Product Review: SuperMax 16-32 Drum Sander

by John Calkin

Originally published in American Lutherie #144, 2021



My first thickness sander was a Performax unit that attached to a radial arm saw and was driven by the saw motor. Wood had to be pushed through it by hand and when it jumped the wide, thin push unit it did painful damage to the fingers. Still, it was better than nothing.

Eventually, I sold the saw to Huss & Dalton and threw the sanding unit in the trash. H&D had a free-standing, twin-drum Performax that I was allowed to use. A conveyor belt fed the wood to the drums. It was a deluxe item.