Thread: Oscillating edge sander - is there a "best"?

They are all pretty similar - the Laguna looks identical to the Jet which I have used a few times.

The Felder machine equivalent has a two speed motor, but a feature missing on all these machines is fully variable speed which I find very useful especially when fitting new belts.
It also provides an extra level of control when sanding softer woods or smaller objects.

The 'best' will be 3-phase and Italian or German with a price to match.

There's a used single phase TruPro on machines4u for $1500. They're Taiwanese, but pretty good quality in my experience.

The absence of variable speed on these things is weird. Its weird it is also absent on the regular sanders too.

Originally Posted by Evanism

The absence of variable speed on these things is weird. Its weird it is also absent on the regular sanders too.

That's probably because unlike something like a lathe, variable speed is not essential and just something else to go wrong for the user and for the manufacturer to fix.
My sander was originally a 3Phase 2 speed machine, and variable speed was a secondary outcome resulting from installing a VFD to enable the 3P motor to run from a single phase power supply.
The more I use the variable speed the more useful I found it and am surprised it is not standard especially on higher end machines.

Bit dubious about 1.5hp motor on such a machine.

Having said that Carbatec has one on sale for $1159 inc GST

https://www.carbatec.com.au/sanding-...mm-belt-sander

Originally Posted by Big Shed

Bit dubious about 1.5hp motor on such a machine.

The Jet I used was also only 1.5HP but it was OK up to 100 mm wide jarrah - above that it struggled.
My sand is 3HP at full rpm and nothing slows that down - of course it can also burn wood very easily.

Hare and Forbes has one at the same price as Carbatec

L112 | L-80 Belt Sander | For Sale Sydney Brisbane Melbourne Perth | Buy Workshop Equipment & Machinery online at machineryhouse.com.au

There are also a couple of higher hp ones on machines4u

Parken (ie same Melbourne company that makes drill presses) makes a beautiful one with full VFD control. I forget the price but it looked beautiful when I saw it running on the factory floor when I inspected and bought their big drill press. Cheers, Lucky


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I have the Jet oscillating. Nice machine.

I also would like variable speed, but only to make it go faster.

Neither the h&f nor the Carbatec ones are oscillating. I think the oscillating function is well worth the extra.

Dust extraction is poor. Maybe that's something to look for.

Originally Posted by Arron

I have the Jet oscillating. Nice machine.
I also would like variable speed, but only to make it go faster.

The specs for the Jet on their AU site specify a speed of 1880 m/miin~ which is nothing like my experience of using it.
The US model has a speed at 60Hz of 3900 FPM (1181 m/min).
If the AU model is the same as as the USA model and only the motor is changed then because of the 50Hz in AU and the 60Hz in the USA the AU model should run at 980 m/min, which is consistent with my experience of it running slower than expectation.
I suspect the quoted AU speed is a miscopy of the US speed.
For comparison the Felder runs at 480 and 660 m/min at 50Hz.

My sander runs at 926 m/min @ 50 Hz and 1110 m/min at 60Hz, running it at 1800 m/min would be quite terrifying.

Neither the h&f nor the Carbatec ones are oscillating. I think the oscillating function is well worth the extra.

The standard H&F sander doesn't Oscillate but the Scheppacjh Sander they sell does - its the same as the Jet.

Dust extraction is poor. Maybe that's something to look for.

They are all poor at this.

Originally Posted by Evanism

Almost time to blow some more cassshhhhh.

This one popped up while I was looking around, the Laguna jobbie: Laguna Oscillating Edge Sander - Gregory Machinery

Does anyone have any opinions on this machine or machines like it?

Is there a feature I should be looking for that I'd regret not getting with the wrong purchase?

much better dust extraction -- almost certainly something approaching this size Woodman DE25SEC Dust Extractor - Gregory Machinery

Originally Posted by ian

much better dust extraction -- almost certainly something approaching this size Woodman DE25SEC Dust Extractor - Gregory Machinery

That looks like a 1960s or earlier designed cyclone and the 4" inlets inspire very little confidence that it will any sort of serious fine dust capture as would be output by a large sander.

Hi Bob

I was sort of hoping that you might read the unit's specs ...

3 phase, 5 HP motor
"rated" fan capacity 2600 CFM
inlet diameter 250mm

and comment in the context that a sander of the size Evanism linked to will require something more than a 2 or 3 HP dust collector.


My experience in using an oscillating belt sander is limited to a unit with an (approx) 8' x 10" belt, which was connected to an industrial scale dust extractor (the 8" metal ducting was connected to the machine), with the residual dust captured by a wall filter that was large enough to maintain a breeze across the room.

Originally Posted by ian

Hi Bob

I was sort of hoping that you might read the unit's specs .. 3 phase, 5 HP motor
"rated" fan capacity 2600 CFM
inlet diameter 250mm

and comment in the context that a sander of the size Evanism linked to will require something more than a 2 or 3 HP dust collector.

Sure - I understand what you mean and the same thing happens on my belt sander, but such an expensive cyclone is not needed to collect the dust from such a machine.
A 3HP DC will handle the dust collection if the appropriate ducting is used.

The benefit of a cyclone with a good filter supposedly comes from being able to vent it inside a shed provided they don't leak but my experience is they all eventually leak so they too are best placed outside a shed.

I also note the "rated fan capacity 2600 CFM".
Given the industry standard way of testing fans results in approximately double their real flow the best that can be expected from such a setup is 1300 CFM, which is close to what can be obtained from a basic 3JHP machine.

There is no indication of the size of the impeller but I would expect a 5HP 3P machine to be able to generate a greater pressure than a 3HP DC but unfortunately the design of that cyclone is such that it will generate a greater high pressure so that the greater pressure generation advantage will not be as significant . The modern designs generate a much lower back pressure than the older designs which means they can retain this advantage. They are also more efficient at separating out the fine dust from the air so that a more free flowing final filter can be used. Usually a moot point if placed outside but even so the older designs will allow more fine dust through than the newer designs so the newer ones can be used in more sensitive areas.

There is the advantage that a cyclone does not need a filter bag so it will not clog up hence the above only holds if the DC bags are not loaded up. When sanding with such a big sander I recommend emptying the collection bags and cleaning the filters when as little as 20% of the collection bag has been filled.