Official Luthiers Forum!

So I finally got the machine of my dreams this week!

It's a Craftex 25 inch drum sander. Of course this meant that I had to buy a dust collector to go with it... (Really... I had to!!!)

I was waiting to see how much the new 'Crafstman' from Sears would cost. When I saw the 1200$ price tag for what is essentially a Performax 16-32, that made up my mind...

For 400$ more, I get double the horsepower (3hp), more capacity and about 3-4 times the weight. Add to that an adjustable feeder and the decision was pretty easy.

Still can't post pictures!!! ARRRGGGHHH!

Well, anyhow, you can have a look

here.

And here's the

dust collector.

Let's just say that I'm running out of things to sand down!!! LOL] The nicest part of it is that I can actually have the rollers touch the feeding bed if I want (not that I do) I actually had some maple piece in there that came out at around 3/64th's (just guessing, batteries died in micrometer)and I still could of taken more off!

So far the performance of this machine is blowing my mind! Had I known that I would of taken this 'hobby' so seriously, it's the very first piece of machinery that I would of bought.

Al, your thickness sanding fool.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Hey bud, looks like you're gonna have fun with these new toys! I know i would!!

Jc Jones says that if he didn't have a drum sander that he would not be building guitars. I know one thing, it sure heps when you have small pieces that need thicknessing and if my home made one breaks, i'll either repair it or will buy me one like this one day.

Great score pal!
Nice dust collector too!

Here ya go Alain!
WOW Nice stuff! Thats a serious sander!

   LanceK39102.5022800926

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Congrats, Bro. That is soooo cooool!!! I know I'm going to have to bite the bullet one day and it's nice to know that so many of my buddies will have lots of advice for me to consider.

BTW...in the meantime, I'm sending all of my stuff to you for thicknessing!

Enjoy your new toy, Alain...you deserve it!

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JJ
Napa, CA
http://www.DonohueGuitars.com

Hey Lance, when you gonna fix the picture posting problems????

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"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Hey thanks Lance!!!

Yup, I sure loves my sander! A bit overkill, maybe... but that's the way I like it!!!

Thanks Serge... You've got to come over and see this baby in action!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Whoa, that's some serious sander dude! Congrats Alain on your new toy. That looks a lot like the pics of the General sanders I've seen, do you know if it is made by the same company?

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

JJ, my friend, I was a bit apprehensive when buying these machines... 2.3k is a lot of dough for anything... But when I put the first piece through, I knew I had made the right decision. The ease of use and the speed at which it will take down hardwood? I'm still shaking my head!

I thicknessed a Wenge side, from about .200 to .075 in under 3 minutes. By hand, that would of taken me a BIG half hour.

What really made up my mind was the fact that I realized (early on) that there isn't ONE piece of wood that I don't thickness in one way or another... Not one!

My life has become a lot easier... Well, the wood thicknessing part anyways Plus, I'll be using this for more than guitar building as well... I'd love to start making kitchen cabinets as well...

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

[QUOTE=Alain Desforges]

Thanks Serge... You've got to come over and see this baby in action![/QUOTE]

I'm bringing all my stash...of 2! Thanks bud, sure look forward to see that beautiful dust creating creature in action!

Don, I posted this comment in the "UPLOADING Pictures" Thread

"Soon, something happened when we were hacked into last weekend and we havnt had time to dig through the admin settings and figure this one out.
Well get it working as soon as possible. Until then you can still upload the pics to your own webspace and link them back here by using the picture link tool found right next to the picture upload tool "

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Lance@LuthiersForum.com

Wow! Alain you are one lucky guy ! They look like great machines! Congratulations! I would be sanding my house apart and everything in sight if I had that beauty . You will probably be really knocking the geetars out now! WTG man!

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Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Dave, you're not the first person to mention the resemblance to the 'General' machines... I think Shane had mentioned that he was pretty sure they were one and the same.

If I'm not mistaken, they spec. out identically. Probably General sells in the states and here in Canada they sell as 'Craftex'...

Thanks guys!Alain Desforges39102.6193055556

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

[QUOTE=DaveAndy] You will probably be really knocking the geetars out now! WTG man! [/QUOTE]

That's the plan, my friend... That's the plan!!!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Way to go, Alain!! Wow, what a sander. Man I'd like to have one of those.    That dust collector looks and specs out almost identical to my Penn State unit.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

Somewhere in the middle of Arkansas......

