JET 16" Drum Sander w/Stand, SandSmart Auto Feed Control (JWDS-1632)

I'm a hobbyist woodworker with as passion for making end grain cutting boards with inlays using a CNC router. There is a ton of sanding to be done if you want the inlays to look seamless and professional looking, and after about my first 5 cutting boards and countless hours pushing an orbital sander around I knew I had to up my game and buy a drum sander. After tons of researching and shopping I settled for this machine, and I ordered it from Amazon in March of 2020. If you've never owned a drum sander before and are seriously considering one, let me tell you that there is a bit of a learning curve when you first start using it. I destroyed the first roll of sandpaper I installed on it in the first 15 minutes, and I did more harm than good on that first cutting board I ran through it. It's not something that you can run a piece of wood through in the first pass and it comes out the other side perfectly sanded. You have to be patient and run your work through several times, with very small sanding increments to get good results. If you set it to sand too deep, with the conveyor set too fast you'll destroy the sand paper and burn the surface of your work pretty quick. Don't get into a hurry. But once you figure out the sweet spots of depth versus conveyor speed depending on the wood, this thing will make you look like a pro. Changing the sandpaper isn't too bad but it's not a quick change process and I've found that 120 grit is the most versatile for my needs and leave that on most of the time. It's so much better than an orbital or belt sander because it's easy to create dips and cups. But with this thing, your work stays perfectly level and consistent. Very important when I'm sanding my inlays. It's now December of 2021 and my drum sander is still going strong. I'm finally to the point where I want to buy indeed/outfeed extensions. This has become one of the most important tools in my shop and if my shop ever caught fire, I might would even risk it to drag this machine out to safety. I'm half serious, half joking because as of me writing this review I see that the sander is almost $900 more than what I paid for mine almost 2 years ago, making this truly a financial investment! If tons of sanding is an important part of your woodworking process like it is mine, you'll soon wonder how you ever got along without this machine in your shop. It's truly been a life saver for me and worth every penny I spent on it.

I started looking into drum sanders when I began planning for the remodel of my kitchen. The plan includes all new walnut cabinetry of frame and panel construction. I decided on the Jet 16-32 based on a number of positive reviews. I received mine last week and found it easy to set up. It was well calibrated right out of the box. I tried a couple pieces of oak to get the feel of it and within a few minutes of sanding decided I was ready to try it on a walnut panel I had laminated up. In short, this machine works great. I already owned a decent dust collector and sanding multiple passes created zero visible dust in my basement shop. Changing sandpaper grits is simple. The ends of the pre-cut sanding strips are held in place by simple spring clamps that themselves are attached to the drum by flexible, spring-steel strips. It took a few minutes of playing with them to figure out how to flex the clamps towards the drum and grab onto the end of the sandpaper strip end so that when you release your hold the clamp springs away from the drum pulling tension on the sandpaper strip. Nevertheless, it works to keep the sandpaper tight on the drum. An issue that comes up when using a thickness planer (I own a Jet 12 inch model) is snipe (a slight cupping at the ends of your work). Without getting into the specific causes and techniques to avoid it because it would simply take too much time, I mention it because the forces that cause it exist in this type of machine as well. That said, I was pleased that snipe does not appear to be much of an issue with this machine. I noted a very slight amount of what really amounts to a shadow effect on the first and last couple of inches on my boards. However, they disappeared with a bit of finish sanding with my 5" random orbit sander; a process I would have completed regardless of the "shadow effect/snipe" prior to finishing my panels. In conclusion, I'm extremely pleased with this purchase. It will save me hours and hours of sanding with a belt sander and produce far flatter panels in the process. The open end will allow the planing of far wider panels, it's quieter than my planer, the variety of available sanding grits provides real flexibility. So far it's a real dream come true.

I am satisfied with this sander. I have had no issues and the finished quality of the sanding is great. I did spend time making sure everything was adjusted and calibrated properly. Now I just change the paper and keep it clean. I save so much time not having to sand by hand.

Sander was delivered but UPS at some point shipped it upside down. The sander broke loose from the thin plywood that was bolted to the bottom and it broke the dust hood and the table parallelism adjuster. I returned the damaged unit and ordered another. I hope the next one arrives undamaged or I will continue to return them until I receive an undamaged unit. Jet should have labeled the box with "THIS END UP" !! The sander is heavy duty and well made.

