My Drum Sander & How it Works! SuperMax 25-50 Huge Capacity!

[@HonorTheTree]

Recently retired from a career in photography and video production. I just wanted to say that you did a great job on this video! Well-narrated, clear audio and the proper camera angles! Oh, plus it was really helpful in my drum sander decision! Following...

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Thank you, I'm hoping to get back to my Homestead Craftsman videos.

[@WaveformWanderlust]

I have the Jet 16-32 drum sander in my garage/shop still in the box unassembled. I only recently rearranged and organized my space and finally have the room. You've inspired me to get to assembling! haha. Thanks.

[@jeanious2009]

Your voice makes the videos watchable, lol....then you have great editing and explain perfectly how the tool works and its pro's and con's....you're amazing.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+jeanious2009 Ha, that made it sound like the only thing that makes them bearable is my voice. Thanks for watching.

[@meanders9221]

Excellent tour of the machine. It will change the way you work, that's for sure. I've been using their 19-38 for a few years now and am very happy with what it allows me to do. To make room for it I sold my planer and jointer and got a combo jointer-planer (Jet JJP-12HH, also a very good machine). The 25-50 looks identical to the 19-38 but seeing you change the paper so quickly it appears the 25-50 may have improved the clip on the motor end of the drum; it always gives me problems. Happy sanding!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Michael Anderson I do believe it is the same, just bigger. I should have mentioned the 19-38 as another option in this video. Glad you brought it up. I had a little trouble with the clip at first too, but very quickly got used to it and have no problem now. I just got down on it with a light and figured out exactly how it functions, it both pinches the paper and pulls it tight so you have to open it up all the way to the drum and fit the paper in as far as you can. Smooth sailing from there. Thanks for the comment, good to hear your getting good results from the 19-38.

[@sneakyblackdog]

very concise and to the point, I always enjoy your videos. Thanks

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Thank you, if you have others that would enjoy them, feel free to share them with them. I'm on a "hiatus" from my normal work and spending time on my channel so any help from subscribers is appreciated.

[@MRrwmac]

Very informative explanations and excellent demonstration! I can see how happy you are to have it in your small shop and how efficient it is for your wonderful projects! Congratulations and Thank You!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+MRrwmac Thank you.

[@mouppe]

Good video, thanks. I think one other advantage of a drum sander compared to a thickness planer is that you can pass thinner wood through it than with a planer.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Richard Leon Thanks for watching.

[@TeamProsperity]

Great demo! Great to have coz with a slab like that, you may not be able to run through a planer but the sander works great. I’m actually looking at the Supermax 25-50 as well more so than the Jet 2550

[@anthonyramsey4267]

Well explained video. Wish i had room for such a sander. Thanks

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Anthony Ramsey Thanks

[@BruceAUlrich]

I would always welcome more techniques with different machines. Good info. I don't think I will get one of these anytime soon, but it would be cool to have.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Bruce A. Ulrich Thanks, glad you liked it.

[@tedzukowski471]

Thanks...very informative and answered all the questions I had about this particular machine.

[@charliewood4158]

Nice machine and you do a great job on describing it not for my shop yet some day wish list

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Charlie Wood Thanks, it was a tough video to narrate with all the stuff to talk about.

[@hurcorh]

Hey man, i'm sure you know by now but supermax has come out with folding infeed/outfeed tables for this sander now. So handy!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I didn't know that, but it would be great. I take mine off and put them on when I need them.

[@hurcorh]

I'm in the same predicament as you. Not enough space so i ordered the fold down tables with my new sander.

[@chrisseats]

Love this! This would save so much time on my table tops!! Thanks for the great video!!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Chris S It would!

[@coolinken]

Great review. Thanks!

[@ckkelby]

Awesome video as always! Great review of the tool too, definitely in need of a drum sander too.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Chris K Thanks. It's a very handy machine, lets you work quickly and get nice results.

[@northcackalacky4694]

I really appreciate your video, very well done.

[@Zerostar369]

Oh man. I've got to get one of these! Thanks.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Zerostar369 It is nice to have.

[@GotItMade]

Very helpful. Thanks for sharing.

[@paulbett8804]

Very informative review. Thank you

[@sammysalhia9105]

That’s terrific thanks

[@mikeribelin7822]

Nice job on the video, very informative. I plan on getting the 19-38 the next time it is on sale.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

You'll like it. My favorite thing to use it for is face frames and doors for cabinets. Flushes everything up perfect.

