Jet 22-44 Drum sander - help needed on setup/usage

[steveci]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for some info from people who have Jet (Performax) drum sanders. Mine is a 22-44 but I guess the particular issue I have may have come up with the 16-32 model as well.

The issue - when I lower the drum head down to sand to approx 3mm or less, I hear contact between the sanding belt and conveyor belt. This only happens on a certain section of the conveyor belt and it appears to be around the "join" in the conveyor belt. The belt seems to have a slight "bulge" upwards both in front of and behind the join. As this is a new machine (< 4 months old) and hasn't been heavily used, I don't think this has been caused by wear. I noted that my previous Jet drum sander had the same issue.

My question is whether other Jet owners have experienced this issue and if so, how they rectified the issue. I don't believe this is a drum alignment problem. I feel confident I have aligned the drum correctly and accurately. I believe I have tensioned to conveyor belt as per the Jet manual. I'm wondering whether further tensioning the conveyor belt may lessen the "bulge" but I am wary of overtensioning and perhaps bending the rollers.

As a final question, am I asking too much to be able to sand back and sides down to 2mm without using some sort of sled (which would probably eliminate the isue)? Although Jet describes the lower limit as 0.8mm, is this just not possible given the conveyor belt construction?

Would a poly belt fix this issue if they are available for the 22-44?


I hope some experienced drum sander users will be able to shed some light on this issue for me both in terms of set up and usage when they sand backs and sides down to final thickness.

Thanks,
Steve.

[tippie53]

most often the upgraded drive belt helps that and makes the sander more accurate.

[steveci]

most often the upgraded drive belt helps that and makes the sander more accurate.

Thanks for the info - much appreciated! By upgraded drive belt do you mean a poly belt?

Thanks,
Steve.

[tippie53]

yes
My friend had on and was thinking of getting rid of it for the same reason you said. Once he put the upgraded feed belt and machine worked so much better and was more accurate across the board. It is worth the time and effort. The labor investment will be rewarded

[steveci]

yes
My friend had on and was thinking of getting rid of it for the same reason you said. Once he put the upgraded feed belt and machine worked so much better and was more accurate across the board. It is worth the time and effort. The labor investment will be rewarded

John - Thanks for the info! Do you know of a source for a poly belt for a 22-44?

Regards,
Steve.

[tippie53]

I use a wide belt sander and can sand to .010. The drum sanders are only as good as the set up. I am not sure where my friend got the feed belt but the feed belt is 1/2 of the sanders capability. If the belt is not flat your sander won't be accurate.

[CavalierKingCharles]

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/search.a ... veyor+Belt+

[johnnparchem]

I have a jet 22-44 drum sander. I would suggest when wrapping the paper on the drum wrap it tight but to leave a small gap between the wraps. That way there is less paper on the drum and as the paper heats up it can stay tight. It took me a bit before I figured this out, I was actually getting slight over laps on the far right. I never sanded much below 2mm (.08") but I often sand to 2mm.

[steveci]

Hi everyone,

just like to thank everyone taking the time to reply to my question. From other info I have gathered, it appears that this is a common problem with Jet/Performax drum sanders when sanding thin stock. A sled would seem to be the most expedient fix. However, a poly belt may be a better solution. I have only found one reference to a supplier for poly belts for the 22-44 although Klingspor seems to stock them for the 16-32.
For a poly belt supplier, please see this post at North Carolina Woodworkers forum - http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/show ... hp?t=47013

Contact Details for the supplier are:


http://www.timberww.com/contactUS.aspx

Timber Woodworking Machinery
935 E. Southern Ave
Mesa, AZ 85204
Phone: 480-926-2131
Fax: 480-926-2857

[cooltouch]

I use my Performax drum sander a lot, and it just has the standard 120 grit belt. Whenever I need to sand very thin materials, I always use a sled. I make my own purfluing, which sometimes is as thin as 0.020", and I have no problems with accuracy.