Widebelt vs Drum Sander for the sm. shop
I’m looking at drum sanders vs. wide belt sanders: New Bridgewood 25″ (single phase 10 horse), used AEM 24″ (three phase 30 horse – needing phase converter) or Woodmaster/Performax drum sander (single phase 5 horse). I realize there is quite a price range here so it’s not exactly apples to apples.
The question is, for a one man shop trying to be as time efficient as possible, is wide belt worth the extra money? I would rather spend the 5,500 on the widebelt if the result is a better finish, faster.
I see the problem breaking down this way:
The Bridgewood is a nice machine but is probably underpowered using single phase source.
The used AEM will most likely require some TLC: how much time do I want to spend setting up and fiddling with this thing?
The drum sander choice will probably be underpowered and I think a drum sander by nature is more prone to burn, given the smaller sanding surface. The drum is also a smaller machine with less vibration damping.
I’d appreciate any discussion on this topic .
Ben
Replies
Ben,
Guess you'll have to calculate the cost of the machine vs. cost savings in time/labor. The wide belt will give you a better finish, and definitely is much less prone to burning.
The 30 hp. would probably be over-kill, unless you're planning to have the machine running all/most of the day, which would not be the case with a one man shop. The 10 hp. will probably meet and exceed your needs.
Jeff
You may want to go over to the Oak Factory several guys over ther have drum sanders some may have wide belt sanders http://theoak.com/cgi-bin/tools1/tools1.pl
I understand your concerns as I struggled with this a few years back. If you want productivity get the wide belt sander and the biggest you can afford. But you need to realize that wide belt sanders have lots of things that can and will cause the finished product to be less than perfect. Wide belt sanders have lots of parts on them that will go bad deterioating the final finish. As an example troubleshooting a 37" widebelt sander we have lists no less than 100 different things that cause a rippled finish. They include things like worn out belts to replacing entire conveyor drive part systems Even an out of round drive roller is included. I cannot really comment on drum sanders as I have very little use of them but I think that a complete new set of problems come with them too.
I didn't mean for this to sound so negative, I believe that there ais a place for either of them in a one man shop Just be aware of the issues surrounding them. I really do dread the day our wide belt needs more than simple maintenance.We are really going to miss that machine Joe
I sure can't address the rules in the area you live, but around here you could not run a 25 hp motor unless zoned industrial. I think that's true anyway as residential will not allow more the 220v. I just can't imagine 25hp being 220. 440, 540?
Don
Thanks for your response. Here in Vt, it is not so much a question of zoning as one of converting power from single phase to three phase. This requires a rotary phase converter which I have seen in the Grizzly catalogue for upwards of $2000. So, I have to add that startup cost to the price of the AEM.
Ben, what type of work do you do in your shop? (veneers, solids or both) looking at this from a business perspective, assuming that you have a steady work flow the wide belt sander is more cost effective. the belts last longer plus less time changing, and your sandpaper costs should be less so sanding on a piece by piece basis is cheaper. with a platten the finish is better than with a drumsander but still not ready to be finished. if you want a finished surface some of the softdrum sanders (the drum looks like a giant flap wheel) are supposed to be able to deliver this, but they can't accurately dimension stock. they can sand irregular surfaces though, and are excellent for veneered panels. the 30 hp AEM would be ideal for sanding wide pieces, as you need a lot of power to sand more than a molecule off of a 24" maple table top for example, and the finer the grit the more power you need. hope this helps
if your interested in the softdrum sanders i have more information on them i can give you.
Forget Grizzly for phase converters. I usually buy phase-a-matics from Enco at a good price. You can make a rotary by using a slave motor and a static. Over simplified a bit but not a lot. Phase-a-matic has a good tech to help with details. Have you seen the Halsty wide belt? You could get a new 37" machine for the price of the AEM and a converter. It has the platen which you want for finish sanding.
http://www.halsty.com/
Rick
Talk to your electrician about your electrical capabilities. I've worked in shops with widebelts and while there are various parts that can cause problems like bad belts, feedbelts etc. It's not really a problem once you learn the machine. The problems come with putting unskilled people on them. One thing not mentioned is a wide belt with the platen is what gives the nice finish sand. A wide belt with out the platen is going to give a finish more like a drum sander although the spiral grooved drum and long belt dissapates heat better and doesn't have to be changed as often as a drum sander. Go to http://www.woodweb.com for more info...a pro site dealing more with industrial woodworking and go visit some dealers and shops that have them for a better take on the subject.
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