ROSS Heaven

The other day I posted about my multiple new to me tools acquisition and what a great deal I found. So, I spent the first part of this morning rearranging my "shop", which is really just part of my garage, so that everything would fit. Most tools are on rollers. I had to convert the dust collector to 110 so I could hook it up it up to the ROSS. I plugged in the ROSS to work on my current projects, and OMG, I could not believe how great it works. Cleaning up body edges from my 50 grit Luthier's Friend Drum Sander. A quick change to different spindle sizes to get into those hard to get to places. Why didn't I buy one of these before ? If anyone is on the fence about this tool, don't be. Get one !!

On another tool note, I have been searching for a used drum (thickness) sander, to no avail. Every time I would see one listed for a reasonable price, it had been sold just previous to my call. So I took the plunge and bought an 18" FlatMaster Drum Sander, picked up a 1/2 HP Motor and got it up and running this morning. It's basically just an under the table drum sander with a manual feed, ME, and it works really well. Given the choice between the FlatMaster and a Performax or a Jet, with unlimited funds, I'd probably opt for the latter, but the FM does what I need it do and is within budget, not to mention space requirements. It has a very small footprint, about 16 x 24. I need to build a rolling stand for it soon.

Mike

Congrats on the Ross. I had never heard of flatmaster so I googled it. I think it is kind of pricey for not being an abrasive planer type drum sander . That is the same price as a small performax or grizzly I think.

The 16' Grizzly and Performax are both around $ 1100 new plus shipping. I need at least 16" to sand the front and back of guitar bodies. The 18" FM was $ 425, and the motor was $ 110. So, by my math, it's about half. I really would have liked to have found a used Peformax, but was always a bit late to scoop one up.

I was thinking about this one.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Baby-Drum-Sander/G0459

Too narrow to run a full body through, but that's a great price. I have a Grizzly Band saw. Their products are a great value. I actually bought the motor for the FlatMaster from them. I went to their site just a few minutes ago, and they do have an 18" Drum Sander on sale, but still comes out to $ 995 shipped.

I always try to be thrifty, but with this I think I would get the auto feeding one. It's a lot easier to get a flat finish.

I am pretty sure TDPRI is directly responsible for 40% of all ROSS sales in the U.S.
I'd love a drum sander, good tool choices.