It can be done easily on drum sanders, but you need to use a 'backer' board. A piece of 3/4" MDF ran thru once by itself to flatten it perfectly, then either using double sided tape to hold down the thinner stuff to it, or put a small lip on the rear of the board as a stop you can then run it thru the machine until you reach the thickness you need. They can be very handy, and at this price, if the machine works as advertised, you can't really go wrong. You can also use it in the process to square up point wood, or if you do knife handles, gun grips, etc.
The biggest requirement is to have a strong dust collector to hook up to it otherwise it's going to look like a blizzard in your shop
Dave
They are no good for squaring wood. They act the same as a planer or thicknesser. A joiner or a good table saw is needed to square the wood. It does work good for smoothing and sharpening the edges on once squared material however. Also, you need a really large vacuum system. I have a 6 H/P Ridgid shop vac and it doesn't even come close to gathering the dust. I use it seldom but the intension is to get it over near a wall where I can run a 4 inch line from the dust collection system as it moves so much more air.
Dick
