If you're into woodworking, cabinetry, or furniture refinishing, but don't have stroke sanders in your home shop, there are a few reasons why you should consider investing in one. A stroke sander is like an over-sized belt sander, although it's stationary and can allow you to strip, sand, and prepare surfaces both large and small with simple strokes of the machine. Though it's a large piece of equipment that requires ventilation, setting up a stroke sander in your shop offers you a tool to finish wood, metal, and composites in a fraction of the time that it would take with belt or orbital versions. So if you're thinking about making a meaningful upgrade to your home wood shop, consider why you need a stroke sander.

Uniform Efficiency

Stroke sanders run on a belt that you press against the surface you're finishing, so you get a uniformly smooth surface regardless of the size of the piece you're sanding. Though you can use orbital and belt sanders on doors, cabinets, or table pieces, stroke sanders will ensure a more even finish over the entire area of a larger piece. Because you continuously run orbitals and belt sanders over larger surfaces and judge by eye and hand the evenness of the finish, stroke sanders can take some of the guesswork out of preparing large or flat pieces.

Maximum Versatility

Stroke sanders are a large piece of equipment, but just because they offer a wider girth for finishing larger pieces doesn't mean the efficiency can't be utilized for smaller pieces as well. Stroke sanders are capable of stripping varnishes, sanding small pieces of wood, and smoothing curved areas with precision and efficiency also. Though smaller pieces or those requiring varnish will still require the use of an orbital or belt sander for finer finishing, stroke sanders can do the initial preparation on any size or type of material in a fraction of the time of belt, orbital, or hand sanding. 

Machining Options

With simple back-and-forth actions, stroke sanders may seem too simple for optimal returns on your investment. But varied machining options with a stroke sander give you the chance to handle more than one task at a time. Stroke sanders allow you to use different grit belts, either one-by-one or on two belts running simultaneously. If you invest in a stroke sander that offers you two belts, one at a perpendicular angle and one above your flat surface, you can even handle sanding edges and corners at one time. If you want to work on one surface or wood type and then need to switch, you can also alternate between different grits on each belt of your sander, so you don't have to stop to reload while you refinish.