experience with Cantek edge sanders?

[David Zaret]

i'm looking to buy an edge sander - ideally the kundig uniq, but at $16k, i have to expand my options. does anyone have experience with the cantek oscillating edge sanders, or suggestions on other brands to look at?

thanks.

-- dz

[peter gagliardi]

For about 1/5 or 1/6 the cost, you could get any of these- Ekstrom -Carlson, Whirlwind, Wysong and Miles, Oakley, or Mattison.
It would also be twice the sander of anything new.
I have been running an Oakley 648 for about 15 years in a production shop. Only complaint, I wish it had more capacity.

[David Zaret]

peter, thanks. my concern with old iron is availability, and time to restore and get running. i simply would rather spend money for good, new equipment, than source and fight the issues that come with old iron. are these fairly readily available?

thanks again. appreciate the feedback.

--- dz

[Darcy Warner]

peter, thanks. my concern with old iron is availability, and time to restore and get running. i simply would rather spend money for good, new equipment, than source and fight the issues that come with old iron. are these fairly readily available?

thanks again. appreciate the feedback.

--- dz

So buy one from someone that has gone over the machine and has it running in their shop. At one point I had 6, down to 2 now.

[peter gagliardi]

Not every piece of old iron needs restoring. Plenty of good users out there for the kind of money I describe.
In my opinion, there are certain machines that warrant more investment, because of the time savings or accuracy they can return.
An edge sander simply does not fall into that category. It is a brutally simple machine for the most part from an operational standpoint. The extra $11-14k can buy more than a few hours of careful looking for and inspecting of possible good candidates- but, It is your money.
You asked for other options, so I named them. All the ones I pointed out will outlast anything you find today, and in fact, already have.
If you don't want to invest the looking time, try to find a dealer you can trust, but expect to pay a premium above my numbers for having them sort the field for you.

[David Zaret]

i get it - and appreciate the guidance and advice.

[David Kumm]

I run an Oakley H648 and it is a great machine. You would want to find a old machine that has been gone over and in good condition as they aren't the easiest to rehab. My only knock on the Oakley is that it has a 7" platen and belt. 8"-10" would be better. What it does have are heavy cast iron tables that don't move or sag, and an equally heavy platen. Any machine with a twist or not flat platen or table is pretty useless so check that part of any machine. Dust collection is usually mediocre but an edge sander seems to get used on most every project. Good luck, Dave

[richard poitras]

Check out one of the Vega sanders......

[John C Bush]

I am a hobby WWer and have a small egde sander that I use a lot, have seen the monster old "arn" edge sanders on the OWWM forum and have always wondered what part of a production shop process they are used for. I don't make many cabinets--face frames and panel doors--mostly furniture for fun and use the sander to clean rough edges and adjusting for a good joint. I would like(need??) to have a larger platen and the big machines would fit the bill--except for space and paying the bill. How do you pros use them. Thanks.

[Martin Wasner]

How do you pros use them.

Mostly for final dimensioning of doors in my case.



I was looking at getting a new Cantek edge sander as well. I ended up buying an Oakley H5 for $2500. I still haven't dropped it in place to use it, (I need to pull another circuit), but I'm glad I didn't buy the Cantek

[Neil Gaskin]

We have a Vega edge sander we bought it early in the year. I cannot speak to long term durability but so far so good. It's a simple well made machine and very well priced. I ordered it with a 3 phase motor, end table, and the adjustable rear platten. I think total cost was around 2700. It's very basic but very well made.

For the money I could not find a better unit used or new.

I'd highly recommend it.

https://www.southern-tool.com/store/vega_belt_sander.PHP

[Larry Edgerton]

If I could afford it I wound have a Kundig Uniq S. I like the features like the feed belt and the relatively small footprint. Wife has not won the lottery yet.

I have been looking at the Baliegh 9" model, but have not pulled the trigger yet. 9" would be nice for drawer sides.

