Author Topic: picked up an old kuster drum sander (pictures) (Read 10834 times)

woodmills1 · « **on:** June 16, 2011, 09:02:16 PM »

I know there is a thread or two with this as the subject

I bought a kuster 24 inch single drum today 5 HP baldor only had to upgrade to a 30 amp dryer plug

THE THING sands like no tomorowwow

after I got the coreect cut line for the paper

woodmills1 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 18, 2011, 06:45:35 PM »

no posts well thats fine

woodmills1 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 18, 2011, 06:48:51 PM »

put this on woodworking no response

300 bucks bought a kuster drum sander OMG sands to no tomorrow

5 HP baldor and a box of 120 grit 4 inch paper to boot

did I say it sands lika planer

ljmathias · « **Reply #3 on:** June 18, 2011, 09:01:59 PM »

Love to know more about it, especially with pictures, as I have no idea what you are talking about. All I gather is that it is a heavy duty sander of some kind- drum may? Help us ignorant ones out a little with more of a description. I've used planers and hand sanders but never had the money or inclination to get a more productive sander, and probably need to...

Lj

isawlogs · « **Reply #4 on:** June 18, 2011, 09:09:18 PM »

Cool , I always wanted a drum sander , all I have is my old trusted makita belt sander .

Get some pics

JV · « **Reply #5 on:** June 18, 2011, 09:36:43 PM »

Can't say I've heard of them. Looked at a picture on OWWM, looks like a heavy machine. Double or single drum? Regardless, at today's prices for even "economy" sanders, that's a good buy. Sure beats hand sanding.

WDH · « **Reply #6 on:** June 18, 2011, 09:38:15 PM »

When I saw kuster, I thought cluster, and thought that you might have had some bad luck

. I am not familiar with it either.

Magicman · « **Reply #7 on:** June 18, 2011, 10:15:33 PM »

http://vintagemachinery.org/mfgindex/detail.aspx?id=508

We once had a cabinet shop here that built church pews. They had a huge drum sander that they ran an entire seat or back through.

beenthere · « **Reply #8 on:** June 18, 2011, 10:57:14 PM »

Quote from: woodmills1 on June 18, 2011, 06:45:35 PM

no posts well thats fine

Prolly not.
But we're waiting for the pics and some more presentation of the purchase. You skipped all that.

woodmills1 · « **Reply #9 on:** June 19, 2011, 06:30:24 PM »

pictures

the machine with dust head off

the drum wrapped with 120 grit after I figured how to do it

you can just make out the baldor nameplate here

terrifictimbersllc · « **Reply #10 on:** June 22, 2011, 06:26:32 AM »

Looks like you just wrap the drum from a narrow roll of sandpaper, then trim at the edges....how does it stick on? Is that a common feature of other drum sanders?

ely · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2011, 09:45:04 AM »

that looks like a good buy. those things are handy as a pocket. i dont own one yet.

sandhills · « **Reply #12 on:** June 24, 2011, 05:15:25 PM »

Please pardon my complete ignorance, I'm no woodworker by any standards, does a double drum sander sand both sides or does it use finer grit on the second drum?

pigman · « **Reply #13 on:** June 24, 2011, 08:45:38 PM »

Usually finer grit is put on the second drum. Some put the same grit on both drums just to sand faster.

woodmills1 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 28, 2011, 10:37:32 PM »

the edges are held with masking tape

the manual speaks of a slit to put the first side in but it is not there

the secret is the angle cut on the paper

I got that from vintage machinery

woodmills1 · « **Reply #15 on:** July 18, 2011, 06:47:09 PM »

picked up a 70$ per hr job making finished boards from some old take off barn wood

the kuster sold the job

did 2 test pieces for the customer

plane, joint, rip, joint they were happy

sanded on the kuster they signed right up

WDH · « **Reply #16 on:** July 18, 2011, 10:37:01 PM »

Nothing like having the right equipment.

Warbird · « **Reply #17 on:** July 19, 2011, 11:53:50 AM »

Thanks for the pictures. That is a nice piece of equipment!

woodmills1 · « **Reply #18 on:** July 19, 2011, 09:04:24 PM »

seems lika good fit to the Woodmills formula

Larry · « **Reply #19 on:** July 21, 2011, 07:49:15 PM »

Quote from: woodmills1 on June 28, 2011, 10:37:32 PM

the secret is the angle cut on the paper

Once you get the correct angle cut a pattern board. Makes changing sandpaper much easier. I have one of the Grizzly machines and it uses clips to hold the sandpaper...duct tape works well also.

