Mister Pants Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 I've been thinking about adding a drum sander to my for a while now. Mostly I've been looking at the Jet/Performax 16/32, but size is a bit of a consideration as my shop is a fairly small two car garage and its starting to get a bit crowded. I've seen a few benchtop ones around and advertised such as the Grizzly 12" baby drum sander, and am mostly wondering if they're really worth it rather than the larger ones. I know the cost is a fair bit lower, but I'm more concerned about the quality, and portability. Sizewise I'm not sure I'd save much and given that the Grizzly one is something like 160lbs (shipping weight, so the tool is still over 120lbs I'm sure) it strikes me that its not that portable and would still need to be mounted on a fixed base which kind of defeats the purpose of a benchtop. Anyone have any experience with these? Worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nateswoodworks Posted November 25, 2010 Report Share Posted November 25, 2010 I have a Jet 16/32 and I love it. The bad thing about the 12" Grizzly is how much it limits you, I know for me this was the big drawback and a deciding factor when I bought mone. As for the size, it does take up some room and that is something you have to decide. One thing that comes to mind is if you have a portable planer is make a stand that allows you to have the planer on the bottom and drumsander above it, what I plan on doing is making a new stand for mine and having my OSS below on drawer glides. One thing I have heard many times on here is the problems with the Delta drum sander because the conveyor is what moves up and down not the head. I know that the place I bought mine from won't sell the Delta unit, and they are Delta dealer, because of the unsatisfied customers. I am sure that there are people that are happy with their Delta units and I would never put their tool down just thought I would inform you, good luck. Nate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2010 I was a little worried about the limitation of the 12" forced size since its railed on both sides. In the end, its a moot point, since with the Jet/Powermatic 4 day sale I was able to get the 16/32 for $200 off . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sac Posted November 27, 2010 Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 I was a little worried about the limitation of the 12" forced size since its railed on both sides. In the end, its a moot point, since with the Jet/Powermatic 4 day sale I was able to get the 16/32 for $200 off . Good score. As for the Griz, I have it and love it. It is heavy. I mounted it on a mobile little cabinet that I built. Yes it is a little smaller than I would like, But I use it for TONS of stuff. If it fits, it goes thorugh it. I am sure that you will love the Jet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister Pants Posted November 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2010 Glad it works well for you Sac. I'm a pretty big fan of Grizzly myself, both my table saw and bandsaw are Grizzly products and I've been very happy with their quality and performance for their price. I was pretty sure it would work well, my biggest concern was if it was going to basically be a standalone machine (not something I could just throw under my outfeed table or workbench) as the footprint would probably be the same as the Jet. With the savings I was able to get it made it a no brainer overall . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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