| Review by Tony | posted 254 days ago | 1102 views | 0 times favorited | 19 comments | ![]() |
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- JET 22-44 Plus Drum Sander
- Brand: JET | Category: Sanders

I have just acquired this beast of a drum sander from Jet, minus the stand. The installation and initial setting up was very easy, even single handed, but be warned the main part of the unit is very heavy 85kg (187lbs), then add the extension tables and you are talking about 100kg (220lbs).
(A similar unit to the Performax 22- 44 Plus Drum Sander, see the review posted by GaryK
Please note that this is a European version, the drum sander specs may be different in your country.
The instruction booklet that comes with the system is adequate, but could be better written. I did not buy the cabinet stand that is offered here in Europe, The $300 price tag, plus the shipping cost was prohibitive.
The drum sander comes preloaded with a 80 grit strip on the drum and a box of jet replacement strips at 40, 80 and 120 grit also a sanding strip/abrasive cleaner, in addition I bought a 25m (82’) roll of 120 & 180 grit 3” strips which should last a few weeks.
The only real calibration on the drum sander is setting the drum parallel to the platen. I still have not got this as accurate as I would like – for some reason, when you tighten the nuts, the whole drum assembly moves up on the outboard side by 1 to 1.5 mm (0.04” – 0.06”). Jet states that the outboard side should be parallel or slightly higher than the inboard side, but for me 1 mm is too much, I would be happy with 0.025mm(0.001”)
Care must be taken when loading the drum, so the paper is really tightly wound from the out-board side to the in-board side, with no overlapping joints, if there is a gap between the joints that is OK. If you load from the in-board to the out-board side the paper tends to loosen (as the automatic paper tensioner is on the in-board side) and overlaps toward the inboard side during the operation.
The feed table speed is fully variable, with an automatic reduction in feed rate if the load (you are sanding too thick) is too great.
The 2.4HP motor is very quiet, delivering more than enough vibration free power and torque even when sanding with 40 grit paper and a wide board.
I was pleasantly surprised at the dust collection – there is no discernible dust present on the table/platen during operation, when connect to the dust collector – with out the DC then you have a London “pee Souper” in seconds.
The home made support table is made from not so good quality Birch I had in stock and the 4 wheels (50kg rating each) the total cost was about $60 (significantly cheaper and probably stronger than a purchased stand) – be warned the overall dimensions when installed takes a large footprint 1.2m (48”) x 1m (39”). It would be nice if Jet made the extension wings fold-able when not in use. You could unbolt the wings easily, but then it would take too long to reinstall and set them up again.
I am only going to give this 4 stars, mainly due to the problem with getting the drum parallel to the platen and that the extension tables cannot be folded out of the way when not in use.
Update: 21-03-2009. I managed to get the drum parallel with the platen today, but I had to use a clamp to hold the out board side of the roller in position whilst tightening the bolts – not a perfect solution, but acceptable as you do not have calibrate the roller every day.
Update: 22.03.2009. The inboard sandpaper retaining clip/tensioner broke today during operation, releasing the sand paper onto the drum, overrunning and reversing the sandpaper (grit side down) onto the drum – now the nicely polished drum is all badly scratched. I now have to find out where I can get this repaired as there re NO jet service centers listed for Finland.
Updated: 01.04.09. The supplier is going to ship me the spare part for fitting, unfortunately it is not in stock, so I have to wait 2 weeks. Luckily I managed to make a temporary repair to the retaining clip so at least I can still use it whilst waiting.
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)

























19 comments so far
Dusty56
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3518 posts in 588 days
posted 254 days ago
Sure sounds like a nice machine ,Tony : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
JPBatts
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38 posts in 277 days
posted 254 days ago
I recently acquired the Jet-22-44 and am very pleased with it. My first drum sander was the Delta x5 and was disappointed from day 1. The elevator system was difficult to align and keep that way. The Jet is eveything I had hoped for. I am building some large sofa tables with live edges and I needed something that I could also use as a planer.
-- If she asks please tell my wife that I can sell my tools for what I paid, okay?
Bob #2
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3056 posts in 921 days
posted 254 days ago
Nice piece of equipment Tony.
I makes my old home made sander look pretty amateur.
That 2.4 hp motor will make it pretty smooth even with an 80 grit on the drive.
Best of luck with it Tony and again thanks for taking time to evaluate it for us.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Max
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14563 posts in 1173 days
posted 254 days ago
I have this same sander (the American version)With the enclosed cabinet. I purchased mine used about 4 months ago and love it.