[@PEZ4949]

ACME tools has 10% off today (10/10/16); I just ordered the 25-50

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

PEZ4949 On a tool of this cost, that's not bad, probably wipes the shipping out.

[@PEZ4949]

BTW, fantastic review, sir. Bravo!

[@CPBuilds]

Awesome review. I really enjoy watching your product reviews and builds. Very thorough and informative. Now....to find 2 grand so I can get one lol.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+CP Builds Good luck!

[@terrystephens1102]

Thanks for a very informative review😃👌👌👏👏👏

[@pearlsrx]

Excellent video!

[@markolival1537]

For over 25 Years I have had a WoodMaster Drum sander that I LOVE. A friend was looking at buying this sander because the woodmaster is too large to get into his home shop. I watched the Demo and had one question. Can you reverse the direction of the conveyer? (It was an add on for my woodmaster) Although it does not sound like a big issue to the average guy doing small projects, when producing repeated, multiple pieces, its a real time saver to be able to go back and fourth without having to touch the stock.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Not that I know of, I see where it may come in handy but for me It's not an issue. Thanks for wathing.

Excellent review.

[@nathanwilton3383]

Great video, thank you. Just wondering how much of a time saver this is, do you notice a big difference between other sanding methods? Can you estimate how much time you save per table? Thanks.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I don't use it for table tops much unless they are smaller. My favorite thing to use it for is smaller projects, cabinet doors, small panels, etc. The types of tables I make do not need extensive sanding. But I have sanded several table tops. I use it to level tops off with heavy grit paper then finish them off by hand with scrapers and fine paper.

[@BigNicky77]

I have a lot of elm slabs that I would love to use this on. I am nervous about the weight, they average 75-100 lbs for coffee table sized pieces. Do you think this machine can pieces like that?? My next alternative is the wood master 38". Thank you!

[@herramientaquenoconosias]

can you try sanding acrylic. I do alot of sanding on acrylic with an orbital sander I think this machine would save me alot of time if it works

[@colinmurray1434]

Have you ever had a problem popping breakers? The 110 motor worries me

[@mikez4999]

Outstanding video!

[@nicholasm87]

Hi, great video. I bought one of these, however, the conveyor belt doesn’t start moving until the dial is at (15) can you tell me if that is normal?

[@tshudy1633]

Great video, very good presentation. What is a reasonable amount to be able to take off when using the 80 grit paper if you have a piece you can't run through the planer? Is 1/2" unreasonable or can it be whatever you want as long as you have the patience?

[@clesteroxendine4180]

Another great informative video.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Clester Oxendine Thanks

[@eddraper]

Nice... That is going to save you a lot of time on your tables. Out of curiosity, are you going to be putting any bows in that crack in the crotch of that board? I'm curious as to how you plan to handle wood movement...

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Ed Draper That's a pencil line but in in case that's not what your talking about a crotch isn't going to split, it grew like that. Something like a large slab with a crack is different, in that case you might want to do something.

[@theburkesmith3154]

Awesome review. I have been looking into this machine for sometime now. Can I be so forward to request a table saw review? Specifically how you negotiate your stationary/contractor table saw in a small shop.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Josh Burke I've got two table saws. One is the portable rigid saw and the other is a rigid hybrid saw which is much bigger. I've done a video on the smaller saw but the larger one is no longer in production so a review is not in the cards. I may do a video on table saws in general, what are you specifically wanting to know... your use of the word "negotiate" is a little too mysterious to me. Let me know.

[@theburkesmith3154]

thanks for the quick response. I have a jobsite saw now but it is old and getting run down. I would like to have a contractor style table saw because I feel that it is a little more robust than a portable jobsite variety and better suited for furniture/cabinet making. However I have a small shop. I am always looking for way to cram the tools that I need into this small space. Along with evaluating if the stationary equipment is really needed. I have followed your channel for awhile and noticed that you have several medium to large pieces of equipment in a smaller space. How cumbersome is moving all that stuff around. I feel like I would spend half of my time simply setting things up

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Josh Burke Everything is on wheels, so it's not too bad. You'll never have a big enough shop!

[@ericmatthews3307]

How happy are you with it now since having it for a while? I'd like to get this for doing doors, exterior doors, barn doors, etc. When I worked for a custom door shop we had a 38" 2 drum sander, but I don't have the funds for that. Is this 25-50 open end sander capable of producing decent products with minimal fuss? Thanks

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

The larger the piece the harder it will be to manage. I like the sander most for smaller items like cabinet doors and parts for larger projects. With that said, roughing something down with heavy grit paper then smooth planing works great. You really need to try it to get the fell. It's a good machine though, I like having it.

