Charnwood drum sander

[dvddvd]

Just had delivered a Charnwood drum sander, the 10 20 version.

Quite impressed with it, weighs more than I thought and is whisper quiet.
Even when it's sanding boards it's not a screeching noise just a pleasant sort of noise.

Not to sure about all the spacers, seems they tried to use every variation of a spacer..2 nuts, spring washer, a couple of over sized washers another spring washer and then a penny washer

 

[dvddvd]

 

[HOJ]

That's probably because its a Friday afternoon machine, having read your other post...

 

[Yojevol]

Are those Bristol levers an addition put on by the retailer? The Charnwood promotion photo shows just a simple pair of screws. In normal use I would say they're superfluous. How often are you going to sanding 10"+ boards. These open ended sanders have been sold and used for years with no such support. I think they're probably superfluous on this, the smallest machine in the range. To be of any use the height locking screw will have to be loosened and retightened on every pass following thickness resetting.
Brian

 

[dvddvd]

That's probably because its a Friday afternoon machine, having read your other post...

Yes it just turned up this morning, no warning. A bloke with a pallet truck stood there

 

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[dvddvd]

 

[Fergie 307]

Are those Bristol levers an addition put on by the retailer? The Charnwood promotion photo shows just a simple pair of screws. In normal use I would say they're superfluous. How often are you going to sanding 10"+ boards. These open ended sanders have been sold and used for years with no such support. I think they're probably superfluous on this, the smallest machine in the range. To be of any use the height locking screw will have to be loosened and retightened on every pass following thickness resetting.
Brian

Let's hope it is a later add on. What a bodge up !

 

[Bob Chapman]

What's the general opinion of Charnwood stuff? I know it's not top-of-the-range but it looks fairly solidly built.

 

[Distinterior]

What's the general opinion of Charnwood stuff? I know it's not top-of-the-range but it looks fairly solidly built.

I have a Charnwood WO20 cast iron topped router table that I bought new a few years back.......Its not good quality in any way but it does the job after a lot of fettling to remove a lot of burrs, cleaning out poorly threaded holes and throwing away a lot of the cheap & nasty nuts/bolts/ screws that it came with and then replacing them with better quality ones. The quality of the cast iron & table machining I would only give 2 out of 10......Its similar to the quality and finish on my large Axminster bandsaw table, which is also poor.
I have a Hammer A3 31 planer thicknesser, and the difference between its quality and the Charnwood is chalk & cheese....
The paint finish on the Charnwood is so thin and poorly adhered that it's already chipping and peeling off and there are clear signs of rust already.

I wouldn't seriously entertain buying another Charnwood machine based upon my experience of this one.

 

[dvddvd]

 

[dvddvd]

Might as well use 4 nuts...

 

[dvddvd]

I'm pleased with the machine, it's very heavy, it's basic but then what more do you want?
It's a drum sander, a cylinder with sandpaper spins with the aid of a large quiet motor. While a conveyor moves with the aid of an even quieter motor...All seems over engineered and does the basic job of sanding pieces smooth. Cost £650 in the end with 5 extra sandpaper wraps. Complete with a stand with wheels...I'm happy!

 

[dvddvd]

View attachment 180798View attachment 180798

Imaging removing the side support piece if you want to do a 20 inch double pass piece and then having to replace all the washers and split washers again.
I will be mainly using it on pieces no more than 75mm so won't have to...it seems to work really well and a pleasure to use

 

[Bob Chapman]

Can’t the bolts be cut shorter?

 

[dvddvd]

Yes they could, the only reason they are that long is if they were short they would hit the stand when undoing them..they have Bristol handles fitted ( if thats the correct term?) But it take a few mins undoing them and then pulling the handle out to get it to the starting position again.

So they made them "quick release" with all the packers. I could just put some normal bolts in. I'm sure 2 bolts would be quicker with a socket set than messing around with all the spacers

 

[dvddvd]

Not sure why they made the bolt holes slotted? Maybe they were not confident that everything was going to line up?

There is a 5 year warranty on the drum sanders so someone has fairh

 

[TRITON]

Keep your eyes open(ebay etc) for a set of table extensions. They apparently make a difference when sanding long components.
And dont forget to order a belt cleaner.

ADDS - If anyone knows. do the extension tables for the jet 16/32 fit the axminster 16/32 ? Im under the impression its the same machine, but would like to know for sure before shelling out for those.

 

[dvddvd]

At present I'm only sanding pieces 500mm x 70mm x 10mm so it's ideal for that. It's a pleasure to use. It sounds loud in the short video I posted but it's barely audible when it's on