My new Grizzly drum sander

Loved it enough to get the 24" 2 yrs. later!!!!!!!!!!!

finally got time to play around with this thing. It took a while to find a spot, but looks like I finally found it. I haven't had time yet to hook it up to the collector yet because I have to bring the main trunk around and pick up the sander, and miter station. I got the 16", thinking its all that I needed . I probably will regret not getting the 24", but 16" for now will save me a whole lot of sanding, as most my doors are under 16 anyhow.

I put the miter station on a mobile cabinet so I can just swing it out when I have something to run through.

I ran a test board through to see what's what, and I sure was impressed! One thing this has told me was, no matter how good I thought I sanded with my 3x21 belt, and orbital..... this thing is absolute perfection. It picked out all the high spots I never would have picked up doing this by hand. Its quiet, and absolutely no vibration. I placed a nickel standing in the middle of the dust ports as that board was going through

I can't believe what a perfect job it did on these long doors! I mean perfect, because there is no cup, high spots, or any surface unevenness at all. A slight pass, just barely touching the material shows all the imperfections the lumber has. Lord! I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it! Good by snipe, ripple, or belt sander marks.

Now I know this is not safe, but I just had to show this thing working without the cover. This has the same spoke and chain height adjustment as my 25 yr old Belsaw! Who ever says this machine is junk, just don't know what he's talking about. The drums are now all computer balanced, and is just one smooth sun of a gun.

This will give an idea of the roller size

Now this is the clip that's brought the complaints, but honestly if the paper is inserted in the clip prior to sliding it on the drum, it is easier. Now.... the thing one has to consider is, just how often will this paper have to be changed, in order to pose a real pain? Well..... a friend of mine passes approximately 80 to 100 doors through before he changes. Now that's allot of sanding, both sides??? ;-) I can live with that very easy at this price, that's for sure! I found out that some have converted this set up to hook and loop, and I'm considering doing the same. Now I'm sure there are some that say there are better machine's out there, but also at a heck of allot more money. As far as I'm concerned, this is a great value and a wise investment to improve the quality of work.

To avoid using the clip for paper changes, I decided to convert the drums to Hook and Loop. The paper is a bit more expensive, but the savings is in time in changing papers cut drastically and allowing quicker time for production, and time is money! Someone started a rumor on the Velcro melting, and that's just what it is.... a rumor!! I'm here to say that I've put at least 60 doors, 3 times each side through this in 3 months, and not had the slightest problem whatsoever. I also ran at least 20 panels through my planer down to 5/16th and finished sizing through the sander to slightly less than 1/4 in 2 passes each side and my Aluminum drums never ever got warmer that my DeWalt cordless with the trigger held down till the battery went dead. I have no earthly idea how Velcro is suppose to melt without heat? I can put my hand on the drums at anytime, and leave it there. Anyone who said this simply never done it at all.

The back roll has just been covered with velcro and new 120 grit paper. The back drum has just been covered with velcro and ready for 100 grit. Dust collection hooked up, and ready to go ;-)

I love my sander!!!!!!!!

I don't have to tell you that anything with 3/4 divider bars is pretty delicate. This machine sure did a sweet job on these doors without the slightest problem d

Due to increasing work loads and size, I've outgrown this sander and looking to buy a larger one.

It came quicker than I thought, and I had no room for it, so out came the tarp and it sat in the driveway for almost 2 weeks. Thank God it didn't rain ;-)

The packaging was great. Tightly packed in Styrofoam , protecting all the parts.

I'm so glad I ordered the "Shop Fox" mobile base...... I can't imagine moving this thing across the floor, its so heavy! The other thing is..... where its located, I occasionally move it for milling operations of long stock on my shaper. This will make it a whole lot easier than dragging it back and forth

Wow! I just love all that sanding surface!!!! One thing I noticed was that the 16" had one belt as opposed to 2 belts on the 24". Of course its a little wider, but not all that much and really glad as space is a premium in my shop.

The sanding surface is about 23 1/2", and seeing as how most panels finish out at 23 1/4", this out to be just fine for most laminations. The most beneficial function is doors. I really love how it sands everything perfectly flat. I don't just mean where stiles meet rails but also high spots lumber has, as well as some minor twists one wouldn't see with the naked eye. Where you do notice it is when doors are stacked one on top of the other, and no corners up, or daylight between them. Makes installation a breeze later.

I Highly recommend this sander and mobile base to anyone who wants to do some fine woodworking. I assure you that if this sander wasn't what I said it was, I certainly would have gone to something else rather than spend an extra 1000.00 with the same company again! There are other sander out there, but frankly after seeing the rest of the pack, this machine is certainly a top runner in quality, and affability. The improvements made, even to my 16" are very noticeable, and I'm exstatatic to finally add this to my shop.