20" Disc Sander or a 6" Edge Sander?

[Keegan Shields]

If you only had room for one, which one would you choose and why? I'm thinking the disc sander is capable of higher precision tasks like fitting miters, but I've never used an edge sander so what do I know?

What does each sander do well? Which one would you pick?

Thanks!

[Jeff Roltgen]

As usual, reply starts with the qualifier:
"depends on how you use it"

Never have been compelled to head to a sander with a mitered stick in hand. Didn't need it, and certainly have never had one on hand that lead me to believe it could out-perform accuracy of cut from either miter or table saw with miter sled and a heck of a good blade.

However, I'd hate to be without an edge sander.
I did upgrade from a 6 to a 9" edge sander a few years ago so I could more easily sand up to 9" dovetailed drawer boxes after assembly. Just makes that clean-up a snap.
Naturally, all the other levels of versatility, like sanding curves on the idler drum table, straight and tapered legs on the platen after sawing. Door/drawer panel edges. Even quick prep for stain sampling on scraps.

I do have a very small bench-top VS 5" disc sander. Uses: cleaning up putty knives, grinding edges off small cabinet latches, shaping glue and wood filler sticks tailored to odd applications. I imagine if I had a large 10-12" cast iron version, I may find some more accuracy and inspiration to use it.

IMHO, the sheer number of operations I do almost daily on an edge sander lead me to conclude hands down, it's the one I couldn't give up.

jeff

[Kevin Jenness]

What do you want to do? A 20" disc sander with abrasive closely adhered to a flat platen will be slightly better at producing a very flat surface and will give a greater height capacity. The force is down into the table so no kickback potential (unless you stray into the wrong quadrant), and the sanding pattern will often be crossgrain and need further cleanup before finishing. Changing the discs with psa or hand applied stickum can be messy and time-consuming. If I can't get a perfect miter off the saw (and I can with a sliding table saw and finish blade) I go to a block plane, sanding block or shooting board.

A 6" edge sander is very versatile for putting a finish sanded surface on parts as long as the platen (can be used on longer pieces with some cleanup at the join). The platen does need to be truly flat for good results and may need some attention. Tapering, sneaking up on a fit of doors and drawers, cleaning up sawn edges accurately without tearout, sanding the face of small parts, sanding end grain, sanding inside curves on the idle roller are all possible. It does pull pieces toward the drive roller so caution is needed there. Belt changes are fast. You rarely see a large disc sander in a cabinet shop, and you will rarely see one without an edge sander.

An oscillating edge sander is best for abrasive life, but not essential. I have a 3 phase edge sander with a vfd which allows slowing down the belt speed for woods prone to burning, especially on end grain when the belt is not fresh.

[Jim Becker]

I'm in agreement with the others...they are very different tools, even though you "can" do some cross processing between them. What the majority of the work you need to do is going to help you make your choice.

[Aaron Inami]

In my opinion, I would pick edge sander. Several points:

On your 20" disc sander, there is a limited amount of sandpaper. If you think in equal terms, the 20" disc sander only has about 12-40" of sandpaper length (when you compare to an edge sander). This isn't an exact figure becase the disc sander is a circle, but the circumference of your 20" is 62". On a 6" edge sander, you have anywhere from 90-108" length of sandpaper to work with. While you can clean the paper of either machine, the edge sander will last longer.

If you have a long edge you need sanded, this becomes difficult on a disc sander. As far as precision is concerned, not all edge/belt sanders are created equally. I'm not intending to push a specific model, but I decided to buy the HS950 myself. This video was very influential:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhsxQG9FbnE

Further on in the video, he shows the accuracy possible with the HS950 by sanding a perfect end on a piece of wood using the miter gauge. Of course, you can do compound angle on a miter since you can adjust both the miter gauge angle and the table angle (obviously, you can do this on a disc sander as well).

