Need a good "cheap" sander for T&G

[BandsawWarrior]

I'm looking for a way to sand T&G panelling and trim.  A small belt sander would be great but I don't think I could run one outside in the winter...I don't think the belt would track well in freezing conditions. 
I've been looking at the double drum sanders such as General and Grizzly.  I can't seem to find any reviews on the Grizzly 36" double drum.  Has anyone used one of these?  Do they work well?  It doesn't have to do a perfect job it just needs to remove the planer marks. 
http://www.grizzly.com/products/37-Drum-Sander-15-HP-3-Phase/G0450

[jim blodgett]

Drum sanders are tricky to use effectively and efficiently, way different than a planer.  Do you have experience using one?

[Larry]

Can "good" and "cheap" be used in the same sentence?

I have a 24" Grizzly dual drum sander.  The platen under the conveyor belt is some kind of particle board.  I sure wouldn't trust that for outside use.  The conveyor tracking is sometimes a bit quirky on my machine.  While the machine does an adequate job for a small or hobby cabinet shop, I don't know if it would handle paneling all day long.  Its pretty easy too burn the paper if sanding is too aggressive.

Asian electrical is always suspect, but the three phase motor should take some worry out.  I would want to know how they achieve variable speed.  My machine has a dc motor...it went bad after a short time and the previous owner said it took forever to get parts.

I would do more investigation of the wide belts.  I've seen used smaller Timesavers sell for about that price.  Maybe build a little dog house for it to live in.

[BandsawWarrior]

No I don't have any experience sanding.  My thought was that everything will come out of the moulder and be a uniform dimension making it sand a little easier.  I'm not worried about sizing with the sander I just want to remove planer marks.  If the sander is 37" wide it doesn't matter how slow the machine is because if I stagger 4 or 5 boards at a time that's like 80 or 100 feet/min.  This is how it plays out in my mind...lol

Realistically I know it's pushing the limits but I'm just trying to set something up on a budget.  Thanks for the heads up on the particle board bed I'll have to look into that on this model. 

Does anyone run a small belt sander?  I wonder what would be easier to use with less down time?  Every time I go to a big shop it seems everyone is standing around the belt sander trying to figure out what's wrong lol...

[red oaks lumber]

what type of wood are you wanting to sand? if its pine ,don't bother the pitch will biuld up way to fast.
i run a 5 head moulder and don't have to sand my product, maybe your machine isn't set quite right.
if your set on sanding i wouldn't bother with a drum sander, they biuldup heat to fast making the sanding job poor. look at a wide belt. i bought  one last year for not alot of money.
the best way to see how well your sander does put a coat of clear finish on  a board and put it the sun light any defects from sanding will be very easy to see.

[BandsawWarrior]

Well we'll be sanding mostly Pine and Fir which are both notorious for pitch...Yes I agree most T&G products are fine just off the planer but in some high end clear markets it's not acceptable. 

Red oaks thanks for the tips.  Has your wide belt been pretty trouble free?  Can you sand with 120 grit and get good results without using 80 grit? 

   

[red oaks lumber]

i'm probably going to jinx things but, i have sanded well over 60,000 sq.ft. and the only thing i did was change belts .120 grit is a good grit, 80 grit all you do is take alittle more material off.
before i had my sander on those need to be just perfect jobs.i replaned just a dusting on a small single head hobby planer, it left a finish like nobodys biusness with no knife marks. maybe something to consider for your climate application

  when sanding 1x6 we  sand 1500 sq.ft. per hour. lesser amount on narrower sizes

[shelbycharger400]

ive used a time saver before with a 48 in wide belt in high school
it was 3ph with air assist...       it sanded diffently with small changes in air pressure!
buddy of mine has a 3 blade 20 in grizzley planer 220v..   when i put fresh blades in it... it took 1/8 in off in a single pass on a real 3x10  it was still somewhat green

[Handy Andy]

  I have a Grizzly small wide belt sander, works great, but don't make flooring.  Just use it in my shop for panels.  I run 120 grit paper all the time. Think the number is G9983.Takes a 16 x 48 belt.  Smallest on the list for wide belt sanders.  Price new was under 3500.

[jamesamd]

The only time I've seen planer marks on wood I've bought,is from misaligned blades or nicks in the blades or dull blades/blade.All came from high production mills that waited too long to change or sharpen thier blades (cutting knives) be it moulding or planing knives.Give Your's a new edge and post back with the results.
And save the money and time of another step in the prossesing of Your product.
Really,give it a try!
Jim

[Cedarman]

We already had a small Midas 2x6 moulder.  It does a good job, but not perfect.  We bought a small Grizzly sander to make a smooth finish.  We are sanding cedar so not much buildup on paper, but have the clearner which does a very good job.  Have had the sander for several years and it is still going strong.  We take off about .01", just enough to take off the sheen of the moulder.  We can run about 1000 square feet per hour.

[BandsawWarrior]

Cedarman by "small sander" do you mean the small grizzly 15" wide belt sander or a small drum sander? 

James, for sure sharp blades make a big difference in quality but they still compress the wood fibre.  If that's not removed it leaves a poor quality finish.  We have to sand or we can't sell some products, it wouldn't be accepted.  Right not we farm it out but hopefully we'll get something set up this spring.     

[Cedarman]

Bandsaw Warrior, I apologize for not getting back to this topic sooner. Yes, we use a 15" Grizzly.  We have run 1000's and 1000's of feet through it. Get the sanding belt cleaner.  It will prolong your belt life.
If possible, go to Grizzly and have them demonstrate the machine.  Especially how to adjust the side to side movement of the belt.

[Handy Andy]

 Only problem I've had with my Grizzly wide belt, is when you change belts, be sure you get the edge of the belt into the fork on the out feed side of the sander.  It's easy to slide a belt on the rollers, and if you don't look it will go on the outside of the fork, and you will ruin your belt, and maybe something else. Has to be inside that fork for the belt to reverse and oselate back.

[ForestMan]

I don't know about cheap, but Woodmaster builds sanders and they are American made and have superior service.  I do not own one, so I can't say from my own experience, but I have been eyeballing them for some time.  I think they start at around $2500 for a small single drum sander up to about $5000 for a 50" double drum sander.  Parts and service there when you need it from what I hear though.  Sometimes that is worth a lot.

[Handy Andy]

  Was looking at my Klingspor's catalog and found that belts are cheaper than the wrap on sandpaper for drum sanders.  Check it out.

[Nomad]

     Klingspor also has outstanding sanding products, IMO.

[broylescc]

Ive got a powermatic 37x60 widebelt that Ive had in my shop for 5-6 years now and I like it, but if I had it to do over I would have found a good used 42" timesaver. Powermatic is kind of a pain to get parts for when your in a bind. But I think I paid 8-10k for it back then. I bought all my equipment at one time so its hard to remember exactly. Before that I had a 22/44 Performax drum and It did fine for trim, but way to slow for cabinet door panel and face frames.