DrumAdmin
A drum sander comes in handy when you need to work with wide panels or figured wood. It also proves useful when you want to flatten and smooth out wide panels or reduce stock thickness without grain tear.
If you’re looking for a drum sander that gives you the twin benefits of efficiency and space economy, then you might take a look at Shop Fox W1740. This CSA certified 12-Inch drum sander could be a good choice for your home workshop because it is designed to handle a wide variety of stock sizes you would produce in such space.
Having said that whether is it a product that offers value for money? Let’s figure out in this review.
Who Makes Shop Fox W1740 Drum Sander?
The W1740 and the Shop Fox brand of woodworking and metalworking machinery are from the robust house of Woodstock International Inc. Woodstock has been in business since 1989 and has enjoyed unprecedented growth and renowned due to the high quality of its tools, excellent customer service and a vast network of distributors.
Their product line also includes the Steelex® and Roman Carbide® trademark names. These include thousands of proprietary and patented tools such as table saws, shapers, jointers, planers, wood and metal lathes, sanders, mills, timber and metal band saws, drill presses and several other types of specialised machinery for both DIY and commercial workshops. There is also the popular Woodstock® brand of Dust Collection Fittings.
Detailed Review of Shop Fox W1740 12-Inch Drum Sander
Woodstock’s rigid quality control program and ruggedly built parts with which it was engineered, combine to assure safe and reliable operation. The closed-ended W1740 12-inch drum sander is built to last and will give you many years of trouble-free service
The SHOP FOX W1740 is a bench-mount self-feeding drum sander with a sanding drum size of 4″ and can sand minimum stock length and width of 8″ and 2″ respectively. This compact yet reliable machine delivers even sanding performance and maximum stock dimension of 12″W x 3-1/2″H means it can handle most of the stock sizes possible in a home shop.
It comes with a drum surface speed of 2127 FPM, a 1/8 HP, single-phase conveyor motor and a 2-1/2″ dust port. The 1-1/2 HP variable speed, 3450 RPM sanding motor allows you vary the feed rate from 2.47–17.3 FPM, using the speed knob. It has two adjustable pressure rollers, a micro-adjustable graphite/felt platen, rubber in-feed drum and steel out-feed drum and a safety shut-off bar.
Pros and Cons
Like every other product, this machine has its good points and few exceptions. Let’s examine a few:
Is This A Good Buy?
The Shop Fox W1740 12-Inch drum Sander will help you produce well-sanded surfaces without much effort. Once set up, W1740 you can be confident of getting perfectly parallel surfaces all the time. This is because the drum has fixed bearing mounts on each end making it nearly impossible to deflect the drum up or down. And any issue with parallel alignment can be adjusted easily.
When you consider its form factor, ease of operation, and durability this drum sander gives, it’s worth its place in your home shop.
