Woodworking Drum Sander: Full Review
Have you ever seen a plain wood surface so smooth that you wonder how they managed to smooth it out perfectly and without any uneven spots?
Sometimes when you are working on a project requiring a large flat surface, you will need devices that will smooth your work surface.
In small projects like a serving tray, you can achieve that goal using simple Sandpaper; however, when the surface expands, you have to look for an alternative because if you use ordinary Sandpaper, it will take a long time to finish. In the end, the surface will not be even.
Today we will discuss a tool that will solve this issue for you the woodworking Drum Sander.
This device is an industrial and fancy piece of equipment; however, if you use it once, you will wish you had it a long time ago.
Let’s dive into the article and see what a Drum Sander is and the principles of using one?
We shall begin now.
What is a Drum Sander?
From what we have said before, you know the primary purpose of a Drum Sander, and in this section, we will dive more profoundly and technically.
Let’s continue with an example, shall we?
Imagine that you are trying to craft a desk for your home office, and you want it to be smooth because you will place your laptop and other devices on it.
So you review the plans, and then you cut and process all of the pieces, and then when it comes to the assembly, you have to take a moment to think about the project’s surface.
As we said, using a Drum Sander would significantly make it easy to smooth the surface of the wood that you are working on.
Let’s say you have purchased a Drum Sander and want to use it in this article.
A woodworking Drum Sander has several parts; although we cannot name all of them because this tool is a complex device with lots of components, there are several pieces that we would like to explain to you:
The Sand Roller
The number one component of this device is the Sand roller, which is responsible for this gadget.
It spins fast, and the wood that comes in contact with it gets sanded because the surface of the Roller has Sandpaper.
The Tray
The tray is the spot that holds your wood in its place, and you have to push it forward.
Usually, trays are big, so they are suitable for big projects; however, you can also use them for small ones.
The Adjuster
There is a limit on how much you can sand a wood piece.
By limit, we mean the depth of smoothing; you can adjust the depth of the Sandpaper property by using this handle, and besides, you can get help from the device’s manual to operate it better.
The evacuation tunnel
When sanding wood, there would be sawdust, and you have to somehow get it out of the machine, so it doesn’t get heated up and burn.
The tunnel on this tool has that responsibility.
The air directly removes any sawdust from the device.
As you can see, these are the most critical components of the Drum Sander, and by using this device, you will hopefully achieve more incredible things.
Now let’s get to the next section and see how to use this device.
How to use a Drum Sander? (Brief instructions)
Having a tool in your workshop is a perk but knowing how to use it is much more important than actually having it.
In this section of the article, we will be telling you about the actual use of the Drum Sander, and at the end of this part, we will compare this tool to Sandpaper to see which one is the best because the Drum Sander is an expensive piece of equipment.
Now let’s get to the instructions:
Step 1
It is correct that you want to smooth your wood with this device; however, the wood you are using must not have a lump or knot on it because it will significantly affect the machine’s productivity.
Step 2
After removing all of the parts from the wood, you have to clean it using a dry fabric, and then you should prepare your wood to go into the Drum Sander.
Step 3
Put the wood piece on the tray and then start the machine.
Don’t forget to wear your protective gears, and then after you turn the device on, you have you push the piece of wood into the machine, and hopefully, the wood will come out the other side smooth.
By this section, you have a piece of wood that is smooth and ready for assembly.
You have to remember that using Drum Sander is very easy; however, the settings on the adjuster of the device should be at the correct number.
To find out more about the adjustment numbers, you have to refer to the user manual of the Drum Sander in its box.
Now let’s see the differences between a Drum Sander and a Sandpaper:
Drum Sander | Sandpaper |
Needs electricity | It doesn’t need a power source |
Expensive | cheap |
Much easier than Sandpaper | Hard to work with, especially on the more extensive surfaces |
As you can see, there is a thin line between these two equipment pieces, and they each have different uses.
Using Sandpaper might be cheaper, but the more extensive surfaces cannot be operated by this tool because it will take a long time, and there is a chance of mistakes.
On the other hand, the Drum Sander is quite expensive but using it on more extensive surfaces is much easier, and you can efficiently perform on a plain piece of wood. Besides, the Drum Sander is also suitable for a small amount of wood.
Now that you know everything about the Drum Sander let’s conclude.
Conclusion…
Using tools in a woodworking shop can be a pleasant feeling; however, you must know what devices you have and even what devices you need.
One of these tools is the Drum Sander, which can smooth the surface of plain wood.
Prices on the Drum Sander start at $1,200.
So as you can see, this tool is expensive, but we think the device’s practicality makes up for its price.
In the end, we are happy that you stayed with us through the “Woodworking Drum Sander: Full Review” article, and if you have anything to add to this article, you can easily use the comment section below.