[@rogerabdallah23]

it is a practical machine... I hope it did not cost too much! how much was it for?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+Roger A Here's the link to their site. www.supermaxtools.com/products/wood/25-50-drum-sander-72550/

[@aje2498]

Any issues with the intellisand feature. Ive seen some reviews cuting the intellisand slowing down too much and burning pieces. Can you turn off the intellisand?

[@garysaulnier5231]

My shop is very small, one car garage with room for a smaller sander then the 25-50 . What super-max sanders would you advice - yeh or Nyah on a used machine? Models & value? Great video, thanks Ont. Canada Gary. Feb 21/ 017

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

They also make a 19-38, which is probably there most popular model. I'd say the one you should get is the one you have space for, regardless of brand or model. Just compare the dimensions.

[@Kebekwoodcraft7375]

Hi I am in the look out for one of those , the 25/50 it's the only one at 25" cantilever, a lot of machines stop at 24" and the next is way bigger, I think 25" will be better for ,planer, sander , etc this is the with of counter top ,So my question is from a rough to a decent sanding how many different grit are you using , I was thinking to get 36 , 60 , and 120 grit, I did not see this question any where so far , thanks and I will check more of your stuf kebekwoodcraft

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

The biggest thing is just getting it all to a flat surface where you are making a cut across the entire board for it full length.....so using that 36 grit is what is best, then switching to the 120 for a few passes. There's a few minutes in switching paper.

[@curtaarsvold9198]

I have a 37 x 2 it’s junk I have called, Laguna tools which sells this product they have helped somewhat but the place I bought it which is Acme electric, and explain to them my problem they have done nothing about it. I’ve owned it for about a year the salesman keeps saying he will do something but never does.

[@StefanoilFalegname]

thank you for this good review. Do you think I can find the same machine in Europe? maybe a different brand? Stefano.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+EsseAkka LAB carpentry workshop They have a page on their website for international dealers, here's the link. www.supermaxtools.com/find-a-dealer/international-dealers/ There's one in the UK.

[@glenhuff5844]

Awesome video. I make a lot of end grain boards and use a ryobi 3x18 belt sander and wonder if you think a drum sander is faster and how much faster. I'm trying to decide if it's fast enough to justify the cost. Thanks

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

It's hard to say as I don't know the details of your business, but yes is the most obvious answer. If you put a 36 grit belt on, you could level off a bunch at once then drop to about 120 grit and finish them off ....or what ever grit you want. If I had a cutting board business that was making money, I would buy one. But I don't know how many you sell, how much you make, how much money you have......it's hard to answer questions like this.

[@stevechristiansen9494]

Great sander! I have the same one you have and I love it. I’m using the same digital readout as you have, and the instructions are weak to say the least. I’m trying to set a new zero on my roller, and am not sure how to accomplish this on the digital. Any suggestions?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I'm not sure what you are asking, i guess you could just lower the head with the conveyor running and when the drum hits the belt, zero your gauge.

[@MrUlfang]

Great Video.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+MrUlfang Thanks

[@DanK00707]

Very nice video and thank you for sharing. I do not own a drum sander yet and I am interested in purchasing one. Do you find that the drum leaves drum/roll marks similar to a straight blade planer or are the markings minimal? Please let me know!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

It depends. If you are sanding cutting boards, face frames, small doors, box tops, etc.....small things, it's wonderful. It's such a fast way to clean up a surface and keep a consistent thickness. The only time I have issues is with bigger stuff, trying to muscle a table top through the sander and not have any drum marks is hard, this is because it is easy to let the end fall or lift up to much when supporting it on the way in. They have extension tables which help but must be adjusted properly. A wide belt sander is better suited, but many homeowner shops don't have the room or budget. A sander like this is the kind of tool that you may not use all the time, but when you do, it's perfect. It all depends on what you make. One thing I think they are great for is highly figured stuff that needs planing. You can put a super coarse paper on it and use it like a planer without the worry of ripping up the grain. They have lots of grits, so you can change them out and get it really smooth before transitioning to hand work if needed. What are you wanting to use one for and what are your expectations? I may be able to better help you decide if I know.

[@beartenon888]

I found the digital readout to be extremely coarse and unable to get repeatable and useful height settings. It was only able to read out .1mm or .005" and with the play in the height setting of the sander, I was going between a barely sanded surface to one that was burning the surface, just by the readout going only one step down. My digital caliper, which cost me $30, can indicate a distance to .001" which is much more suitable for a tool like this.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Most sanding I do is not critical as far as thickness. The same applies to most others too I'm sure.

