Shopsmith Forums

Before I call customer service, I want to canvas the Forum members to see if you think I have a legit beef or not.

I recently ordered some 6 inch sanding drums. They came in a soft package with no bubble wrap or other protection. The drums are all partially squashed and at least one has a minor crease at the bottom edge. All as shown in photo.
Am I being too particular to expect my sanding drums to come round?

Absolutely not. I used some that were that way and the resulting sanding job was only marginally acceptable. I, unfortunately, damaged the drums myself during the shop relocation.

Do the non-round parts become a problem when mounted to a drum?

JPG wrote:Do the non-round parts become a problem when mounted to a drum?

I haven't mounted them. And hearing Dusty's experience, I don't want to risk ruining a work piece to find out. Or have Shopsmith tell me I cant return used abrasives.

I'll CS and see if they will allow me to test them out on some scraps and still accept returns if unacceptable results ensue.

any way to trim it ? most the ends of my'n don't get used ? It's up to you how you handle it . jmo they should have been shipped inside a box ?

Hobbyman2 wrote:any way to trim it ? most the ends of my'n don't get used ? It's up to you how you handle it . jmo they should have been shipped inside a box ?

When I order 6" drums, I don't want 5 3/4" or 5 1/2" drums. I actually have a project or 2 where I want to use the full length of the drums. I'm not going to trim them until they send me 7" long drums for my 6" drum sander.

I don't think out-of- round will be an issue, since the drum should expand a bit to fill the sanding sleeves out and restore them to a true circular shape, but a crease might create a problem. Although, now that I try to visualize what that problem would look like, I don't think a crease in a sanding sleeve would be like a nick in a planer or jointer blade...the undamaged portion of the sandpaper seems like it might smooth out any irregularity from the crease. Hmm...interesting thought experiment. I would like to hear more about Dusty's experience.

I simply don't see a problem. The sleeve doesn't have to be round it's the drum that dictates the shape. Even a small crease shouldn't matter. I've had a mid-sized Singley drum sander that uses flat sheet or roll paper (see link) for a long time and it has always done an excellent job. Note: They have gotten a lot more pricey since I bought mine. I don't use it a lot now after I bought a Ridgid oscillating drum/belt sander. The oscillating does of course make a huge difference.

https://woodworker.com/34-x-3-w-14-shaf ... 15-888.asp

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/oscillatin ... dle-sander

In the 20+ years I owned a shoe repair shop we used sanding machinery that used flat or roll paper by hinging open and then clamping down to grip the paper. While some old work shoes were crude much of the work (like many ladies shoes and high priced men's dress shoes required delicate work and were very highly finished. At least they do in a quality shop. (there are butchers in every craft)

http://www.shoesystemsplus.com/Bottom-S ... p_258.html


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The only one that may be a problem is the one with the crease. The others will be fine and will "round" out when mounted. Even the creased one may be fine when mounted if it "flattens" out the crease.

Interesting that the package looks somewhat vacuumed packed. Mine didn't come that way. The bag was very loose around them. I did buy mine some time ago.

After sending photos to Shopsmith, I got an official response from Shopsmith today:

“I apologize we only replace products that have defects that make them unusable. Based on our engineer's inspection the sanding sleeves are still useable and technically not damaged. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

So, I guess that settles that at least as far as they are concerned.