Like any new power tool, it takes some time to get the tool set and aligned so it works at its optimum level. I found that with a bit of adjustment, this sander is my go to tool in the shop. I like that I can sand very wide boards since it is an open arm unit so the board can be reversed to do one side and then the other. In the beginning I had some issues with the sanding rolls ripping on the motor side due them loosening during sanding. By sanding for a bit and then retightening, perhaps even twice, the problem was solved. I found that 80 grits sandpaper rolls with there heavy grit created the most issues. I have found that with this machine, the 120 grit works the best. Trying to take too great a depth sanding can also create problems. It's best to take more time sanding with more passes than trying to get the job done more quickly. I use the precut Jet sandpaper since it fits well and no guessing or precutting is needed. I recommend this sander.

Just a note on my experience with Jet Tools company. Many of you I am sure know Jet Woodworking Tools and many own some of their equipment. I own a Jet 12” disk Sander; Jet Lath; Jet Mortice machine; Jet Drum Sander Model 22-44 Plus. My Drum sander broke down, a bushing on the drive belt went bad and damaged the bushing, the adjusting arm and wore the idle rod. I was able to order the bushing, a $5.00 part but the adjusting arm and idle rod (they call it the driven rod) have been discontinued. The Driven rod was not that bad, and I could use it, but the adjusting arm was not usable. I purchased this in 2006 and it has been a wonderful machine. Now the replacement machine sells for $2,459.00 not including tax. Jet has decided not to carry replacement parts for their machines, they refer you to E-Replacement to get parts. The problem is since Jet does not provide parts, they also do not have them. I found a number of other parts dealers, but they also do not have the parts. Now the adjustment arm is a piece of steel 3” long with a 90-degree bend at the end and used to adjust the tension on the driven rod to tighten the drive belt. If available, it would cost less than $10.00. Jet informed me that just like the auto industry people rely on after market parts. That would not be a problem if Jet produced a million or more machines of each model as the auto industry does. I’m sure there would be companies willing to make the parts as needed. But for a company that only makes a few thousand machines off a model, there are no companies willing to step up to the plate. Their advice is to upgrade to a new model. For the sake of a $10.00 part I have to purchase a new machine at the cost of $2,459.00 plus tax. You need to know who you are dealing with and what would happen if your machine breaks down after the warranty expires. We do live in a “buyer beware” environment.

This is a great tool. Although it is very heavy, it was otherwise fairly easy to assemble. Only the stand requires assembly and the sander needs to be bolted to it. All the holes lined up! Among the things I have used it for is to sand an end grain butcher block cutting board (see photo). I turned out perfect. The drum sander works far better than a planer on end grain. It is also better than a planer for taking off very small amounts of thickness. I only had two real issues with it. One is minor. At first, I had trouble figuring out how to initially set the height of the drum. The instructions say to set the drum so that it will be touching the lumber. For me at least, this was easier said than done. I have now established a method. I raise the drum, place the thickest part of the lumber under it. Then Iower the head until there is a little resistance meaning the drum is against the lumber. Then I raise the drum two turns of the crank so that I can remove the lumber. Then I turn it back down between 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 turns and start sanding. Most of the time this works well. The other issue is also relatively minor. Another reviewer said it is easy to change the abrasive. I found this to be the case provided you have 3 hands and bionic fingers. Well, I may exaggerate a little, but I need one had to hold the drum, another hand to open the clamp (which isn't particularly easy), and the another to insert the sand paper. My solution is a wood block to lock the drum (see photos). I call it my third hand. It holds the drum in place while the two hands I actually have open the clamp and insert the abrasive. The handle on the block keeps the block from falling down in the machine, allows me to position the block without reaching into a confined space, and most importantly it will not allow me to close the lid without removing the block. Overall I am very pleased with this tool.

The machine arrived out of alignment from one end of roller to the other, but the adjustment is not too difficult. It is great for levelling end grain, as expected. However, it has very bad snipe, particularly on the outfeed side of the open side of the drum, and it cannot be adjusted in. The snipe is significantly worse than on my Dewalt planer, which is a disappointment. Also, when sanding a piece wider than the roller with 220 grit paper, it burns and gouges at the end of the roller at the open end. The paper seems to be tight and aligned well.