# Grizzly G0458 18" Open End Drum Sander



## a1Jim

good review


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## Ottis

Excellent review…thanks for posting. This is on my wish list and will be the next large tool I bu. Thanks again for the honest review !!!!


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## jerryz

Ditto for me too


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## Splinterman

Nice review.


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## ND2ELK

Nice looking sander. Thanks for posting.

God Bless
tom


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## Kindlingmaker

I too have one of these and will buy a different brand the next time. My belt also will not stay put and tracks to the right. There are no lock washers on any of the small screws on the inside and vibrations will loosen them. I had the top front sheild come off while sanding; make one heck of a sand paper shrapnel explosion. The lubracating is a pain in the bottom if you lube it as the manual says and if you don't lube it it will start to scream at you. The return roller at the top is almost worthless even if you have someone else return your board for the next pass. The other thing with this machine is that that is no logical way of attaching extened infeed and outfeed tables to it since the tables go up and down and the head stays put. Drum sanders are great but this one could have been thought out a bit better.


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## Porosky

I also just got one of these. Have you had any trouble with picking up burn lines? I have. They appear randomly, The tech at grizzly told me to spray the paper with PAM cooking spray. That seemed to help but makes a mess. Also he said to run through at the 12 setting (fastest). That also seemed to help, I think it gives the piece less time heaqt things up. I do however still pick up a burn line and it really bums me out because I have to change the paper once one appears. On narrow stock I can shoot the piece in between the burn streaks, but on a wide top it's over with. This mostly happens on 150 grit and up. Any insights? I'm 75% happy on this one. I LOVE my Grizzly planer, jointer, Table Saw so….. 3 out of 4.


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## gwurst

I haven't had it long enough to notice any burn lines developing on the sandpaper, but it's something I will look-out for. I haven't tried any of the finer grits I bought yet. Faster speeds would help mitigate it, but would reduce the sanding quality. I suspect making really shallow passes would help as well.

I'll have to check on the screws in the machine to look for loosening during use. I can see how feed support could be an issue on long pieces. Adjusting a roller stand constantly would be a pain. For the uses I plan for this I don't foresee many problem, but I'll update this review as time goes-on.


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## sbryan55

Thanks for the review, Greg. I have had a drum sander on my list for some time now and have been considering this one. The info that you provided was helpful.


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## Kindlingmaker

When it comes to burning, I have mine set at the fastest speed and DO take shallow passes. If a burn appears I flip the board over and do the other side at the drum burn area using even shallower passes and that mostly removes the burn from the drum paper. I also keep working the wood at different feed spot, left to right and then start over again to keep hot spots from developing. Also with the drive belt on mine it is not completely flat in that the middle is lower than outsides but close. ...and yes this machine is contantly being adjusted and tentioned. It may sound like I am a bit negative about this Grizzly but it does work for what I do right now and I just wanted to let you know what I have found with mine.


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## mattg

It operates very similarly to my Jet 16-32, including the power that it requires. I have to turn the lights off in my garage, and run an extension cord from the greenhouse to my vacuum when I run mine. I also have to run it when the sun is up!! Looks like you are getting very good results from it though!! I considered this model when I was looking at a drum sander. I eventually bought the Jet because of my employee discount, the locking casters, and the infeed/outfeed table extensions. I'm going to be using mine more now that I will be veneering!!


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## brunob

I have one and don't know how I got along without it. Regarding burns: I check my belt every few passes. As soon as it darkens in one spot, I get out the belt dresser stick. That helps slow down the burn.

Also, once you've done a few belt sanding drum changes, you can get it down to a couple of minutes. I get my belt sandpaper in 50' rolls from Klingspor.


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## simonGee

nice review
thanks


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## Thumper

have one of these and so far it is a royal pain in the bottom. After finally (three days) getting the tracking squared away, I changed the 80 grit paper to 150 and managed to get three boards through before the 150 paper ate itself on a piece of walnut. Thought to myself that I must have screwed up the installation of the 150 and installed another roll of 150. The second 150 ate itself in about 30 seconds. Anybody know of a way to retrofit this for hook and loop. Figure that if I am going to keep having to change paper after another batch eats itself, would certainly be faster with hook and loop.


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## Ken90712

Good review!


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## BobCysyk

I am looking at three options on CL. A very well used Grizzly 24" dual drum sander for $350 (may need some TLC), a hardly used Grizzly 18" open end for $650, and a nearly new Woodtech 13" widebelt for $800. Any thoughts or should I go for a new 16-32 Performax?

Bob-


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## gwurst

A bit late but I thought I'd update this with some more info.

I do occasionally get burns if the adjustment is too big. A light pass will often take care of the burn mark on the paper.

