I looked at the drum sanders back in the early 90s when the Woodmaster was the main one IIRC. The small diameter of the paper and the speed of changing grits were my main concerns. They seemed like more of a finer finishing sander than what I was looking for at the time. I ended up buying a Bridgewood 16-32 WBS and have been very happy with it. 5 hp main motor drives the belt and I think 1 hp feed motor. Oscillation and tracking works very well and belts can be changed in less than a minute. Dust collection is very good as the pickup is right near where dust is created. I think I paid about $3,000 New then but Bridgewood pulled out of their own line of machines a few years later. Several companies are still importing these similar machines today but the prices are more in the $5-6,000 range. The footprint is similar to your Powermatic but twice as tall. I would encourage people to take a look at these type of machines if you really want to speed up sanding and can justify the expense. You do have to have decent dust collection and air supply to operate them. You can use a 30-40 grit belt and take off as much wood as a many small planers in a pass. I usually start with a 100 grit belt on mine. Keep in mind that when power sanding the effect of a grit is a step or two finer than the actual grit if hand sanding. I would rarely go past 150 or 180 grit. Thanks for sharing another fine video Steve!
Hi Steve, I was going to buy that same sander over the summer and started noticing that most dealers didn't have them in stock online. I found out from a dealer I knew, that they had a bunch of these come back. He had 5 units returned (with electronics problems), and he didn't know when they would have a fix for them. Powermatic had already stopped shipping these units back in the summer (when I was looking for one) because of this problem. You should see about getting that exchanged before it's too late. I needed a sander for a project I was doing, so I ended up with the Supermax 19-38. I can't believe how nice the Supermax is, and was going to get rid of it when Powermatic fixed the problem with their unit, but now I think I'm going to keep it.
I hadn't heard about that problem. Mine seems to have been fixed by a simple reset. I had looked at the Supermax which my dealer also carries. The Supermax looks like a great machine and I almost when that route. Since the Powermatic had a 10% discount, I got it for about the same price as the Supermax 22-50 (after adding cost of infeed/outfeed tables and the digital display)
Great reviews Steve. I caught them both - and just received the same sander last week. It is all working well and better than my old tired machine. Can you advise on a sandpaper brand that works well for you? I need to learn - slow and easy lol. I slugged the paper real fast. Thanks again for the reviews - great work.
Thanks Greg. I use Klingspor paper. The key to paper longevity is to take light passes and keep the paper clean by using a rubber cleaning stick such as a ProStick.
Thanks for the review Steve. I thought you might be after a wide belt sander too :-) I think the drum sander is definitely an improvement over hand sanding although the oscillation of a WBS should leave a better finish plus it's faster to change grits (albeit a more expensive machine). Assuming you have the spiral head cutter on your planer/thicknesser, what grit do you start with to remove the tiny scollop marks left by the cutter head? Cheers.
My planer/thicknesser(s) have straight knives and I start with 80 grit but I think 120 grit would do the job. A WBS would leave a much better finish due to the platen and oscillation versus the drum contact. I would love to have a WBS but there is no room left.
Hi, I'm thinking of buying a drum saber, I would like to know which drum sander is better, this Powermatic 22-Inch or the superMax 25-50? I will greatly appreciate the information
I do not know which is better. I could have purchased either from my retailer but opted for the Powermatic at the time because it cost less and had a good warranty. I have nothing but praise for Powermatic warranty service as I did have a catastrophic electronics failure. After two attempts to repair with parts Powermatic sent, they decided to replace my machine and I have not had a problem since. I never told them I made RUclips videos so that was not a factor. There is a lot to be said for a company that stands behind their product. If I were in the market for a drum sander today, I would also consider the Jet oscillating head drum sander. Steve
thanks for the review. I was looking at this unit before but i ended up getting the woodmaster 26 inch. i like the bigger motor in that machine. Did you look at the woodmaster and what was your opinion about it. tony
Hi Tony, I did not look at the Woodmaster but did look at the Supermax and Jet sanders alongside the Powermatic at my WW machinery dealer. Since you own and use one, I am 100% sure your opinion of the Woodmaster is much more meaningful than mine ever could be.
