Can an Oscillating Edge Sander do this?

[Clay Crocker]

I am about to pull the trigger on a Grizzly G0564 Oscillating Edge Sander. I have been thinking about making this purchase for a while and finally I feel like I have a definite need for this machine. I have searched this and other forums regarding edge sanders and after reading other's posts I feel comfortable buying the G0564. My question is for those of you who own edge sanders (oscillating or not): Can I expect to be able to sand convex curves to a line with any accuracy? I'm sure these machines are great for sanding flat surfaces, but I am planning on building the sleigh bed in the most recent FWW and I am hoping that an edge sander will speed the process of finishing the convex curves of the legs and x-slats after I cut them on the band saw. I was planning on sanding the concave side of the curves with the idler roller on the G0564 or on my oscillating spindle sander. Any thoughts from those with experience using these machines?

Clay

[David DeCristoforo]

It depends on how steady your hand is but, yes you can sand curves. As you already are aware, "inside" curves must be sanded "on the drum" so that's a little trickier buy you will get the hang of it. Needless to say, practice the technique on some sacrificial material first.

YM

[Clay Crocker]

Good point, I was planning on prototyping some of the parts in poplar so hopefully I can get the hang of the technique with those parts first. Thanks for the reply!

Clay

[Perry Holbrook]

Keep in mind the idler is probably a 4" OD roller, so it won't get into smaller curves. I use my edge sander as much as any machine in my shop, for straight as well as curved work.

Perry

[Ellen Benkin]

Probably not in the same ballpark, but have you looked at the Ridgid? It has both flat and drum sanding capabilities.

[Jim Becker]

Probably not in the same ballpark, but have you looked at the Ridgid? It has both flat and drum sanding capabilities.

Very different machines, Ellen, both in scale and purpose...and MANY hundreds of dollars, if not more! :)

[Steven Wilson]

I find that the edge sander takes off much more material than the OSS (I have the floor standing Griz OSS) for a given grit. I really prefer to do fine work on the OSS, it's a lot easier to control (for me, YMMV). For sweeping curves (convex or concave) the 4" drum on the OSS is pretty good. You'll be able to do the Sleigh bed just fine on a decent OSS or the edge sander you're considering. You should plan on practicing a bit on the edge sander before tackling your project.

[Perry Holbrook]

My Bridgewood edge sander has a spindle attachment that fits on top of the idler roller. It has spindles for 1", 2" and 3" sleeves. There is a big difference between sanding sleeves and a belt. A 4" spindle has about 12" of sanding area, edge sander belts are between 80" and 130" long. If you are sanding wood that either burns easily (cherry) or loads up (pine) this makes all the difference in the world. I've only used my spindle attachment when all else fails.

Perry