Another trick...Grizzly sells a hook & loop conversion kit for there 24" double drum sanders. It's $29 and a great improvement. Should be plenty of material to do your machine. Downside is you have to buy H & L sandpaper.

woodmills1 · « **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2011, 10:55:47 PM »

I got a huge roll of 4" 120 grit in the $300 price
one pass from planer to 120 grit....priceless
having this place to post it

OMG how good, how nice, how well run

once again too busy in the summer to pig roast with u, but in spirit I am there

WDH · « **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2011, 10:25:46 PM »

Sanding, sanding, sanding. More sanding, then more sanding. I need one of those new fangled drum sanders I guess.

What is the verdict on those that have them. Are they worth it?

SwampDonkey · « **Reply #22 on:** July 24, 2011, 05:54:31 AM »

I don't have a drum sander here, just a stationary 6" belt sander with 12" side wheel by Sears and a 3" wide Makita belt sanding like Marcel. But a drum sander for doing panels and table tops would be a cat's meow because you have more control on depth and even sanding.

I use my Sears and Makita on most projects.

With the stationary belt sander I can "carve" some pieces and finish up on my inflatable flexi-shaft mounted cylindrical sander I hook to the lathe with a special arbour. That was a nice purchase last winter to.

My cherry cabinet legs and hips from last winter was a combination of both. It's done in much the same manner as Dodgey carved his axe. Draw on centre reference lines on each face and they are the depth of the curves, just round the corners.

Don't complain if you have to pay a little more for good sandpaper. I have to get all mine from Lee Valley now, the locals just sell junk.

Norm · « **Reply #23 on:** July 24, 2011, 08:33:12 AM »

I have a Jet drum sander Danny and have been impressed with it. I'd rather have a wide belt but don't have the need or budget for one.

WDH · « **Reply #24 on:** July 24, 2011, 10:38:03 PM »

Maybe my plight is to just sand and sand. In a way, it is relaxing if you get into a zone. I am building a whack of walnut furniture (post to come soon in Woodworking), and I have had the occasion to sand for hours (

). The time is spent in the finish sanding as that is key to a good finish. I would hate to spend big $ on a wide drum sander and still have to spend a bunch of time finish sanding by hand.

Old Greenhorn · « **Reply #25 on:** August 04, 2022, 07:39:13 AM »

Hey @woodmills1 , reviving one of your old threads here. We just picked up one of these last night in a 2 drum 36" version. Wondering if you still have yours and how it is working out. Ours is missing the cover hood. Do you have any photo of that so we can figure something out. The one we got is in rough shape but looks very workable after a lot of cleaning. Interested to get into it. I did find the full manual online, so that helps a lot. I am guessing these were made in the 60's, does that sound right?

21incher · « **Reply #26 on:** August 04, 2022, 09:46:28 PM »

I have an old 24 inch single drum one. It's made from the original kit the company got started with. Not much help to you but all their equipment seems to use industry standard components. Mine uses 4 inch rolls and a wood wedge on the starting side with strapping tape on the ending side so it stays tight as the paper stretches. I replaced mine with a open jet sander last year because it took up too much room in my shop but with 40 grit it was great for flattening tops. I tried selling it on craigslist for 6 months before just throwing it on the pallet rack in my barn to be used for parts for other projects. The first item ever that I couldn't sell on craigslist. Not sure how much hp yours has but to drive the 2 drums it's probably going to be 10 hp. I never had much luck with finer grit sanding with the unit. The fine paper plugs easily and needs to be cleaned often with one of those giant erasers. My single drum had a custom plastic top with a baffle to direct the air. 4 inch hose barely moves enough air to handle the dust created and I am guessing yours will probably need several 4 inch vents distributed to catch the dust. I had serious problems with my canister filter plugging on the collector and had to add an Oneida cyclone that works great for fine dust. Do not try to run it without good dust collection because the dust will continue around causing burning and also cloud up your shop in seconds. I will post a couple pics of the cover. It will be a good machine but they need lots of room to work around with heavy tops. My open sander takes up 1/2 the room and dust collection but is slower. I will see if the manual has the wrapping info.

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Author Topic: picked up an old kuster drum sander (pictures) (Read 10834 times)

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