Hi Cameron,
The answer might surprise you but I think the Performax is every bit as
accurate as the Woodmaster. I would wager to guess it is also every bit
as accurate as some of the nicer Wide-belts you can buy. Any of these
machines should be able to get you within 0.005" or around 0.1mm. A
proper setup is absolutely essential to achieving these results, as most
machines don't come setup to their potential.
The difference in performance comes from how fast you can send wood
thru -- how much wood you can take off in one pass -- and the surface
quality of the finished wood. The reason I love the Woodmaster is that
the sandpaper (assuming you have adequate dust collection) takes a long
time to load. And once it does, just a few swipes with a cleaning stick
and you are good to go again. With the Performax, it seemed that every 3
passes I had to clean the sanding drum. I just sanded some cocobolo b/
s, bloodwood b/s, and two port orford tops last week - I haven't yet
needed to clean the sanding drum. As far as drum sanders go - that kind
of performance is absolutely incredible. There is not doubt in my mind
that the Woodmaster design is superior to every other drum sander on
the market and it is also very reasonable due to its very simple design.
The motor is also much more powerful meaning that you could probably
take off 1/16" (or 1.6 mm) in one pass without too much difficulty.
Also, I sometimes would experience some slight "ridging" when using fine
grits on the Performax. The Woodmaster will give you a flawless surface
quality every time - absolutely comparable to the wide-belts with platens.
In short, my experience with the Performax is that it does a great job but
sanding can be a chore, especially with oily woods. In contrast, the
Woodmaster is an absolute joy to use. I truly think it is the ideal machine
for the luthier. I only see the wide-belt being an advantage in a factory
scenario. If you build less than a 50 guitars a year - I honestly don't think
you will cut your sanding time down by more than a few hours. However,
if I had loads of money, I would probably get a wide-belt -- just because
they look cool
However, if you are building just one guitar at a time - I think the
Performax is more than adequate. If you are building more than one
guitar and you are on a schedule, I do believe the Performax will
eventually test your patience.
--
Simon