Official Luthiers Forum!

Shane, I took a hard look at the General and the Powermatic, and the Powermatic has some features the General doesn't have, like the rubber-coated drums and some other things. The bearing housings on the Powermatic are cast, as opposed to the stamped steel ones on the general I was looking at. There are differences, but I'm not sure what it all means.

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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."

Grizzley's claim that their aluminum rolls are "better" are way suspect to me. I think it's another way to say, "aluminum rolls are cheaper to produce and save us money". I'm a supporter of Griz tools (owning several), but not a fan of sales hype from anyone.

I spent the better part of a full day removing the glued on Velcro system from their double drum sander because it was like sanding with a mush roll. Uneven sanding, grooved paper and the paper tore easy because the wrap was so spongy it compressed when the substrate leading edge made contact with a bit of force. Whether or not the aluminum rolls were better was a moot point because the Velcro was rubber backed and attached to the roll with thick flexible adhesive. Add the Velcro clothed back wrap and it's not longer ridged, but sponge like. I like it fine now.

Try good quality strapping tape to hold the paper on....it won't stretch like duck tape and the adhesive holds up better.

I agree with Shane on the General's quality. I've had my General for several years and find the quality fine and I use the machine extensively. Computers made for radio shack are not the same computers made for other outlets and the General tools made for WoodCraft may be "special" made for cheap price. I'd shop around other General outlets and go to the company direct.   

[QUOTE=Larry Davis] Grizzley's claim that their aluminum rolls are "better" are way suspect to me. I think it's another way to say, "aluminum rolls are cheaper to produce and save us money". I'm a supporter of Griz tools (owning several), but not a fan of sales hype from anyone.[/quote]

I hear that!

[QUOTE=Larry Davis]I spent the better part of a full day removing the glued on Velcro system from their double drum sander because it was like sanding with a mush roll. Uneven sanding, grooved paper and the paper tore easy because the wrap was so spongy it compressed when the substrate leading edge made contact with a bit of force. Whether or not the aluminum rolls were better was a moot point because the Velcro was rubber backed and attached to the roll with thick flexible adhesive. Add the Velcro clothed back wrap and it's not longer ridged, but sponge like. I like it fine now.[/quote]

I've had my doubts about claims that Velcro-based sander systems are the latest and greatest thing...and that rather confirms my thoughts.

[QUOTE=Larry Davis]Try good quality strapping tape to hold the paper on....it won't stretch like duck tape and the adhesive holds up better.[/quote]

Larry, that just can't be right...my wife says that duct tape holds the world together. You can't get stronger than that.

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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."

[QUOTE=Larry Davis]Try good quality strapping tape to hold the paper on....it won't stretch like duck tape and the adhesive holds up better.[/quote]

Larry, that just can't be right...my wife says that duct tape holds the world together. You can't get stronger than that.

[/QUOTE]

In respect to a wife's point of view, I AM (of course) wrong...

   One thing I was considering, is in keeping heat down in the first place is the addition of a air nozzle system blowing across the roller to remove wood dust from the roller more readily, considering wood dust would probably contribute to heat build up substantially!

   Of course, one would have to have a reasonably good compressor to do it.

And if Howard is giving away guitars I'll take a "Le Rouge Et Le Noir". I pay S&H!!
(or is it spelled, "Le Rogue Et Le Noir"")

Billy DeanBilly T38977.1447916667

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Just to make sure that people are talking about the same units - The
General 15-250 24" dual drum sander that has been out for years is a
much different tool than the General 15-240 25" sander, or the
Powermatic 25" sander. The 24" General weighs about 400 pounds less
than the 25" units, has 5" drums instead of the 6". I don't know anything
about the bigger General, but I just bought the Powermatic 25" (which I
think is actually cheaper than the big General now). I won't be able to put
much time on the Powermatic for a few weeks, but I have spent a few
hours tuning it up. First impressions are that it can take .030" passes
without a problem, is well designed (with one irritating but not fatal
weakness). I like the reversing switch and the easy to use rear drum
adjustment. By the way I don't see any resemblance between the General
and the PM, but I have not seen the General in person, so maybe the
internals are similar? My tests unfortunately revealed the limits of my
dust collector and so a Oneida Super Grizzly is on the way ad i hope it is
up to the task.

Brook

Don,
why don't you just buy my Delta?

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave, you're a funny guy!

I'm probably going to get a replacement motor for my current one for the time being. When & if I get to the place where the business is providing some very positive cash flow, I may invest in something substantially better.

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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."

Sylvan,

I know that Pearlworks, which has Lobo thickness sanders, disables their limiting switch deliberately by moving it out of the way. this way they start out and actually level the sanding belt to the machine to get even better accuracy. PRS's headplates are done at Pearlworks and the finish thickness is .032" or thereabouts and they are done on the Lobo 36" sander. To get around the length issue, they keep some scrap masonite around and put it on either side of a short piece and tape it to the back of the piece with clear packing tape and send it through.

Don, where did you get your sanding kit from?

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Aoibeann

I have a wooden drum on mine.    4" diameter X 22 inches long. Works fine.

Ron

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OLD MAN formerly (and formally) known as:

Ron Wisdom

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