Planer or Drum sander?

[MikeS.]

Would appreciate an advice.
If you could afford only one machine: Planer or a Drum Sander, what would it be. Why?

Thanks a lot.

[Dave Arbuckle]

I'm lucky enough to be able to afford both.

How's your patience? An "affordable" (in the thousand buck and under range) drum sander removes stock verrrrry slowly. Like a 1/128" at a shot. So if you want to take stock from rough to smooth-planed, which typically involves a quarter inch total removal, you're looking at a minimum of 32 passes. On my planer, that's four easy passes.

However, if you use figured woods that tear out on a planer, the drum sander is a lifesaver. That's where mine sees almost all it's use.

Dave