Probably one of the biggest points for buying the HS950 is the ability to sand an angle anywhere from 90 degrees all the way down to 0 degrees. The sanding platen on the HS950 will tilt all the way down to flat (essentially becomes parallel with the table). This means you can sand a very extreme angle. Most all the edge sanders or disc sanders I have seen only allow a tilt angle down to 45 degrees.

Another thing about the edge sander is the abiilty to create a perfectly flat edge up to about 36-40" long. On many edge sanders, the end-cap can be flipped up if you need to run a longer edge through the sander (sliding the board from right-to-left).

Edge sanders also provide convex sanding inside of a curve using the end of the belt.

Changing the sandpaper on a disc sander is somewhat painful because you have to completely remove the table and sometimes the case cover. Getting the sandpaper off the disc is somewhat of a hassle. On the HS950, switching sandpaper is quick and easy. This allows you to work with multiple grits very conviently.

If you are looking at edge sander, don't go cheap. The Hammer HS950 is going to be close to $3k once you have the miter gauge, sandpaper and tax included, but that's about the average price of a 20" disc sander anyways. On the cheaper edge sanders, such as the $1500 Jet, there are several areas where the machine is difficult or a hassle to work with. I can expound on these if you want.

It's up to you, but I would avoid the 6" Grizzly edge sanders because the platen is just sheet metal without any backing support structure. These are often bent and deformed.

The 9" Grizzly edge sanders might be okay because they are a copy of the Powermatic, but they are huge and the table does not tilt more than 45 degrees.

[Aaron Inami]

A note on the Hammer HS950. It is a European machine, so the sanding belt is 150mm x 2515mm. The translated size is a 5.9" x 99" sanding belt. The sanding belts are available from Felder and not that expensive ($32-42 for a box of 5 belts). What really sold me on this machine is:
- Quality and accuracy of machine
- Ease of use of the machine (after watching the video, it felt like there wasn't many complex moving parts, but it is designed extremely well to be easy to use).
- 90 to 0 degree angle adjustment
- oscillation of the belt works better than other machines (such as Jet)

If you want a larger 9" machine, they can be nice, but they are HUGE! Though, there is a Powermatic that has been up for sale for many months for a good deal:
https://woodweb.com/exchanges/machinery/posts/537263.html

(https://woodweb.com/exchanges/machinery/posts/537263.html)

[Jonathan Jung]

For woodworking, an edge sander hands down. I have both. Unless you only want to fit miters, the edge sander will be invaluable for a host of other tasks.

[Keegan Shields]

Jeff, Kevin, Aaron, Jonathan - Thank you for your thoughts! These are great insights and are very helpful.

I'm looking at a used 20" disc sander and an old Powermatic 13 6" edge sander. I am mostly into chair making but do plenty of other projects.

Using the edge sander's idle drum for inside curves would be a great upgrade. I currently use the desktop Ridgid drum/belt sander and am looking for an upgrade.

Its an interesting point that edge sanders are far more common than large disc sanders. There are likely many good reasons for that.

[Robert Hayward]

I have both, a 20" disc and a 6" edge. For years I had a Rikon 50-120 and had always wanted a large disc sander. When I was upgrading my shop in anticipation of retirement I chose to sell the Rikon and get the big disc sander thinking I would not miss having a belt sander. Regretted that decision almost from day one. Really liked and used the Powermatic DS20 but missed having a belt sander. About a year and a half later made the room in the shop and ordered a 6 X 99 edge sander.

Both machines get used and I would not want to be without either one. Side note, when I bought the 20" disc sander it was a little more than $1000 cheaper than the current price. The edge sander went up in price almost $700 from when I first looked at them, from ~$1000 to ~$1700. In hindsight I should have bought both back when I first started looking.

[Aaron Inami]

It sounds like you are budget limited, since you are looking at used machines. I'm not directly familiar with that Powermatic 13, but it is another variation on the Jet / Laguna / Baleigh / Oliver / Axminster design. Same machine design, but small things might be different. Two things to keep in mind on this machine design:

- The stopper for the 90 degree upright position of the sander/platen was a problem on the stock Jet sander. I'm not sure if this is the same on the Powermatic, but you might need to fabricate a custom stopper.

