JET 10-Inch Benchtop Drum Sander, 1 HP, 115V 1Ph (Model JWDS-1020)

I have 1/2 of a two car garage for my wood shop, the other half has a collectable car under a car cover. My space is extremely limited for all the power tools that I use. I make small boxes not cabinets, and I have gone to a friend's in the past to sand resawn boards from my bandsaw. He has a larger drum sander and quickly spoiled me with what his sander could do. It's a hassle to go over there for a small job so I purchased the JWDS-1020 drum sander for these reasons: It needed to be small, it needed to sand short boards and it needed to sand thin boards. That's exactly what this drum sander does best. It will sand a board less than 3 inches long and it will sand a board down to veneer thickness, and it fits on my flip-top cart taking very little space. The dust collection works very well, it's a smooth running, quiet (for a power tool) and does a great job, build quality is excellent. It will also sand a board up to 20 inches wide by running the opposite side through the open end on a second pass. It does everything that my friend's larger sander does just as well as his, except it doesn't sand a 36 inch wide board that is 4 inches thick. But his doesn't sand short boards or as thin as this machine. They have different applications is all. If you don't need a big boy drum sander for cabinets or status or if you don't have room, don't hessitate to purchase this machine. The only part of the learning curve that I am getting used to is that it's a sander not a planner. Take small amounts of material off, don't turn the crank a quarter turn at a time like you do with a planner. If you do it will pop the circut breaker. That's not a defect, that's operator error. I love this machine!

A very nice machine for finishing and sizing project pieces without having to deal with the issues common to a planer such as snipe and tear outs. It is also much quieter than a typical planner, though you do need to go slow with only small changes to the height between passes. So if you’re not in a hurry and what a high quality finish, with minimal effort, this could be the one for you.

Purchased less than 6 months ago ran fine until one day went to use it and the drum motor wouldnt spin. I let it sit for a few hrs and tried it again and it worked. 2 days ago I was using it, when I finished I turned it off and came back to it a few minutes later and the drum motor wont come on. Customer service was useless, they transferyour call to a tech but their call center will hang up on you after an hour on hold if you dont opt for the call back feature. I did not want to hang up and wait for them to NOT return my call like they have with the emails I have sent them. Called back and told CS I wanted them to honor their warranty either send me a new machine or give me my money back. They told me I have to return it to Amazon because I didnt buy it directly from JET. I already know they are going to make me troubleshoot the machine then send me a part they should have made better before shipping and make me repair the machine I have owned less than 6 months amd have less than 20 hrs of use on. Im a woodworker not a mechanic or electrician, I shouldnt have to be doing repairs on a machine this new. I was looking at Jet 14 inch bandsaw and air cleaner but after this Im just going to buy Rikon, I have Rikon 10 inch bandsaw in my shop for over 4 years and never had any issues. Jet couldnt make it 6 months save your money. Update: it was a faulty switch they will send a new one at the end of May, its March 11th today. If you like tearing apart and "hot wiring" your new machines while you wait a couple months, JET is the brand for you.

Overall, the JET 10-Inch Benchtop Drum Sander has been a solid addition to my shop. The build quality is good for a benchtop unit, it feels sturdy, and once it’s dialed in, it produces consistent, predictable results. For the price, it offers strong value and does what it’s supposed to do. My main frustration has been keeping the belt tracking straight. Adjusting the belt can be finicky and time-intensive. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does interrupt workflow more than I’d like. That said, once the belt is set correctly, the sander performs well and holds adjustment. If you’re patient with setup and want a capable drum sander without stepping up to a much larger (and more expensive) machine, this is a good choice.

I’ve read and seen many negative reviews on this machine, both here and on YT. I really hesitated to buy this thing but it was the only drum sander that checked the boxes in my list. Size and weight were most important to me as I have to get my equipment down a flight of stairs to my basement shop. It came well packaged and was damage-free. No smashed motor fan cover which many have complained about. It was pretty much ready to go out of the box. I placed it on my bench and connected my dust collector. I switched on the conveyor then the drum and ran a few test boards through. The sander performed very well. It’s really quiet and dust collection is very good. So far after two weeks of ownership I have run through about 150 linear feet of wood through it. It has performed perfectly. The boards come out clean and with no snipe (after slight roller adjustment). The boards also come out with a uniform thickness. So far I’m very pleased with this drum sander. Maybe I got lucky and received a good one. YMMV.

Excellent tabletop drum sander. Works as expected. Such a small footprint fits on the rolling cabinet with my tabletop jointer. Great to have 20 inches of sanding capacity by just flipping the piece around. Perfect for my small shop. Update: had trouble with an adjustment and after taking it in for repair, the company is replacing the machine. GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE! Got them on the phone quickly and responded with great service. Will continue to buy jet products. I wish all companies customer service was this good.

I expected more quality from a $1200 piece of equipment. The sandpaper keeps stacking up on itself as the machine runs eventually tearing out the end. Then you have to replace with new. The exhaust fin on the inside of the exhaust hood had to be trimmed back as it was being sanded by the drum when closed. I cut it back with a razor knife so it doesn’t touch anymore. The conveyor bed was out of alignment from the factory so I had to adjust that during it’s first use. The spring on the clip that holds the end of the sandpaper roll at the end is so strong that I needed to open it with a spring clamp to feed the end in. Also it’s right against the motor spindle and hard to get your fingers in to squeeze it. It works as long as you frequently keep checking everything for alignment and re-positioning/tightening the sandpaper. The overall construction is sturdy and the motor and belt drive work well. Overall I would be happier if I paid about half the price I did.

If you order this sander, be aware that your first steps after unpacking it are not in the instruction manual. You guessed it, straightening a bent fan and pounding out a dented fan cover. Don't think that it won't happen to the one you order because that is what I thought and I was wrong. It is a shame that with the weight of this machine the packaging is not beefed up a little better especially after all of the complaints about it. I am updating my review from 3 to 5 stars. I work with small light pieces of wood so after running 30 or so pieces through the sander I can say that this machine will be a nice addition to my shop. It sure is a shame the packaging is not up to snuff but as long as the machine keeps working as it should then I will be happy. So on to the brighter side of things. I ran a small piece of wood through the sander a few times and it seemed to do what it is supposed to so that makes me feel better after spending that much money on it. I will give an update after I have had time to put more boards through it.