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Woodmaster 50" Drum Sander - $4,250 (Hurst)
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Woodmaster still sells this machine with no accessories for $7600
https://woodmastertools.com/shop/machines/drum-sanders/50-7-5hp-single-drum-sander/model-5075-50-inch-drum-sander/
7.5 HP 220V motor. About the biggest a single phase motor you can get.
Used it a lot for flattening veneered panels. It is very dusty lol but in very good condition and works perfectly. Bring your project and test it out! Woodmaster still sells this machine and all replacement parts are available if you ever break it somehow.
Sand boards over 5" thick. Cannot sand anything shorter than 7" long safely. If you need to sand short items first affix them to a good size piece of plywood. Two rubber feed rollers on each side of drum, rubber conveyor underneath. Never had a feed problem.
Works great but you have to take it slowly to flatten. This is not a machine that will take off 1/32 in one pass if you've got a full 52" wide surface area. We were doing very tough work flattening two inch by three inch geometric veneer shapes and it took some time to flatten one board because there was a ton of uneven pieces and a large surface area. If you're doing cabinet frames (stiles and rails) or stuff that is already mostly flat or a very small width then it is very quick. A few passes and you're done.
Regarding doors of any kind, from cabinet doors to wall hung doors, if you are going to make a frame such as stile and rail or join multiple pieces, then this is the correct machine. We used it to do parquetry over plywood for table tops and other furniture pieces. We used it for butcher block. I used it for bench tops. It works. It gets things much flatter with each pass. Not like a handheld sander in any way. Hate to sell it really because what they do can't be duplicated with something smaller.
In cabinet frames and such you're joining wood together and you want them all to match up evenly at the joints. This way you can put finish over them and you'll get no change in thickness that can catch on things or ruin your finish.
Regarding the belt machines, yes very expensive, but in a production environment they cannot be matched since they can remove a lot more thickness than a drum in one pass. Total overkill for cabinets though because you need to run air, dust collection and three phase electric. They also, typically, won't dig too deep, stop on you or burn your item since they usually have a larger contact surface and I'm just sure they are really smart these days for the money they ask.
Regarding the drum machines like this one, they really are unequaled for the money. Everything is a trade-off though. A drum has some issues you need to keep in mind to make sure you don't have problems.
1/ if the item gets caught or stuck you can't turn it off fast enough to prevent getting a valley where the drum makes contact. Always feed your item straight through the middle of the drum and take care to avoid hitting the frame of the machine on the left or right.
2/ There are included roller extensions. It is best to use them. If you get distracted it can prevent your item from dropping on the floor.
3/ Use light passes. You want to go easy. If you do light passes you'll get a flatter end product. Excess pressure will just push your item into the conveyor. If the other side of your item isn't perfectly flat, then the pressure will warp your item during sanding and once out it could spring back and make your item look curved. Not fun. If you know your item is uneven on the bottom then shim it for best results.
4/ We didn't find the machine to be safe when we purchased it. We bought a direction switch and a shutoff and mounted them to the machine where you would stand to feed the machine on either side. That way, no matter which side you are feeding, if you have a problem you have a switch right in front of you. We never had a problem or used the switches, but they made us feel safer, especially when solo.
5/ You really need to level the machine for best results. Put it where you want it and shim the feet so everything is level. It isn't picky, but we had an incident on the first day and had to sand again because our floor was like a half inch out on opposite feet.
6/ note that it requires TWO plugs. A 220V single phase for the drum and a regular 120v for the conveyor.
We will help you load it. We have a box full of stuff that goes with this machine. Don't let us forget to give it all to you. List at bottom of ad.
Note that we never used the sandpaper cleaning pad. This was a big deal to me. In my experience, sandpaper always went quick and I wondered if this machine was going to make me go broke buying sandpaper. Nope. The drum is aluminum, doesn't turn too fast and it has sufficient size that the heat dissipates nicely. The sandpaper lasts very well, doesn't overheat and has *never* gotten clogged with finish, sap or paint. This is the right machine. The sandpaper just lasts and lasts.
We're here 9am-5pm Monday through Saturday. Feel free to give us a call the day of so I can be sure I'll be here to meet you, but there will be someone here that can help you either way.
Comes with everything you'll need. We're getting out of the business so everything that goes with the machine conveys.
Comes with:
Steel roller extension tables
Reversing Kit (plus extra switch on the other side for safety)
Lots of sandpaper in 220, 120, and 40 grits
Extra velcro in case the drum velcro needs to be refreshed.
Sandpaper cleaning pad.
Manual