# 16-32 Drum Sander



## RoadHogg

Thanks for this review. I was waffling between this sander and the General 24" dual drum sander. I went with the General. Your review confirms I made the right choice.


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## longgone

I own a drum sander that I have used for years and it has worked flawlessly. I adjusted it when I first bought it and have only needed to do an occasional fine tuning for the tracking. Any machine regardless of manufacturer can sometimes have a bad unit and it seems you obviously got one. My drum sander is not a Performax…it is a Jet 22-44 and I would recommend it anyone.


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## Desert_Woodworker

Oh NO! all one has to do is Google 16-32 drum sander tracking problems. My machine is NOT one of the bad ones, for if you reread review- A well built machine and AFTER buying Hamiliton's correct belt I got it to work. Then, for the $$ money the Festool or Mirka. OR a General as posted above. Not a cantilivered unit- Even Norm Abraham's intoduced a drum sander to the New Yankee Workshop circa 1990's - It was not a cantilivered!


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## BoardSMITH

I started out with a Performax 22-44 and the cantilevered design flaws became apparent quickly. Trying to keep it level to the bed and then having to work around the raised areas when it contacted a glue joint were maddening. That sander also had major problems with tracking which were a real source of joy as the sander was used for hours. I upgraded (?) to a non-cantilevered 25" double drum model from Performax which worked better but the tracking issues were still there. Those $90.00 sanding belts used for the conveyors was brittle and tore easily. Rather than pay $300.00 for a rubber belt I struggled with the brittle sanding belts.

Both sanders are now long gone and in their place is a real wide belt sander wide a real rubber conveyor belt that almost never needs to have the tracking altered.

For the occasional user the 16-22 type sanders should be okay but if you plan to use them for larger pieces, like doors, or want precision work, like flat parallel surfaces, look elsewhere.


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## ellen35

I'm with Greg on this one. Mine has worked flawlessly for about 5 years with only a very occasional adjustment to keep it level. It is the Jet 16-32 cantilevered model.

I didn't know General made one… maybe if this one ever dies, I'll consider that.


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## Albert

I have the Delta model that I bought used and it works ok if I am careful with it. It is NOT a thickness sander, very light passes only. I use it for most every project I do and it has its frustrations but I don't know what I would do without it.


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## gfadvm

My Jet 10/21 has the same tracking problem but my Craftsman 18/36 with the rubber belt does not.


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## sawdustjunkie

Am I missing something here?

The photo's you are showing don't look like the Jet/Performax.
They are painted white and have been for awhile!
The only other sander I have looked at is the Supermax and it is painted grey.
I am sure they are all made in the same factory,, like many other tools are, but some are made with different specs.
I have been eyeballing the Jet and am getting ready to make a purchase. It seems that all the open sided sanders have the same belt problem but reading all the reviews about them it sounds like it just needs to be adjusted.
It seems like almost every review ends up with a working machine and after the adjustments are made they last for a very long time and they are quite happy with their purchase.


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## ScottKaye

I have to disagree whole heartedly with the author of this review as he is reviewing a product that hasn't been manufactured in many many years. In fact PERFORMAX doesn't even exist anymore as JET bought the company years ago. SO to say (do not buy) a 16-32 performax sander is dead wrong as you cant buy one except a used model. You can buy a 16-32 JET badged sander though so perhaps that's what the author meant to write. I think he may be referring to a USED PERFORMAX SANDER and a rather old one at that judging from his pictures. Having said all that..

Fast forward several years.

Along came some old performax engineers/managers who worked at the old PERFORMAX line. They were able to obtai a license from JET to build and improve on the old Performax designs. This new company is known as SUPERMAXTOOLS. I have a SUPERMAX 19-38 for the last year and half and I have had absolutely ZERO issues with the sander. The belt came 100% pre-tracked and have never ever had to adjust it. As far as the overhead arm being parallel to the bed its a very easy adjustment that takes all of 5-10 mins. Mine came from the factory close, but I dialed it in (With a feeler gauge) to with in .001 and it hasn't moved a hair since I locked it down. You pay a little extra premium for a supermax product and it shows in the fact at how flawless the machine is. SO PLEASE DONT CONFUSE AN OLD PERFORMAX PRODUCT WITH A NEW SUPERMAX PRODUCT.. THEY ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COMPANIES.

side note. SUPERMAX customer service is second to none. Id suggest giving them a call on your tracking issues. even though they didn't make your performax, they know a lot about it and even offer replacement parts. Give them a shout. You wont be disappointed.