Nice review! Can you make a video about the accuracy of that machine. I mean that if you feed the same wood thru near the motor and then on the other side, do the thickness stay same, or do the sanding drum bend when sanding at the far open side. I'm interested in buying one of those but i dont know if i could trust them to be really accurate (0.05mm) or so. Sorry about my bad English 😁
I set the machine up doing what you described and stopped adjusting the machine once I got the thickness on each end within 0.006" which is about 0.15mm. 0.05mm is about 1/2 the thickness of a sheet of paper and for my use, I didn't see a need adjust further but I think it could.
The "open" throat sanders like this PM; was started with a company named "Performax" about 35 yrs ago. And they are great. Now everyone is using them. Jet bought Performax about the same time they bought Powermatic. I bought one of them ,many years ago, but it had a number of problems. Supposedly they improved them and solved the problems; with the main problem being the wood lifting up during sanding, ruining the piece. This was solved by using steel rollers at the input and output of the sander. Another problem was: tracking of the belt was a nightmare. It is my understanding they solved that problem also; as they did other problems. I believe you will be pleased Steve. Good luck on the digital readout getting fixed. The open throat does have a tendency to sand unevenly from one end to the other. This is particularly noticeable, if you make use of the 22/44 feature, IE: You can sand a piece of wood up to 44 inches wide: If you turn the wood around 180 degrees after the first sanding at any given thickness. It caused a decided "ridge" at the 22" width. But the machine CAN be adjusted to remove any uneven sanding. It may take a lot of time adjusting; particularly if you exceed the 22 inch sanding feature.
I have same machine. Really disappointed at this purchase. Great for small projects, but when loading up the full 22" width with hardwood, it'll struggle. Drum gets hot and burns wood, and only taking off .001 to .002 at a time. Digital read out is a joke, might as well put on a after market one. Way to much run-out or slop in the crank to adjustment of the height on drum head . I can turn it at times 10 degrees or so and I'm moving the head but no change in the digital readout. Digital read out always clears itself when off. Should lock in last known hiegth and be able to clear it manually. Don't buy for a production shop. For a premium machine it needs a lot of redesign.
Hello sir. I have the sander some months now and i am still struggling with the conveyor belt tension setup. I have posted my original comment 5 posts below. I have contacted Powermatic but they cannot help me apparently....:( They tell me to tight the right screw as this is the side belt drifts.... Not working. Also if i put little more tension i hear a weird sound like klak klak that is repetitive every 1-2 seconds. When i give less tension the sound stops but the belt is not tight enough. This is very frustrating as i cannot find a solution. Many times i have loosen totally the screws and re positioned the conveyor belt but after some time it drifts again. Any suggestion? Thanks
Sorry Polis, I really don't have any ideas on how to resolve that but the klaking sound would bother me. If it is consistently repetitive, this almost sound like a gearing or slipping problem in your feed system. Your experience with Powermatic service is opposite mine as I have found them to be quite helpful and responsive. Definitely get this taken care of while it is still under warranty.
@@extremewoodworker managed to reduce/eliminate the sound by putting less tension to the belt. But in that way the conveyor drifts again on the right. Exactly as yours. Have seen in the video that yours also is “grabbing” the ceramic magnetic guide on the right side. Spotted that by the white witness marks! Mine has exactly same behavior. If that is normal then i have no issue. Thanks
Hi, the sander came finally 1 month ago. I have noticed when i have used it for one day that the conveyor belt slightly moved to the right. So now the gap inside the trackers is not equal and the belt touches the inside wall of the tracker. Also i am hearing now a sound when the belt is running like a worn car brake pad. Tried to move the whole belt to the left, put the proper tension to both screws but after a while it drifted again to the same position. Seems impossible to keep the belt perfectly centered inside the trackers and having the correct belt tension. Any suggestions? Have you encountered something similar?
