Customer Reviews

JET 629004K 16-32 Plus 16-Inch 1-1/2-Horsepower Open Stand Drum Sander, 110-Volt 1 Phase

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A drum sander is a pretty basic machine; a sandpaper conveyer belt moves the wood under a spinning cylinder/drum that is covered in replaceable sand paper. Tensioned rollers keep the wood pressed down on the conveyer so it doesn't slip. The drum can be moved up and down to apply the proper sanding depth.

The problems some reviewers have had with this machine are:

1. There is a problem adjusting the tracking of the conveyer belt, which is like a giant portable belt sander. The belt can drift to one side or the other. The front roller is adjustable so the belt stays centered.

To facilitate this adjustment, Performax has included clever little captive wrenches built into the frame of the conveyer assembly. This should make the adjustment easy. However, mine drifted to the left and adjusting it had no effect. I ended up completely loosening all the adjusters, and starting over again. This time the belt centered and it was easy to adjust exactly to where it was supposed to be.

I suspect that the belt, which after all is 16" wide, might have been just a hair out of square and all the adjusting served to stretch it out to a perfect rectangle. I believe the problem is that some belts may be more out of square than others. The actual mechanism is unlikely to be defective.

2. Adjusting the sanding drum so it is parallel to the conveyer belt is obviously important, but it is not easy to do. There is a knob that you turn to move the outer end of the drum up and down until it is set correctly. However, one must loosen 4 (!) bolts to free the assembly so it will move and then tighten them to hold it in place. The act of tightening them moves the adjustment out of place. If you are a zillionith of an inch off on the inside, then you are way off 16" away on the outboard end. One can spend a lot of time messing with this.

Amazon recommends setting the outer end a teeny bit up when sanding panels wider than the drum. This will result in a high spot in the middle of the panel which is better than low spots or grooves caused by the outer end of the drum digging into the wood. However, adjusting the drum is such a pain that most people will be content to set it once and leave it.

I set mine to be just a tiny bit up, an unmeasureable amount. I send my boards destined for glue-up twice through on the final sanding , turned around the second time, so that each board side is equally thick on all edges.

3. Replacing the sandpaper just takes a little practice. Clearly, it must be installed properly to work well. The paper rolls onto the drum and each end is secured by little levered clips in the ends of the drum. A little tool is supplied to loosen the inbord clip, but I find that just just reaching and pulling it up with a finger is easier.

4. Some users have problems with the drum motor overload breaker popping. Pushing the reset button starts it up again. This is all by design so that you do not try to sand off more than you should in one pass or set the conveyer belt speed too high.

You must sand at a shallow depth and at low feed rate. If you think the sanding process is too slow and get impatient, just think of hand sanding. Even set at a crawl, the machine is way faster than you. All this depends on the grit, the kind wood, the width of the wood as well as the conveyer speed and the depth of cut.

I am careful to set a shallow sanding depth and a pretty slow feed rate and so I rarely have to reset it. If it does pop I just slow down the conveyer belt some more. This is a small machine with limited horsepower for small shops. There is a reason they make those 30 hp one-ton units. Like Norm's.

4. Some have complained about slop in the drum adjuster. The crank that moves the drum up and down has a lot of play in it so it is hard to feel how much actual adjustment is going on when the crank is turned. Tactile feel is very important when you are trying to adjust things just a hair. These sorts of measurements are too small to show up on the depth guage.

The adjuster should be equiped with an adjustable friction device. Several of my small tools have that feature and clearly a $1000 machine should. And I really miss an adjustable positive depth stop like my Makita planer. This would allow for a repeatable final sanding depth.

5. Snipe has been reported as a problem and it is. It is very difficult to hold the wood perfectly level as it enters and exits the drum. Setting up multiple roller stands is not easy and others have mentioned that the optional in and out-feed tables are difficult to level as well.

Some sort of built-in support is necessary for this machine to work properly. The tables, or other devices, should have been built in to the design and included in the price. This should not have been an option. It is like making the tires optional on a car. Speaking of options, I have a new Grizzly 6" jointer that came with built-in wheels. Very nice. Really quite necessary for the small shop. Aftermart wheels are available elsewhere.

So, what is my advice? This machine can be adjusted to function perfectly. When it is set up properly it is indeed a very useful and important tool. The problem is that the adjustments are too difficult and so many machines are out of adjustment and simply do not work as they should. In addition, not including the tables introduces an unnecessary cheap and greedy factor.

