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Job done easy. I did finally have to reverse the paper and have use the waxed stick to keep it in good shape. It is well built and has a lot of cast iron in it. This drum sander is very easy to adjust and use. The sanding operation is very good if you take your time and give the machine a chance to work. I have used it extensively and I am still on my first strip of sandpaper. I think I waited to long before getting this drum sander. I can't even wonder what it would work like if it was built like the Delta Drum Sander.
I had to take the top apart to move it because it was to heavy for me to place in the spot where I needed it. Setting the drum to the table is easy if you remove the sandpaper. Which has a lot of pressed steel in its frame. All you have to do is use a block of wood and use the adjustment knob to make it level.
Went together very easily, but I did have help placing the drum assembly on the base. I will give the JET Customer Service folks five stars. After installing the new conveyer belt, checking my drum to table alignment and hooking the unit up to my dust collection system, I was up and quietly running. I did call JET, not Amazon, and spoke with a very helpful gentleman that got me a replacement belt ASAP.
One last thing, "Buy the grit sandpaper you use the most on a roll and cut it to fit. Kudos to JET and their customer service folks. I would also like to see a poly/rubber conveyer belt made for this unit too. I start on the left side of the drum and finish on the right side without the use of the tool. I too agree that the infeed/outfeed sanding support tables should be part of the item, not sold individually as an option. Jet 22-44 w/Cabinet Base, September 4, 2008 Received this unit in early August and everything arrived at one time.
Within three days the new belt was at my front door. To date, I have passed approximately 800 board feet of Maple, Walnut and some Bubinga. I'm only giving this unit a four star rating because the conveyer belt was unserviceable and the infeed/outfeed sanding support tables were not included with the sander. Practice does make perfect. Word of caution, "Do not try to assemble this by yourself there is a good chance you'll either hurt yourself, the machine or both." Only problem I've had with the unit thus far is an out-of-round conveyer belt. I know a number of people have stated that they have had some problems with installation of the sanding belts, but I have not.
You'll save yourself a lot of money that way." I did practice changing the sanding belt during the time I was waiting on my new conveyer belt so that might be the reason.
I find it ideal for sanding and finishing face-frames, raised-panel doors, stiles, and rails, and the like. This is a great little sander. It surprising how often I find myself using it for various projects here and there that I would not have initially imagined. I strongly suggest you get the in-feed and out-feed table. Works ok for sanding wide, heavy table-top projects, but if this is your primary interest, you'd probably be better off going with something larger.
It takes about 3 seconds to make an adjustment and it can be done on the fly. Plus, it's pretty quiet. I've not had any trouble changing belts. Sometimes I take a little more or less depending on the size and specie, but usually 1/4 turn per pass is just right for average size boards. Plus it'll flatten any unevenness. They are real nice for longer boards, easy to install and very stout. Next came the learning curve.
Nice for moving the machine back and fourth but not so nice for moving around. Light cuts are the key. I'm tall and need to raise the machine up a few inches to be comfortable anyway, so a custom mobile base is in the works. The sander saves me an untold amount of time and produces smooth parts of equal thickness. I'd purchase it again without reservation.
The machine comes with casters built in to the base. When installing, keep them just slightly below (mine are.04", or the thickness of a piece of 80 grit sandpaper folded in half) the height of the conveyor or else it will not feed right. This sander will not totally eliminate the need to hand sand with a random orbital sander, however, it will greatly reduce it. I took the rebate check from Jet and bought the extension infeed/outfeed tables for the sander. After doing it a few times, it takes about 2 minutes and I don't need to use the tuff tool. Usually 1/4 turn on one of the bolts does the trick and it'll be fine for a couple more weeks. This is my first "real" sander so a couple sanding belts got ruined by trying to remove too much material at one time. Since I already own numerous Jet machines and have been happy with their quality and service, I researched their sanders first and came to appreciate the 22-44 Plus.
--dave I purchase quite a bit of tools from Amazon, but I decided to buy this sander locally. First, I'd like to start by saying my shop has become more than just a hobby shop and is quickly approaching a full time business. I felt I needed to reduce the amount of time I spend sanding. This is probably the least important to me when purchasing a tool as I buy them to work, not to sit and be pretty.
For example, if I drum sand to 220 grit, I can remove the scratch marks easily with a light pass of 180 grit in the random orbital sander. I highly recommend the tables. This is real easy to do as Jet has put small wrenches on the adjustment bolts on either side of the conveyor. The tracking for the conveyor was a little fussy at first. Also, a sharp card scraper will remove the scratch lines from 220 grit pretty easily if you prefer scraping over sanding for final finish work. But still, I do take care of them and it's nice they look so good year after year. The machine is a joy to use. The casters are fixed, so they do not swivel.
Note- although I suppose boards could be thickness sanded, it would take a looong time, so keep the planer for getting lumber close, and then drum sand to final dimension. The fit and finish of the machine is on par with the rest of the Jet tools I own. It is connected to a Jet 1100 dust collector and sanding is nearly a dust free operation. I've used it on several projects now and can offer an honest review of my experience with it. That was in January. The crank to lower the sanding head moves down 1/64" per 1/4 turn and this is a pretty good reference to use when sanding. There was a sale and mini show going on, so I got 10% off, plus a rep from Jet was there and threw in some free goodies, and I still received the current rebate.
I just dialed it in close and occasionally have to make a minor adjustment. I've found loading up my random orbit sander with a slightly courser grit, the linear lines will remove with a good once-over. Out of the box(s) the machine went together pretty easily and needed only minor adjustments to be perfect. They do a nice job finishing their tools. Although it did have some minor hidden shipping damage, Jet corrected that promptly. T The sander will leave a linear scratch pattern similar to a belt sander, even with 220 grit, that will need removed before final finishing. It'll reduce the depth of the scratch pattern and make sanding/scraping easier.
Additionally, I'd recommend sending the boards through the sander 2 or 3 times on the final pass without changing the depth of cut.
This is my first drum sander and it does a good job. It was frustrating to align properly. The only problem is that the drum head was not parallel to the base.
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