As far as the belt not staying where it should, I have the same problem with the Jet Performax 22-44 Plus. I have adjusted the tensions on both sides of the conveyor many times, but the conveyor belt still moves from one side to the other or back. I think it is due to the sandpaper conveyor belt not being equal in distance on both sides, but I never have replaced the belt so I cannot really be sure. All I can say is I eventually will want to get this Powermatic PM 2244 as it seems a lot easier to install the drum sand paper than on the Jet. I have had to remove the motor and the drum sander "cylinder/drum" or whatever you call it and I found that the very hard to reach fastener on the right side was not able to open and close because repeated use had bent the fastener apparatus a little. This drum sander seems a LOT better than the Jet.
I expected no less then a 37" Timesaver or SCM. I have a Powermatic 25" widebelt from 1997 and it is a workhorse sanding cabinet doors every day. It really is dissapointing that Powermatic releases a digital display like that and i have to believe that most of them have glitches like that. Im still mad at Jet for the non parallel parallel clamps that they will not do anything about. They are so frustrating to use, i am just going to throw them in the trash...this is about two dozen clamps.
Parallel clamps? what is the failure of the clamps from Jet? Is it that they walk on you when coming up to clamp full contact and move the product causing an uneven product? Thanks
Hi Robert, I think the brand I use is Pro-Stick cleaner which is a rubber product. It is available in most woodworking stores or on=line. The trick is to not let your paper load too heavily before cleaning. Steve
Thanks for the informative review. I have been wanting to purchase this identical unit since I saw it last year at a woodworkers show. Unfortunately there was no power to demonstrate it. Do you get any snipe at all? Also, does the base have a flange that will accept locking caster rollers? I build tables and this unit would help a lot in my shop. WestphaliaWoodWorks.com
I looked at the drum sanders back in the early 90s when the Woodmaster was the main one IIRC. The small diameter of the paper and the speed of changing grits were my main concerns. They seemed like more of a finer finishing sander than what I was looking for at the time.
I ended up buying a Bridgewood 16-32 WBS and have been very happy with it. 5 hp main motor drives the belt and I think 1 hp feed motor. Oscillation and tracking works very well and belts can be changed in less than a minute. Dust collection is very good as the pickup is right near where dust is created.
I think I paid about $3,000 New then but Bridgewood pulled out of their own line of machines a few years later. Several companies are still importing these similar machines today but the prices are more in the $5-6,000 range. The footprint is similar to your Powermatic but twice as tall. I would encourage people to take a look at these type of machines if you really want to speed up sanding and can justify the expense. You do have to have decent dust collection and air supply to operate them.
You can use a 30-40 grit belt and take off as much wood as a many small planers in a pass. I usually start with a 100 grit belt on mine. Keep in mind that when power sanding the effect of a grit is a step or two finer than the actual grit if hand sanding. I would rarely go past 150 or 180 grit.
Thanks for sharing another fine video Steve!
Hi Steve,
I was going to buy that same sander over the summer and started noticing that most dealers didn't have them in stock online. I found out from a dealer I knew, that they had a bunch of these come back. He had 5 units returned (with electronics problems), and he didn't know when they would have a fix for them. Powermatic had already stopped shipping these units back in the summer (when I was looking for one) because of this problem. You should see about getting that exchanged before it's too late.
I needed a sander for a project I was doing, so I ended up with the Supermax 19-38. I can't believe how nice the Supermax is, and was going to get rid of it when Powermatic fixed the problem with their unit, but now I think I'm going to keep it.
I hadn't heard about that problem. Mine seems to have been fixed by a simple reset. I had looked at the Supermax which my dealer also carries. The Supermax looks like a great machine and I almost when that route. Since the Powermatic had a 10% discount, I got it for about the same price as the Supermax 22-50 (after adding cost of infeed/outfeed tables and the digital display)
Any idea if this is still an issue? Was thinking about buying one through bispowermatic
Great reviews Steve. I caught them both - and just received the same sander last week. It is all working well and better than my old tired machine. Can you advise on a sandpaper brand that works well for you? I need to learn - slow and easy lol. I slugged the paper real fast. Thanks again for the reviews - great work.
Thanks Greg. I use Klingspor paper. The key to paper longevity is to take light passes and keep the paper clean by using a rubber cleaning stick such as a ProStick.