Performax is clearly not losing any money selling these units for $1000. Add on the the price of sandpaper and options and it is an even more costly option for the small shop. A tweak to the drum depth adjuster, a redesign of the drum levelling mechanism, a positive stop for the sanding depth, incorporating feed tables and making the stand mobile are really simple and inexpensive upgrades that lucky owners in the future hopefully will enjoy. I note that Grizzly now has a comparable consumer model and I suspect other manufactorers will enter the market. That competition will hopefully lower the price and increase the utility.

The whole idea of smoothing wood with rocks glued to fabric seems sort of strange, really. Perhaps the future will bring lasers or microwaves or something modern. In the meantime, be aware that sanders create a lot of dust, the fine and dangerous kind, much worse than shavings and such. I looked into shop dust control, hoping to get a simple vacuum, and found a whole confusing and expensive anti-dust world out there. A portable vac is not the best thing to use for high volumns of fine dust. Big dust collectors, cyclones and those sorts of things are more appropriate for this machine, but are very speciallized and expensive. I use the screaming Sears vac now (are all Sears product planners deaf?), but for many reasons that will have to change.

I can't go below 3 stars if, in the end, the machine actually performs as it should, but the inconvenience and cheapness factors noted above and in other reviews cost it a couple of stars.

I've been "looking" at this drum sander for the past few years, and finally bought it about 2 months ago, and the only thing I regret is that I did not buy it sooner! I can't remember how to prep lumber without this machine.

The machine is very heavy, about 150 pounds shipping weight. The UPS man was kind enough to help me by unloading it into my garage shop. Set up took about 90 minutes, the instuction book was very detailed and the pictures were very helpful. The stand is very strong and steady, the casters are large enough to really move around on the concrete floor. The hardest part about the setup is the leveling of the drum to the conveyor belt. I had to do it twice before it was exact. The first time I did not use good judgment, I used a wooden board to help align the drum. In testing the first piece out, it was off quite a bit. I then followed the instuctions, and used a metal level on edge, and the results were well within the .010 inch tolererance as stated in the manual.

That all said and done, and after setting up the dust collection system to the 4" overhead port, I was ready to start sanding. I do a lot of resawing for the scroll saw, and this drum sander should be a staple for resawing. Each 1/4 turn of the control handle moves the drum 1/64", making it very easy to control the depth of "cut". You control the speed of the belt from about a rate of 1 foot/minute to 100 feet per minute. So depending on the type of sandpaper grade and hardness of wood, you control the speed and depth of cut.

The nice feature of the unit is it only takes about 2 minutes to change the sandpaper from the drum to another grade and you are back in business again. So it is very quick and easy to change paper as you prep the lumber. The first few passes in 80 grit (depending on how well the resawing operation went), then switch to 120 and finally a pass at 180. The only warning on the sanding process, make sure the grain is going with the sander, this is NOT a vibrating hand sander. With the measurement indicator on the side of the sander, you can consistently sand to the same thickness, time after time, board after board.

I am very happy and pleased with the Performax 16-32 Drum Sander. I am now doing a lot more resawing (saving money), not just when I have to because of lumber availability. No issues, No problems. Just a nice sanding operation and quick change sandpaper.

UPDATE: MARCH 7, 2007;
I have been using this sander for over 5 years now, and not one performance issue. It is used about an average of 10 hours per week, sanding down the re-sawed wood from the band saw. It is still very precise and accurate in terms of measurements. It is consistent with the final quality product. One of my best buys for the shop.

The Performax Sander was easy to assemble, it went together in one evening after dinner. Just be sure to follow all the instructions in order or else you'll be taking the conveyer belt on and off a lot. The conveyer belt seemed to track perfectly right out of the box. Also, the sanding drum was parallel to the conveyor right out of the box.

I had one very minor problem. The conveyer belt has a speed dial that is also it's "off" switch. when I turned the dial fully counter clockwise there was just the slightest "click". You could feel it more than hear it. Althought the dial clicked the conveyer belt would not fully stop. I took the control box apart (4 screws) and saw that the speed control was slightly bent out of alignment. I adjusted it and the detent of the click was much more pronounced and the conveyer belt now stops fully when it's in the off position. Total time of fix: about 5 minutes.

