Drum sander vs planer

On the Woodworking show, when making flat stock, he uses the following procedures.

1) sizes the stock on the table saw 2) joints one edge and one face on the jointer 3) with jointed face down planes the opposite face on the planer 4) passes the stock through the drum sander for final size

QUESTION? Why did he not simply go for final size in the planer? While I am sure a drum sander would be a nice tool to have, is it necessary for the above goal?

Thanks, Ivan Vegvary

Reply to
Ivan Vegvary
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No. Just plane it. I wouldn't use most drum sanders for dimentioning anything. It would take a sander with some serious muscle to do that. I want a drum sander also, but it would be fore getting a certain finish while reducing sanding time, not dimentioning. On the other hand, if you get some seriously ragged wood, like maybe some old barn wood or something, it might be better to run it though a drum sander first rather than a planer, since grit and old paint in the wood wouldn't do much to a drum sander, but would dull or nick planer blades.

brian

Reply to
brianlanning

I have a planer and drum sander. I typically use the planer for dimensioning. The reasons I use the drum sander have been a) Very short pieces b) Piece too wide for the planer (> 13in) c) Grain on wood resulting in tearing. d) Assembled item has grain in two directions

Using the drum sander is much slower than the planer. Have to check the drum from time to time to clean off gum. Repeated light passes are required, but it is still easy to get the sandpaper too hot which increases the gum build up resulting in more heat, etc.

Dave Paine.

Reply to
Tyke

Tear-out prone wood should be sanded rather than run through a planer. Wetting the wood helps, but ultimately, if it still tears out, you'll need to sand out the divots. doing that with handheld sanders is a time consuming PITA and may result in less than optimal results (uneveness). Scraping will work, but it's also time consuming and tedious if you expect to scrape away enough to remove any but the tiniest divots.

Dave

Reply to
David

Because a planer is not going to leave a finish that you want to be the final surface. Yeah some of the new portables will leave a baby butt surface, but not for long. And, no you can plane to the final thickness and then lightly hand plane, scrape or sand the surface as a final prep to the surface.

Reply to
Leon

Was it highly figured or other difficult to plane wood?

Reply to
B a r r y

Don't have a clue, but offer the following:

1) Drum sander can handle 48" wide material. 2) If you are reclaiming old timber and miss a nail, it usually won't damage the sanding belt of a drum sander.

If building a table top as a glue up of boards, I like to use oversize stock for the glue up, then go to the drum sanding shop and bring it to size.

Provides a uniform finish at minimum cost.

Just don't show up with a teak glue up unless you have very deep pockets. One you sand teak, you need new belts.

A commercial drum sander uses 3 sanding belts driven usually by 25HP motors.

After seeing one of them operate, anything you find in a home shop is basically a toy by comparison, IMHO.

Lew

Reply to
Lew Hodgett

David Marks does this all the time. He (nor I) like planning thin pieces in the planer. For longer thicker pieces, the planer works great.

Dave

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Teamcasa

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Reply to
dadiOH

I have a drum sander and no planer, use reclaimed timber, so knots even nails can go through. Dimension on bandsaw. Tough! I use old scaffold boards sometimes. Jet recommended !

Reply to
Dzine

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