Thanks for the review Steve. I thought you might be after a wide belt sander too :-)
I think the drum sander is definitely an improvement over hand sanding although the oscillation of a WBS should leave a better finish plus it's faster to change grits (albeit a more expensive machine).
Assuming you have the spiral head cutter on your planer/thicknesser, what grit do you start with to remove the tiny scollop marks left by the cutter head?
Cheers.
My planer/thicknesser(s) have straight knives and I start with 80 grit but I think 120 grit would do the job. A WBS would leave a much better finish due to the platen and oscillation versus the drum contact. I would love to have a WBS but there is no room left.
Thanks Steve
Hi, I'm thinking of buying a drum saber, I would like to know which drum sander is better, this Powermatic 22-Inch or the superMax 25-50?
I will greatly appreciate the information
I do not know which is better. I could have purchased either from my retailer but opted for the Powermatic at the time because it cost less and had a good warranty. I have nothing but praise for Powermatic warranty service as I did have a catastrophic electronics failure. After two attempts to repair with parts Powermatic sent, they decided to replace my machine and I have not had a problem since. I never told them I made RUclips videos so that was not a factor. There is a lot to be said for a company that stands behind their product. If I were in the market for a drum sander today, I would also consider the Jet oscillating head drum sander. Steve
Did Powermatic take care of the digital read out problem?
thanks for the review. I was looking at this unit before but i ended up getting the woodmaster 26 inch. i like the bigger motor in that machine. Did you look at the woodmaster and what was your opinion about it. tony
Hi Tony, I did not look at the Woodmaster but did look at the Supermax and Jet sanders alongside the Powermatic at my WW machinery dealer. Since you own and use one, I am 100% sure your opinion of the Woodmaster is much more meaningful than mine ever could be.
ExtremeWoodworker just wondering if you looked st them , enjoy the new machine.
Nice review! Can you make a video about the accuracy of that machine. I mean that if you feed the same wood thru near the motor and then on the other side, do the thickness stay same, or do the sanding drum bend when sanding at the far open side. I'm interested in buying one of those but i dont know if i could trust them to be really accurate (0.05mm) or so. Sorry about my bad English 😁
I set the machine up doing what you described and stopped adjusting the machine once I got the thickness on each end within 0.006" which is about 0.15mm. 0.05mm is about 1/2 the thickness of a sheet of paper and for my use, I didn't see a need adjust further but I think it could.
The "open" throat sanders like this PM; was started with a company named "Performax" about 35 yrs ago. And they are great. Now everyone is using them.
Jet bought Performax about the same time they bought Powermatic. I bought one of them ,many years ago, but it had a number of problems. Supposedly they improved them and solved the problems; with the main problem being the wood lifting up during sanding, ruining the piece. This was solved by using steel rollers at the input and output of the sander. Another problem was: tracking of the belt was a nightmare. It is my understanding they solved that problem also; as they did other problems.
I believe you will be pleased Steve. Good luck on the digital readout getting fixed.
The open throat does have a tendency to sand unevenly from one end to the other. This is particularly noticeable, if you make use of the 22/44 feature, IE: You can sand a piece of wood up to 44 inches wide: If you turn the wood around 180 degrees after the first sanding at any given thickness. It caused a decided "ridge" at the 22" width.
But the machine CAN be adjusted to remove any uneven sanding. It may take a lot of time adjusting; particularly if you exceed the 22 inch sanding feature.
Could this sand 10” boards for an hour or two per day, everyday?
I have same machine. Really disappointed at this purchase. Great for small projects, but when loading up the full 22" width with hardwood, it'll struggle. Drum gets hot and burns wood, and only taking off .001 to .002 at a time. Digital read out is a joke, might as well put on a after market one. Way to much run-out or slop in the crank to adjustment of the height on drum head . I can turn it at times 10 degrees or so and I'm moving the head but no change in the digital readout. Digital read out always clears itself when off. Should lock in last known hiegth and be able to clear it manually. Don't buy for a production shop. For a premium machine it needs a lot of redesign.
