SuperMax 19-38 Drum Sander Tool Review
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- Опубліковано 29 тра 2017
- Steve Johnson takes us on a product tour of the Super Max Drum Sander, a quick and easy sanding tool that achieves consistent smooth results.
Find out more information or purchase the SuperMax Drum Sander here at Highland Woodworking: www.highlandwoodworking.com/su... - Навчання та стиль
First complete product overview, better than the manufacturers thank you, now i know exactly how to use the one i just bought. thanks
My second GO458 Grizzly drum sander died today. Grizzly told me a couple of months ago that they don't carry parts for it anymore. Constant breakdowns, constantly adjusting the feed belt tracking mechanism. Lots of headaches. I bought this bad boy today and looking forward to finishing the assembly tomorrow. Changing the sandpaper looks amazingly easy... No dust? No loud noises? I think I'm in heaven. Thanks for a great review!
Another great video, Steve! I've had my 19-38 for over a year now and it is still one of my most favorites tools to use!
Thanks Steve. I always come back to your review so I can make a good choice. Great as always. Thanks for sharing. Bob
You sold me, I’ve been shopping for a drum sanders and this has been the most comprehensive review so far. This will definitely be my choice
Incredibly impressive review. This has answered all of my questions and you are very knowledgeable about the competing drum sanders. I owned a Jet drum sander and was unhappy with some aspects of it. You addressed those concerns of mine. Fantastic review!
When my budget allows for a drum sander I will definitely be going with a Super Max!!in all the reviews you can tell Super Max company put a ton of thought into this machine and listening to what people were not happy with other brands and corrected them. Thank You for the information much appreciated
What a great video and demonstration. One of my Neighbours has the same drum sander and says its one of the best purchases he has made. Well done and i can't wait to get one for my shop.
Great summary review. Thanks for sharing. I especially liked your opening about why we buy.
What a great video. I really appreciate you taking your time to make and post this video. I have this sander. I love it!
Great, as I watch you run that piece of Maple through at 11:50, I see absolutely no dust and that is awesome! The other demos I’ve seen is great for smoothing slabs that you can’t run through a planer or face frames and end grain cutting boards. You do such a great job on your videos! Your audio is clear and video quality is great, thanks Steve 👍
Great informative video Steve! Yesterday, I ordered the Supermax 25-50 with infeed & Outfeed tables and the digital readout
Ten Stars for Steve Johnson! His videos are what caused me to build most of the jigs I have, make the purchase decisions on new tools, and re-vamp a shop I finally love to work in. I bought a 19-38 myself because I wanted it. Turns out, I was surprised hot much I needed it. Really needed it. It is a time-saver. And I put the miles on this beast. Some of 'em hard because I took bites that were too aggressive. Once I got the hang of it, I took advantage of my bride being such a big fan of Northern Red Oak. Just for her, and her agreeing to buy me "just a few more tools" for my pitiful shop, I wound up using this 19-38 supermax for nearly everything I made from hardwood. 19 face-framed Kitchen cabinets, 9 pantry cabinets, 8 family room built-ins and and entertainment center. That meant almost 75 cabinet doors (mostly out of 5/4 stock), 250lf of 9/16 X 2 1/2 wainscot, medicine cabinets, several hundred feet of base and casing, and other odds and ends. Repeat: the biggest time-saver in all of this had been the SuperMax. I wish I had the benefit of this latest of Highland Woodworking's many outstanding videos to help me. First is that the proper use of the .003 adjustment for wide stock would have minimized the witness lines on the face frames. Second that the extension infeed/outfeed tables do not retract to save floor space. I will add to those who have burn issues, that I seldom reduce thickness on a sanding job. Often, just having made first contact with the wood, I will run all the pieces of that job through at that setting - both sides. Then one reduction of usually a quarter turn and make several runs on sometimes both sides before making any more reductions at all. Make several passes at the same setting - give the machine a chance. Change grits as necessary and throw away as little wood as possible. Most folk's woodwork is probably better than they realize. I usually make no more than three quarter-turn adjustments on a job. Think about it: The intellispeed will frequently run so much faster, that the extra passes won't add that much time to your sanding. Sneak up on "flat" as you would in trim-work lengths, and the burns will largely be avoided. You will probably also go through fewer belts. Again - Thanks to Steve. This is a man who gives significant personal time to helping others.
