Found this on Craigslist:
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/tls/394419046.html
"Ryobi 18 wide drum sander with base - $250"
I'm ready to refinish my kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts and thought this would be nice to have but 18"? Ryobi? $250?
Turns out Ryobi made a WDS1600 16/32" drum sander clone of the Performax 16/32 but it has been out of production for some time. Google'd it and joined the BT3 forum. My research revealed no owner's manuals from Ryobi, limited replacement parts at the regular parts houses, lots of whining and moaning about difficulty mounting paper d/t the motor side paper mounting clips and rubber drive mats not holding up.
Steel City Tools now sells this same unit and their model is mostly the same with identical parts except for upgraded electronics/motors, a spring mounted bolt for opening the paper mounting clip on the motor end of the drum(no need for a special tool) and the stabilizer bracket on the open end of the drum. Further research revealed that there is a right way to use these sanders and hogging off a lot of wood (>1/64th) is a good way to break the drive mat, burn the paper and smoke the motor.
Called the seller and went down to Clover, SC to take a look. The sander was a mess with 10 years of patina:roll: on it. He had been using it without any dust collection so the drive mat was completely full of accumulated saw dust/powder and did not grip the wood very well. The paper was attached on the motor end of the drum with packing tape, the height adjustment was stiff d/t compacted gradue and one of the hinges for the drum lid was duct taped on. We ran it for a while to make sure the drum motor stayed cool and the separate belt drive motor worked. The power switch had been replaced with a toggle. The final jab was he had no owner's manual. All in all the electronics worked, the paper mounting clips were fine, the drive mat was in good shape and no fatal structual flaws.
We haggled a bit and he wasn't coming down to my price so I thanked him for his time and walked out to the truck. He came out of the shop as I opened the door and said OK.
After a few hours of detailing (rubbing alcohol and steel wool worked great on the aluminum), CA'ing the hinge back on and adjusting the drive belt tracking here it is off its stand:
New 120grit belt and it works like a charm! All for less than a decent ROS!!
Aesop says: If you want your asking price at least have the manual and clean the tool up a little!
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/tls/394419046.html
"Ryobi 18 wide drum sander with base - $250"
I'm ready to refinish my kitchen cabinet doors and drawer fronts and thought this would be nice to have but 18"? Ryobi? $250?
Turns out Ryobi made a WDS1600 16/32" drum sander clone of the Performax 16/32 but it has been out of production for some time. Google'd it and joined the BT3 forum. My research revealed no owner's manuals from Ryobi, limited replacement parts at the regular parts houses, lots of whining and moaning about difficulty mounting paper d/t the motor side paper mounting clips and rubber drive mats not holding up.
Steel City Tools now sells this same unit and their model is mostly the same with identical parts except for upgraded electronics/motors, a spring mounted bolt for opening the paper mounting clip on the motor end of the drum(no need for a special tool) and the stabilizer bracket on the open end of the drum. Further research revealed that there is a right way to use these sanders and hogging off a lot of wood (>1/64th) is a good way to break the drive mat, burn the paper and smoke the motor.
Called the seller and went down to Clover, SC to take a look. The sander was a mess with 10 years of patina:roll: on it. He had been using it without any dust collection so the drive mat was completely full of accumulated saw dust/powder and did not grip the wood very well. The paper was attached on the motor end of the drum with packing tape, the height adjustment was stiff d/t compacted gradue and one of the hinges for the drum lid was duct taped on. We ran it for a while to make sure the drum motor stayed cool and the separate belt drive motor worked. The power switch had been replaced with a toggle. The final jab was he had no owner's manual. All in all the electronics worked, the paper mounting clips were fine, the drive mat was in good shape and no fatal structual flaws.
We haggled a bit and he wasn't coming down to my price so I thanked him for his time and walked out to the truck. He came out of the shop as I opened the door and said OK.
After a few hours of detailing (rubbing alcohol and steel wool worked great on the aluminum), CA'ing the hinge back on and adjusting the drive belt tracking here it is off its stand:
New 120grit belt and it works like a charm! All for less than a decent ROS!!
Aesop says: If you want your asking price at least have the manual and clean the tool up a little!
