Planer or sander

[Leon]

Essentially the drum sander will work exactly as a planer in that respect.

[dpb]

On 3/24/2018 4:52 PM, Michael wrote: ...

Ideally, one has a jointer the size of the planer... :) then you get the first surface flat, _then_ plane to thickness. (Even I don't have that large a jointer to match the 18" PM, though, but normally one can knock the high points off enough w/ hand scrub plane pretty quickly as compared to making shims and the backing board.

Altho generally on something that twisted unless it's a really unique piece of material or very pricey I'll just cut it down to use for something else that it fits rather than try to correct.

Leon's right though, the two parallel portions of the machine are (and must be to work properly) immobile with respect to each other as the material goes through; hence the material is what has to give, mostly.

There's just a tiny bit more "give" in the sander backing rollers and drive belts, but "tiny" is the operative word.

[Puckdropper]

Markem wrote in news: [e-mail]:

Are you thinking about snipe on the ends? I haven't had much of a problem with my DW735, as long as I support the end of the board as it comes out.

Puckdropper

[Electric Comet]

you must mean a horiz drum sander but maybe there is a vertical model out there

have never seen one

as to a horiz drum sander vs a thickness planer

i would rather have a horiz drum sander

pros are

quieter no blades to chip or sharpen usually a nicer finish more options on the level of finish by changing grits can work wider material on open sided machines did i say quieter

cons are slower material removal and do not take off too much at once although some will detect if you try too hard and slow down more dust initial cost might be higher

[dpb]

On 3/25/2018 12:43 PM, Electric Comet wrote: ...

...

Suit yourself; they're two different tools designed for two different purposes albeit one can drive nails with things other than a hammer, yes...

[Jack]

I'd go for the planer. Moreover, I would go for one with a spiral head segmented cutter. Grizzly sells them rather cheap, and they work well, much better than a 2 or 3 knife cutter. A bit louder than a sander but still very quiet. Like a sander, they cut smooth regardless of grain pattern/direction or knots. You can finish sand with a hand sander in a minute, even large surfaces. About no need for a drum sander if you have one of these as they come out ready for a quick finish sand.

Rough cut lumber is one use, and planing glue ups smooth another, but they also make sizing dimensional lumber a breeze. For example, drawer sides are 1/2" or 5/8" thick. 5/4 stock is good for brick moldings, storm windows, and all sorts of stuff. In fact, most everything you make just looks better in other than dimensional sizes. Sanders are not made for this, period, and IF you can find other than dimensional lumber at a store, it will be expensive, real expensive.

The advantages of a segmented, spiral cutter head are numerous: Grain pattern/direction and knots negligible Dust collection simple (small segmented chunks instead of long clogging chunks. Carbide knives have 4 sides that stay sharp 4 times longer than carbide blades because you can rotate them also good if you nick a blade, just rotate the blade. No adjustments needed when replacing one or all knives. Noise level is very low compared to long 3 knife cutters. For example, my 6" jointer makes 5x more noise than my 15" planer when face jointing, and the finish is not as good.

[Leon]

But to be clear, a drum sander is hard to beat when sanding thin veneers to a uniform thickness. Or for flattening the top and bottoms of the sides of small/short drawers and boxes so that one side does not stand higher or lower than it's mating piece.

I use my drum sander extensively for the above purposes.

[Scott Lurndal]

A drum sander can also be useful for surfacing wider surfaces than the 15" a typical planer will handle. The 16-32 will handle 32" wide surface and the 22-44 a 44" wide (in two passes).

[dpb]

On 3/29/2018 1:23 PM, Leon wrote: ...

Indeed falls in the "two different tools for different purposes" category I outlined above... :)

[Leon]

I know I was forgetting something obvious.

[Brewster]

For my primary uses, a sander can do everything a planer can do, maybe just not as quickly. This consists of frames, boxes, short items, and boards up to about 36".

Surly there counter examples? I can't think of any off the top of my head however.

I use my DS to surface rough lumber (short lengths) by starting with 36 grit. It takes about 1/32" per pass, but has no limitations for grain direction and figured woods.

I'll still pull out my lunchbox planer when I need the speed (or the extra 3" of thickness capacity over my DS), but I find I am using it less and less nowadays.

-BR

[Jack]

A 15" planer can plane 2 perfectly flat, exact thickness 15" pieces that can be edge glued easily to 30" wide with very minimal sanding needed, which can be done quickly with any hand sander.

[-MIKE-]

That's what I end up doing for wider panel glue-ups. One glued seem is pretty easy to knock down by sanding or a card scraper, which works better to avoid dips at the seem.

[Scott Lurndal]

On the other hand, I see no good reason to rip a 30" wide board down to 15", plane, then glue it back up when I can just use the drum sander.

[-MIKE-]

Was someone suggesting to do that? Probably not wise, unless you have no other choice. I thought we were just discussing ways to glue up wide panels.

[Leon]

Do you often see 30" wide boards? ;~)

My local supplier has 36" wide pieces of mahogany. Ripping those, to thickness plane, would be shame.

[Scott Lurndal]

I have a few. A nice 26" 24/4 slab of Claro Walnut. A 30" wide slice through a redwood burl (rough edge). A few wide 4/4 boards.

Indeed.

[Scott Lurndal]

The discussion was on the relative pros and cons of having only one planer or one drum sander. As they do, it morphed along the way.

[Markem]

And with a 30" planer you can get 60" wide......

[Jack]

On the other hand there are very good reasons to rip a 30" piece of lumber into less than 6" widths, then glue them up into a large piece. In fact, it is the common method of making wide boards.