Did you got the display problem fixed
Hello sir. I have the sander some months now and i am still struggling with the conveyor belt tension setup. I have posted my original comment 5 posts below. I have contacted Powermatic but they cannot help me apparently....:( They tell me to tight the right screw as this is the side belt drifts.... Not working. Also if i put little more tension i hear a weird sound like klak klak that is repetitive every 1-2 seconds. When i give less tension the sound stops but the belt is not tight enough. This is very frustrating as i cannot find a solution. Many times i have loosen totally the screws and re positioned the conveyor belt but after some time it drifts again. Any suggestion? Thanks
Sorry Polis, I really don't have any ideas on how to resolve that but the klaking sound would bother me. If it is consistently repetitive, this almost sound like a gearing or slipping problem in your feed system. Your experience with Powermatic service is opposite mine as I have found them to be quite helpful and responsive. Definitely get this taken care of while it is still under warranty.
@@extremewoodworker managed to reduce/eliminate the sound by putting less tension to the belt. But in that way the conveyor drifts again on the right. Exactly as yours. Have seen in the video that yours also is “grabbing” the ceramic magnetic guide on the right side. Spotted that by the white witness marks! Mine has exactly same behavior. If that is normal then i have no issue. Thanks
Hi, the sander came finally 1 month ago. I have noticed when i have used it for one day that the conveyor belt slightly moved to the right. So now the gap inside the trackers is not equal and the belt touches the inside wall of the tracker. Also i am hearing now a sound when the belt is running like a worn car brake pad. Tried to move the whole belt to the left, put the proper tension to both screws but after a while it drifted again to the same position. Seems impossible to keep the belt perfectly centered inside the trackers and having the correct belt tension. Any suggestions? Have you encountered something similar?
As far as the belt not staying where it should, I have the same problem with the Jet Performax 22-44 Plus. I have adjusted the tensions on both sides of the conveyor many times, but the conveyor belt still moves from one side to the other or back. I think it is due to the sandpaper conveyor belt not being equal in distance on both sides, but I never have replaced the belt so I cannot really be sure. All I can say is I eventually will want to get this Powermatic PM 2244 as it seems a lot easier to install the drum sand paper than on the Jet. I have had to remove the motor and the drum sander "cylinder/drum" or whatever you call it and I found that the very hard to reach fastener on the right side was not able to open and close because repeated use had bent the fastener apparatus a little. This drum sander seems a LOT better than the Jet.
I expected no less then a 37" Timesaver or SCM.
I have a Powermatic 25" widebelt from 1997 and it is a workhorse sanding cabinet doors every day.
It really is dissapointing that Powermatic releases a digital display like that and i have to believe that most of them have glitches like that.
Im still mad at Jet for the non parallel parallel clamps that they will not do anything about. They are so frustrating to use, i am just going to throw them in the trash...this is about two dozen clamps.
I had an opportunity to purchase a used 37" wide belt in excellent condition about 6 years ago. I did not have room then and I still don't.
Parallel clamps? what is the failure of the clamps from Jet? Is it that they walk on you when coming up to clamp full contact and move the product causing an uneven product? Thanks
Do the infeed and outfeed tables fold down?
Hi Jordan. They do not fold down. Steve
Do exist a brush drum for Powermatic sanding machine?
Hi Steve,What did you use to clean the sandpaper on the drum?Bob Marcinik
Hi Robert, I think the brand I use is Pro-Stick cleaner which is a rubber product. It is available in most woodworking stores or on=line. The trick is to not let your paper load too heavily before cleaning. Steve
Thanks
I think the generic name is a buggerboard. Or so I've been told.
Thanks for the informative review. I have been wanting to purchase this identical unit since I saw it last year at a woodworkers show. Unfortunately there was no power to demonstrate it. Do you get any snipe at all? Also, does the base have a flange that will accept locking caster rollers? I build tables and this unit would help a lot in my shop. WestphaliaWoodWorks.com
I have observed no snipe. From looking at the parts diagram, there is not a flange to accept a swivel caster.
Thanks for the info. Will you be doing a follow-up on how Powermatic responds?