Drum Sander vs Planner?

[Hawk]

I wasn't sure where to post this, so here I am.. Anyhow I have a 12" planner, but I'm thinking that a drum sander would be a better choice for getting thicker stock thinner for projects. I have a band saw for the resawing (I think that's the right term), but to get to final thickness I keep thinking that a drum sander would be a much better choice, and safer too!

So I'm here looking for input before I try to talk the boss into another tool (lol) 

Chris

[Wichman]

What is the planer that you have now? How smooth are the finished boards?

Have you considered the multi head units ( woodmaster ) so you could have both?

I was looking at a drum sander myself, but when I saw post after post ( lots of different forums ) mentioning that you would still need a final sanding after the DS, I gave up on the idea. I currently have a Bauer 12 1/2" and could be more pleased with it. minimal snipe and a quick sanding schedule and boards are saw ready. 

[Hawk]

18 minutes ago, Wichman said:

What is the planer that you have now? How smooth are the finished boards?

Have you considered the multi head units ( woodmaster ) so you could have both?

I was looking at a drum sander myself, but when I saw post after post ( lots of different forums ) mentioning that you would still need a final sanding after the DS, I gave up on the idea. I currently have a Bauer 12 1/2" and could be more pleased with it. minimal snipe and a quick sanding schedule and boards are saw ready. 

I have a delta 12". I've watched videos where they put down a board for the stock to ride on so you can go thinner, haven't tried that yet. I haven't tried the woodmaster, I'll have to look into them.

[kmmcrafts]

I guess I'd have to ask exactly what are you trying to achieve?  Smoother surface? Thinner boards? I was all for getting a drum sander until I researched and learned that you really can't go real thin with those either.. unless you tape or fasten it to another board.. at least that was my understanding..

Now days with the CNC and making other things besides scroll work.. Like, I wouldn't run a end grain cutting board through the planer.. but going through the drum sander would work well.. Or if I need to do a large glue up and the finished glue up wouldn't fit through the planer then a open end drum sander would be handy..

[Hawk]

1 hour ago, kmmcrafts said:

I guess I'd have to ask exactly what are you trying to achieve?  Smoother surface? Thinner boards?

Actually just trying to thin down some of the stock I have. Most all of it is 3/4 to an inch. So I was going to try to get it to 1/8th or 1/16th for some projects I have in mind. And in the back of my mind I was always wondering if a drum sander would work better then my planner. I can send the stock thru the band saw to get close, but after that is what I was thinking the drum sander might be a better choice.

[Peter N White]

I have both just be aware that a drum sander is very good and I use it a lot but very slow to take off much thickness. You need lots of passes.

Saying all that I wouldn't want to be without either one.

[John B]

4 hours ago, Hawk said:

Actually just trying to thin down some of the stock I have. Most all of it is 3/4 to an inch. So I was going to try to get it to 1/8th or 1/16th for some projects I have in mind. And in the back of my mind I was always wondering if a drum sander would work better then my planner. I can send the stock thru the band saw to get close, but after that is what I was thinking the drum sander might be a better choice.

You have realise that these two totally different machines, for totally different purposes.
Trying to take the amount of material off that you want to, would take an inordinate amount of time with a drum sander. It would also chew through paper quickly. Even if you tried a coarser paper. you would have to change it for final sanding etc.
Both machines compliment each other. Machine the timber down to size on the thicknesser and finish it with the belt sander. However as Kevin has pointed out, to get down to 1 - 3mm you will have to make a sled, or fix the material to another flat board with the sander.

[tomsteve]

6 hours ago, Hawk said:

 So I was going to try to get it to 1/8th or 1/16th for some projects I have in mind. And in the back of my mind I was always wondering if a drum sander would work better then my planner. I can send the stock thru the band saw to get close, but after that is what I was thinking the drum sander might be a better choice.

i have a delta TP305 planer. ive resawed lumber and planed down to 1/8" with an aux. table on the planer. ive achieved great results with a few variables. wood species is one. harder species can have some problems so i need very light passes. quarter sawn seems to finish the easiest/best. rift and plain/flat sawn can have issues. i have to look at the sides of the board and make sure the planer blades are cutting into the grain and not against it. the attached pic might help explain what im referring to. feeding against the grain seems to tear out more on thinner stock.

even with quatersawn, i not all pieces have came out good. sometimes i was taking off too much material. sometimes it was just the nature of the piece of wood- internal stresses or minute defects( cracks) that i couldnt see showed up during/after planing.

i also dont plane all off of one side. make a pass, flip the piece and make next pass on opposite side.

and even if i get a piece of rift/flat sawn to come out good. there have been a few times the wood cupped not long after finished.

