Byrnes thickness sander vs Micro Mark's

[twintrow]

I'm thinking about getting a thickness sander, actually been thinking for months.

I get the Micro Mark Catalog today and they have their thickness sander on sale for $239.95.  Byrnes is $350.00, both plus shipping of course.

 

So I know the Byrnes quality reputation but in the case of a thickness sander, is it worth the extra $110.00???

 

I seek the expert opinion of all.  Pros and cons please.

Thanks

 

Tom

 

 

[russ]

The Byrnes thickness sander is the last one you will buy. It is a fine machine, made in America by a ship modeler who knows what we want and who will answer any questions you have about his tools. No regrets about spending few extra dollars.

 

Russ

[GuntherMT]

One thing to consider also, is that the Byrnes sander is designed to use either 3" or 6" wide sanding belt, which is quite cheap (he sells them for $1 per pre-cut piece, but I'm sure you could just buy belts and cut them yourself for less), while the Micromark tool uses pre-made 'drums' that cost $7.50 each.

 

I have no idea how fast either of these will be used, but they are a consumable, and over time that difference in cost could add up.

 

I have no personal experience to tell, but I'd be willing to bet that the Byrnes machine is probably more precise based on everything I've read and seen about it.

[dvm27]

Remember that old TV commercial with the Gorilla vs. American Tourister luggage? Substitute me for the gorilla and Byrnes products for the luggage. I'm Jim's worst nightmare but 12+ years later all of my Byrnes Model Machines are still running to spec. He even fixed a couple for no charge after I screwed them up. So buy Byrnes or buy often...that's my motto! 

[mtaylor]

I've got the MM... If I were buying again, it would be the Byrnes.  The MM is fiddly to use, in my opinion and does require slow feeds.... very slow feeds or very light "cuts".  It's not a production unit but a hobbyist unit so read into that as you may.

[twintrow]

Okay...well done, the final straw was Mark's comment, plus the use of 2 sizes of sanding bands.

Thank you all for your input......Jim I'll place my order so as I move some money around ;o)

 

Tom

[twintrow]

Order placed.

 

 

Tom

[Jaager]

Tom, if you use it a lot, with the Byrnes, you will make up the difference in sanding media cost in short order.   WoodCraft has cloth backed media - wide variety of grits - sold by the yard - I have only paid attention to the 4" Klingspor, but they have Norton 3".  Also, get the gum rubber shoe sole - sandpaper cleaning stick. Unclogs the grit.

[Zocane]

You've convinced me - yes, this thread is 4 years old, but this kind of info never goes out of style.  It's succinct.  Now I just have to wait until the Byrness 120 v is back in stock since Covid has interfered with supply.

Thanks all for your great info.  I'll cut the wood manually and do my best until I can get a Byrnes.

[Nirvana]

Byrnes machines are so quiet, I have the thickness sander and very happy with it.

[Jaager]

Two comments:

I buy direct from Klingspor on line.  From my reading, I use open coat Al oxide as the cutting medium.  It seems that the long life materials are for metals and such, wood clogs, fills the spaces.

I wish Jim had used a much stronger spring to restrain the depth wheel.   But it only wants to go one way and it is wide enough that a 2" C clamp on the rim stops it by it hitting the housing.

[vaddoc]

What about the Proxon? It is even more expensive but I think it uses blades instead of sand paper

[Maury S]

Quote

"What about the Proxon? It is even more expensive but I think it uses blades instead of sand paper"

Wouldn't that be a planer?  I love the Byrnes tool.

 

Maury

[dvm27]

The Proxxon planer is a superb tool. It uses blades for smooth cutting. But is can only plane to a thickness of @0.060" unless you use a sled underneath.  I use my Proxxon planer to remove large amounts of wood quickly and the Byrnes thickness sander to dial in the final width.

[Jaager]

With blades, I think thickness planner is a better description.

Aspects that I would wonder about:

How much fine control over thickness?

How often must the blades be sharpened?

How difficult is it to get at them?

What is the square surface area processed before the blades need to be replaced?

How expensive are the blades?

Is tear out a significant occurrence?

What is the difference in loss to waste compared to a sander?

 

Compared to a thickness sander, 

I imagine it would go faster. 

Require fewer passes if the layer to be removed is relatively thick. 

The waste product would generally be less micro and airborne.  Something that requires abatement with a sander. 

If you are careless and get fingers in harms way, I would think that the amount of you lost would be more than closely trimmed nails or temporarily more sensitive finger tips.

[davyboy]

Hi Jagger,

 

I have the proxxon DH 40 thicknesser. A couple of answers for you. 1/10 of a mm,just under .004". Blades not sharpened they have cutting edges both sides. When blunt turn them,when that side is blunt change them,they only cost about $10 in your money. Access is fairly easy. I've had a little tearout probably due to grain orientation,cured that by turning the plank around. Can't comment on waste comparison as I don't have a thickness sander. For me the fact that virtually no dust produced (at least with Pear or European Boxwood) is a winner.

 

Dave  

[Bob Cleek]

12 hours ago, Jaager said:

I buy direct from Klingspor on line.  From my reading, I use open coat Al oxide as the cutting medium.  It seems that the long life materials are for metals and such, wood clogs, fills the spaces.

