Festool Planer

[b_m_hart]

So I was wandering around a woodcraft store the other day, and saw a drum sander.  I think it was a Jet 16 / 32 (?)" sander - meaning it's 16" wide, and open on one end, so that you can run your piece through, flip it around, then run the other half through.

How well does this really work?  For example, on the Festool 850 planer, with the table top setup, could you do the same thing?  I know that it amounts to doing a rabbet, then flipping the wood around and doing another pass to even it out.  What kind of results does this give?  It looks like you get a nice smooth cut, but does it match up well when both cuts are done?

 

[tbellemare]

I would think it would only match up well if it was planed already...

Tom

 

[mwhafner]

I have the Delta 18-36 Drum, and it doesn't really work all that well to run pieces more than 20 inches or so.  The Jet/Performax probably work a little better as the height adjustment moves the head, not the bed like on the Delta.  You could setup roller stands to support the work, which you can't really do with the Delta.  

 

[b_m_hart]

yeah - makes sense that you'd need to have a good co-planar side to work with to start in order for it to be effective.  That's why I was curious about whether or not it would work with a planer if it supposedly worked with a drum sander.  I guess the pre-req for the sander would be that it was already planed down, and that you didn't have any edges or bumps sticking up (assuming you were doing the large piece in multiple passes to get the full width sanded).