I bought the Performax Sander to help build guitars but I'll be sanding a chess board tonight. I'm sure it will make life a LOT easier. Trying to sand chessboards by hand always leaves ripples. This machine should allow me to sand it FLAT to 220 grit and then I can use my orbital sander to smooth it out for the finish.

If you buy this I would suggest also buying the castor set so you can move the machine around more easily. It's a bit heavy when assembled and unless you have a space on both the input and output side you'll need to be able to move it around. Also, the small amount that I've used it already has me wanting to buy the infeed/outfeed table assesories. You should also get a sanding belt cleaning "eraser" (as described in the video that comes with the machine). Some woods tend to clog the sandpaper and the belt cleaner will extend the life of your belts.

I have noticed 3 common problems experienced in the reviews here: 1) drum damaged in shipping 2) belt doesn't track properly, and 3) motor shuts down frequently.

The first machine I received had a flat spot on the drum, obviously from the hard wood block they put under the drum for shipping. Why not use a dense foam block, instead? I noticed the flat spot from the "thump, thump, thump" sound when sanding near the end of the drum.

This machine's motor would also shut down under the slightest provocation. This isn't because the motor is overheating, but rather the load is too much and trips the reset breaker on the motor. There may be a way to adjust this, but I haven't seen it.

Amazon shipped me a replacement machine, which arrived without shipping damage. However, on this 2nd machine - the belt would not track properly. Fortunately, I had not yet returned machine #1, so I used the conveyor belt assembly from that machine.

The new machine also doesn't shut down nearly as easily as the first one did, so that seems to be the luck of the draw.

The sander does a beautiful job, once you manage to get one assembled with good parts. But - in my case, that meant at least 4 hours unpacking, assembling, emailing, phone-calling, swapping parts, repacking, and reshipping. What a hassle.

For the amount of money they ask for this machine, the thing should be properly packed, and tested at the factory. Maybe the fact that it's made in Taiwan has something to do with the lack of quality.

5/12/04 Update - GET THIS!

After 3 months of very limited use of this sander in my home workshop, the conveyor belt split a 3" gash at the seam. Since I'd never adjusted the belt (it was done at the factory), I assumed that this would be covered by my 1 year warranty. NOT SO! Here's their response:

"The belt is not covered by the 1 year warranty this is a consumable item.
In the set up procedures in the manual on page 6 it states that excessive
belt tension can result in bent rollers, premature wearing of bronze roller
bearings or conveyor belt. Since the belt has never been adjusted by you
and the factory puts them on a little tighter than they need to for transit
purposes we can not cover the belt replacement under warranty. The part
number is 60-0316-p cost is $57.24 you may purchase this with a credit card
by calling our consumer relations department at 800-274-6848 shipping and
handling charges may apply"

The business about "the factory puts them on a little tighter than they need to be for transit"? Huh?? Wouldn't the factory put them on a little "looser" for transit?

BE WARNED!

I finally decided to buy this machine after looking at it for several years. I couldn't be more disappointed, however, because I had to send back NOT ONE, BUT TWO 16-32 sanders. With the first machine, the conveyor belt tracked to the outboard side of the unit and could not be adjusted to run straight. After spending three hours working with Performax's technician on the phone, the belt finally ripped on the ceramic trackers that are included with the kit. Perfomax had me try several adjustments and did not offer to send me a new belt. Amazon.com gladly replaced the unit for all my troubles (UPS 2nd Day Air).

When the second machine came I was able to get the conveyor belt to track more correctly, as long as I loosened the inboard side of the belt to where it allowed a buckle in the belt. This caused the drum to come into contact with the conveyor when I sanded a 1/8" board, which removed all the grit on about a third of the sanding belt, and on several spots of the conveyor. One of Performax's claims to fame is that you can sand veneer as thin as 1/32".

There were several other problems with the second machine. After not being able to adjust the pressure rollers to get rid of snipe, I noticed the inboard "Pressure Roller Suspension Brackets" were both bent and would not allow the rollers to flex upward freely. Also, after sanding an 8" wide, 1/4" thick, 20" long board of soft maple a few passes, the drum motor shut down. (I was removing less than 1/64" with each pass) I reset it and slowed the conveyor motor to less than half speed, and a few passes later the drum motor shut down again, and again, and again. This is supposed to be a continuous duty motor rated as "CLASS A" for up to 60 degrees celsius. The motor was barely warm to the touch and wasn't being pushed hard to begin with. At this point I looked down and saw the conveyor belt had shifted an inch to the outboard side once again. And all this was before I noticed the crack in the cantilevered housing, which was painted over at the factory. Luckily, Amazon.com upheld their promise and took back the second one.

