axminster senior drum sander

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Brad has one, he says its really good. Although he is going to sell it soon.

If it was me I'd get the Jet 22-44 OSC Oscillating Drum Sander, it only has one drum unlike the seniors two so you can't use 2 grits, but it has nearly twice the capacity with the open end design and the oscillating function is apparently brilliant.

I wonder what brad is upgrading to?
 
I read that brad was changing alright, but to a wide belt sander. But that does not bother me because I read that drum sanders are only a poormans wide belt (no offence intended), so its probably only a natural progression for him.

I can see your point on the 22/44, but I feel that I will need the closed end sander to be able to handle 10 passes of 50 doors per week. The max width of those doors is 23.5", and two drums means only 5 passes. If I need to sand anything wider than 24", I will sand before assembly or use my makita 4" belt sander.

What I really need is a good critic of the above, what its limits are, what expectations were surpassed or dissapointed, pros and cons I guess
 
Sounds like for you the Senior is the one. It good to know how big the items are your going to be put through it not something you can always know with hobby use.
 
I have got a similar one but is 36 inch wide and heavier construction but basically a similar machine. They work pretty well but dont expect to take a door from the sander straight to a finish you will need to use a ROS on them first to remove the sanding marks and cross grain scratches. It is quite easy to overheat the sandpaper and cause a burn and you have to take modest passes to get a wide panel flat. You will also need a decent dust extractor to cope with the fine dust efficiently. It is a good timesaver and takes out the donkey work of sanding and is great with wild grained wood that would tearout through the thicknesser. I think as long as you dont expect it to be a widebelt sander you will be satisfied. Like Brad I am also upgrading to a widebelt for speed and quality of finish reasons.

Another machine to consider if you have some space is a secondhand pad sander which once mastered will be quicker than using a drum sander and the finish will be far superior and no need for any handsanding with the ROS. You can usually pick up an old wadkin for £200 or so.

cheers

jon
 
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