Thread: Questions about drum sanders

OK, so I think I now have a pretty good idea of the role that a drum sander can play in preparing dimensioned stock. thanks all.

but what I'm wondering now is can a drum sander play any role in sanding semi-finished components. This is best illustrated with an example. I"m currently making a miniature tansu-style cabinet. Due to several mistakes made, the front of the carcase is not flat like it should be. In other words, if you layed the cabinet on its front face it would wobble. Hand planing it is difficult because each piece is intersected by several other pieces at right angles. Sanding with a ROS till things are flat would be possible but I think I'd end up with that bumpy, round-cornered, oversanded look. Assuming it would fit, would it be possible to simply send the carcase though the drum sander lying on its back face ?

I could apply the same question to drawers. Imagine you made a small drawer which was flush all around the top, but needed to reduce it in height by a mil or so. Could you put that through the drum sander ?

cheers
Arron

Arron
you could put a small drawer through a drum sander at the risk of really rounding over the top edge of the front and back of the drawer
for this reason alone I'd say "don't do it" far better to plane the drawer down with a sharp wells et plane

as to your Tansu cabinet,
it might be possible, if the component fits below the drum and feed rollers and you can wedge it so it doesn't rock as it goes through
but again, there's a real risk of really damaging the edges as the drum hits those that are parallel to it
again, hand planing or rebuilding the component is a better fix
under teh

I own a Jet 16-32 panel sander.
Usual problem with sanding belts gumming up.
Solution: For baked on pine resin I have a spray bottle with metho. Softens the resin which can then be scraped off.
For hardwood I found an aerosol can of bug, tar and grime remover from Big W works well.
Just spray on the affected area. It will foam. Leave for a while until the foam disappears and flick the barnacle off.
Might need to use end of putty knife to start.
Also, I often spray the whole drum with the aerosol and use the crepe block while spinning.
Belt is good as new.
Watched a YouTube video on using the Jet Tuf Tool. Worked a wonder for my arthritic fingers.

I have a Jet 22/44.

1. do you get snipe with drum sanders (like you do with a thicknesser) - or does the sander do a smooth job from end to end.
No Snipe.

2. what happens when you put small pieces in the sander - like 200mm x 70mm - can it handle these.
yes. make sure the workpiece does not lift as the drum edges onto it. I use a backing board with sandpaper to grip it. also use a backstop to stop the timber being pushed back by the rotation of the drum, this occurs with small timbers.

3. do they make much noise, say compared to a thicknesser
nope, easier on the ears. still use ear protection though...

4. what is the dust collection like (ie like my thicknesser which is at least 99%of dust produced or like my tablesaw which is about 75% at best.
most of it.... use a good dusty (I have a 2hp) and its virtually all collected....

not to put a dampener on any responses but the original poster may have gotten the response they were after considering this thread started in 2011