- The table can be slanted (which is not common on most edge sanders). However, the table is also difficult to adjust up and down by yourself. It requires loosening of two hold down knobs and then you have to support the table fully when moving it up or down or slanting it.

[Warren Lake]

edge sander oscillating if possible

[Richard Coers]

When you sand something a bit wider on a disc sander, you are dealing with different rates of surface speed. It will remove material faster on the larger diameter section. The belt is consistent. Priced 20" discs? Outragous!

[Tom Bain]

I have both, and the edge sander gets a lot more use … but I really like having the disc sander (16”), too.

[Bill Dufour]

Seems like an edge sander takes up double the room?
Bill D

[Joe Calhoon]

I also have both and the edge sander gets used way more. The disk sander is better for fussy end grain work but in most cases the edge sander does fine on this. The disk offers a little more control on sanding outside curves but then you have to deal with the cross grain marks. I do use the disk sometimes for fine tuning miters from curve mouldings to straight. Normally though the double miter on the sliding saw takes care of any miter work. The drum on the edge sander works about as well as a OSS for inside curves and that’s another bonus of a edge sander.
I have a nice Kundig now but for years got along fine with a simple non oscillating Rodgers sander. I built a angle table and some other accessories for it that worked well for many tasks.

[Kevin Jenness]

I have a 10" disc and shopmade tilting table that I can mount on my lathe. They rarely get used but did come in handy for fine tuning the fit of a batch of miterfold joints in slightly cupped engineered stair tread material, working off the corner of the disc to make slightly concave curves. Now that I think about it I could have used my tilting table spindle sander. I don't have tilting tables on my edge sander. In any case, if I had to pick one stationary sander it would be the edge sander for versatility. Those Kundigs are great machines but my basic Progress unit does a good job. I really like having the vfd for speed control.

[Alex Zeller]

For years I kept thinking about making a 20" disc for my lathe before I finally did. I find I use it a lot more than I ever thought I would. For the table I got a cast iron table form an old Craftsman table saw I picked up at a garage sale for $20. One advantage a disc sander has over a edge sander is if you make things like boxes you can sand all the legs at the same time so it'll sit perfectly flat. Having variable speed is really nice.

I found a 30" Max disc and oscillating spindle sander for a really good price but hesitated due to it's weight and being 3 phase that I regret not buying. It was a beast but if I knew then what I now know the 3 phase would have been ideal. While a 5hp VFD isn't cheap it would have been worth it. For making chairs 30" diameter would be ideal. If I was to get into making chairs I would make a 30" disc for my lathe. That being said I often think about getting an edge sander (or even a stroke sander).

[John C Bush]

I have the Griz 1140 6"x 80" edge sander and use it all the time.(Hobby shop) I had a PM model and the table position adjustments were more of a hassle to change but otherwise it worked well. Had a Craftsman disc/belt sander and never used the disc. I plan to upgrade to an oscillating model with a longer platen. Rarely need more width but more length would come in handy. Not sure how much effect a 1/4" -3/4" oscillation would help but getting more use from the belts would be a good thing. The Griz has a table height adustment wheel that makes it easy to move to fresh paper. I have a Griz 1071 ossc. spindle sander as well and I use the idler end on the edge sander for inside curves more often. Much faster. Try to find good "seanless" paper too. The cheaper stuff I have has a "bump" at the seam-works OK but gets annoyng. Good luck shopping.

[Bill Dufour]

At an estate sale I saw a interesting belt sander. It was factory made of weldements. Maybe 6" wide by 48" working length. Thing was it was vertical with a small table at the bottom. Not sure if it was for wood, metal or stone.
Bill D

[Wes Grass]

Sounds kinda like a glass 'sander' a friend of mine had. Any bucket for water under the bottom roller? 'Litton' pops into my head. No idea if it was a company property tag on it, or the mfg'r. I know they made glass lathes. Shop next door to us did a lot of glass-metal seals. We made a fair number of parts for them, and other big companies out of Kovar and Alloy 42. Dad took me over there for a tour. I remember watching with my mouth agape seeing them bonding glass and metal together. All I remember was oxidizing the metal so the glass would bond with it. And then there was another company bonding gold plated heatsinks we made to silicon. Heat and ultrasonic.