I use plenty of aluminum oxide abrasive sheet material, too. I haven't had problems with the longer-lasting heavier abrasive belt material, though. They will tend to clog with softer wood species and I've found that on edges of laminations glued with PVA, the glue will soften and clog the abrasive if allowed to heat up excessively when sanding. I've not had any problem with wood clogging when the abrasive is cleaned with a crepe rubber abrasive cleaning block. Keeping the abrasive clean extends its useful life considerably. 

 

[Jaager]

Bob,

No disagreement from me about any sort of Al oxide - open coat.  For the longest time,  I wondered what the difference was between open coat and closed coat.  I was addressing the closed coat Al oxide and Si carbide and Zirconia as being the stuff that could clog.  I think that the longer lasting open coat is about having a cloth or heavier paper backing and a bonding agent that is stronger and more heat from friction resistant.  The teeth part should be about the same.

 

Dave,

Not having a ton of fine saw dust would be a plus,  but at least needing protection from it,  in addition to a shop vac meant that I had some N-95 masks on hand.

[Gaetan Bordeleau]

I use 2 by 72 belts and the best ones are blue, last for months.

[No Idea]

I use the Byrnes thickness sander quite a lot mainly on boxwood, pear wood, and mahogany. I’ve had it now for 18 months and I have only changed the abrasive that Jim supplies once in that time. I use a Bosch Vac and I find that it runs with no dust in the room as it extracts directly above the sanding drum. It’s extremely accurate and I love it. However - like all tools it does take a bit of time to get used to its feel and only then will you get the best from it. But that’s true of all tools.  

[Patrick Matthews]

I just changed the drum for the first time on my Micromark thickness sander, after years of light use. Whaddapain.

 

Now, the machine works well enough for me, and it's solid and heavy. But the designer knew nothing of "design for service". What should be an easy abrasive change operation requires fiddling with a number of too-tiny screws, exposing the wire box, removal of TWO snap rings (the correct snap ring pliers must be in your kit), pulling a pulley off a shaft (need a small pulley puller), and the use of a special spanner wrench for the nut on the sanding drum- I lost the one which allegedly comes with the sander, but happened to have a suitable spare but only due to my having other machine tools.
But I did find that the sanding drum doesn't actually have to come out of the machine as the instructions show, which saves a few steps. Not easy, but the old abrasive can be worked off the drum and pulled out one side of the machine... still busted my knuckles doing that.

[Richard in Missouri]

Looking at the pictures of the Bryne and the MicroMark drum sander, they look very similarly externally. Do either have a crank or other fine adjustment to just take a small amount more off? That's a normal feature in regular wood working drum sanders. 

[Bob Cleek]

4 hours ago, Richard in Missouri said:

Looking at the pictures of the Bryne and the MicroMark drum sander, they look very similarly externally. Do either have a crank or other fine adjustment to just take a small amount more off? That's a normal feature in regular wood working drum sanders. 

I can't speak to the MicroMark, but the Byrnes sure does. It's a wheel on a threaded rod. Turn the wheel and adjust the thickness by as little as a gnat's ***... "bottom." (Darn Net Nanny censored me. They're doing violence to the King's English, I tell ya! Here, of all places, a man ought to be able to talk like a sailor.) 

 

 

[mtaylor]

Basically the MM is the same way as far as adjustment for the Byrnes.   However, I've noticed that the tolerances are bit off or maybe it's the rubber axle for the sanding sleeve so the board being sanded ends up with one side being "short" and the other being "long".   The only fix I can find is to run the wood through once and flip it over.  Alternating back and forth. A PITA though.

[Bob Cleek]

11 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Basically the MM is the same way as far as adjustment for the Byrnes.   However, I've noticed that the tolerances are bit off or maybe it's the rubber axle for the sanding sleeve so the board being sanded ends up with one side being "short" and the other being "long".   The only fix I can find is to run the wood through once and flip it over.  Alternating back and forth. A PITA though.

That's not right. Is there a way to adjust the axle? If the sanding drum isn't perfectly parallel to the table, it's certainly not much good for the use intended. Sounds like it's time to start saving up for a Byrnes.

 

[MEDDO]

21 minutes ago, Bob Cleek said:

Sounds like it's time to start saving up for a Byrnes.

this is the only answer 🤪

[Jim Rogers]

I have a love/hate relationship with my Byrnes. Does a great job but on occasion when I get complacent it will send a board into the wall at Mach 3. 

[mtaylor]

21 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

That's not right. Is there a way to adjust the axle? If the sanding drum isn't perfectly parallel to the table, it's certainly not much good for the use intended. Sounds like it's time to start saving up for a Byrnes.

 

I've been thinking of it even though the thickness sander I have is seldom used.

[VTHokiEE]

32 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

I've been thinking of it even though the thickness sander I have is seldom used

Do you mill your wood? If so do you use a planar instead? Or what is your process?

[mtaylor]

I haven't been using it actually thickness but just to get rid of the sanding marks from a former (not Chuck) supplier.   I had planned on it though but maybe later on this year I'll see what the problem really is as I do have some wood to be thicknessed.  I suspect part of it is the rubber insert the sanding sleeve goes one.