I wish I had spent [more] on this machine when it was made in the USA, with a solid LEESON motor. That still wouldn't change th fact that so much of the machine is put together with flimsy stamped steel. It's easily the most shoddy machine purchase I've ever made. I absolutely cannot recommend the Performax 16-32!

If you do buy this one, however, be very careful as you assemble it... Did I say I can't recommend this one?!

Purchased the 16-32 from Amazon.com almost a year ago. I really wish I could say just one good word about this machine, but cannot.I purchased the machine to save time, therefore expense, and to improve the quality of my work. Sadly, it has failed on all counts. In fact, just the oppisite has occured.
The machine arrived on time and in good condition. Assembly was basically simple and straight forward. The first problem occured on the first use and was a forebearer of things to come. The main motor overload switch was defective and cut out immediately when put under load. I contacted WMH tool group, whose tech service is first rate and very helpful, and a new switch was sent right away. Next I noticed that the feed belt did not track properly. One year later, calls to tech service, and many attempts at adjustment, it still does not track properly. At about 5 months the original feed belt disintegrated, a $50 replacement expense. Next problem was sanding strips loading up after short use. Tech service advised me to soak them in Simple Green to clean them. This works, but it is a PIA, and Tech service didn't tell me that soon after doing this the the ends of the strips fray and come loose, usually causing a disaster. I finally learned the only way to get any strip life at all, as well as getting any quality work, is to bearly have the abrasive kiss the work. Never more that a quarter turn of the adjustment handle at a time, as well as using a very slow feed speed. This is all well and good except it takes you forever to get anything done. So much for time saving. Next problem is installing the strips. I am not an mechanical engineer, but if one could not design a better way of fastening the ends of the strips, they should just give up and find another profession. It is total finger busting aggravation. The stupid little tool that is supposed to assist in this task is a total joke. I have asked several users about this and all I get is a smile and the remark "I threw mine away". Finally the worst problem. I soon found out that if sanding anything longer than two feet, the machine left snipe marks about two inches from each end. These marks are very slight, cannot be seen or felt until stain is applied to the piece. Then there is no choice but to totally resand (by hand) the piece. I have talked to tech service about this and made every adjustment reccommended, all to no avail. Maybe the oppional extension tables would help, but another $100 at this point? Don't think so. Also the name says 16-32. Better to say 13. To sand near the ends of the drum invites diaster. To sand a wide piece from each side, forget it. Yes, my drum is adjusted perfectly parallel. Spent a large amount of time checking and rechecking this adjustment, as it is the most important one.
The final straw came when this machine nearly ruined the table top from a $1200 table. It is now in the corner of my shop, waiting my decision on what to do with it.
In my opinion, this machine is only good for sanding small parts, if everything goes well. Even that takes more time than sanding by hand ( belt or orbital sander).

I received my Performax 16.32 last week. It was delivered in two boxes with both of them showing signs of damage. They were both coming apart. The UPS driver noted the box damage on the delivery invoice. I would suggest that you examine the shipping box for damage as it seems to be prevalent in several of the reviews. I did not have to upack the items as the boxes actually came off without my help.

Set up was simple and the manual was up to date, but it could be more detailed for making tracking and drum adjustments. The wooden block that secures the drum during shipping should be replaced with something more supple so as not to damage the drum. I would recommend that you check the drum for a flat spot especially if the shipping container has signs of damage.

The conveyer belt seam has separated where it is joined. It was damaged during shipment. Supposedly the item is not covered by the warranty and it should be for an item this expensive.

The drum was low on the outboard side and needed adjustment. This took awhile, but it was easy to adjust after working on it for a few minutes. The drum height adjustment requires getting used to because of the slack...1/8 turn just to take up the slack before moving the drum. Sloppy engineering.

Once the sander was set up to my specifications, it worked well and overall, I am very pleased.

One word of caution, if you are not on a 20 amp circut, feed the stock slowly or the breaker will pop. This will create the snipe you are tryng to avoid when using your planer. Order the feed tables as they will help with longer stock and also order other grits of paper so you do have to cut your own...it is easy to change the abrasive belt if is already cut.

jsp

Amazon shipped a new belt in 24 hours after notification. Excellent service.