1/16" i havent had any success with running through the planer.

if you do get a drum sander, id suggest loading it with 60 grit.

[kmmcrafts]

My old Ryobi planer I could run it down to 3/16 without issues.. however once I get to around 1/4" I start taking very light passes... Not much that I do in solid wood that is much thinner than that.. if I need it thinner then I just buy it that way, LOL. I much rather be sawing on the scroll saw than resawing and all the other fuss.. I get quite a lot of free lumber from my brothers lumber mill which is usually 4/4 or 5/4 thickness.. in that case since I mostly cut 5/8 - 3/4 I will resaw those.. 

From a business standpoint, for me to calculate the labor rate to make a board and the wear of bandsaw blades, planer knives etc. It's way cheaper for me to just buy the lumber in the thickness I need.. That might be a different story if I didn't have Johnson's Workbench within a 30 minute drive.. where they have about anything I want/  need in in the thickness I want / need.. if they don't have the thickness they'll make it for me while I shop.. LOL.. Re-sawing the free lumber from my brothers mill or the neighbors mill is worth while because I can get 2 5/8" - 3/4 boards to use.. 

You'd have to make a lot of thin boards to re-coop the cost of the drum sander when considering all factors of time and maintenance etc.. if you was buying it to simply make thin stock.

[Dan]

Planers are for removing wood to reduce the thickness. Sanders are for removing tool marks from the wood. My Dewalt planer will remove a maximum of 0.125" of material. My Grizzly sander will remove a maximum of 0.006" To remove 1/8" with the planer it will take 1 pass. To remove 1/8" with the sander it will take about 21 passes. The sanding belts also have to be cleaned frequently to prevent the wood from overheating and provide a smoother surface. 

[Rolf]

I have both a planer Dewalt DW735 and I also have a Super Max 19-38. As the others have said they serve different purposes. Also a 6" jet jointer JJ-6CSdx. I do other work than scrolling. The drum sander is not meant for large stock removal! Also not all are created equal, especially when comes to changing the paper. The Super max people have made it very easy, it only takes a couple of minutes to change my paper. Very sappy wood will load it up quickly. I also Highly recommend adding digital readout to both the planer and the drum sander.

I use a fair amount of 1/8 wood, You can plane that thin but it gets a bit sketchy. Grain direction is critical or it will explode.  

I buy rough sawn lumber depending on the width I will joint or plane one side then  re-saw leaving a bit of excess,  if it will be 1/4 or above I will plane it. Any thing less will go through the drum sander.  I have had issues with my planer tearing out chunks on curly maple salvaged by using the Drum sander. 

My baltic Birch sheets (1/8 and 1/16) are not as smooth as I would like for my ornaments so I used to cut the squares the sand each side on a Sandflee with 220. very time consuming.  I now cut a strip and with 220 paper on the drum sander run it through 1 light pass. 

If the paper is properly installed and tight to the drum I have gone as thin as .040" for some home made veneer.

 

Edited August 18, 2022 by Rolf

[Rolf]

2 hours ago, Dan said:

Planers are for removing wood to reduce the thickness. Sanders are for removing tool marks from the wood. My Dewalt planer will remove a maximum of 0.125" of material. My Grizzly sander will remove a maximum of 0.006" To remove 1/8" with the planer it will take 1 pass. To remove 1/8" with the sander it will take about 21 passes. The sanding belts also have to be cleaned frequently to prevent the wood from overheating and provide a smoother surface. 

Dan what grit are you using on the Grizzly?  If I have to remove a lot of wood on the drum sander I will use 80 or even 60, especially on pallet wood which i will not put through my planer. 

 

Kevin I agree the tools are expensive but in my case a big part of my hobby is the tools! And I have access to any thickness I need at any time. It would be nice to have a local resource like you have available.

