Drum sanders

[jamesgang]

Near as I can tell Jet's "sandsmart", Powermatic's "eed logic" and supermax's "intellisand" all do the same function of slowing the in-feed rate of speed if you are trying to take too deep of a cut.

I could see where this could severely damage a project piece going through the sander.  Could this be a common problem? Taking lesser cuts being the solution, Is the sensitivity of this function in any of the above tools a problem?

[wdwerker]

When the intellisand slows the feed rate down it gives the abrasive time to grind away a thicker section. It's always smart to keep a little hand pressure down & pushing forward if a board isn't perfectly flat, bowed etc. A slower feed rate beats the board stalling the drum or feed belt, that causes a gouge/divot whatever to be dug in your board.  I ran an early Peformax 16/32 that didn't have " intellisand " . It demanded a lot more skill and attention to run it properly. 

[Ronn W]

On 9/17/2018 at 9:26 AM, jamesgang said:

Could this be a common problem? Taking lesser cuts being the solution, Is the sensitivity of this function in any of the above tools a problem? 

 You got it.  I only run into trouble when I try to take too much off at once.  I have found that the drum sander takes patience. I try to adjust the depth of cut and the feed rate so that the auto speed control does not kick in.  Especially true for maple and cherry that tned to burn easily.

[Chet]

The functions of all three are put there to prevent anything from affecting your material in a negative way.  Kind of dummy proofing the machine for you.  I tend to stay pretty attentive when using the drum sander (SuperMax).  If I start to see the light come on or hear a slow down, I will back the hight adjustment off some and then pass the piece through a second time before lowering it again.  I tend to give the knob about 1/8 turn for each pass and that pretty much keeps me out of trouble.  I run 120 grit almost exclusively on my machine.

[jamesgang]

3 hours ago, Chet said:

The functions of all three are put there to prevent anything from affecting your material in a negative way.  Kind of dummy proofing the machine for you.  I tend to stay pretty attentive when using the drum sander (SuperMax).  If I start to see the light come on or hear a slow down, I will back the hight adjustment off some and then pass the piece through a second time before lowering it again.  I tend to give the knob about 1/8 turn for each pass and that pretty much keeps me out of trouble.  I run 120 grit almost exclusively on my machine.

Good advice all around, thank you. I have since ordered the Supermax 25-50. I am looking forward to delivery, but I have a lot of patience.Baby steps until I figure out the quirks will be the way to go.

[pkinneb]

Congrats on the new sander!! Just remember while awesome machines drum sanders are not planers or finish sanders so use it with this in mind and you will love it. Don't try and take to much off at one time and no more the 150 grit paper. Chet's point on 120 grit on a single drum sander is great advice. I have a dual so I use 120 front 150 back. Enjoy.

[wdwerker]

With softer words and coarser grits I take maybe 1/4 turn. Hard maple with 150 grit 1/8 turn max and usually 1/2 to 3/4 speed. I buy 3" x 35 ft rolls from Peachtree Woodworking for $23 and cut my own strips . I made a Template from a pre cut roll that came with the machine. Buy  a couple of the 2" square x 12" crepe rubber cleaning sticks. I keep mine in the freezer, cleans better & lasts longer . When it has thawed out in the hot  summer shop just swap to the other frozen one.  If you buy the sticks retail you want the heaviest & hardest ones if there is a bin full to choose from. The lighter & softer ones work best frozen. At room temp they grind away quickly. 

A pair of  digital calipers is handy to have when drum sanding stock for a project. I like the digital scale ( add on kit ) Once it's set up & zeroed in it's quite accurate.  But I ran my first drum sander for over 20 years with dial calipers and the analog stock scale.  The infeed & outfeed tables are great if you run longer boards.  

I've run 220 grit successfully  plenty of times. Only after getting the board smooth with coarser grits first and being very careful.  

I draw pencil lines on drum sanded boards . Trying to get a sharp pencil point to ride in a deeper groove. Then sand with my random orbit using one grit coarser to start.