Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi again, sorry for the posting spree.

this time it goes like this: i´m thinking of buying a cheap drum-sander, and was wondering if the JET 10-20 ( http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jet-10-2 ... prod32808/ ) is good enough (size-wise) or if it is too modest, and i should go for the 16-32 model ( http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jet-16-3 ... prod33027/ ).

thanks in advance.
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I've used a 10-20 for several years.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
http://www.brackettinstruments.com/

I have the 10-20 and like it fine. If you want to thickness joined tops you can, although the drum has to be adjusted dead on perfect or you'll put ruts in the middle of the top. Mine's adjusted pretty well.

I have a brand new Jet 10-20 for sale. I doubt there is an hour of running time on it. PM if you like and I'll get some pics to you.

It's a fine unit but I like the cnc better for planing.

.... just read you were from Portugal...sry.

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I read Emerson on the can. A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds...true...but a consistent reading of Emerson has its uses nevertheless.

StuMusic

I have a 10-20 and like it fine. However, I wouldn't try to sand a joined top with it. Were I buying again, I'd spend the cash for the wider machine.

Chris.

I sand joined plates all the time with the 10-20. It's just a matter of setting it up precisely. However, if I had the room, I'd buy a bigger sander. It takes twice the time with a 10-20, something to keep in mind.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

ok, thanks. i think i´ll go for the 10-20.

Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I have a 10- 20 and like it just fine, you do have to tweak it...dont try to sand too much at a time or you will pay the price in sandpaper rolls!!!! the belt tracking can be a little pain as it seems to wander and if you aren't carfull you will end up tightening it too much and the replacement tracking belts are 26 bucks!!!!! you may wonder how I know that ..If I had the space I would probably consider the 16=32 but you will need to weigh the additional cost against what you are looking for in a sander...if price and room are not a factor by all means go for the 16-32... I do like Jet tools!!!!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

I've got the 22-44 and love it. I'd much rather have something a little too big most of the time, than once in a while not have big enough. Two things to consider though. First, is the foot print. With the frame and motor and stuff, this things are much bigger than you'd think. Double check the size before you commit. Second is the operating cost. The bigger machines use much more paper so it is more expensive to reload. And, if I remember the feed belt on my was close to 100 bucks? Craigslist wasn't quite the deal I thought it was that day.

Still, wouldn't get rid of it except for an upgrade.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

space is, indeed, a problem. even more so than money (the difference between them is not that much). another problem is that the 16-32 model is ready for dispatch at axminster and the 10-20 is out of stock ATM. but reason must prevail, i´ll go for the 10-20.

thanks all.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

You'll be pleased, it's an excellent and very precise machine. I make my purfling sheets with it and can get even .010" curly maple without problem.
As with all drum sanders, it is not possible nor reasonable to try to take too much material in one pass. It is not a planer, but with 25 grit sandpaper it is possible to hog off .010" per pass, depending on the material.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Thanks for the answers.
Laurent, is it easy to find 25 grit paper for the 10-20? in a quick search the coarser i was able to find was 60 grit.

cheers,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

I UK Jet used to supply 36 grit as an optional extra with the sander if that's any help

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

My local woodcraft stocks the 36 grit in box of three and rolls. Haven't seen 25 grit. If you've got a lot to hog off, I really like my safety planer to get close, then off to the sander to clean it up and creep up on what I really want.

Mike

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Mike Lindstrom

Miguel, the answer is quite simple. Get both machines!

Todd, I had that problem in my old shop when I was running the 10/20 (and dust collection) out of a single 15amp circuit. In my new shop I have 4 different circuits, the 10/20 runs on a 20amp circuit, the collector on a 40amp/240v circuit, and the 10/20 breaker has yet to kick off after a year and a half. And I use it every single day.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

Yes, I understood Todd. I am also talking about the breaker on the 10-20, not the one on the fusebox. Once again, since I have my new shop with 4 different circuits, the 10-20 breaker hasn't popped. I am no electrician but I suspect the 10-20 peaks wildly in what it asks from the line, and when it doesn't get it fast enough, the 10-20 breaker pops.
I have all lights on a 15amp line, various power tools on two 20amp lines and a 240v/40amp line for the dust collector. When using the 10-20 it is alone on the 20amp line. Probably overkill, but it works.
In my old shop the 10-20 would kick off at the slightest occasion, but I had a lot of things on the same circuit, frustrating since the 10-20 breaker would pop way before (and much more often) than the one in the fusebox (rarely). Same 10-20 BTW.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

The 10-20 is a fine machine. I used it to build a harp guitar which is pretty wide. Yet, I would have liked a wider machine. If you can afford the price, I would go with the 16-32. Wide enough for many designs. I ended up with the 22-44, that is an awesome machine. There does appear to be an issue with overheating in the 10-20. I experienced it. Too many theories (as already mentioned). Mine is, the motor is not quite up to doing wide sets. There is a link in the tutorial section for aligning (leveling) the head. Take a look at it.

Mike

Laurent,
What can happen is, if you are on an overloaded circuit, the voltage drops, but the amps go up to supply the power the machine is demanding. Unfortunately, the internal circuit breaker (like all the ones I know) senses amps, so it shuts down. I'm not saying some of the machines may not have weak breakers, but a dedicated circuit will help. I'm using my 10-20 on a dedicated 20 amp circuit, and have never had the internal breaker blow.

Anyway, whether I just got lucky with my 10-20, or the 20 amp circuit is helping it; I think it is a real workhorse. I thought it was actually pretty easy to level the drum so I can sand wide pieces without a ridge. It did - really - need adjusting, though, it was way unlevel out of the box.
My shop is just whatever is left in the garage with both cars parked in it so the smaller footprint of the 10-20 was important to me.
Mike

now you guys are making me scared... hope my 10-20 will be a well behaved beast. here, kitty...


cheers,
Miguel.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Filippo,

I have heard every explanation under the sun for this. And the 10-20 is definitely plagued by it. I run my 22-44 on the same circuit and have never had this problem. And, the motor never gets hot either. I just think there is something about the sizing of that motor and the task it is expected to do. Something is out of sorts. Whatever it is, bypassing the thermal circuit seems a bad idea to me. Maybe this falls under the catagory of "it is what it is". I have never heard of anybody having this problem all of the time. Just occasionally. Me? When I was really working the machine.

Mike

I'm not very savvy about electrics, but just a possible clue to the overheating/trip out problems mentioned.
I use mine in UK, on 220 volts, and have never had it trip out or overheat (despite 3 years of abuse!), but of course it may be a different motor, it is 1200 watts input, about 5.5 amps.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Has anyone tried the Grizzly 10-20.

I used to own the 16-32. I never could be bothered to adjust it, I just used the tapered board approach, which had a lot going for it. I could see that working with a 10, but it might be a little more delicate controlling the offset. Anyone try it?

Not sure what you are asking. Aligning the drum to the platten is not difficult at all. And it is well worth the effort. Can be done in as little as 10 minutes.

Mike

...As long as one has the correct taper... right? Otherwise you have a problem. As per my experience, and it only concerns the Performax/Jet 10-20 and 22-44, the alighment procedure is 95% the same. Differences exist, but most folks can see them quite easily. So if by "bigger" machines you are referring to some other machines, I would have to yield to your knowledge there.

Mike