Sorry ... ;-)

Re disc sanders, I was looking for one for awhile, and considering the variation in surface speed and width on the disc I considered 'useful', I was figuring I'd want a 24". I think I've since changed my mind and the HS-950 is on my future list of toys.

The big combo disc/spindle machines are interesting, but 'massively' out of the question. One of the State tilting spindles would be nice, but for the little I'd ever use it a sleeve on my shaper spindle should hold me for the rest of my life.

[David Walser]

Keegan -- I have an edge sander in my shop, which I use regularly. I don't have a dedicated disc sander, but I do have a lathe. My lathe has a 24" swing, so turning it into a 20" disc sander is child's play. Simply mount a 20.5" mdf disk onto a faceplate and true it up on the lathe. Mine is made from a double layer of 3/4" mdf so that the screws holding the mdf to the faceplate don't telegraph through to the face of the sanding disc. It's not quite as convenient as a dedicated sander, but it takes up a lot less room.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

If I gave up woodworking I would keep my edge sander. Crazy Useful.
Mine has oscillation but I don't think it's necessary.

[Warren Lake]

I do my finger nails on it, saves a lot of time

[Aaron Inami]

One of the things that I believe make the Hammer HS-950 such an accurate and stable machine is the design of the platen assembly. The platen itself is a 12mm thick piece of machined steel (that is 0.47" - almost half an inch - i.e. NOT sheet metal). The frame has 5 vertical cross members that are welded to the top and bottom. Each cross member is mounted to the 12mm plate using two bolt points. There is no flex or bend on the platen of this design.

In comparison, the Jet edge sander has a similar design, but only 3 vertical cross members. The platen looks like a thick machined steel, but it looks like the platen is mounted to the top and bottom of the case instead of bolted to the vertical cross members.

Like I said before, all the Grizzly edge sanders (except for the big 9x138 Powermatic clones) all use sheet metal for the platen that is mounted to some square tubular steel frame with one mount on one side of the machine.

HS-950 pics:
486172486173

[Robert Hayward]

The head on that 950 sure has a lot of similarities to my China import edge sander. I could have posted a better picture but did not want to remove the belt this late in the day. If you would like to see more I will take the belt off.

[Matt Day]

Edge sander, but my 20” disc gets a lot of random sanding duties including metal. Not sneaking up on a miter with 80grit - wrong tool.the end he sander will be very helpful when you need to sand flush a bunch of doors for instance.

[Aaron Inami]

The head on that 950 sure has a lot of similarities to my China import edge sander. I could have posted a better picture but did not want to remove the belt this late in the day. If you would like to see more I will take the belt off.

Is that the Baleigh ES-6100? I looked it up and it appears this is one of the better designs. The platen definitely looks like my HS-950.

[Wes Grass]

Nothing beats a disc sander for dressing the ends of steel tubing. But it ain't wood ...

[Robert Hayward]

Is that the Baleigh ES-6100? I looked it up and it appears this is one of the better designs. The platen definitely looks like my HS-950.

Yes, that is the ES-6100. The entire head looks to be a lot like the 950.

[Mike Stelts]

I gave my 1950s belt/disc combo to my daughter and bought the Felder HS950, which I now wish I had it 10 years ago. However, sometimes I miss the disc sander for little touch ups. Thanks, David, for reminding me I own a lathe!

