Official Luthiers Forum!

Chris, I don't know if it's a fair comparison or not, but I previously had a performax 10/20, and was very disappointed. I had trouble getting it adjusted, and changing paper was a pain. However it was small requiring a double pass, where as my new Delta 18/36 is a one pass. The delta is a dream compared to what i had. Changing paper a breeze, adjusting much easier and acurate. I would not buy any other thickness sander. I don't know anything about performax's larger sanders. Just my opinion. You'll get different view points here, But my experience having both, The Delta ruled for me!

Chris--Tell us more about the new Benedetto factory!
Nelson

I have the Performax 16-32 and love it as well. It took me a little time to figure out adjusting it, but after that it's been great. And I couldn't imagine changing the paper being any easier.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Filippo,

I'd be interested knowing more about this gauge. Does it appear to be difficult to set up?

What about after it's set up. Does it appear to simplify the process of setting the accuracy from then on? Maybe this is only something you can answer after you have set yours up, but it sounds great.

I'd be interested in hearing the results.

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Thanks,
Blain

http://www.ullrichguitar.com

"89.67% of all statistics are made up on the spot."

Welcome to the OLF Filippo!

What grits do you thickness your tops and backs with?

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Greg
http://garibaldiinstruments.com/

And the race is on and here comes delta on the outside.......

I choose a performax over delta and it works fine for me. Not to say the delta wouldn't either. So to sum it up... guess I'm not much help!!!!

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Oh, and welcome Filippo. This is a good place, mainly because there some solid citizens here that are very very knowledable and glad to help out. Welcome again.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I am the guy that Chris refered to at the top of this thread. After MUCH agony in deciding, I bought the Delta Sander and a small Jet dust collector. I should mention that I had already purchased the Performax 16/32 but had not yet opened it. I stared at both boxes for a week or so while reading everything I could and made several trips to examine both floor models at the Woodworker's Store. I finally took the Performax back and kept the Delta. So far, I have sanded 3 sets of Brazilian Rosewood, 2 sets of Mahogany, 3 Adirondack Spruce tops, celluloid bindings, wood purfling, bone saddle blanks, various headplates, my wife's cutting boards, shelves from the laundry room and some brace stock. I've been sanding my butt off. Am I happy? Heck yes! Is the Delta better than the Performax? Who knows? I believe that either machine would suit our purposes well. I have not experienced any of the circuit breaker tripping, feed belt tracking issues or adjustment difficulties that I read about with both the Performax and Delta. I suspect that many of the problems reported in reviews on Amazon, etc. stem from the fact that many users do not possess the level of woodworking skills that we Luthiers do and try to HOG off the wood with sloppy setup procedures. With either machine, plan to take multiple passes removing 1/32" - 1/16" per pass. Plan to go through sandpaper like crazy when sanding rosewood and take the necessary time to set the machine up properly.

I have to confess that I make frequent trips out to the garage just to gaze at that beauty!
mfranks39093.7438310185

I have a performax 16/32 and am not happy with it.
The main problem is that the free end is not stable enough allowing it to rise up on that side when thicknessing plate The outside sands thicker than the inside next to the support. It makes sense that this could be a problem and good design would dictate that extra reinforcement and stiffness would be built in to minimize this effect.

A friend has the delta sander and allowed me to use it. There was not as much spring. The support arm is stronger/better engineered to take the load.

I plan to "upgrade" my drum sander and may get a delta. Then again I may go for General and forget about the problems associated with a single arm support.