Drum Sander Supermax 25-50 - Yay? Nay?
I'm about to put a deposit on a Supermax 25-50 drum sander. Never had or used a drum sander before.
I'm thinking that I want it to create veneers/veneered panels from highly figured timbers and that it would be very useful for this. I also, perhaps naively, think it may be a time-saver for larger panels, eg. table tops, removing planer marks from batches of furniture parts, cabinet doors etc.
Anyone have one of these machines, or similar class of drum sander and regret the purchase?
I know that a large wide-belt sander would be superior in every way, but I don't have the space or the 3 phase power etc. Is a drum sander like the Supermax just a toy or could it be usefully and productively employed in a one-man small custom furniture making enterprise making a variety of furniture pieces (maybe one day)?
Any strong opinions for or against?
I assume these are a better option than the 24" dual drum sanders sold in different colours by Carbatec, Timbecon, Hare & Forbes etc? From what I have read the Supermax is fairly positively regarded and seems not to suffer from the complaints a lot of other cantilever open-style drum sanders from other manufacturers seem to generate. The machine is more than twice the weight of a comparable 22-44 Jet.
Cheers,
Dom