[Joe Calhoon]

I would like a Kundig also and probably would have one if we still did cabinetry. The Samco Unilev is nice also. I think the difference between the Euro model and old US iron is the compact size, split jointer-like fence and most have a drum sander built in.
Myself, I am still using the Rodgers edge sander I bought new in 1978. Had to make some adjustments to it - a metal platen and made some substantial wooden tables that were true and square. They had a crazy form block attachment that never worked. Acme had a similar sander. The Vega looks to be improved over these.

We use the edge sander a lot more than the disk or OSS. They all have their use though. They are great for fitting and beveling inset cabinet doors, sanding outside curves and many other things. If the right deal ever comes up on a small footprint old iron sander or a Euro sander I will go for it.

[David Zaret]

so, what started this whole exercise is i seriously looked at the Kundig Uniq, and even got a quote. the "veener sanding" feature is what's particularly attractive, and though i know that some other brands have that feature, it feels like the Kundig is a very high quality machine. as it should be, for $16k.

i am in the stage of asking myself if i want to spend $16k on an edge sander. given what i build, it's certainly a machine i'd use and love, but that's a lot of money. hence my exploration of other sanders... but i think i've come to the conclusion that a regular oscillating edge sander - new or old - is not "apples to apples" with a Uniq, particularly due to the veneer sanding feature.

maybe i'll wait for IWF and see it live in atlanta.

as always, the feedback from folks on this board is incredibly valuable.

---dz

[Martin Wasner]

I have been looking at the Baliegh 9" model, but have not pulled the trigger yet. 9" would be nice for drawer sides.

Ritter has a 14" for drawers with a good sized motor on it.

[James Biddle]

Does an edge sander with the joiner fence option perform better than the typical edge sander? I would think that for fine-tuning a door, they would be perfect...less likelihood of taking off too much or skewing the sanding. I've never owned an edge sander, but it takes a certain amount of finesse for me to not sand one edge off more than the other just using my disk sander.

[Keith Weber]

I have an oscillating Oakley H6 that bought already beautifully-restored on eBay for about 1/6th of the price you mentioned for the new Kundig. It's one of my favorite tools in the wood shop -- so handy for so many things. Very smooth and well-built machine. My only complaint would be that I wish it did a better job at dust collection, but that's just the nature of the beast.

[James Biddle]

There seems to be a disconnect in this thread. Veneer edging sanders are a different animal than standard edge sanders in that the veneer edging sander is more set up like a jointer set on the vertical with a small section of the paper exposed. So it can be used like a jointer, running the stock along the infeed fence, across the moving paper, then across the outfeed fence, so that sanding accurately is no harder than using a jointer. The opposite side of the veneer edge sander is usually set up like any other edge sander.

[Joe Jensen]

The Kundig and the Langanzer give you both veneer sanding and traditional oscillating edge sander capabilities. I lust after one. With 400 grit paper you can use to sand between coats of finish too :)

[Larry Edgerton]

https://www.machines4u.com.au/view/advert/Unilev15/281053/

Have not seen this one for sale here yet, just the more expensive model.

This one looks a lot like it.

https://www.scosarg.com/itech-bs8-multi-edge-sander

[James Biddle]

https://www.machines4u.com.au/view/advert/Unilev15/281053/

Have not seen this one for sale here yet, just the more expensive model.

This one looks a lot like it.

https://www.scosarg.com/itech-bs8-multi-edge-sander

Larry, those are the one's similar in function to the Kundig Uniq. I'm not sure why, but they seem to be much more popular in Europe.

[Larry Edgerton]

I'm not sure why, but they seem to be much more popular in Europe.

Probably because they are better?

[John Sincerbeaux]

I have the Kundig Uniq. I like that the whole head oscilates and is variable. I also like that the head tilts rather than the table. And the tilt is motorised. The jointer side is nice for accurate (dummy proof) edge sanding. The different tables for drum sanding operations are very nice. In all modes of sanding, the dust collection is quite good.
Edge sanding is still mostly a “manual” operation and therefore it is pretty easy to mess up if youre not careful. Hence the jointer setup for veneering. This sander is my go to “fabricating” machine. I make a lot of boxes and nearly every part of a box touches this cadilac of machines.