[QUOTE=Alain Desforges]

If I'm not mistaken, they spec. out identically. Probably General sells in the states and here in Canada they sell as 'Craftex'...

[/QUOTE]
Very nice sander, Alain. I'm just getting the parcel of sanding jobs ready to send to you now!
General International (not the 'real' General -Made in Canada) tools are sold in Canada- I believe House of Tools sells them, probably others.
My guess is that GenIntl and Craftex are probably produced in the same factory in Taiwan/China. You could probably find a Grizzly tool that looked similar as well.
I was told that the retailers (BusyBee, etc) actually could choose among various specs, so tools which look similar can be a bit different in performance.   I've had good luck with BusyBee tools- they seem to last forever.
Cheers

John

I just bought the General 25" drum sander from Woodcraft not long ago. It looks like the same machine pretty much. I had a hook & loop setup on my old Ryobi and was not going to use that for this one but it turns out the abrasive holding mechanism is no better than the old machine so I just went ahead and put it on anyway. It is so much easier to attach the abrasive and keep it all aligned and it seems to last better as well. If your interested you can get the hook & loop kit fom Grizzly. You have to trim it just a bit because the drums are not the same size as these but it works great.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Congrats Alain !! That puts my Performax 16-32 to shame.. I'm still waiting to run some extra circuits in the garage-shop so I can run more than two tools at once without popping the 15A circuit that's fed out there...

Nice equipment.. Give us some feedback on the dust collection system too.

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Peter

Right On!! Alain! That is pretty much the same machine as my General International. As John said above many of these machines are made in the same facility but may spec out a bit different or they may have different specs for quality. I think these machines are the cats pajamahs for building guitars but they are a bit less than what I really need for the number of sets I need to sand so I am thinking of going to the same machine that BobC just bought, but not for a few more months!

On the issue of who is who. Craftex (Busy Bee) and Grizzly are the same machines, basically. You will find that Grizzly carry's pretty much the same line as Busy Bee only far more items (Busy Bee, for example, does not sell a wide belt sander). That is why you can't buy Grizzly or have them shipped directly to Canada from their store. Exclusivity agreements of some sort. General and General International are Canadian, with General being made in Serge's fine Province of Quebec and General International made in Taiwan.

Now....get back sanding!

Shane

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Canada

Drool Dave Rickard39103.3443518519

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Say what you do, Do what you say.

Thanks guys!

Hesh, yes the machine uses two different grits per roll... I think it has 100/120 on there now...
It's also true that they don't brag about needing some good dust collection.

John, thanks for the head's up. I'll be looking into that hook and loop system you mentioned...

Peter, so far the dust collection seems very good. I'm glad I got a decent sized unit. I can't wait to plug something else on there as well to see how it performs.

I'm also very glad to hear that you've had very good luck with BusyBee tools, John. I think this unit is build like a tank! For the light usage I'll be putting it through, it should last me until I retire (day job, not the guitars! )

Shane, I'm running out of things to sand... Maybe you could send me all your Lutz Master Grade tops... I'll send them all back, I swear!!!
Thanks all!Alain Desforges39103.3553587963

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Alain -- good for you! You are really going to like the double drum feature. Being able to switch grits of paper with no paper change out is so handy. That's a lot of machine for the money!

I've got a lower hp version of your CRAFTEX dust collector and very happy with it.

Having a thickness sander is so handy -- you'll find more applications for it than you can imagine. I've made a home brew thickness sander using the same 5" drum and bearings you've got in yours. It's one of the handiest tools I've got.

Anthony, I'm already in love with this machine... Neck blanks, bridge, fingerboards and braces... I'm sure I'll be finding new ways to improve my building...

I'm so happy with the Craftex product that I'm seriously considering their bandsaws too!

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Alain what are you using for a bandsaw just now in terms of manufacturer and size?

One thing to be cognizant of between General International and CRAFTEX is that some of their stuff is made in the same Taiwan factory but they are built to different specifications. I've got a 14" General International bandsaw and am very happy with it. Mine looks more like a Delta than a CRAFTEX.

The only complaint I have heard over CRAFTEX tools is their Cabinet Saw and some of their drill presses. I've got a CRAFTEX radial arm drill press and I am not very happy with it. So I think you have to be a little selective as to which of their stationary tools you purchase.

Looks identical to mine, but re-branded. A cracking bit of kit indeed.

They have a tendency to fill with dust in the lower cabinet, so keep an eye on it and give it a strip down/clean every so often.

Great TAS