# New Supermax 19-38 drum sander on the way. What grits do you guys use?



## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

As the title suggests, my new Supermax 19-38 will be delivered in a few hours. It will show up with 80 grit paper already installed on the drum. My question to you guys is what grits do you find useful on your drum sanders?
I've had experience using a Jet 22-44 at my friends shop and that was a big enough push to convince me I needed one for mine. I believe he had 80 or 100 grit loaded on his drum. We never went to a higher grit which still created several hours of random orbit sanding. I was thinking that we could have at least cut in half the time spent using ROS's if we had gone through 120 then 150 or even beyond. I know that as you climb through the grits, you will need to take shallower and slower passes to prevent burning of the wood and gumming of the paper. Also I understand that you start random orbit sanding with the last grit you used on the drum sander to get rid of the scratches the drum sander creates in the wood. Can one achieve an almost ready to finish piece of wood using a drum sander?

By the way, my friend showed me a method called trace coating made famous by Charles Niel in which you use an alcohol based dye that dries fast after the wood comes out of the drum sander and prior to using a ROS. The idea here is the light coat of dye provides a roadmap for you to sand with your ROS. It sits on the "hills and valleys" caused by the scratching of the drum sander. As you sand the wood with the ROS it takes away the "hills" first and shows you how much more sanding is needed until you the valleys disappear and that's when you are done. Its quite affective, though very time consuming if you last used 80/120 grit on your drum sander.

Also do any of you use a coarser grit paper than 80 grit for faster stock removal (i know its not a planer!) and glue removal? I'm interested to hear what you guys that have drums sanders have to say. I'll do a full review of the 19-38 after I've used it for a while!

Thanks,

Scott


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## dshort824 (Jan 12, 2011)

Honestly Scott I tend to leave 80 grit in my sander pretty much all the time. I find even if I have a very nice show piece that's going to be visible and I run it through the sander it tends to get some imperfections from the sanding, especially things like snipe. If your pieces are too long sometimes when you run them through the sender it will stop during the feeding process and create a divot in your wood. Learn that the hard way. I mainly use it just for rough sanding to remove glue on joints and endgrain cutting boards, things of that nature, and maybe just to finesse the thickness if I need to. Besides, the main huge reason I don't change my paper out very often is because it is a hassle. Would much rather use an ROS to get my wood looking the way I want. Having a drum sander in your shop is a great asset and luxury. But it will not replace fine sanding. It's my two cents on it anyway. Hope you get more responses and the answer you are looking for. Have a great day man.


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## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

Thanks for the reply Drew!
I read all the horror stories associated with Delta and Grizzly machines about paper changing, paper stretching and conveyor belt tracking. Thats the beauty of and one of the main reasons I bought the Supermax. Easy paper changes as in 5mins or less! Also, its super easy to adjust the belt tracking and paper stretching is pretty much a non issue with the Supermax and their patented spring clamping system which keeps the paper tight against the drum. So having said that, and if the above were non issues for you as well, would you consider going up in grit if it werent such a hassle?

Scott


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## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

By the way, when did you change your Video schedule to Saturdays? No wonder I didnt see on from you on Monday! Hope the change helps you logistically!

Scott


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## dshort824 (Jan 12, 2011)

If it weren't such a hassle like mine is then yes. Convenience is always great to have on any tool.

Actually I didn't change to Saturday. My last vid was my Halloween video. I had to take a by week due to chores around the house that needed to be done. Could not get out in shop all week last week. Actually I haven't got in the shop at all this week. Still trying to prep for winter. I will, however, be finishing the cabinet this weekend. I really need it for a roll around kitchen island that I need to do for commission.


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## dshort824 (Jan 12, 2011)

I think the most that I would take it up though is to 120 grit. I would still use an ROS at 180 or 220 grit to finesse the look


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## JulianLech (Jan 13, 2011)

I have a Supermax 37×2 drum sander. I use 100 grit paper on both drums. I use this machine sometimes to help flatten pieces for glue up or just to help start the sanding process. I do the final sanding with either a small hand held sander or by hand. Changing the paper takes me more than 5 minutes in order to get it tight. I always clean up the paper after every use to make the sandpaper last longer. I never use it to clean off dried glue. The glue will definitely gum up the paper and cause burn marks. These drum sanders are also great to help flatten out highly figured grain that would tear out in the planer. My machine is a little different than the one you purchased but thought I would share my thoughts.


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## Tim78 (May 6, 2011)

I use 80 and 120. I typically leave the 120 in to remove remaining snipe and chip-out from DeWalt 13 inch planer. I love my 19×38. I have never been successful in getting it truly flat. My brother has the 37×2 about 100 miles away. When necessary, for a really flat surface, he helps me out. I spent several hours using the 80 grit to get to thickness one weekend. Waste of time. Planer does such a great job of getting close. I tend to use Hard Maple. The planer likes to chip it out when the grain is not even. The sander cleans it up. My two cents.