I gave the unpacking and assembly video a so, so rating, but hats off to this video. I think that the machine is well built and will give years of service.
I have had my supermax for about six months and love it. Extremely well built and really cut down on the amount of hand sanding with an orbital. Another thing I really like is it's ability to flat sand edges of pieces without rounding them off - something that's easy to do if your sanding by hand. My only complaint about Supermax was the poor instructions regarding the position of the drum adjustment lever when sanding 19+ size pieces. The instructions tell you what the lever does but not what position to put it in. Even the dealer I bought mine from couldn't answer the question. Thanks for solving the mystery!
Great presentation and video of features again thank you for making this presentation for us
Thanks Steve, great explanation of the SM 19-38. I purchased mine about five weeks ago, after much research and comparison with other drum sanders. I completely agree with you and am extremely satisfied with mine. Please keep the great video's coming. My next upgrade is a larger dust collection system.
Here 5 years later are you still satisfied with your SM?
@@danjacobsen7645 yes, very pleased with it.
great tip on the mineral spirits and cleaning the paper :)
Excellent video
I see that this video is now 1 year old. As of this writing the infeed / outfeed tables do fold. At least for a unit on the open stand. I shall install my tables today. I've had my 19-38 since 2015 and I am very pleased with its performance. If you take shallow passes it will do a great job. I would never attempt to take a pass turning the handle a full turn. All the literature cautions this is a sander NOT a thickness device. I do find the right side clip/spring for attaching the belts to be a little bit of a problem. Finding that "sweet spot" for where it engages is a bit of a challenge. But, once done -- it works very well.
To address the burn on your project, simply take your time, use shallow passes, and clean your belt with the cleaning stick demonstrated in this video. Burn should be virtually eliminated. I guess I should add that I use mine primarily for sanding end-grain cutting boards.
Great review
Love your psychological explanation for why we all buy stuff that fills our ever reducing workshop space :-)
"if you look here... boom, boom, boom" IM SOLD I NEED THIS
Great review and nice presentation skills! One question…where do you get the closed stand? Looks like it’ll have a door with storage shelf?
Great review Steve. Thanks so much. I thought the Supermax had a lever that allowed you to quickly move the head up or down and then fine tune with the crank knob. Am I thinking of a different machine?
That’s terrific thanks
I love my 19-38 Super Max sander. My only disappointment was the upgraded closed stand do not allow their feed/out feed table to fold down !
I need the Super Max to have a small foot print for storage. You failed to mention that in your video.
I love mine and like so many guys say,”I don’t know what I did without it”. What type of vacuum did you hook yours up to? I have mine hooked to a Dust Deputy and shop vac and it seems to work fairly well.
Thanks for the video. I'm looking into getting one of these. It will be my first drum sander. Is there anything wrong with going back to a roll of used sandpaper, or is that pretty forgiving too?
Want an equipment and then figure out a reason, this sums up most of my decision-making process of purchasing.:D
Steve, does the arrows point in the direction of material travel or drum travel? The drum is turning away. From the infeed and you installed the paper with the arrows pointing toward the infeed?
I was thinking about getting the larger one, how would it do on live edge slabs 9/4 maybe 8 ft long? I see where you have some in your shop.
I have a Jet drum sander and in need of parts. Jet has discontinued some of the parts and I’m trying to figure out if Supermax parts are interchangeable. Can you please measure the overall length of the driven roller for me so I can measure mine and see if it’s the same length?
want a piece of equipment so we figure out reasons to need it! Said every woodworker on the planet!
Great review of the SuperMax I have a question I was going to buy the 16-32 drum sander verses the 19-38. Reason I am a light use cutting board maker. Retired and just do hobby wood projects for the family. My main reason to buy the 16 verses is the 16 is $1500 and the 19' is $2000 now days plus tax and shipping. Whats your thought on this will I be making a mistake not buying the bigger one or is it a over kill for my hobby shop. Ty
Have you had any issues with sandpaper ripping off often? The conveyor belt material appears to be somewhat fragile, any issues there? What do you least like about the machine?
I have owned the 19-38 drum sander for a couple of years now. It was a great machine until the drive belt needs replacing. Aligning the drive belt takes hours and patience until you moderately get it right. Its' a great machine that turns to POS if you have to replace the drive belt.
you mean the conveyor belt?
I cannot find the "unboxing" video. Please advise, and thanks for a truly informative review!
