Time for a drum sander

[68matts]

I'm getting pretty addicted to this instrument making caper now and I think the time has come to upgrade to a drum sander. Warren from Epic Guitars has very generously offered his sander for me to use but it's the best part of a 40 min drive each way to his workshop and it's not always convenient for me to get there through the day ( and probably a lot less convenient for Warren ). As budget and floor space are both limited I was thinking along the lines of a jet/perfomax 10/20 or one of the carbatec/ hafco 400mm machines. There was a thread on here last year talking about these machines and some people had just bought one or were about to buy one so I was wondering what their thoughts are now 6 or so months down the track. I've read about the tracking issues with the jet and I think it was Martin said that he was having issues with their customer service. A carbatec style one that I've seen (at Gasweld, it looks to be the same machine with different stickers and a bigger rice tag ) seems to deflect quite a lot at the outer edge which would seem to make it hard to get a consistent parallel cut. So not to sure which way to go yet, any input would be greatly appreciated. Cheers.

[Allen]

I've got the 10/20 in my shed. After a long hassle with the tracking I seem to have it fixed.

It's a great little machine for what it is. Fantastic for ukes, but less suitable for guitars, but not a deal breaker. I've got access to larger drum sanders for those when I want. I find that the vast majority of work that goes through the drum sander is by and large more suited to the smaller size of the 10/20.

That being said, I will be upgrading to the large twin drum sander from Carbatec when I get my bum in gear, as the amount of work I need to push through this one takes too much time to process.

[ozziebluesman]

G'day Matt,

I was mixed up in that thread regarding drum sanders. I ended up with the Carba-Tec 400mm sander.

Here is a link: http://www.carbatec.com.au/carba-tec-40 ... nder_c2950

It has been a good investment and does the job. It needs to be setup correctly from the start and fitting the paper requires some practise and patience. I found good quality paper helped to get the sander working efficiently I bought my latest paper from The Sandpaper Man in Brisbane and it is available in a continuous roll. The quality of the paper is excellent and improves the Carba-Tec sanders performance haps. It is a slow sanding process especially with the very hard woods and it is very important to sand small incriments at a time. You will get the feel of the machine when using it. If you can hear is sanding you need to pass the material through the sander till you can't hear any sanding and then lower the sanding drum about a 1/4 turn. Repeat the process. As I say, setup correctly and take your time you will get excellent results. I liked the Carba-Tec sander because it has a wide enough sanding surface to pass a joined top through in one pass.

You will need a good dust collection system when using the sander.

Cheers

Alan

[peter.coombe]

I ended up with the Carba-Tec 400mm sander.

I have that one as well, bought around 10 years ago. It does the job, is not too expensive, and gets a lot of use in my workshop, but is a PITA to change the sandpaper. Practice and patience, yep - and a few expletives. I hate changing the sandpaper!! It can be really difficult to get right, and not uncommon to quickly wreck the sandpaper if you get it wrong. It should not be so difficult. Apart from that, no problems. I agree with the sand in small increments advice, especially with Rosewood.

Peter

[kiwigeo]

I've read about the tracking issues with the jet and I think it was Martin said that he was having issues with their customer service.

Jet service here in Adelaide not good and generally quality of service from Jet headquarters isn't good either. That said the Jet machines themselves are generally good which means chances of needing back up support are low. The problems I had were with the dust extractor I'd ordered and also some parts for a table saw.

[ozwood]

Hi Matt,

I have the Jet , I love it , it's easy to set up , compact I prefer the belt system to the carbatec one.
Just my opinion , I got mine from Trend Timbers , price does not seem to vary much , I have mine mounted on drawer slides .

I'm at Teralba , near Toronto if you want to have a look at one in the flesh and see one going before you decide .

Cheers,

[68matts]

Thanks all for the quick replies. I guess I am leaning more toward the 10/20 mainly because of the of their reputation for build quality but the carbatec machine is good value.
Thanks for the offer Paul that would be really helpful. I'll send you a PM with my details. Cheers

[DarwinStrings]

I bought a Performax 16/32 second hand out of the trading post and it has been all I need. I have occasionally shoved something too thick through it and it shuts down and lets me know I have been a bonehead then I just push the overload button and off it goes again. You can fit a solid body full blank or the top/back of a dready (just). The paper is easy to change and I also mounted it above a bench so I didn't take any more of my tight floor space.

Jim

Life is good when you are amongst the wood.

[Kim]

I bought a 16/32 Jet around 5 or maybe 6 years ago and am very happy with it. It gets used... for all kinds of stuff (take a look at my recent sanding belt cleaning thread in the tutorials section of this forum and you will see what I mean) and now its difficult for me to imagine myself without one even if I had no involvement with stringed instruments at all. Same deal for me as with Jim, sometimes I overload the poor thing and it cuts power to the drum, but its just a matter of winding up the head a tad, pushing the reset button and away she goes again. The paper is a quick easy change over as well, good machine and no comment on after sales cause they have not been needed...Will add that quality of service depends entirely upon quality of the management at 'your' local distributor and they seem OK here in WA, no complaints, but then they have not been put to task and that in itself is probably the best endorsement you could wish for in any product.

Cheers

Kim

[kiwigeo]

+1 for the Jet 16/32. Have had no problems with the machine.

[auscab]

I bought the twin drum sander from Carbatec, I have not tried to change the belts yet. Good machine though,
I did read this good thread over on OLF about making a drum sander, in the thread the OP Pat Hawley talks of his use of velcro to hold the paper to the wheel
and how he feels the soft backing of Velcro is better than the hard wheel.

Any one here tried Velcro with a problem machine ?

this is the OLF link
http://luthiersforum.com/forum/viewtopi ... 01&t=31735

[Mark McLean]

About 6 months ago I got a 400mm one from Hare & Forbes http://www.machineryhouse.com.au/L110. It looks identical to the carbatec one. I have been very happy with it. A drum sander and bandsaw are the two most useful power tools you could invest in. You definitely need dust extraction with it (add another couple hundred $ if you don't have someting already). Agree with everyone's comments about the importance of the initial set up (getting the drum parallel to the conveyor), and the moderate degree of difficulty in replacing sanding belts. But you will be very pleased if you go ahead with it.
cheers
Mark

[68matts]

Just picked up a 10/20 for $750 which seems a fair price but it was on evil bay so will have to wait and see when I pick it up.
thanks everyone for your input especially Paul (Ozwood) for letting me come down and have a look at his set up ( he 's a real nice guy with a really well organized shed).
Cheers