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## Bill7255 (Feb 23, 2012)

I have then19-38 Supermax and really like it. I generally leave 120 grit on the drum. I have experimented with other grits, but find the 120 is a good compromise. Once out of the sander I use the ROS starting 150, the 180 and finishing with 220. Doesn't seem to take me much time to get through the grits. Maybe because I am using the Abranet sandpaper with the Cero sander that I also really like


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## SASmith (Mar 22, 2010)

I run 60 and 80 girt on my big grizzly dual drum sander. I run 120 on a small laguna drum sander.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Believe it or not I really like 24 and 50 grit paper for thicknessing wild figure that would chip out in the planer. These grits are also great for removing paint and grunge from reclaimed wood (not to mention the 50 year accumulation of bird crap on my dad's old barn wood).

My daughter really liked the 24 grit look and we used it on all the woodwork in her clinic. It has a weathered texture.

On the other end, I don't use finer than 120 as it just loads up/burns too easily.


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## pmayer (Jan 3, 2010)

I just use 80 grit. If I were running a large job through I would probably bother with going to 120 grit (but not beyond that, as I have had burning problems with 150), but for the small jobs that I am running through (normally just an end grain cutting board or two) I don't feel that it is worth the hassle of switching grits. I just go straight to a ROS with 80 grit, then move through the grits from there.


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## skipj (Mar 6, 2012)

I love my super max. I did 9 kitchens in the last 11 months. 90 % using maple. I mill all my stock and then run all of it through the super max, 2 light passes with 80 grit takes care of the plainer snip, 1 pass 120 grit then 2 really LIGHT passes 180 grit. After assembling everything I go to 220 on ROS. What I mean by LIGHT passes is the drum is just thouching the wood anything more it will burn. I change paper under 2 min. with 120 sec. my best time.
A side note. Once you burn 180 grit paper its not much good any more.


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## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

Thanks for all of your comments. From what Ive been able to take way from you guys is that I should start with a roll of 80 and a roll of 120. If my calculations are correct I should be able to get 17 wraps from each roll at 52 yards per roll which should last me a good while. I think I will also get a 35' roll of 36 or 50 as well as a 35' ft roll of 150 to see how they do. Industrial abrasives seems to have good prices.

Scott


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## moke (Oct 19, 2010)

Scott,
I think Supermax has a three pack of varying grits….I bought one of these to experiment, but have settled in on 120. I and my nieghbors make some segmented bowls and that is perfect for a glue-up, and works well for the other projects too. I did use some 36 grit to take a cup out of a thick board….. it took forever but worked well..it was too wide for my jointer.

I have never bought a roll of abrasive, but that looks like the best idea.
Mike


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## JimRochester (Dec 24, 2013)

I thought I would bump this thread because I just upgraded (hopefully) from a JET 16-32 to the Supermax 19-38 and the guy at Rockler was asking what grit I used.

I won't run through the grits like I do with the RAS. I will however only use as course as I need to get the job done. Then I'll load the finest I have like a 220 and make a few passes. The lines will still be there, but the deep grooves will not. It will feel smooth to the touch so all my RAS has to do is get rid of the lines. Usually I can start with 150 or 180 and a few minutes of sanding I'm golden. Cuts the sanding time dramatically.


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## ScottKaye (Jan 19, 2013)

Tthis is really strange.. I posted this topic 3 1/2 years ago. I was just last night looking at industrialabrasives.com and thinking about ordering some wraps  And to make it even more strange, Jimrochester above replied to this post immediately after I made a new post about a router question so it appeared in the last "5" forum topics side by side .. or rather one on top of the other. by the way Jim, interesting to know you can load 220grit on the drum I never would have though you could go that high and not burn your piece! I guess very very light passes is what it takes.

Scott


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## pauljuilleret (Nov 16, 2013)

I got a 19/38 within the last month I purchased an extra box of the 80 grit , 120 & 150. they come in a box of three rolls pre cut . I didn't want to go any finer due to the burning issues others have mentioned. I haven't used the sander much yet other than to get it set up and dialed in but am looking forward to using it soon on some cabinet doors and face frames.


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## JimRochester (Dec 24, 2013)

Burning is caused by three or four things; the wrap being loose and overlapping itself. That'll burn like a mo-fo instantly. The other three can be a combination of contributing factors. Buildup of the sawdust on the paper will cause more heat to buildup. Just plain trying to take too much off in one pass. Or sometimes running through too many times and heat builds up. The last one happens a lot with purpleheart.

When I run the 220 or 280, the piece is already flat and square. I'm not really trying to do anything but knock down those ridges from the course grits. That's not to say that there won't on occasion be some burning from one of the above mentioned causes, just no more than any other grit when I'm not being observant or careful.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

I'll run rough-sawn boards through my 16/32 using 36 grit. It is much easier for me to un-twist and flatten a less then 3' board through the DS then on a planer. Helps to keep the extra thickness of the wood as well.

Beyond that I'll usually start with 80 if the board is not flat or has checking/tearout, then switch to 120.
Final passes are usually 180, sometimes 220.

The scratches are linear and a real pain to remove with a ROS so I will usually step back a few grits with the ROS after running through the DS. For example, after a final pass with 180, I'll set up the ROS with 120 to begin.

The DS is perfect for making boards exactly the needed thickness, to within several thousandths. This is what some boxes need for tight joints.