Here is the link to the unboxing video: ua-cam.com/video/iRP2hg9vyz8/v-deo.html
HELLO, DO YOU RECOMMEND THIS TOOL? BETTER JET OR LOGUNA?
I recently acquired one, and I did get the outfeed/infeed tables, but I have not assembled them, because the machine is so big, I am gonna have to really rethink my shop layout if I am to accommodate such a large machine. How did you get yours to fit in your shop? It has not looked like you had a great big empty space waiting
Well, the unit I had before was really not that much smaller. It had an open stand and the way the legs tapered outward, it took up close to the same amount of space. Since the new unit is on wheels, I am able to roll it into a "parking spot" underneath my stairs when I am not using it. If I had one suggestion for SuperMax, it would be to engineer some sort of "folding" mechanism for the infeed and outfeed tables. Of course that would add to the cost, but it would be very, very cool. Thanks so much for watching!
for 2k should come with in/out tables and the wixey depth gauge.
I want one....I mean I need one....
Not brought up in most videos on drum Sanders. Many guys use it as a thinkness planner, but don't think this is a speedy process. Don't expect to take off a whole lot at any one time ...Anyware from .006. to
.012 per pass.
I thought it would be a good idea to clean the drum before putting the new sandpaper on.
I just set up my new 19 x 38. The conveyor adjustment bolt will only LOWER the left side, and will not raise it. I will explore this in depth, but has anyone had this problem? Thanks
I just put mine together and factory setting is a joke. Mine wont go up or down (I did loosen the 4 allen screws) I would guess my machine is off 1/16 inch from one side to the other out of the box. The lever to adjust so you dont get a gouge does nothing on mine (I may have the bolts to tight).
I have the SM 25-50 and I sure don’t find getting that right side clamped, I find it frustrating
After do a wide board that you have to turn around, do you have to move the lever back up for single pass?
When sanding stock that is wider than the length of the drum head, you'd lower the lever so the inboard side of the drum head is then 3 thousands closer to the conveyor bead (to keep the outside edge of the drum head from putting a groove in the material). Once you're done with your wide work, you'd move the lever back to it's normal (up) position so the head is parallel with the bed. (the short answer to your question is "yes".)
@@eddents In theory yes, but that feature does not work on mine.
Just bought the Super Max 19x38 Can someone help with sanding the entire board evenly I have been trying all the adjustments shown in the manual to no avail. Most of the sanding is done on the right (MOTOR SIDE) after a few adjustments it would sand both ends but not the middle. Not sure how that can happen Any Ideas out there? I'm 78 with very bad arthritis just trying to get that paper in the right side is a challenge who ever designed that must not be a woodworker or never changes his paper
I have the EXACT same problem. Did you ever figure it out?
@@grantparnes Still trial & error
Hi Ben. I do totally agree with you that the replacement and attachment of abrasive is quite difficult. Especially for us guys who have arthritic thumbs. The manual is not very specific in relation to how critical it is to get the paper placed exactly in the correct location. The location of the clip and tensioner is such that it is very difficult to see the precise paper location. Also, the clip that holds the paper must be released at a high position so that the paper is clamped, and then the tension arm is released to apply tension at a higher level to the paper. It is difficult to lower the tension arm without depressing the abrasive paper clamp. I've had my machine for about five years and never look forward to changing out the abrasive. Well Paisan, I've had more difficult days. In my 37 years of teaching vocational building trades and cabinetmaking I have learned that every machine has its "Achilles' heel".
LOL, it isn't that easy to get in the clip on the right side. I got a 25-50 a couple months ago and the ear of the paper wants to follow the spring and is rather difficult to get in. The tool that they provide is handy too. I've also ran into paper from Luguna that is a scotch too wide and will run a little off the right side. Luguna told me you may have to trim it a little.
Powermatic 2244 has even easier adjustment…
Supermax, I thought it was a documentary on a high security prison.
It looks like a couple inches of sanding belted drum on the inside that can't be used, weird.