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## Desert_Woodworker

If a person likes their product GREAT. This post was to inform people who are thinking of buying a cantilevered machine, to rethink their purchase. Yes this an old product BUT the copies that followed this machine are VERY similar, including the tracking problem. Let me reiterate -just Google 16-32 drum sander tracking problems- the posts include my machine to the Jet. At first, I wanted to throw it into the desert, but that would not be me. I read and read internet stuff on fixing the problem. This is what I did, I took the whole machine apart to check for damage- NONE. I spoke to Jet customer service and according to him the problem is the aftermarket belts that are being sold. (ie the post picture of the black belt) He told me to call him if I had any problems. The next day I called and left a voice mail, I have not heard from him. As my post says- Fred Hamilton's rubber belt seems to work for me $99 vs the Jet belt around $80. 
So if you have a cantilevered machine and like it GREAT! For people thinking about buying one please read BoardSMITH's post above, read Amazon's reviews, but MOST IMPORTANTLY use the correct tracking belt not the after market. For my money I would not recommend a cantilevered machine.


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## ScottKaye

I still have a problem with your statement that "anyone thinking of buying a CANTILEVERED machine needs to rethink your purchase." Let me reiterate.. Google the 19-38 Supermax. You will be hard pressed to find a negative review out there. You cant say for a fact that cantilevered machines have an inherent design flaw when you are basing your observation on an older style Performax that hasn't been manufactured in years. There is nothing wrong with a Supermax 19-38 cantilevered machine from my own experiences and from what I can find on the internet. My advise to anyone searching for a drum sander is to defiantly consider the SUPERMAX line up (they have both cantilevered and non cantilevered designs) Do your own research and see for yourself. And recognize a poorly worded review when you see one.

Reviews of the Supermax 19-38:
Amazon.com
Acmetools.com
Chuck Bender formerly of Popular Woodworking, now on 360 woodworking.com


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## Desert_Woodworker

Scott- Do I detect anger to my post and more importantly me? This is my review and my thoughts. I think that your knowledge is well stated. It may even help some people. I will stand by my statements with the temporary exception of the SuperMax line up. I will look at the attachments- Regardless, I hope any knowledge shared by all will HELP the next person.
Again
I would not recommend a cantillevered drum sander. I will conceed this there are a lot and I mean a lot of happy satisified people GREAT! and I mean it. But when you manufacture products there are bound to be defects. When the number of problems increase your product has a flaw or problem i.e. 16-32 tracking problem. I do not stand alone. 
Let the buyer beware


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## sawdustjunkie

I was recently at my local Rockler store and they had both the Jet and the Supermax on the floor.
I will say that the Supermax is built like a tank compared the the Jet. That being said however the Supermax is $1400 and the Jet is $1119. That is a big difference.
I only paid $1650 for my table saw and the sander is $1400. These machines are expensive, but after reading many reviews it is a tool that everyone seems to wand and need.
There are probably tens of thousands of these type of sanders out there in the real world and when there are that many being sold, there will always be some complaints.
My Rockler dealer owns a Jet and he said it took him about 30 min to adjust the belt. That was 2 years ago and he said he hasn't touched it since. He also said he would love to have the Supermax because it,s built better than the Jet. It's also almost 50 lbs heavier than the Jet and is all metal. It looks and feels more solid.
If Desert-Woodworker bought his used, who knows how it was used and if the original user ever did anything to it.
What I don't understand is if you put a rubber belt on it and it's working fine now, why are you saying to this forum to stay away from these type of sanders.
Not every tool that comes out of a box is perfect.
Everything is mass produced and there are very few things that were hand built and are perfect.

