Any overall opinions good or bad for the Grizzly 12" drum sander?

[Carl Fisher]

I'm in the market for a small footprint drum sander and keep coming back to the Grizzly mainly due to price. The Jet is just too far out of my budget so I've been looking at the 10" or 12" Grizzly models. I'm trying to decide if they will fit my needs for half the price or if they are junk.

Primarily I'll be sanding thin stock for segmenting work (pens, pepper mills, etc...) but occasionally do cutting boards with inlay work and other various projects where I need to thickness more controlled than my planer is capable of.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Or would I be better served investing in an upgraded planer and using an auxiliary bed for thin stock? I need to be able to bring down wood to a final thickness anywhere between 1/4" to 1/16"

 

[Berta]

I have a drum sander. You won't be using it to replace a planer. The 'cuts' are too small. But for leveling after re sawing, cutting boards, it can't be beat. It does put pressure on the stock. You won't be running tiny pieces through. It will easily do a board at 1/4".

 

[KenOfCary]

There will also be a certain minimum length the piece has to be which will vary by machine.

But for the uses you mention a drum sander is a good way to go. I rough thickness with a planer and then fine tune and get rid of any snipe with the drum sander. It works great with segments for turnings as long as they're long enough.

It is also great for getting everything the exact same thickness or even width. Stand several boards on their sides together to make them exactly the same width.

 

[merrill77]

Or would I be better served investing in an upgraded planer and using an auxiliary bed for thin stock? I need to be able to bring down wood to a final thickness anywhere between 1/4" to 1/16"

IME, getting below 1/8" on a planer is dicey, depending on the sled. I've had trouble with the trailing end of boards disintegrating as they pass the cutterhead around 1/8". Other than using a ton of double-sided tape, I haven't found a solution for that.

 

[Carl Fisher]

Yeah, having another conversation that pretty much came to the same conclusion. The drum sander is the right tool for what I need.

Unfortunately they seem to be few and far between on CL in this region which leaves me with looking at new and of all the new ones, the Grizzly is the only one in my price range it seems. The Jet and Performax are over $1k for the same footprint machine while the Grizzly is $395 for the small one or $599 for the 12" neither of which are open ended.

 

[golfdad]

Klingspors is having a sale this weekend. Might be worth the drive

 

[pviser]

I'm with Ken. The drum sander can play a useful role in the milling sequence. I do actual final sanding by hand.