Open ended Wide Belt Sanders

[Darrell]

I am contemplating the purchase of a wide belt sander. I would like to get a 25" but haven't located one with a platen in single phase witihn my budget ($5-6,000) Anyone know of any?

I am considering the Powermatic 16" open end but have reservations. Does the open end flex? Can you really sand wider panels by turning them around????

I have used many different large wide belts at shops I used to work at. With the big machines I was able to sand to 220 and keep stuff fairly flat as long as I didn't remove more than ten thousands at a pass - how do the small wide belts compare to this?

thanks, Darrell Peart

[toolguy]

I used to have the Ryobi open end drum sander. It sucked. I've known a few with the Performax that have been very happy with the performance.

[max]

I had the big Performax double drum machine. If you are careful and take small cuts it works well. I can't imaging an open ended unit will work. The performax would chatter and throw the sandpaper if you took other than a miniscule cut. max