Boyce Crane Spindle sander questions

[Rick Fisher]

I am going to an auction in a couple of days.. There is a Boyce Crane Spindle sander in the auction that I am thinking about buying..

The auction pictures are not good, but it appears to be green... lol ..

I wish I could give more info... found a similar looking model here..

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/27387

Was wondering if anyone knew how hard it was to get spindles for this ? Not sure how many are there, but I am going to check for sure..

Anyone here have one of these ?

[Van Huskey]

I am going to an auction in a couple of days.. There is a Boyce Crane Spindle sander in the auction that I am thinking about buying..

The auction pictures are not good, but it appears to be green... lol ..

I wish I could give more info... found a similar looking model here..

http://lumberjocks.com/topics/27387

Was wondering if anyone knew how hard it was to get spindles for this ? Not sure how many are there, but I am going to check for sure..

Anyone here have one of these ?

All the BC OSS I have seen look very similar to the one you posted. A full set would be 4 spindles and 3 drums for a range of 1/4" - 3". Given how hard they are to find for even the very popular ones like State etc I would be concerned about replacing them, if you can the cost might kill the deal especially for a light duty one, then again depending on your work you may not need a full set.

[Rick Fisher]

Van.. Thanks for the reply..

When you say a light duty one.. do you mean the sander ? Is that a well regarded old machine ?

Did some checking .. There where 7 spindles.. 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1-1/2, 2, 3" ..

I found a manual on OMMW ..

I think this machine had better be complete and running .. Easy to find people looking for parts, not easy to find them ..

[Van Huskey]

Van.. Thanks for the reply..

When you say a light duty one.. do you mean the sander ? Is that a well regarded old machine ?

Did some checking .. There where 7 spindles.. 1/4, 3/8, 1/2, 3/4, 1-1/2, 2, 3" ..

I found a manual on OMMW ..

I think this machine had better be complete and running .. Easy to find people looking for parts, not easy to find them ..

Sorry, I should have clarified, light duty in its day compared to the more "common" State and Max et al. I have never used one but all the people I know that have one seem to be happy with it. You are correct about the 7 sizes but just so we are both on the same page and you know what to look for there are 4 "spindles" that actually screw in the machine the 3 largest sizes are drums that slide over and lock onto a spindle. Again that clarifications is just so you don't mistakenly think a complete machine isn't complete for instance if you see a drum mounted on spindle you won't just see 6 sizes but realize it is all 7.

In my view old OSS needs to have as complete a set of spindles as I "require" or I will probably look past it UNLESS it goes for a song.

I must also admit I am not remotely and OSS expert, I am more of a edge sander guy. For my work an edge sander handles 95+% of my curve sanding, it is extremely rare for me to build any piece with a concave curve too tight to sand on the idler belt table of an edge sander and given the fact it has 15-100 times as much abrasive as a OSS it means fewer changes and belt abrasives for a edge sander are FAR less expensive per sq inch than for a spindle sander. Don't get me wrong if I find a State, Max, Ekstrom Carlson or the like for cheap I will buy it but I always suggest an edge sander with an end table before a OSS unless one does a lot of tight convex curve work.