3.31.05 Update

I have been using my sander for over 6 months and it has performed better than expected. The adjustments made when setting up the sander have remained true and no tweaking has been necessary. This has surprised me because I have run many a board foot through it since purchase.

I have found that using a rubber or gum stick (available at most woodworking stores) to clean the belt in place while running, does a reasonably good job. Keep the belt clean and free from debris. If you don't, hardwoods (curly maple, etc.) will NOT have a smooth finish and you will spend a long time correcting the problem, Been there and done that.

My only complaint is that there is too much slack in the drum adjusting handle and this is poor engineering that could be easily corrected. It takes a quarter turn to just to get the gear engaged to move the drum a 64th.

Overall, it is a fine piece of equipment.

If you want casters, use the Woodcraft red 2.5 inch locking casters that cost less than half of the Performax casters. They are a real find and work great extremely well.

8.23.06 Update

The machine continues to work well, but the sandpaper has developed a tendency to overlap and leave burn marks even though carefully installed. The tool used to tighten the paper is worthless...just use your finger. A bit cumbersome, but easier than using the hook. Perhaps someone has a solution to this problem.

The belt has torn and has to be replaced because my last adjustment on the rear table was a bit high and it created too much friction and the belt pulled apart at the seam. I tried to be to precise and it cost me a new belt. It was an expensive mistake...keep the back table a bit low to prevent binding. If there is any binding, the belt will tear at the seam so check it carefully when making adjustments. All things considered it has been a reasonably good tool and with a little maintainance, it should provide many more years of service.

I got one of these last year after coveting one for many years. After having to replace two drums damaged as a result of poor packaging design, I finally got the thickness sander I've always wanted. It took a long time to adjust the drum parallel with the table, but once I dialed it in, it worked great.

If you buy one, check your drum carefully. The block of wood they put under it for shipping tends to put a flat spot on the drum, making sanding a very unpleasant experience.

I purchased the Performax 16-32 based on a great deal of research on the type of wide belt sander that would be best suited for my needs. I do a great deal of personal cabinet making and custom jewelry boxes for friends and family. My primary choice of wood is curly koa. And anybody who works with curly koa knows that if you try and send it through a planer, you will literally see a three hundred dollar board ruined by the chunks that would be ripped out due to planing.

I purchased the Performax 16-32 based upon talking to sales people, articles that I have read through various magazines, articles on the internet, and based largely on the long standing reputation that Performax has achieved over the years. I was not disappointed at all.

When the 16-32 arrived at my home, I noticed that nothing is light weight about this machine. The stand is heavy gauge metal and the casters are heavy duty. The conveyor and the head assembly are well built. This machine was a shear pleasure to put together. Even the adjustments were easily done. The fit and finish is outstanding.

The true test came when I picked out the curliest 1"x10"x6' that Koa that I could find. I sent it through the 16-32 from eighty to one hundred fifty grit. I realize that this is not a planer so I did not try to 'hog' out a lot of wood, but took gradual passes. Not a single tear out or problem was encountered. The motor did not bog down and the conveyor kept up a pace that I selected. The dust shroud picked up 99% of all the dust that came off the wood. THIS MACHINE DID AN AWESOME JOB!!! The board came out perfectly flat without a single tear out. The only problem is that due to the electrical draw, my electrical breaker kept on clicking off, my fault, not the Performax 16-32.

If your tired of your hand held belt or palm sanders, tired of seeing hills and valleys in your work, tired of the monotony of sanding, want a perfectly flat surface to work with, and not having to worry about sending your expensive wood through your planer and guessing if it will tear out or not, I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE PERFORMAX 16-32!!!, I would give it six stars if I could.

I purchased a Performax 16-32 from Amazon and now need a part. I called the telephone number in the manual and reached WMH Tool Group. The circuit breaker that protects the drum motor is bad on my tool. I was told by WMH Tool Group that the circuit breaker was not available by itself and that I would have to buy a new motor at a cost of approximately 1/3 the purchase price of the tool. I have tried to find the circuit breaker on-line from the manufacturer in Taiwan but I have not been successful. It is much easier to replace the circuit breaker than the whole motor and a fraction of the cost. I think it is inexcusable that the circuit breaker is not available and I would never buy another JET Tool.