Sanding solutions

Specialty sanders come in all shapes and sizes. There’s a stationary machine that can sand just about any contour from flat panels to profiled doors, curved edges, moldings or even textured surfaces. There are wide belt, edge, stroke, contour, profile, brush and drum sanders, along with aggregate heads for CNC routers and solutions designed for robotic arms. Whatever a shop is sanding, there’s a machine for that. Or an optional upgrade.

The Opera 5 from Biesse America (biesse.com) is a good example. It can be ordered with up to five optional modules that can be lined up in any order, such as cross-grain or super-fine finishing with pads or brushes, very fine calibration, bulk removal with a helical insert cutterhead, or even special effects that include texturing such as wavy planing and sawmill marks.

Cantek America (cantekamerica.com) offers options that include brush, edge and planer models, plus 17 different wide-belt units with capacities from 24" to 63". Cantek also offers options of up to four heads, which can speed up processing when a single pass can complete both coarse and fine abrasion.

Sometimes we search for a solution based on the familiar and overlook an opportunity. A shop that works with live-edge slabs or solid edge-glued panels can save a lot of time and get very uniform results with a wide belt sander. But a stroke sander might be a better choice because of its long belt (about 20 feet). The work is placed on a bed that slides across the belt’s path and is usually controlled manually by the operator. Pressure is applied with a self-leveling platen so a woodworker can really tailor the finish, applying extra time and pressure in one area and less in another. It works very quickly and can be quite aggressive. A medium grit belt can deliver the same removal rate as a coarse grit belt on a portable sander, in part because the long belt means that heat dissipates and doesn’t build up. These machines are generally less expensive than wide belt sanders, and some have high capacities.

Casedei-Busellato (casadeibusellato.com) offers the LN series of stroke sanders that will handle work up to 1100mm (43.3") wide and 3000mm (118.1") long, which makes it ideal for large items such as entry doors, countertops, desktops and dining tables. They are available from JKL Machinery in Brighton, Mich. Doucet (doucetincsanders.com) also offers a range of stroke sanders, which are also used in metalworking.

Indeed, specialty sanders are available for almost any task. If a shop needs to sand four faces of a curved workpiece, there’s the Castaly Lobo SD-HV404BD (lobomachine.com), which automatically adjusts for varying widthes and has infinitely variable speed. The Felder Group (felder-group.com) offers stroke, edge and wide belt sanders, plus a couple of brushing machines including the new Structura 40.02. This has a pair of 7-1/2" diameter brushes, starting with a wire brush that rotates in the same direction as the feed, followed by a Tynex plastic brush that spins in the opposite direction.

The catalog from Grizzly Industrial (grzzly.com) includes drum, belt, disc and edge sanders, plus a full quota of oscillating spindle sanders for edge work and inside radii. And the company has added a feature-rich 20" variable speed disc sander with a large 12" x 25" table, both X and Y miter slots, cast iron trunnions, a motor brake, a pedestal on/off switch, and a storage area for supplies and jigs. The G0967 has a 2-hp, 3-phase motor with a built-in single-phase inverter.

The Surcare SMF is an unusual sander offered by Hermance Machine (hermance.com), which has fixed sanding discs and rotating base. The larger 200 model has four 6" diameter hook-and-loop discs and the smaller V4 has four 5" discs.

The John G. Weber Co. (johngweber.com) in Sheboygan, Wisc., carries a large selection of both new and used machines, including the Cantek E6. This is an oscillating sander with a 6"-tall profile and a 0.82" stroke for sanding the edges of both solid wood and MDF cabinet doors.

Baileigh Industrial (baileigh.com), a division of JPW Industries, makes three drum sanders for smaller woodshops that offer an alternative to the cost of investing in a large wide belt machine. The middle model, the SD-255, can handle parts up to 5" tall and 25" wide, and runs on single-phase power. It has two drums for different grits and a variable speed conveyor.

California-based Laguna Tools (lagunatools.com) makes oscillating spindle sanders and belt sanders under the Laguna brand, plus an array of Supermax specialty sanders. These include open-ended and contained drum sanders, plus combination brush and drum units. The SS/24 spindle sander can tilt to 45 degrees for touching up miters and bevels, especially on a curve. It comes with six table inserts and ten spindles for different diameter sleeves.

Among the family of Weber wide belt sanders from Martin Woodworking Machines (martin-usa.com) is the KSN Compact. With many high-tech features, this machine can quickly be converted to handle lengthwise or crosswise final sanding, so it can be used for calibration and finishing without an extra sanding station.

Mirka (mirka.com) makes some interesting spot sanders that, while designed for automotive work, could be quite useful for touch up and repairs on materials such as solid surfaces and moldings. What makes them unusual is that the discs and orbits are restricted, so they can focus in on a very small area where a standard cordless RO tool might be overkill. For example, the AROS 150-B has a 5mm orbit and the disc is only 1.25" in diameter.

Oliver Machinery (olivermachinery.net) offers its 6" x 89" edge sander in either oscillating or non-oscillating versions for the same price. For some tasks the non-oscillating version offers more control, while the oscillating model can deliver a better finish and longer-lasting belts. Oliver also makes a larger 9" x 138" machine in either single or 3-phase options.

For drawer box production, the R25814 single-sided oscillating horizontal edge belt sander from Ritter (rittermachinery.com) has a massive 14" wide belt exposure and a 16" x 144" ground steel platen. This is the largest of six models from Ritter, which also makes the R258 that runs an 8" wide belt.

RT Machine Co. (rtmachine.com) carries some Northtech sanders including the 62618N, which is also ideal for large runs of drawer boxes. This sander has a 1/2" stroke, tilts to 45 degrees, and takes a 9" x 158" belt. Based in Hughesville, Pa., RT also carries the Timesavers model MS-12-5, which is an unusual five-head molding and profile brush sander.

Rikon Tools (rikontools.com) makes nine different light-duty sanders for small shops and hobbyists, including the 50-300, an oscillating spindle sander with a tilting table. And Safety Speed Mfg. (safetyspeed.com), which is known for panel saws, makes both 37" and 43" wide belt sanders that are well suited to smaller woodshops.

SCM Group (scmgroup.com) offers a complete range of wide belt sanders to suit every production scenario, from a one-man shop to industrial production. For specialty sanding in smaller operations, the company makes the Formula DG 60 belt and disc sander with a titling table.

Founded in 1906 as a metalworking machine manufacturer, South Bend Tools (southbendtools.com) added woodworking in 2021 and the line currently includes a 37" wide belt sander, 9" x 138" oscillating edge sander, 26" variable speed drum sander, 6" x 108" variable speed oscillating edge sander, and 6" x 48" belt/disc sander with a 12" disc. Woodshops looking for smaller sanding machines might also want to visit the Shop Fox line at grizzly.com/shopfox.

Stiles Machinery (stilesmachinery.com), with locations in California, Texas, Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, has a vast catalog that includes the UKP Series from Heesemann, a profile sander for the sanding of all side edges regardless of shape. The machine can sand from one side or all four simultaneously.

Originally published in the July 2024 issue of Woodshop News.