[Aaron Inami]

I took an even closer look at the Baileigh ES-6100. It appears that the machine is definitely a copy of the Hammer HS-950. It even oscillates the belt using the same mechanism. It's not a 100% copy, though. There are several items where the Hammer HS-950 is better:

- Better table height adjustment - only one clamp to loosen and table remains perfectly level as you adjust up and down (this is important when the platen is adjusted down at an angle). Baileigh requires two clamp knobs and you need to make sure to keep the table perfectly level when adjusting up and down.
- Better dust collection. Hammer essentially has a 5" dust port (120mm). Baileigh has 4" dust port.
- Better motor. Hammer has a 3HP 2.2kw 12.4A (based on motor plate). Beileigh specifications say 2HP 1.5kw 9.5A.
- More stable stand? Hammer base/stand extends to the full width/length of the machine. Baileigh stand is smaller.
- Better miter gauge (although you have to buy this extra, the miter gauge is much better than what comes with the Baileigh).

There may be several other things on the Hammer that just "feel" better, but I haven't used the Baileigh so I can't comment. So, Hammer is a better machine, but you are going to spend about a $1,000 more (especially when you add in the accessory miter gauge).

That being said, a couple of points for the Baileigh:
- Has an edge support shoe that can be mounted to the table for edge support when using the sander fully 0 degrees flat
- Has a bit of storage available in the base (although you could build your own storage base on the Hammer.

I built my own front frame and floor for the Hammer base so that I could use it to store sanding belts, miter gauge, etc. I also mounted some 4" GBL locking casters for mobility (these work very well):
486188


If the Hammer HS-950 is not in your budget, I would probably recommend the Baileigh ES-6100 as the next option. This is a significantly better machine than the other low end clones (Jet, Oliver, Powermatic 13, Laguna, Grizzly, etc.).

[Terry Therneau]

I use my edge sander on nearly every project. The statement "one of the last tools a woodworker buys, and one of the last he sells" is certainly true in my case.
Mine is smaller Ekstrom-Carlson 111 (80" belt), which is all the space I have for it in my shop. (Cast iron body and platen -- 425 lbs).

Terry T

[Keegan Shields]

Thanks for all of the info! You’ve convinced me that an edge sander would be the better option and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for a used edge sander in my area. I also plan to inspect the platen as this seems to be the critical component for accurate performance.

Now I need to figure out where I can put it…

[Warren Lake]

you want the platten flat and think on the progress its at least 1/2" thick. Simple machine but works fine. Had their stroke and wasn't happy so got Italian and much better. The graphite on them will compress and get distorted if its been used lots but its easy and cheap to replace. If someone has done lots of sanding on the rubber drum end it may be deformed. Put a straight edge on that with no belt on the machine and see what shape it is. Mine was concave so I stuck auto body sandpaper onto a block made it flat then very slight crown. Tracking was way better after that. No big deal just wear from people sanding on that hard rubber wheel side. Great for inside work.

[Aaron Inami]

I use my edge sander on nearly every project. The statement "one of the last tools a woodworker buys, and one of the last he sells" is certainly true in my case.
Mine is smaller Ekstrom-Carlson 111 (80" belt), which is all the space I have for it in my shop. (Cast iron body and platen -- 425 lbs).

Terry T

Hah, that's like a benchtop version of an Oakley H5! lol. 1,500 lbs.

[Aaron Inami]

Thanks for all of the info! You’ve convinced me that an edge sander would be the better option and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for a used edge sander in my area. I also plan to inspect the platen as this seems to be the critical component for accurate performance.

Now I need to figure out where I can put it…

Here's an excellent video showing the problems/compromises that the Jet edge sander (and relative Laguna/Oliver/Powermatic clones). I would recommend watching it so that you know what their challenges are. This isn't a reason not to buy one if you're budget is limited, but you should know ahead of time what to expect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnwT4bapcXU

Also, like Warren has said, you should keep an eye on the graphite pad that is applied to the surface of the platen. These can wear down in spots and cause concave indentations that produce inaccuracies in your sanding. The OEM pads can sometimes be very expensive, but you can get them aftermarket for about $10 a yard:

https://www.amazon.com/Magnate-G6X5Y-Graphite-Coated-Canvas/dp/B004RJBHHU

[Dave Cav]

I have an Acme edger and an Apex 20" disk. If I found a 20" disk sander and didn't have one, I would find room for it. They aren't that big. I drove from Northern Utah to Phoenix to pick up mine, and they don't come up very often. That being said if I could only have one, I'd keep the edger.

