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This means it has been used and abused on a regular basis, being run for as much as an hour at a time, two or three times per day. The machine has performed admirably without skipping so much as a heartbeat and has not required the replacement of a single machine part to date.
Maintenance has not been a problem and belt and conveyor changes are quite direct. Furthermore, it is still precise.
I have an older version of this machine, purchased nine years ago. Regular maintenance is all that has been required.
If you are considering the purchase of this machine for private use in a home or light duty shop, I'm sure you will find it an excellent machine. It has been required to perform precisely while being used by several operators, most of whom have little or no experience.
Never the less, this sander has required nothimg more than abrasive strip and conveyor belt changes.
The conveyor belt was larger one one side than the other, by nearly 1 inch. I don't consider it a heavy duty machine and won't push it beyond it's limits. The conveyor belt was defective when I first got it. I can easily get my boards within.004" of being parallel.
This drum sander works very well for me. I called the company and explained in detail the problem I was having. I had trouble getting it to track straight, until I finally diagnosed the problem. I only use only for taking light cuts.
It does however take some patience getting it set up properly. I had a new replacement conveyor belt in 3-4 days.I would have rated it as a 5 star, if I hadn't spent so much time getting it set up and working properly.Overall I'm very satisfied with this sander. Generally 1/8th of a turn at a time or less. Taking the maximum recommended depth of cut gives me a part that is thicker on the outboard side, especially if the board is wide.
Even though there are some unhappy customers of this product, I have found this sander to be the best option on the market for my needs: boxes, intarsia and cabinets (I like the narrower doors). I intend to post updates to this review as I receive the sander, go through setup and initial use.Thank-you to everyone who has posted reviews (good and bad), they have been very helpful. I have acess to an AEM vertical belt sander for larger items (tables for example). I just purchased this product today and should receive it in 5-9 days. Amazon is the cheapest place I found the item due to free shipping & no tax.
But the 16-32 produces a smooth, evenly sanded surface on all types of wood, regardless of grain direction, and will sand well below 1/8" without ruining the stock. Given that industrial/professional large belt sanders are very expensive, I don't expect miracles from the 16-32 for $1000. The drum head flexes a bit when large stock is sanded, there is backlash in the height adjustment, it will not remove material nearly as fast as a planer, and the sandpaper will tear if you don't apply it as Jet suggests. After reading all of these great reviews on Jet's 16-32 drum sander(thanks to Amazon for providing this service), I purchased the product and sure enough, I experienced one of the common problems: the conveyer didn't track properly. Thanks to Jet's customer service for standing behind their products. They sent me a replacement conveyer and the unit works perfectly. After spending hours on adjustments, measuring everything that could have caused the belt not to track, and even altering the design slightly, I contacted Jet. I have not experienced snipe, the drum and all components were in good condition when I received the product, the breaker has not tripped (yet), and I could make the necessary adjustments as Jet describes.
I will not pay a $250.00 price mark up in only eleven months and I suggest you do what I'm going to do, sharpen up your scrapers. Eleven months ago, this machine sold for $850.00. Comparably, Nikon Lenses in this price range have only gone up $40.00.
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