Drum Sander Help

[StoneAK]

I am in the market for an affordable way to sand my own Lams to get the tapers down. I want some opinions from you guys cause your all the pro's.
I am on a limited budget so I want to stay on the cheap side but I want it to function.
Here is what I am looking at
The Hog Thickness sander around 300.00 for a 2" compact drum sander

The Grizzly 10" drum sander for 375.00

or build my own for about 275.00
What do you guys think and does anyone know anything about the Hog it looks compact and perfect for making bow lams

[2treks]

Of them I would get the Grizz, I think the hog will be too lite duty.
My first choice might be to watch on C-list or the bay(for something local)
I am not looking for any sanders at the time but I saw  a delta 18/36 for $350 on clist about a month ago. Thats alot of sander for that money.
Don't get in a hurry.

Good luck

CTT

[AkDan]

how much horsepower would you consider adequte for grinding lams?   Could a guy get close with a bandsaw/table saw and than finish them on something like the hog?

[StoneAK]

Chuck Thanks I was looking to the Grizzly myself the hog looked like it would be good for a hobby person. I am currently making about 20 Laminated bows a year and wanted something that would hang in there for a while. Thanks alot for the advice. By the way beautiful bows on your site

[Dick in Seattle]

I've been using the Gtrizzly Baby Drum for several years.   Had one problem when the feed drive failed, but they replaced it.  If I had to buy again, I would certainly consider the new one, or the new lower priced one.  I like the brace they added to the open side.

[2treks]

Lester, Thanks for the compliments.
I think the main thing with lamination grinding is,learn your machine. I have an open ended machine with out a brace. I have learned to take small bites and pay attention to the feed rate and even the sound of the sander. I also have figured out how and when to flip the lams as needed. I feel that a brace could help in some cases, but it could be a pain in others. The most important thing is to check you laminations for being parlell side to side. Be sure to use a sled that you are certain is as good as you want your lams to be,And you machine is adjusted proper.One without the other is useless. Good luck.

CTT

[StoneAK]

Thanks guys I am ordering the Grizzly after all of the comments and talking to KennyM I appreciate it

[wildbill001]

I built my own for about $50 ($25 just for the link belt) using mostly what I had on hand.  5" drum with a 1/2 hp motor.  Not the most powerful or the fastest but it works well for me.  After I finished it, I wondered why I waited so long to do it.

Bill W

[Walt Francis]

Chuck, you got heck of a deal, I got mine off CL for $600.

I built several homemade versions before buying the 18/36 and my only regret is that I didn't buy it to start with.  I have some friends who get good results with their Grizzly so I would recommended one of their models before going the homemade method.  Having a good feed system is paramount to getting consistently flat surfaces.  Chuck gave done excellent advise for using any thickness sander, it would be helpful for most of us to reread his first post a few times.