Jim is spot on with the causes of burning. The finer the grit, the more it will happen.


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## BobLove (Mar 29, 2018)

Saw this link before and thought I would add it here. It's specific to the supermax 1938. Shows dimensions for cutting you own wrap.

https://www.supermaxtools.com/wp-content/uploads/19-38-Manual-ENG-For-Web-20170310-1-1.pdf


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

I have had one these for a few months now, and I primarily use 80 grit. I have also used 120 grit on occasion, but mostly just leave the 80 grit on the machine at all times. I have found that the stock pre-cut paper from Supermax does not hold up as well as the the stuff I get from Industrial Abrasives, although I have to cut that myself, it is a lot cheaper.


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## splintergroup (Jan 20, 2015)

I've never bought the sander rolls from Industrial Abrasives but I have bought a lifetime supply of silicon carbide paper from them.

Very nice product! Made in Eastern Europe but the grit quality and backing paper used are great. Be aware that much of their stuff used the "P" grit numbering system which is different from the Western standards of old.

They often have sales, 5% off right now.


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## Woodmaster1 (Apr 26, 2011)

I use 89 and 120. My woodworking club shop has one with 80 for glue ups and one with 120 for other non glue ups.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

Real good luck with rolls from Supergrit

I get the 3" Aluminum Oxide cloth backed XXheavy duty paper in 100, 180, 220, sometimes 150.

50 yard is 55 to 70 bux. Amazingly coarse is more expensive than fine, at least it seems odd to me. Pretty nice folks, probably never gonna win an award for next day service, but it ships kinda bulk priced so takes a few days. Plan ahead and that isn't an issue. 50 yards lasts a long time. I don't do much in the way of cleaning paper anymore, just pitch it and roll on new. So much cheaper than Supermax prices.

I have the advantage that I can "thickness" on a wide planer, so I just need to start finish sanding, finish with a ROS as needed. Often it is pretty well cooked after a run each side with 220, absolute time saver. You'll love the tool, and if you have any problem, at least when Supermax still made them they had awesome cust service. They were recently traded to a new owner, not sure of anything about them.


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## dannmarks (Oct 22, 2016)

My Planer with helix head gives me such a good finish I wonder if the sanding on a performax etc. is worth the cost, space, time and effort. This is a honest question and would like some of your thoughts on this question. I used really nice drum sanders in college 400 years ago and they were great. But back then all planer were just solid knife heads that left a rougher surface.


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## JimRochester (Dec 24, 2013)

If nothing else capacity. I guess if you never do anything larger than 13" or the capacity of your planer, the use would be limited. If you do you either need a monster of a planer or the sander.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

I sold my first DS because I had put the inserts heads on my jointer and planer. I bought another one for several reasons. When you do end grain cutting boards, they often don't plane well even with the Shelix. There's also the capacity thing that Jim mentioned. But to me the real advantage is the more precise depth of cut you get with a sander…I use mine more as a precision planer; when I need to really get something close it's a lot easier. My planer leaves infeed roller tracks if I try to cut very lightly, the sander solves that problem.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

I've pretty much settled on 150 in my 25/50. It seems to remove enough material and leaves a real nice surface that doesn't require a lot of time with my ROS.


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

I use 60 and 80 grit. I use my Supermax for getting to a final thickness and use other methods for final smoothing.


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## dannmarks (Oct 22, 2016)

Fred Hargis - You are right… I seldom want a specif thickness and just adjust my Dado Blades which I can dial in to a few .001 inches. But your absolutely right about leaving marks if not enough is coming off. Good points. Which model do you have and why is it what you would recommend? I had a Grizzly 24 inch and hated it because of biting in at first. Got rid of it right away - this was 30 years ago mind you. Just now thinking of all of this again.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

My sander is the Supermax 19/38. I chose it because the original Supermax guys designed it and the features are quite good. Mine, though, was made after the Laguna buy out and is made in Taiwan instead of the USA (which is what I really wanted). Even so, it's well made and the only adjustment I made it it out of the box was to tighten the conveyor belt. My only comparison point is the Delta 18/36 which I had (mine was problem free, though most were not) and the Supermax is so far ahead of that one that there's no comparison.


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## WoodES (Oct 8, 2013)

I think it will depend on how you want to use the DS. I use mine to flatten & then sand the boards after the jointer.

Current schedule for flattening/sanding.

1. Run board thru the table saw to obtain two parallel edges.
2. Flatten one face on jointer (spiral cutter head). 
3. Run both edges thru the jointer (previously flattened side against the fence) until square to the flattened face.
4. Run the unflattened face thru the DS using 80 or 100 grit unitl flat and parallel to the previously flattened face. 
5. Work up thru the grits on the DS face unitl I reach 220 grit (120, 150, and 220). I only take 1/128 on the 220 grit pass, then flip the board and take a final pass on the jointed face. 
6. If necessary, hit the faces with a 220 grit random orbital sander for the final sanding. And cleanup after assemby and gluing is done by hand.

I can change my belt on the jet 16-32 in less than 5 minutes, so it seems worth the effort to eliminate or reduce the RO sanding.


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