I was having a problem with the paper slipping and sliding over causing a raised part and additional burning. It seems that the paper heats-up and expands slightly once you sand a bit. I've resorted to stopping after running a few boards through and tightening the paper back down on the drum. I always seem to be able to tighten it a bit more than when it is freshly installed.

I still cannot get the thing to track the way I want it. It's currently about 1 inch to the right but is staying there so I ignore it. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to getting the tracking adjustment to work.

Otherwise, it's still working well. Have yet to lubricate it but will soon. Still wish I had a 20 amp circuit since I do still occasionally pop a breaker.


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## BannorToys

Hey Greg, not sure if you still follow this post being as it is pretty old but I was looking into some Grizzly sanding equipment and wanted to know how your machine has held up over time? Motor still good, any longer term issues with Grizzly equipment?

I've heard mostly good things about Grizzly, but the lower price does make me worry about the long term quality over brands like General and Powermatic.


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## gwurst

Still use it and I haven't had to do anything to fix it yet. Finally have the belt tracking straight now. Biggest issues are tripping the 15 amp circuit all the time (REALLY need a 20 amp circuit to keep from tripping the thing every time it starts to bog down) and the belts expanding when hot and sliding over themselves. This damages the belt and tends to put burn marks on the wood. Once you run a couple boards through it's best to loosen the bolts and tighten the belt after a belt change. I'd imagine this would happen to any drum sander with wrapped belts.

Basically, it's a good tool and I wouldn't hesitate to buy one again.


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## WillieIV

Any tips on how you achieved the tracking to the middle? I just purchased a new conveyor belt today from Grizzly because mine was never adjusted correctly from the original owner. Tracked to the right so many times that it wore on the adjustment screws and basically shredded the edge of the belt. I've use it probably 6 times and am continually having to stop and slide the belt back to the left. I've spent hours trying to adjust and am wondering if my belt is just too shot to work properly. Someone above mentioned that it will scream at you if you don't keep it lubricated - they're right it will. However, most of the screaming noise (not consistent by the way) comes from the drum area and not the side where the motor and belts are. I'm not sure if there are any lube points in the upper area or not. The book doesn't identify any.


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## gwurst

I wish I had a good answer for you other than constant adjustments and blind luck. I'd imagine if the conveyor belt was significantly out or round on one side it could be near impossible to get it to track straight. I tried minor adjustments, major adjustments, and everything in-between before I finally got it to track straight. Logic would dictate that if it was tracking to the left you'd be able to make small adjustments to one side and it would slowly go back into alignment. That never worked for me. I'd have to make a huge adjustment to get it to start going the other way, and then a huge adjustment back to make it stop. Very strange.


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## dbhost

I've got this machine on my wish list. My shop is mostly set up the way I want it, but this is a HUGE deal for me!


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## Brandonbozo

Thanks for the great review! I am thinking about getting one of these, but space is an issue for me. Can anyone tell me what the dimensions are for just the drum sander, without the stand? Hoping I have room for it below my table saw, but cant find any measurements besides the overall size on grizzles website.


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## firefighterontheside

If I remember correctly, it can't sit flat on a surface without the stand. It's been a while though since I had it off.


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## gwurst

Without the stand the drum sander is about 26 1/2" tall, 34" wide with the crank, and 22" deep where the belt platform is.



> Thanks for the great review! I am thinking about getting one of these, but space is an issue for me. Can anyone tell me what the dimensions are for just the drum sander, without the stand? Hoping I have room for it below my table saw, but cant find any measurements besides the overall size on grizzles website.
> 
> - Brandonbozo


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## gwurst

He's right, the motor sits about an inch below the bottom. At the minimum you'd need to prop it up on some 2×4's, so ad 1 1/2" to the height of 26 1/2" so 28" minimum.



> If I remember correctly, it can t sit flat on a surface without the stand. It s been a while though since I had it off.
> 
> - firefighterontheside


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## Brandonbozo

Thanks for the dimensions Greg and Firefighter! I should have just enough room. Going to buy it today!


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## BillyDoubleU

I'm looking at picking this drum sander up myself. Worth the $1000 total price after shipping?

It would be the most expensive tool I've purchased.


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## BobCysyk

It's been awhile since I have been on this site. I eventually found a used Jet Drum Sander. It takes some getting used to but does pretty good job. HOWEVER, since it sands in a straight line, you will not get a finished job from this. You will still want to finish the job with an ROS. I have to say that it really comes in handy for getting small pieces of inlay to that perfect thickness.


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## firefighterontheside

Billy, I paid about $350 for mine used. I use it, but I can't say I use it $1000 worth.


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## BillyDoubleU

I've moved it further down on my list of tools.



> Billy, I paid about $350 for mine used. I use it, but I can t say I use it $1000 worth.
> 
> - firefighterontheside


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