Drum sander rolls and other woes

**mark david** · 22nd November 2010, 09:31 PM

I have recently bought a wide drum sander from Carba-tec.
I looked at the Jet version but it didn't seem worth double the price plus it doesn't sand thicker than 3" high.
I have been very impressed generally except for a few small problems.
Firstly getting the drum parallel was far from easy,I loosened the bolts to adjust this and the thing simply wouldn't move so resorted to some shim washers so that's sorted.
Secondly I noticed one of the rollers wasn't turning so I had to take it of and got it turning fine eventualy although some ball bearings on the end would have been nice but anyway.

Thirdly the most annoying thing is the abrasive rolls themselves
in the insructions is shows a cutting plan for making new rolls from 3" abrasive
do you think the abrasive supplied with the machine is 3" no of course not it's 3 1/8" hardly a standard size me thinks.
I had some spare 80 and 120 grit cut but doesnt fit very well as it's only 3" and also some 60 grit that wasn't even anywhere near 3" even and was so thick I couldn't clip it properly at the motor end.

**Mr Brush** · 23rd November 2010, 01:00 PM

When I spoke to a guy at Carbatec (Sydney) about their drum sander, he said it was easier to shim the base assembly (and hence the belt) to bring it level with the drum than to fiddle around with the drum adjustment !

Like you, I've looked at the JET, looked at the Carbatec, and thought "Hey - how bad can it be?" . I still haven't convinced myself that a drum sander is the way to go though.

**rod1949** · 23rd November 2010, 03:39 PM

I have a Jet 22". When I was looking, I briefly looked at the Carbatec 16" and determined it would not suit future work that I was going to be making.
I have used Jet to sand full width (22") Jarrah bench tops.
Apart from cliping the belt in at the motor end the machine (can be a bit tricky) has not presented the issues you have raised.
What I have learnt is that as soon as you hear the sightest flutter/flapping in the belt then stop the machine (after the current sand) and re tension the belt, if you don't then the belt will break.

**Enfield Guy** · 23rd November 2010, 10:54 PM

Try Rolling the 3" belt onto the drum with a 1/8" gap between each wrap. That's what I do with 75mm rolls on my Jet. It is designed to take 3" wide rolls.

Cheers

**TP1** · 24th November 2010, 07:41 AM

Hey Mark, when I was in Timbecon last they had templates for cutting belts for 16/32 drum sanders. They also had 4" abrasives- like carbatec Perth now have. But with the template, cutting a new one isn 't a problem

I also have the carbatec drum sander and ensure that the unsupported end is a smidgeon higher than the other - this prevents grooves in the timber. To adjust, The mounting bolts are not overtight and I keep a rubber mallet handy for running adjustments- works like a charm

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