Any one used a Craftsman Professional 18"/36" Drum Sander

Any other brands that you would suggest?

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

I have a performax 22/44 I like. I reviewed it. Look in the review section.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

A $1200 sander for $500 sounds like a good deal to me. I bet you can get it for $400. I like a lot of the Craftsman Professional series tools. They are a big step up from the everyday Craftsman products and they are usually a little more affordable than other comparable brands. I’d buy it.

-- Tony, Ohio

Do you all want a good laugh? When I looked up the sander, I accidentally looked at Sears’ Canadian store. instead of the American store. Turns out the sander is only $855 new, not $1200.

Still not a bad deal, but not nearly as good.

How useful do you think a drum sander is?
What all do you use it for?

-- Kevin, Wichita, Kansas

It’s the 5th most used tool in my shop after the big 4. Table saw, jointer, planer, bandsaw.

I use it anytime I want to get things flat and level.
Things that are too delicate for the planer.
Raised panels, glue-ups, anything wider than my planer, thickness sanding of very thin veneers…

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

Where I live, all the serious woodworkers call this brand “Crapsman”. The major problem with any power tool built by Sears is the fact that they change manufacturers on a regular basis every 5yrs or less.
Just ask anyone who owns a Craftsman table saw older than 5yrs if they ever tried to get parts for it (you can’t).
Ask anyone who has owned a Craftsman Radial Arm saw if they could ever get it to cut straight in under 2hrs of painful adjustments.
My dad had a Craftsman Bandsaw neither one of us could ever get to cut properly.

Performax, Delta, Jet, etc. are all quality manufacturers who stand behind their products and maintain an inventory of parts, service technicians, etc. The machinery is well built, accurate, and a joy to use.

Sorry if I sound really opinionated about Crapsman, but I’m on a mission to make sure anyone who is serious about woodworking gets real value for their dollar when they purchase woodworking machines.

-- Gerry