Edited August 18, 2022 by Rolf

[barb.j.enders]

I haven't read all the comments.  I don't have a planer.  On one of the FB pages someone mentioned that most jobs can be done on a drum sander instead of a planer, it just takes more passes.  The advantage to the drum sander is it would take bigger stock than the planer.  

[Bill WIlson]

I'd like to have a drum sander, but I don't have space for it.  I think it would be a great supplement to a planer, but I wouldn't consider it as a replacement for it.

[barb.j.enders]

Just now, Bill WIlson said:

I'd like to have a drum sander, but I don't have space for it.  I think it would be a great supplement to a planer, but I wouldn't consider it as a replacement for it.

I have the Flatmaster.  Don't actually use it much as it is in a very awkward corner.  According to their site, it is a replacement for the planer.

[Scrappile]

I have a great planner,,, wish I also have a drum sander... No room, no money..   I also had a jointer, but finally sold it, it scared me to much...Not sure why but I got real nervous when I used it.

[Dave Monk]

Not a day goes by that I don't use my drum sander. I get most of my lumber in the rough which is about 1" thick. I make a lot of inlaid boxes using 3/8" stock. I will resaw my lumber with my bandsaw and then run it through my drum sander. I end up with two useable pieces. A drum sander will also sand some pretty small pieces. Just tell your wife that Dave said you need a drum sander.

[flarud]

If most of your stock is 3/4" to 1" and you plane it down to an 1/8" or less, you are wasting a lot of material.  Your best bet would be to use the bandsaw to "resaw" the stock. then sand each piece.  You would get 2 or 3 thin pieces out of each 3/4" piece.  

I remember last year I needed some 1/4" cedar,, all I could find at the time was some 3/4" at Lowes. (Didn't want to order and have to wait) $22 for an 8' piece,, I ran it through the planer and got it down to 1/4" I looked on the ground and I had about $15 worth of cedar saw dust all over the ground.  LOL

[Tom-in-Ashland]

When I was making custom hardwood furniture the planer and drum sander were of equal importance.  When it was available I bought rough lumber and did a lot of resawing and planing/sanding to need thickness.  Was often able to to get two boards where with surfaced lumber could get only one.

[Dan]

11 hours ago, Rolf said:

Dan what grit are you using on the Grizzly?  If I have to remove a lot of wood on the drum sander I will use 80 or even 60, especially on pallet wood which i will not put through my planer. 

 

Kevin I agree the tools are expensive but in my case a big part of my hobby is the tools! And I have access to any thickness I need at any time. It would be nice to have a local resource like you have available.

I start with either 60 or 80 grit. 

[John B]

11 hours ago, Scrappile said:

I have a great planner,,, wish I also have a drum sander... No room, no money..   I also had a jointer, but finally sold it, it scared me to much...Not sure why but I got real nervous when I used it.

I don't blame you for getting nervous. Getting rid of it was the best thing you could have done considering. I am a cabinetmaker by trade and am still very wary of buzzers.

The Buzzer (Jointer) is the 2nd most dangerous machine in a cabinet shop, the most dangerous is a band saw. Both have to be treated with the utmost respect.

[kmmcrafts]

Yeah no way am I brave enough to run a board on it's face on a jointer.. I have no problem running the edges on it so long as the board is at least 2-3 inch tall and use the push pad handle things.. Most boards I run though the jointer are 4 - 8 inch tall and I use it to smooth the edges for glue-ups.. Now that I have a decent table saw I probably could do without the jointer.. LOL

[Rolf]

23 hours ago, barb.j.enders said:

I have the Flatmaster.  Don't actually use it much as it is in a very awkward corner.  According to their site, it is a replacement for the planer.

In no way will it replace a planer. It is like the Sand flee and meant to flatten and sand a small amount of wood at a time. 

[Rolf]

My nephews in-laws own a memorial business, they get some of the best pallet wood I have ever seen. He has made some beautiful pieces with it. 

I run it through the drum sander first removes any grit then dimension in the planer. Regarding the Jointer Good grippy push pads such as the Gr gripper line are a must. 

[rustynail]

 A drum sander in not made for taking large amounts of material off, it only for sanding your best solution is to have both. I have a drum sander so I know first hand...

Edited August 19, 2022 by rustynail