-- Max "Desperado", Salt Lake City, UT
CessnaPilotBarry
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1294 posts in 603 days
posted 254 days ago
Tonly,
I have the same machine, originally purchased with the “open” stand. My stand now looks just like yours, as two of Jet’s legs bent when my machine was rolled over expansion joints. I think a quickie shop made stand is superior to the Jet open stand.
Overall, I really like the machine. It’s an unbelievably useful tool.
-- - Please help keep Lumberjocks an enjoyable escape by refusing to participate in political discussions. Simply spit out the bait and ignore the thread...
tenontim
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1319 posts in 644 days
posted 254 days ago
Nice review, Tony. I have a Delta 18-36” drum sander and I keep the out board side of my platen about .010” thicker. It prevents burning the along the edge of the drum when doing a panel wider than 18”. The ridge is almost unnoticeable and is easily sanded out. If I do a panel less than 18”, I just run the panel through both ways to even it out. These are great tools to have for saving time on small table tops and such.
-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com
Peter O
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1027 posts in 774 days
posted 253 days ago
Thanks for the review, Tony. A good drum sander is rising to the top of my wishlist, so I’ll use this info when I’m ready to buy.
-- http://www.north40custom.com -- http://north40studios.etsy.com --
GaryK
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9555 posts in 888 days
posted 253 days ago
Nice review Tony. Since Jet purchased Performax That is probably the Performax sander with the Jet name.
It looks like Jet add a more powerful motor though. That will sure make a difference.
-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.
Mark Shymanski
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1555 posts in 612 days
posted 253 days ago
Thanks for the detailed review. I hope you get the parallelness (did I just create a new word? ;-) you are looking for.
-- ...it's rennovation time!!!
dennis mitchell
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3791 posts in 1214 days
posted 253 days ago
I was checking this out today and saw they had an oscillating version. I’d love to get one but then I look at my check book. If I knew I had a lot of kitchens in my future I’d sure go for it. I’ve spent the last few days on the idiot end of a belt sander and after a while that just kills my back.
-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com
Scott Bryan
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20807 posts in 722 days
posted 252 days ago
Nice review, Tony. I have had one of these on my wish list for some time now. Thanks for the information on the tool.
-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.
Chris
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300 posts in 257 days
posted 252 days ago
Thanks for the review Tony. I keep looking at these but the footprint is killing me. I have to reorganize somehow (not my strong suit to begin with) to find a place to stash it.
Hope it keeps working well for you.
-- Chris
Karson
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25871 posts in 1300 days
posted 252 days ago
Tony: I used a brass rod and no sandpaper on the drum to level my sander. The rod allowed me to level up the table to match up to the drum.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Tony
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814 posts in 930 days
posted 252 days ago
Karson. In this model you have to level the Drum to the table, not the other way around. The problem arises when tightening the bolts, this is when the the whole assembly moves if not held in place.
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Miket
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266 posts in 672 days
posted 252 days ago
Tony – The trick with bolts is to tighten them a very little bit moving from bolt to bolt.
If that doesn’t work them offset it in the opposite direction by the amount it moves when you tighten them.
-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Bob #2
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3056 posts in 921 days
posted 252 days ago
Tony try putting a thickeness or 2 of mdf between the table and drum and set the drum to that then tighten the bolts.
Bob
-- A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner
Tony
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814 posts in 930 days
posted 252 days ago
Miket, thanks for the advice, but I had already tried that, it still was not accurate enough, when you are talking about accuracy of 0.001” +/- 0.001”, the machine is capable of this accuracy normally.
If it were not so difficult to take it back to the dealer, I would have done so, but it is not cost effective.
Bob – good idea. setting the drum height, to be parallel to the table is really easy with the adjusting mechanism, the bolt tightening alters the position of the drum when tightening – hence, I used a clamp to stop the movement whilst tightening the bolts.
-- Tony - All things are possible, just some things are more difficult than others! - SKYPE: Heron2005 (http://www.poydatjatuolit.fi)
Miket
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266 posts in 672 days
posted 252 days ago
Tony – You can also snug the bolts up and then use a hammer and block of wood to get that last few thousands. The tighten the rest of the way.
0.001” seems like you are asking for a lot. A quick pass with a ROS will take that off in a few seconds.
-- It's better to have people think you're stupid rather than open your mouth and remove all doubt.
Dusty56
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3518 posts in 588 days
posted 252 days ago
In agreement with “madcow” regarding major disappointment with my DELTA X5.….I should have gotten my money back when I had the chance instead of taking a second machine that was slightly better than the first one that I received….best wishes on your JET purchase , Tony : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .