picked up an old kuster drum sander (pictures)

[woodmills1]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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.