[@beartenon888]

What I am concerned about is that the Wixey doesn't help me to manage my sanding. I don't care at all about the resulting thickness of what I'm sanding. What I got the Wixey for is to help me to set a height on the sander as I sand things. I wanted to put a digital caliper on the piece of wood and then set the sander to that dimension. That just doesn't work for me. Maybe it will with more experience but not right now.

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

What may work for you is to sand your wood, zero out the wixey, measure your wood and then use the wixey to sand off the difference...........I don't know, sounds complicated. My woodworking just isn't that complicated to need exact dimensions most of the time.

[@beartenon888]

Excellent advice. I'll try that. Thanks for hanging in there with my comments and criticisms. I've been making sawdust since I was 11 but in my recent incarnation, for 22 years. I'm 71 and have taken a two year course in woodworking at a local community college, then a few courses at the Fine Woodworking Program in Fort Bragg, CA. Often, a good solution eludes me. Your advice is great. Thank you!

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Good......here's some other sort of advice. Sometimes you need to be accurate, but other times it's arbitrary. For example, your making a one inch table top.........if it's 1 and 1/8 inch and looks good it's OK. Maybe not the best example but basically going on instinct is all i'm talking about. Sometimes good solutions elude people because they are too hung up on how they think they are "supposed to do something". In the end there are very few rules in wood working or any other craft and many forms/styles of art/craft, etc exist from people ignoring, disregarding, breaking or not even considering these "rules". Even if you are making or plan to make traditional pieces, being a little loose is what will make your pieces have style. I know you have experience from your comment but others read the comments as well so I'm speaking broadly right now. This comment may not apply to you. Good luck with your projects.

[@piyushladumorpiyushladumor5256]

Where can i buy this machine in india

[@sephfcuoctasphere1978]

Have you ever used it on metal?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Yes, I surfaced some hot rolled stainless steel. It was about 1.5 inches wide and about a foot long, for making a knife. Not what it is intended for but worked, I just took very light passes and cooled the steel between passes.

[@leonardmartin5145]

Mine sucks!!! Try to do longer items and I get burns and ridges

[@mikeesthay4521]

Do you have any issues with snipe?

[@ega0117]

How much does that sander cost? And do you have a planner?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Prices change, so here's the link to their site which has links to distributors. www.supermaxtools.com/products/wood/25-50-drum-sander-72550/ I do have a planer, here's a video I did on it. It's a porter cable lunch box planer. Works great for the price. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5a2hWevq6mEnK8

[@Sea1fly]

what made you decide on this size? im looking at 16/32

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Big tools can normally do small work but small tools cant do big work.

[@drowization]

Great vid,,,, but why does no one every tell us how much these things cost. Give the cost at the beginning so I know if I can or can't afford it and if not, then, I can move on to the next vid. Just a thought....

[@hurcorh]

Costs vary and cost is on their website. He's not selling a product he is reviewing one.

[@davidgaleski5303]

how much$$$ for the machine thank you

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

+david galeski www.supermaxtools.com/products/wood/25-50-drum-sander-72550/

[@carlinbenton8044]

How is the sander on 2 inch slabs?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

If the slabs are not to big it does fine, but the bigger they are the harder they are to handle and support evenly

[@carlinbenton8044]

Thanks! 👍 I'll give it a ty

[@carlinbenton8044]

Still happy with the sander?

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

Yes, I like it. I just used it recently to sand individual rails in a piece of furniture I'm making before assembly. Also great for sanding/surfacing figured wood that is hard to plane.

[@kellyhanlon9573]

Thanks for the video! but your teaching people to use a drum sander as a thickness planer. Sanding rough cut lumber from rough to smooth is not what a drum sander is designed for. You should have properly stated that you need to plane the piece first then sand it.

[@markolival1537]

Kelly is absolutely correct. The drum sander WILL NOT replace a planer

[@thehomesteadcraftsman8975]

I'm just showing what it is capable of. In this case, the slab was too big for my planner. Don't be so nit picky, you've got people working hard making videos for you to watch and you don't have to lift a finger. There is no rule book, you can use a tool for what ever you need to do. You are not hurting anything doing what I did, just takes a while and if you are dealing with wood with tricky grain, a planer can tear it up.

[@saidhamoda6761]

pres mashen