For those who haven't seen this yet he puts the paper on with the wrong direction of travel ua-cam.com/video/aCDgVADWBPo/v-deo.html
I've owned one of these for two months and I can't agree with you about most things you have said about this sander. I find it helps me quite a bit but you have really oversold so many aspects of this sander. For example, my sander does have play in the adjustment. Not much but when sanding vertical grain butcher block cutting boards, there is enough play that it becomes very easy to burn the board and leave very deep scratches on the surface of the wood. The mounting of the sandpaper is much more difficult than you have said. There is no place in the instruction manual that shows exactly where to put the end of the sandpaper and as I'm left handed, I have found it extremely difficult to find the place to put the end of the strip and to push the holding lever against the spring. The alignment is okay for sanding flat grain wood but vertical grain is far more touchy and the system for checking the alignment is not accurate enough. I purchased the digital readout and it was a total waste of my money. For one thing, the readout only measures to .005" and when moving the height adjustment, the readout shows around .005" slop in the adjusting screw. Finally, when the automatic speed adjustment slows the belt down because the height adjustment is so inaccurate, the slower speed actually burns the wood more rather than less. I've worked with a wide belt sander, a stroke sander, and many random orbit sanders for more than 20 years. This sander is good for what it is but it is NOT the sander you are promoting.
Mark, thanks for your comment. I did try to make it clear in the video that I was comparing the SuperMax to my previous drum sander and to other drum sanders "in this class." And in that comparison, it is vastly better. I did not, however, attempt to compare the SuperMax to a $10,000+ wide belt sander or a stroke sander, which frankly, is a somewhat specialized piece of equipment. Both of those comparisons would be imprecise. As far as .005" slop in the adjusting screw, mine does not exhibit that, nor would I probably notice. Any sander can leave burn marks, of course, but I generally find that running the conveyor at a higher speed and taking less of a "bite" with each pass resolves the issue. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for responding. I have been frustrated with this sander and there are others in my woodworking community that have the same frustration with the burning. Yes, I run the sander at 100% to reduce burning and I immediately back it off if the little light comes on. I love that light. As for the slop, the sander has always had that slop. What I don't know is if this sander is much better than its competitors. With all of that, I just used it for a couple of hours to thickness some small and thin parts made out of walnut and it did a great job. I'm still having problems with the sandpaper coming loose. All the time. So a person needs to listen to the sander and the sound changes when the sandpaper comes loose. I was also wondering about your reference to the arrows on the paper. It looked like you put the paper on backwards. Just wondering which way it should go on as it is unrolled. I have been doing it your way and wonder about thether that is okay. Also, for me, a left-hander, I find the spring on the right to be quite a bit more difficult to access than the one on the left. And it's really hard to see whether the sandpaper is going into the right place. And, as I said, IIRC, the manual doesn't show exactly the path to put the sandpaper into the spring holder.
I haven't looked beyond the Wood Whisperer Guild and forum "circle," but this is the first negative-ish review I've heard of the Supermax. Everyone seems to love the thing. One day!
One might question how many of the positive reviews were done by people who either haven't used the sander in a demanding situation or people who have a financial connection with the sander. For example, I sand vertical grain cutting boards and need to adjust the sander more closely than .005" in order to prevent burning. The digital readout will not represent a position of the sanding head to less than .005" because it just isn't capable of that. Also, moving the head through more than what is claimed to be 1/32" doesn't result in any changes in the digital readout. Also, a slight movement of the head results in a change from almost no sanding to the speed control slowing the drum down and burning the wood. I have friends who cannot and will not use their sanders because of the burning problem. I run the sander at 100% speed and that doesn't seem to deal with this problem. Just saying.
I'm finding out where it fits into my shop but when sanding vertical grain cutting boards it tends to burn and leave lots of marks on the boards. When sanding flat grain anything, it doesn't burn nearly as much. Also, I have a 22" planer with a helical head and the planer thicknesses just about everything, including problematical grained wood, really well. However, I can see how someone with a 12" planer, especially one that uses knives, would find this sander essential. The digital scale is completely worthless to me because the fineness of adjustment necessary for vertical grain boards cannot be displayed on the digital display. It just doesn't have a fine enough resolution. Sorry for the rant. It's just that this sander cost me many, many hours of frustration before I just gave up on it and purchased a Mirka DEROS sander (fantastic!) and now I only use the Supermax to sand small flat grain pieces that are difficult to handle using a random orbit sander, pieces that have snipe on the planer, and very thin veneer. For these things it's great.
Dude... You put the paper on in the wrong direction...LOL it goes on in the direction in which the drum turns. Away from the operator when running. OMG...
indeed, he did install it backwards, but maybe that's because he was preoccupied with video making.
I have a super max 38 x 2 or 37 x 2 what a piece of junk
Real easy to change over? OMG lol NOT!
Excellent video