JET 649004K 22X44 Plus Drum 22-by-1-3/4-Inch Sander with Open Stand review

The JET 649004K 22X44 Plus Drum 22-by-1-3/4-Inch Sander is built for long haul, power use, boasting a continuous-duty design, reinforced steel conveyer bed and no-give power feed conveyer belt. With the adjustable drum height and downward pressure, the machine is designed to give you the precision you need to eliminate snipe, and the drum is self-cooling and machine balanced. The cast iron hand height adjustment wheel can do radical adjustments quickly, or fine-tune to 1/16th of an inch. The safety switch has overload protection, mounted on the front of the base, protecting the user from accidental starts.

A video review of the JET 649004K 22X44 Plus Drum 22-by-1-3/4-Inch Sander with Open Stand 115-Volt 1-Phase

There have been 13 reviews on Amazon regarding this product, the first (5 stars, 2005) states “I would really suggest this product over the competition in this price range. If you have an extra grand lying around, Grizzly makes some excellent quality belt sanders that might be more useful for some folks. However, I find this sander totally meeting my needs and expectations – and I have high demands of my woodworking tools.” And then goes on to offer some “important suggestions” to consumers letting them know to do the following:

1) Align the drum head to the table. Ensure all bolts are tightened. This is a
product that needs to be properly set-up to work correctly!!!

2) Run the piece through several times and in different orientations for the intial
run. Don’t take off more than a quarter-turn and run through twice at
each depth.

3) By an abrasive cleaning stick (~ $10). As soon as any dust loads the paper, clean
it off. This will help eliminate burns

4) Use the correct grit sandpaper for the job.

One of the 2 star reviews (2006) states that the machine is great when it’s tuned and working properly but makes complaints that those moments are rare.