Originally Posted by ian

you haven't said much about the resin you are using, nor anything about its properties.
SystemThree general purpose (Medium hardener), which is the resin I'm most familiar with, is tack free after about 6 hours at 5 degrees C, and can be readily cut with a card scraper or plane blade up to about 30 hours after application.

Our property is fully off the grid, which is brilliant but means that there are some practical limitations. One being with my workshop, which is large and located within remnants of old growth rain forrest. In winter it gets cold. The only practical way to heat it is via a pot belly. I’ve learned to live with and enjoy the restrictions - including working the resin - which is a 2 part epoxy mixed with fillers to create an alabaster effect.
NB. Turning resin on a lathe at 5 degrees creates a spectacular, if not desirable, result. Lesson quickly learned!!!

Originally Posted by Phily

Our property is fully off the grid, which is brilliant but means that there are some practical limitations. One being with my workshop, which is large and located within remnants of old growth rain forrest. In winter it gets cold. The only practical way to heat it is via a pot belly. I’ve learned to live with and enjoy the restrictions - including working the resin - which is a 2 part epoxy mixed with fillers to create an alabaster effect.
NB. Turning resin on a lathe at 5 degrees creates a spectacular, if not desirable, result. Lesson quickly learned!!!

which makes me wonder if part of your problem is that the resin you are trying to sand is not fully cured.
Do you have any way of testing this? Perhaps keep a few pieces indoors for a couple of days before sanding them?

I have two drum sanders, one is a double drum, the other a single. Both are finicky, the double more so. They are accurate but slow when there is much to be done. I also have a stroke sander. Now this is the machine of choice when it comes to roughing down and quick through put. Length of material is i'ts limitation but the wide table allows several boards to be sanded at a time. Quick to change belts, easy to adjust, doesn't burn, doesn't bog down and will take any grit. And the big plus....Cost me the grand total of $150 with 5 rolls of belt. Love it.

Originally Posted by ian

which makes me wonder if part of your problem is that the resin you are trying to sand is not fully cured.
Do you have any way of testing this? Perhaps keep a few pieces indoors for a couple of days before sanding them?

I give the resin a few days to cure - longer in the colder weather (and often keep it in the house for a few days). The issue as such is when I try to rip too much off in one go - it gets hot and melts. I agree, if I left it even longer to cure I’d have less of an issue though from what I’ve gathered from the feedback is that I need to be more gentle on the machinery so smaller cuts and more frequent passes is the way to go - to both protect the sander and prevent melting.

Originally Posted by rustynail

I have two drum sanders, one is a double drum, the other a single. Both are finicky, the double more so. They are accurate but slow when there is much to be done. I also have a stroke sander. Now this is the machine of choice when it comes to roughing down and quick through put. Length of material is i'ts limitation but the wide table allows several boards to be sanded at a time. Quick to change belts, easy to adjust, doesn't burn, doesn't bog down and will take any grit. And the big plus....Cost me the grand total of $150 with 5 rolls of belt. Love it.

This is why I love the Forum. I’ve been working with timber for decades and never heard of a stroke sander. Just looked them up. Perfect! I can use this to rip back the boards and use my drum as a finisher (will still need hand finishing). Low cost & effective. Excellent!!! Big thanks

Phil,

I went through similar considerations before buying a drum sander.....and ended up with a JET 16/32 like yours. Tried a twin drum Carbatec unit owned by a friend, which was enough to convince me to leave that well alone - PITA to set up, and also needs a 15A powerpoint.

I don't know what papers you're using on your JET, but I noticed a big improvement using coarse grits (alumina/zirconia abrasive) from The Sandpaperman rather than the JET consumables. The ones I have now are far less prone to clogging/burning, but I'd still clean the abrasive with one of those rubber blocks after every couple of passes. Once the paper even starts to clog, the problem builds really fast.

The latest version of the JET 16/32 has their 'SandSmart' feature which monitors drive motor current and adjusts belt speed automatically to prevent tripping if you try to take too much off in one pass. There's a YouTube video somewhere of a guy retrofitting the 'SandSmart' controller to an older 16/32.

Would a helical head thicknesser have any more success with this than a traditional 3-blade cutterhead? A replacement helical head for an existing thicknesser costs about the same as a decent drum sander.

Lots of cheap used stroke sanders on the market - a lot of them 3-phase unfortunately. As long as you have the space !!

Originally Posted by Mr Brush

Phil,

I went through similar considerations before buying a drum sander.....and ended up with a JET 16/32 like yours. Tried a twin drum Carbatec unit owned by a friend, which was enough to convince me to leave that well alone - PITA to set up, and also needs a 15A powerpoint.

I don't know what papers you're using on your JET, but I noticed a big improvement using coarse grits (alumina/zirconia abrasive) from The Sandpaperman rather than the JET consumables. The ones I have now are far less prone to clogging/burning, but I'd still clean the abrasive with one of those rubber blocks after every couple of passes. Once the paper even starts to clog, the problem builds really fast.

The latest version of the JET 16/32 has their 'SandSmart' feature which monitors drive motor current and adjusts belt speed automatically to prevent tripping if you try to take too much off in one pass. There's a YouTube video somewhere of a guy retrofitting the 'SandSmart' controller to an older 16/32.

Would a helical head thicknesser have any more success with this than a traditional 3-blade cutterhead? A replacement helical head for an existing thicknesser costs about the same as a decent drum sander.

Thanks for the advice. I’m having second thoughts on the Stroke as I can imagine that that they are great dust makers (and also their size). The info on the 16-32 is really appreciated as the Sand Smart feature sounds valuable. Also the info on the paper - especially as it is a far cheaper option than the pre cut rolls.

I have a Carbatec helical thicknesses. I haven’t tried it on the boards as it’s very aggressive. However, it may well be worth a try on an off cut to see how it goes. Thanks for the idea. Thumbs up!!

You're correct - dust extraction from stroke sanders is a big problem.

However, I do know a furniture maker in Mittagong who has one and might be interested in renting out time on it if you could process a batch at once? Take your bits home afterwards and do the final finishing on the drum sander.

This might be of interest to other JET 16/32 owners as well

Upgrading a Performax 16-32 to a SandSmart Controller ~ Half-Inch Shy

Cheers