Thread: Hafco DS-1632 Drum Sander

My experience has been not to expect too much and take it slowly. I'm quite happy to run a single grit (150) and do subsequent finishing with a ROS. It will do the job on curly grain quite well, but as I said, go slowly. If time is a problem it might be useful to look at a spiral thicknesser with a sled for the bulk of the work.

Thanks burraboy, i have a spiral thicknesser with a sled and still get tare out so i am not prepared to trust it on this timber i have now. As far as the sanding goes i have plenty of time so am prepared to run a board through multiple times and then use the ROS to get the finish i require. I might take a piece in and get them to demonstrate the machine before i buy.

Good Dust collection is essential with a thickness sander

from the Machineryhouse web site ...

suggests that dust collection is pretty ordinary compared to the Jet / Performaxx

Thanks Ian, i have a good 2hp unit that machinery house confirmed will cope

the Hafco unit has what looks like a 2" dust port -- one that is perhaps better connected to a shop vac.

The Jet / Performaxx unit has a 4" port -- somewhere in one or more of his dust posts, BobL has commented on the difference in performance between the two approaches to dust collection.


and, yes I know the Jet is like 2x the cost of the Hafco

Originally Posted by double.d

Thanks Ian, i have a good 2hp unit that machinery house confirmed will cope

Of course they have, that's how they sell stuff.

A 2" port isn't going to move enough air, be it 2hp or 20hp; it might be fine if you're working directly under the port, but not a hope on the ends

If/when you get one, the first thing I'd do, is to enlarge the port from 2" to 4" or larger. I started to do mine but broke the guard/cover, will be making a new one from 100mm PVC tube, end cap and T piece, hopefully that'll be better than original.
When you go to sand the boards down to thickness, start at 60 grit and work your way through to the finer grits, it will save you a lot of other sanding. DAMHIKT.
I got my drum sander secondhand, from someone who tried to use it as a thicknesser, trying to take off 3mm at once, it required new gears and overload switch. This machine was his second machine that he stuffed up, I believe he now has a JET!!!!!
Kryn

Increasing the size of the dust port is a good start. Better still, increase the number to three. These can remain at 2" and be connected to a single 6" hose. The difference this makes to even dust extraction is considerable and burn marks become a thing of the past, provided you keep the adjustment
of the sanding drum to small increments. Reversing the panel on each pass helps keep overall thickness equal in case there is any creep up on the free end of the drum.
Take some time to set the feed belt tracking before you start. Much easier than constantly mucking with it during sanding.

Thanks for the tips. I have no intention of buying a shop vac so i will look at either changing the port to 100mm or adding two more 60's.

90% of the material fed into this sander will be under 90mm wide and as mentioned i don't care if i have to pass a board through 20 times to even out the small waves from the band saw mill. I am going to sacrifice a board and try running it through the thicknesser so if this does not work my only hope is the drum sander.

For narrow material the existing single outlet would be enough, provided you have sufficient suction. With extra outlets you can sand multiple boards at the same time. Four 90mm boards would be achievable each pass. No need to feed them in one width, just one after another in quick succession across the feed belt, thus making use of the full width of the machine.

Except for the on/off switch that machine is identical to my Carbatec branded one. If treated well they do an excellent job. Depending on the finish you get off your bandsaw you may well find that you can start your sanding with 80 grit. Changing the sanding medium is a bit of a PITA so the less you have to do it the better. IMO for box makers these are the best machines ever invented.

Total tools have a deal on the carbatec machine.
https://www.totaltools.com.au/121076...SABEgIXpPD_BwE
All those class of sander seem to have small extraction ports which is a shame. I know I would be itching to cut out a 100mm port but that likely voids the warranty.
Regards
John

I stopped in at Woodwork Machinery Plus this morning to have a look at their range of box makers hardware and spotted the Oltre MS3140C drum sander.
100mm port
2hp motor
Enclosed cabinet stand.
Removable brace.
Infeed/outfeed tables.
1440 rpm while the Hafco is 1770
Someone knowledgeable to answer questions

Including a mobile base it was $200 more than the Hafco so it didn't take much to convince myself to jump on it.

That looks like pretty good value to me, I'm not surprised you took the leap. Are the infeed and outfeed tables attached to the sander or the base cabinet?