The only exception is for all the woodworking projects posted on this site, which all look perfect and were probably all hand built, with the help of tools we all have to buy. They are all beautiful!!!
I am glad your older sander is now working fine for you.


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## Desert_Woodworker

I will declare that Scotts link to the Super Max is informative.


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## Desert_Woodworker

Steve good info. The reason for my post is to inform users of the "tracking " problem of the Performax and Jet 16-32 sanders. I purchased the machine new cared for it. (like all my tools) As I say my machine is built solid but the tracking is difficult to maintain. I do believe in drum sanders not the cantilivered Performax or Jet 16-32. The super Max looks interesting sounds BUT for the money I could have a Festool Rotex or Mirka with vacumn.


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## ScottKaye

DW I wasn't trying to be argumentative but I also wasn't going let you stereotype all cantilever designs either 

Seriously though, 
Give Supermax a call. Even though they are not the company that built the Performax, they are extremely familiar with the old performax products as some of their people used to be Performax people before the company was sold to JET. Toll Free: 888-454-3401 I spoke with them before I purchased my machine just to see how they handled inquiries and they are fabulous Minnesotans (think Stumpy Nubs) who are extremely friendly and very knowledgeable. Its worth a free call


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## chem

I have the Jet 16-32 Plus. The automatic feeding control is great so the machine does not overload. The tracking was a pain (I think they added some ceramic guides to help at some point which I do have). Changing the sandpaper is not fun and makes me think about alternatives sometimes. I thought about a more traditional drum sander, but I am not sure a 32 inch capacity would be affordable or able to fit through the door to shop! In general this kind of tool as absolutely amazing especially for working with glued panels and with figured woods.


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## ScottKaye

Chem.. paper changes on the 19-38 take less than 5 mins. There is plenty of room to get my fat fingers in between the drum and the frame to attach the paper with self tensioning clips. c


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## chem

ScottKaye it may be me or may be the Jet. I don't mind the five minutes to change the paper as much as the fact that the tension is not always easy to achieve and when it goes wrong it damages the paper and piece being sanded.


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## Desert_Woodworker

Scott I'm with you on the "possibility" of Super Max. Good reviews not only on what you posted but trying to find "dirt" on the Max. I couldn't.
Guys- lets focus on the old Performax and Jet 16-32. There are a lot of problems with "tracking". If you read older posts "THERE IS A PROBLEM!". 
Regardless, I personally would NOT purchase a "cantilevered" machine. 
Good luck to you all- 
Ps Yes to Stumpy! Maybe people should build his drum sander for ther is NO tracking problem/


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## WhoMe

The current Jet 16-32 is a pretty good unit but at 1119, is a bit overpriced in my mind for the lack of a metal dust hood and for the size in general. IMO, it should be much closer to the $1K price point. Having said that, When setting the one up at work, I had NO problems setting up the machine. The belt tracking took about 10 - 15 minutes to get it dead on. It drifted very little from the factory but did need some tuning. The sand paper on the drum takes a bit to get right but that is common all drum sanders I have set up or used. Basically wind it on with the plan to readjust it once or twice due to minor stretching of the belt.
We had a Supermax 19-38 in the shop and it is a BEAST. all metal everywhere and IMO, a much larger drum motor that is more applicable to the machine. The metal dust hood should be mandatory on all drum sanders as it does not flex or come open at the most inopportune moments like the jet ones does unless you drape the dust hose right on the height control.
At $1400, I think the Supermax is a much better deal than the Jet at $1119.
As for the drum not being parallel to the platen, it should not be parallel and be several thousandths wider at the open end to allow for a transition when flipping a panel around to sand the other side. In my case, the Jet was right on and performed so. The Supermax was right on also.

I would love to have one of these machines in my garage and I will someday. For flat sanding panels they cannot be beat. I would NEVER Try that with a Festool or Mirka. At a max of 6" for a pad, that is way too small to provide a good flat surface to a panel IMO. Although they are great tools in their own right, not the best to flat sand a panel.


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## vegeta

is the sander your giving the review for the one in the picture?


