555948 Shopsmith 2-1/4" x 6" Sanding Drum - worth buying?

[rcplaneguy]

Not sure what's so hokey about this Shopsmith accessory. Everyone who has it says it works as advertised. Is it because you can see the guts? What does the vaunted Rigid look like on the inside? Probably has some equally hokey mechanism.

It is not "hokey" if you can leave it set up. But if you are changing modes frequently.....

That criticism can be (and is) leveled against nearly everything Shopsmith-related -- from the changeovers between 5 basic functions to setting up the SPTs. What's so unique about the oscillating spindle sander in that regard?

Have you set one up? I find it fairly tedious. But if I have a lot of curved sanding, it is great.

[algale]

Have you set one up? I find it fairly tedious. But if I have a lot of curved sanding, it is great.

Don't own one, so I haven't set one up.

[jsburger]

Now that I have two dedicated drill presses I actually think I might pick one up. It should work particularly well with the long metal extension tube for the drum sander table insert.

[reible]

The problem drum sanding if the head does not oscillate even with finer grits, you have all these little groves that still need to be sanded out.

You do realize that the same can be said for hand sanding and any sanding done on the lathe and for that matter belt sanders, strip sanders and the likes. The oscillations on the shopsmith attachement are for the most part to expose fresh grit rather then to avoid those little "groves"(grooves).

Ed