supermax or powermax (jet) drum sander


tcarswell

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Supermax 19 38 or the jet 16 32?

I am gearing up to bang out my kitchen and other projects. Its time for me to get a drum sander. Like so many others i am stuck between these two models. The jet works out to be 280 dollars cheaper

Anyways can anybody help me out with this one ? I've been painfully stuck on this

Choice since Christmas and in the meantime I've hand sanded four end grain cutting boards "flat" . I'd probably use it once a week .

PS should i order the out feed tables with the unit or wait ?

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Timing is everything as I just recently got my Jet... I guess ignorance is bliss and it seems to be doing OK with very little tweaking... But then again someone with more experience might see problems I don't see with regard to any adjustments that are necessary.

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Thanks guys I'm ordering it tonight with the out feed tables !! I'm stoked. Are the casters worth a 100 dollars or should I get an HTC mobile base or ?

 

 

I don't have the drum sander (planning on buying tomorrow actually) - but I do have an HTC mobile base that I use with my bandsaw, and I'm not that fond of it.  I find it pretty clumsy and it doesn't quite hold completely stable if I'm pushing something big through the saw.  I probably wouldn't recommend it.  I'm going without the casters for the drum sander and see how it goes and then order them later if need be.

 

To add to the OP, I'm also planning on pulling the trigger tomorrow...do current owners have any advice on sandpaper?  I'm planning on ordering a few pre-cut rolls (36/80/120/180) from acme along with the order just so I have some, but it seems like it could get expensive quickly.

 

Also, what is the best tool for cleaning the paper?  I've heard people talk about abrasive cleaning sticks - are there any in particular that work well?

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I only keep 80 grit and 150gr ready to cut rolls of paper on hand for mine. I do all finish sanding by hand so have never needed any thing higher.

I use the 8" abrasive cleaning "eraser" from Amazon. I love it. I pop the hood every 5 minutes of use and just a quick down and back and I'm cooking again on what acts like new paper

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Be careful with the rolls that you buy. I bought some from PeachtreeUSA and hate them. They tear too easily. Went thru a whole roll in one day. Maybe got 4 or 5 passes thru the sander before the paper ripped and went flying. I'm currently running the Jet branded papers without any issues.

Adam

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take care of the paper and it will last a good while. get a cleaning stick, use it often, don't try to take too much off at once, keep the tables and feed table clean. i keep a brush handy when I'm using it to sweep off anything.

 

i really like my supermax, have no complaints. the thing is a beast and should last a good long time - like the rest of my life.

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I pulled the trigger this is officially my biggest tool purchase ever. I got the 19 38 supermax 3 of each wrap up to 120 and the out feed tables and I'm looking for comparable casters . Wish me luck that it arrives quickly and un damaged. Thanks so much for all your input guys you guys rock !

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Thanks guys ! I appreciate it. Honestly if it wasn't for you guys (especially eric) I wouldn't have known about the supermax so I really appreciate all your help . Originally i had the powermax 10-20 in my amazon cart but i grew weary of it after many mediocre reviews and decided I was going to look at the jet 16 32. Then eric raved about this unit so much i searched my magazine archives to read more about how exceptional it is and that made parting with the extra few hundred easier. It will be put to good use I'm sure of that

I will post a review when I get it setup. Am I the only one that hates new tool setup ? That's mostly the reason I still use an r4512 table saw.

PS Eric you got a good point about the casters. I'm just gonna suck it up and see if acme can tack the casters onto the same order so I don't get dinged for shipping.

PPS do the digital height wixey gauges work on these ?

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A little late to the game but I needed to post a correction/update on my previous post. I just realized the OP was talking about the 16-32. My previous Jet sander was the 22-44 PRO and the setup on that thing is quite different than the 16-32. Doh! And as I understand it, the adjustments on the 16-32 are not all that different than the Supermax 19-38. Apologies if I mislead anyone on that.

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Congrats on the purchase, tcarswell.  I just pulled the trigger myself.  Went with the infeed/outfeed tables and some rolls of sandpaper from 36 grit to 180 grit.  I didn't buy the casters because I have a dedicated space all set up for it in my shop, but I might end up grabbing them later if I find myself wanting to move it on a regular basis.

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