I'm considering investing in a drum sander and I'm weighing my options. The Jet JWDS-1632 is on my radar, but there's also the JDWS-1836 available for just a couple hundred dollars more. I'm curious if the additional 2 inches in width on the 18" model justifies the extra cost for my woodworking needs.
2 Answers
If budget isn't a huge issue, I say go for the larger sander! I had a smaller thickness planer and always wished I had gotten the bigger one. Now I keep running into situations where a bit more width would make my life easier. You don’t want to find yourself in that situation later on!
It really depends on how wide your projects are. If you're mainly working with narrower pieces, the 16" might do just fine. But remember, you can sand pieces wider than the sander's width with the right technique, so consider your typical project size before shelling out the extra bucks.