G8749

Just got my grizzly drum/ flap sander today and wow what a big machine!! This thing is sturdy and powerful! Tried it out on a piece of material and i am impressed! Will see how long the sanding drums last and how much it costs me to operate and update my review. One things for sure, it is going to save me tons of time sanding.

Good quality machine, very powerful. Nice it came with 2 different size drums which inflate for a harder or softer feel. The flap sander side is a monster. I wanted to use this to de-burr wooden frames we were building. The only drawback is that this flap sander throws so much air forward that it spits the dust right into the body and face. I tried fitting a dust collection fitting around the the flaps, even tried modifying a 5 gallon bucket with a window in it to collect the dust and reduce the blowback but the flap wind was way more then the 3HP dust collectors intake. Best used outdoors if that's an option.

I have had this sander for a little over a year now. I have had the flap sander explode when the side plates holding the sanding inserts gradually shifted as a result of the washers holding it being undersized. I called Grizzly to let them know and asked if someone in the engineering dept. would call to discuss it. It was quite obvious that they were not interested and had no intention of following up. I seriously doubt that the message was ever delivered. But no matter as I really only wanted it for the drum sander and planned on mounting a couple of buffing wheels on one of the shafts. Do be aware that the only place to purchase sanding sleeves to fit on this bugger is from Grizzly and that they apply the same high standards towards their abrasives as they do to the rest of the sander. So, you can only get a limited selection of low quality abrasives to fit the drums. No concern, I then thought I could just use it as a buffer and mounted buffing wheels on the right hand threaded shaft. Now the shafts on this sander are not like the typical buffer or grinder, they are tapped with internal threads, one right hand and one left hand. (very typical on double shafted machines) I measured the threads and they were close to 12mm X 1.75, a common metric size. However, when you use a die to thread a 12mm piece of bar stock it will not fit. It seems that while the thread size is 12mm, the hole is actually undersized and will not accept a standard 12mm threaded bolt or stud. As I do not have an internal metric mic, I used an english mic and the hole size was .015 smaller than the root of a threaded shaft when using an adjustable die as the smallest. Whether this is intentional or not, I have no idea. However based on the level of precision exhibited by the rest of the machine, I would guess that it is another example of Grizzly quality of design and inspection. So, what now? I will use the sander as a buffer on one side and try to figure out a method of attaching either stick on sandpaper for drum sanding, or possibly have custom abrasive drums made to fit. Just for reference, the drum size size 4-3/4"D X 8" L. (maybe someone has a source) This was my first experience with Grizzly products as I had read very mixed reviews on them and did not want the initial experience to be too painful if it went badly. I feel lucky that it only cost me a couple of hundred bucks instead of in the area of a milling machine or something like that. I hope that I can save you that couple of hundred.

Amazing product just buy it from the source.

This sander is a GAME CHANGER! I make custom skateboards and had been using an orbital palm sander to finish my boards. It worked well but took hours of my time to complete. I was told about this sander from a fellow board maker and after reading the reviews I bought it. Assembly took minutes and completing the rounded edges of a board also took minutes. From my understanding, Grizzly makes the best products and this sander did not disappoint. It’s worth is weight in gold. Their customer service is unmatched. I work in customer service myself and I had an issue with a damaged part so I called their hotline. I was able to connect to the right department in 2 rings. My customer service rep Christian answered and was able to get the part out to me at no charge. He was friendly, knowledgeable and fun to talk to. If Christian’s manager sees this, please give him some sort of bonus. I was a little worried I made the wrong decision buying this product due to the part failing but Christian’s customer service help reminded me why I chose Grizzly in the first place, unmatched product quality and unmatched customer service. If you’re considering buying the product, go for it. It pays for itself in time saved in the wood shop and my skate decks look awesome! Thanks again Christian, you are the best!!!

I actually bought this item several years ago but see I never rated it. Most woodworkers would find little use for this sander unless they had a frequent need for sanding concave or rounded multi-plane surfaces (think table legs). Patience and technique are important lessons to learn before working on any final product finish. Overall the unit is rugged and well built. The flap sander makes a lot of noise (it moves A LOT of air) and is good for soft rounded corners and edges. It's the better half of the two shaft ends. The drum sander, for which I actually purchased the unit, is more rigid than high end drum sanders I've used. Normally, adjusting the air pressure in the drum will increase/decrease the aggressiveness/rounding of the sander action, but the drum has to be nearly empty to achieve soft and light sanding with this unit. Even then it can be more aggressive than desired. A speed adjustment and variety of grits would increase the functionality of this sander. But then you'd be at a different price point. For occasional use and specific tasks, its worth the price as an addition to an advanced woodworker's arsenal. Otherwise, stick with a variable speed random orbit sander with hook loop and pile discs such as those made by Bosch - which I use 95% of the time for similar tasks.

One of the flap sander brushes broke on initial start up. It should be screwed together to make easier mounting on the motor

Very strong heavy machine