Delta 31-250 18" X 36" Drum Sander

[Big Johnson]

I have been working for a cabinet maker in the evenings and he would like to pay me with a brand new Delta 31-250 18" X 36" Drum Sander that he has sitting in the box right now... It just came in a few weeks ago... Cash is always nice and I am setting pretty good right now so the offer seems pretty enticing... How many of you have this sander or have used this sander out there that wouldn't mind giving me a few comments about it; tips, tricks that you use or have learned when using it...
The machine was going to be used in the cabinet shop but since bringing it in; he has decided to get a much larger unit that will sand very large walk doors as well as cabinet doors and parts...

Anyway, I have been very busy and had no time to research this at all but I think I would be very happy having this unit in my shop, or if it has bad opinions, I will just take cash...

Thanks in advance for the advice and such...

By the way, this would be my first piece of Delta machinery in my shop ...

[bvww]

hi big: i've been researching these things for a while, (hav'nt jumped yet) re the delta: seems to ber a love hate relationship with them either you love it or hate it, some people have tracking problems some have parallel problems but you must sometimes consider the user,they arent a substitute for a thickness plainer, their are some diffrences between delta and powermatic that may be important to you. and if you dont have a good!!!!dust collection system forget it. IMHO if it was me and depending on hrs. of work for the machine i'd jump at it in a heart beat

[UO_Woody]

I've been looking at these types of sanders for quite some time. Though I like the looks of the WoodMaster, If your getting a "TIP" by taking the Delta, by all means, you should not be dissapointed. If read they can be time consuming and tricky to fine tune to use on double wide stock. But go hand and hand with a decent TP. (Didn't you just get a Jet?)

Enjoy!!!

[Big Johnson]

Woody,
This is a sander not a planer... I got a JET 13" closed stand thickness planer/molding machine here about a month ago or so...
This would be used for sanding my boards uniformly down before putting my parts together...

Here is the planer molder I bought: http://www.woodworkersshop.com/Jet_P...er_Machine.htm

Here is the sander I'm thinking of getting: http://www.deltawoodworking.com/index.asp?e=136&p=829

[rmacmec]

Big, I have used the perfomax but not the delta (loved the performax though). From what I've heard, a few users have had some problems/quirks with the delta table height adjustment mechanism. On the other hand the delta allows control of the drum speed AND table speed, the performax only allows control of the table speed. For this reason I've heard people say it is a wash between the performax and delta. Charlie P or Dave Arbuckle may be good people to contact on this one. Hope this helps

[Charlie P]

The performax 16-32 (that I bought after seeing Dave Arbuckle's unit) competes with the Delta 18-36. Dave pointed out that the big difference is that the Delta table goes up and down, under the fixed drum, and the Performax drum goes up/down, with fixed table. Which makes it harder to build/use auxiliary infeed/outfeed tables for the Delta.

I love my Performax, and suspect I would also like the Delta. The problems I have heard of relate to trying to use these units as thickness planers. 1/64 inch is a deep cut on a sander, and requires very slow feed. If you go too slow, burning is possible (especially wood like cherry), so you may need to cut far less than 1/64". Tear-out is unknown, even in figured wood.

A drum sander does leave sanding marks, even at 220 grit, which are easily removed with a ROS when they run with the grain. But I can't imagine sanding an assembled face frame or other item where you are sanding across the grain for at least part of the piece.

I am currently building a walnut entertainment center, and have already created two plastic grocery bags of sanding dust (not counting sawdust or planer shavings) - and I am only half done. A lot came from the pieces for the raised panel doors, sanded before assembly. Do I use the sander? You bet!

Charlie