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## Desert_Woodworker

Yes- cantileevered drum sanders, I found out ( see above ) is a divided subject. 
Let the buyer beware!


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## Dusty56

The trick that I found was to make very small changes at a time with the adjusting screws, and to be patient. I haven't had to readjust any of my machines since the initial set-up, unless i tried to take too heavy of a "cut" with them. My DELTA *X5* is the worst of the three that I own as far as tracking and need of adjustments. I finally gave up on getting the drum parallel to the platen on that machine. Hours of frustration to say the least.


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## rhett121

The fact that the sanding drum is cantilevered has nothing to do with the tracking belt. The table is still fastened on both sides. Your complaint about the tracking is understandable as I have a JET 22-44 and had to replace the belt because I got too close to it with the sanding head and it scraped on a high spot and lost it's texture and the replacement belt didn't track well at all. I bought a replacement rubber-ish belt and it works fine again. As for being parallel to the bed, I've never had an issue with it being out of alignment. I might buy an even better quality rubber belt later if I feel the surface is still too slippery but so far I have no issues with the sander at all. I love the tool and would recommend it to anyone.


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## Magnum

I find this Review very Confusing and in some places Contradictory.

Perhaps a few Pictures will help clear it up. Or NOT!




























Well! Maybe Yes. Maybe No.


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## Brad_Nailor

Hey..that's my Performax 16-32 sander picture! I still have it and I use it all the time. Actually, the feed belt has developed a large crack and is separating at the seam line and despite my attempts to super glue it back together, I need to replace it. I think it is worn out as well because I have been having a problem with my pieces slipping and sliding on the feed belt regardless of depth of cut or feed rate. I am wondering if it would be advantageous to spend the cabbage on one of those rubber belts. I have read reviews both positive and negative on them (and the negatives weren't just about the price). I have also been toying with the idea of selling this and upgrading to the Super max. I have read glowing reviews on them, and I like the improvements they have made on this original cantilever design. Problem is even if I sell my performax, it will only get me about half of the cash I would need to get the Super Max. I do use the drum sander on almost every project in my shop…and I like the extra three inches you get withe the Super Max…hmmm


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## Desert_Woodworker

12-31 I upgraded to a rubber conveyor belt. It still has the "tracking issues"


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## Bill_Steele

Your drum sander (DW) looks alot like the one listed on the Accura tools website (http://accuramachinetools.com/accura-01632-single-drum-open-sided-1632-inch-drum-sander-w.html)-so maybe it's not a Jet or a Performax?

I appreciate your post and your opinion. In your post you suggested buying a Mirka or Festool random orbit sander(?) and vacuum instead of the drum sander. Can you get the same results with those tools? If so, please let me know how. I wouldn't think so. How could you sand items to the same thickness? Do you have some sort of jig?

I'm in the market for a drum sander. Woodworking is a hobby for me-not a profession. I looked at the prices on those wide belt sanders and they are expensive! I think they also require 3 phase/220? With my budget and my home workshop (in my basement) I'm thinking the cantilevered drum sander is a better fit.

Right now I'm trying to decide between the Jet 16-32 and the Supermax 19-38. It looks like the Supermax is much better quality, costs more (not enough to dissuade me)-but it has a really big footprint-it takes up alot of space with the extension tables installed. Is this true? With the jet it seems like once you get the quirks (adjustments) worked out that it's a consistent and accurate tool.

I'm still not sure what I want, but I appreciate all the feedback and personal experience with these tools.


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## Desert_Woodworker

Let me try to help explain: I wrote this article as a newbie on this site but not in woodworking experience. the machine was the "original" back then $1000. LEMMON! the tracking belt was always trouble to keep alligned and so on. I still have the machine, but I rarely use it (eveven with the new tracking belt ) Here is the situation; I have yet to see a honest review (most video woodworkers are gorrilla marketing a product hat was given to them with the exception of Jay's Custom Creations ) as for the Jet- NO Super Max- No because they are the people who created my machine and I question anyone's integrety if they designed my machine. As for your situation, make a compact one your self. Best of luck.


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