The reason big disk sanders don't come up very often is probably because they were largely a patternmaker's tool, which wasn't nearly as big an industry as furniture and cabinetmaking, where edgers are mostly used.

[Mel Fulks]

I would get disk sander. They can shape quickly across from capable hands, and everybody else needs to be told they will be fired if get
near them. The edge sanders are often toys for employees doing on the clock amusement.

[Roger Feeley]

Question about the 20” disc sander. I have a 12” and would like it if it was variable speed. The outside edge moves too fast for some materials. The 20” disk would way too fast for me.

do they make speed controllers for these things?

[Aaron Inami]

Attaching pics here as reference for another creeker, since it relates to this whole thread.

Built a custom base with storage using the stock side and rear panels. Used these 4" GBL casters. They are very nice:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E7HBXJS/

1-1/4" bottom board to increase bottom weight. Mounting wheels. Used washer in between the caster plate and the wood so that it would be level:
495726 495727

What it looks like finished. Added a hanger for the miter gauge:
495728

There are several people who have made their own custom bases for this HS 950. But one mistake they make is they make a 5-sided box, with a board on top. This prevents you from accessing the wiring and electronics inside the top if something goes wrong. In my case, since I used the stock rear panel, I can remove it anytime and I left the top area open for complete access.

[Bill Dufour]

Question about the 20” disc sander. I have a 12” and would like it if it was variable speed. The outside edge moves too fast for some materials. The 20” disk would way too fast for me.

do they make speed controllers for these things?
Get one with a three phase motor and use a VFD.
Bill D

[Robert Hayward]

Get one with a three phase motor and use a VFD.
Bill D
I have regretted not doing that almost as long as I have had my 20" disc sander. With 3 phase the motor would have been reversible and I would have had variable speed with the VFD.

[Aaron Inami]

I picked the Hammer HS950 for several reasons. One of the main ones was the ability to tilt the angle all the way down to 0 degrees (most edge sanders only tilt to 45 degrees). Although this HS950 does come in 3-pahse, it requires 400V 3-phase which is another challenge that a VFD will not automatically satisfy.

[Alex Zeller]

Question about the 20” disc sander. I have a 12” and would like it if it was variable speed. The outside edge moves too fast for some materials. The 20” disk would way too fast for me.

do they make speed controllers for these things?


Get one with a three phase motor and use a VFD.
Bill D

I think I posted earlier that I use a wood lathe. Having variable speed is almost a must. If I had a stand alone 20" (or larger) disc sander I would put a VFD on it in a heartbeat. But you'll want to look into using a braking resistor when shutting it off. With my setup if I turn the speed down too quickly it doesn't like it at all. But my lathe has built into it to shut down the VFD (just in case you have a large chuck of wood and just turn it off) to protect it.

[Bill Dufour]

Be careful about braking resistor wiring. Many cheap VFD's and, at least one of mine, have the brake resistor wire terminals but... They are just for show. Look at the back of the circuit board and there are no wiring traces to those terminal screw posts. In truth they would need real wires not just traces to handle the power loads without burning up.
BilL D

[Cary Falk]

I wouldn't have a disc sander unless it is 20" or better. You can't really use much more than a quarter of the disc. I have a JET 6x89 oscillating edge sander.

[Wes Grass]

That was pretty much the conclusion I came to as well. I used a 16" Max a bit, and it was awesome for cleaning up the ends of steel tubing, but there's a lot of waste of 'paper' towards the center.

May never, but an oscillating belt is on the list of maybe's. The Hammer most likely. It would be nice if they had a spindle attachment for it, although I think the drum radius is probably small enough for my 'needs'.