SuperMax by Performax 25" dual drum sander

Congratulations L/W, I’m green with envy. That little jewel would simplify anyones life. Wondering how effective the dust port is? Just realized the is my 1000th post.

Jack,

The dust collection is fairly good. There doesn’t seem to be much dust billowing in the air, but some dust remains on the conveyor so I keep a large garbage can on the exit end and it captures most of that dust. . . and I always wear my respirator when sanding.

L/W

How are the belts clamped on? I have a Steel City double drum and the belt clamping system is definitely the weakest part of the tool. It’s identical to the General one as well. Just a little spring clamp that is awkward to use and if it’s not set just perfectly, it can break the belt. But boy is it ever a time saver!

Angellos,

It has a strange clamp that requires a special tool to open and get the belt in. It’s not fun to change the belts. Sometimes I have trouble with getting it to grab the belt tightly enough. If the end is just a little too long, it won’t pull it tight. And I have in the past cut a little too much off and couldn’t get it to catch so I just added a piece to it with my sewing machine. It held up fine. I just avoid sanding at the very end of the belt when that happens.

Just this week the belt broke at the clamp. It was getting really worn and I was putting off changing it. And I continued to put off changing it and just taped on a chunk of duct tape and it’s still working fine.

When I first got the sander (used), they were still being made in the U.S. and customer service was really good. The last time I had a problem, customer service was completely useless. Thankfully, I have a very smart husband and he repaired the conveyor circult board.

L/W

Congrats L/W on a super tool,I have a Supermax 25-50 that does a great job too.

I bought this same model back in 1996. Was never happy with it. Clamping system was poor along with the several other issues. I hate sanding but I still dumped this machine. They might have improved the problems. I want a wide belt sander, but won’t give up the space for it and a dust system.

QSWO, I’m sorry to hear you dumped your sander. I don’t have any other dual belt sander with which to compare mine, but I’d NEVER dump mine. Overall, I’ve been quite pleased with it.

L/W