31-255X X5 18-Inch 1-1/2-Horsepower Drum Sander, 120-Volt 1-Phase

I don't understand why others had so many problems with their 31-255X sander it must be the hurry up I just gotta try it out blues. For the slipping timing belt blues it states in the manual: if the handle wheel is difficult to turn then the front right table leveling bolt needs adjusting. I found this to be the exact cure for my sander, once all four leveling bolts were adjusted the front right was readjusted and whammo the wheel turns very smoothly. The loose/destroyed belt blues are most likely the cause of not readjusting the belt after it has been used for awhile and excessive feed rate and cut. The burning blues are most likely the cause of high feed rate when using a very fine grit. I find this sander to be of high quality and sure it will give years of delightful use.

I had this drum/thickness sander for over a year and thought it was really good UNTIL the table raising and lowering mechanism got out of alignment. As other reviewers have noted, this is a common problem with this machine. I spent around 14 hours of my own time trying to adjust everything properly following the instructions in the manual and gave up in complete exasperation. I took it to the warranty repair shop here in town and after working on it awhile THEY GAVE UP also. They had ordered some new parts and tried to get it back to functioning, but they simply could not get the table to raise and lower.Fortunately it was the X5 version with a 5 year warranty so in the end I was able to get all my money back and purchase a Jet/Performax 22-44 which I like much better. My advice, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT BUYING THE DELTA!

I too had problems right out of the gate with the table elevation mechanism. I had read the unfavorable reviews but decided to buy anyway based upon Fine Wookworking's favorable review.My machine was improperly set up right out of the box. I spend several very frustrating hours taking the machine apart, properly setting up the indexing belt and adjusting the table mechanism.Once I got everything corrected it works great, but for what I paid, it is extremely frustrating to have to spend hours correcting what was to have been "factory assembled and adjusted".

I'm giving this 3 stars, not because of the sander, but because of Amazon. I thought I was supposed to get a free mobile base with this sander, but I didn't. I'm investigating that with Amazon right now.This sander took about 2hrs to set it up and start running, the manual isn't too bad, as far a manuals go anyways, it isn't great but tells you what you need to know. I've got several hours on it. I read all the reviews, and horror stories about this sander, I'm happy to say I've experienced none of these problems. It's true the sanding belt doesn't track 100% perfectly, it does take tweaking from time to time, it amounts to a 1/4 turn of the adjusting screws every so often. The manual also tells you that for the 1st several hours run time the new belt will stretch so adjustment may be necessary. It's not like you turn the machine on and BAMM the belt goes off track, it takes time for the belt to drift because even at its fastest speed the belt is still traveling pretty slow so it takes time for the belt to drift to a point where an adjustment is necessary. Keep an eye on it and it's no big deal.The setup was pretty staight forward, nothing too complicated. I ran a 16"x24" piece birch plywood to test it out. The sander was within .007" accurate right out of the box. I've adjusted it down to .004", that's the best I've been able to get so far, well within my accuracy requirements. This machine is alot quiter than I thought, as far as power tools go it is one of the quietest now that I have. This machine runs smooth with no excess vibration. I've changed drum belts, it's a little tricky to get the belt tight while wrapping it around the drum, but with a little more practice I should get better at that too.I will say, don't buy this machine if you don't have a DC, get a DC 1st. I think alot of problems people are having is because they may be trying to take off too big of bites of wood. I have a planer and jointer so this sander will not be used for thicknessing wood, only sanding taking off less than a 64th per pass, a 64th to me is too much anyways. This sander does everything it's been advertised to do and seems to do it quite well.