Does anyone have experience with split fence, power fed type edge sanders? I’m looking specifically at the kundig uniq-s but there’s not much info out there. Are any of you using this machine for processing door edges? I believe felder & volpato also make similar machines.

You don't consider switching to a woodworking CNC router for door edges.

Yes it is an excellent machine and sands very well. I am about to order a Chinese clone of that machine for $5k shipped to my shop

Tipper,

Do you have a link to the Chinese machine that you referenced?

I have had my Uniq-s for 10+ years and can highly recommend it.

I also saw Volpato's version at Ligna a few years back and they seemed worth a look along with the Langzauner machines from Austria.

A knockoff machine at 20% the cost seems highly suspect to me...

Eric- does your machine have the belt or just the rollers on the top pressure beam? Do you find you can sand short parts consistently without fear of them moving ( edge of a 6” high drawer front)

Does the feeding system angle in very slightly similar to what would be done on a power fed shaper setup to keep things tight to the fence?

Do you remember roughly what you paid for your? 25k based on your last comment?

Hi Chris,
We use a older model Lasam edge sander with split fence. This brand is now sold as Volpato. I saw the new model in Atlanta 3 years ago. The new model has a few features we don't have on ours like a tilt table on the split fence side. We are a small custom outfit and it works for us.
I find the adjustment for the belt tracking to be a bit hard to use. The platen on the split fence side is hard to get at and and it takes some effort to set it up correct. The sanding belt size is non standard and we custom order them from Sia.
I believe this sander is over 20'000 us $ new. We payed about 4000 $ for our machine used more than 12 years ago.
I worked in Switzerland with a shop that had a split fence edge sander by Kundig (Holz Her) I was a very nice and user friendly machine to work on.
The Kundig will cost you more than the Volpato. I would be my choice, its just more than we can justify for our needs.
The Langzauner looks like a very well made machine as well, never had the opportunity to work with-it.

I have the Kundig without the power feed and like it a lot.
The split fence works well for fitting cabinet doors. I don’t do a lot of cabinetry but use the split fence mostly for fitting assembled glass beads and bolection mouldings on doors. Using it with the belt tilted to get a piston fit.

I bought this one used but if buying new would definitely go for the power feed model. The split fence is easy to use on smaller pieces but the power feed is almost a necessity for larger work.

To get full benefit out of one of these it needs to be positioned in the shop with both sides accessible.

Chris

My version has the rollers on the top pressure beam and just a single feed belt below the workpiece. If you could look at the gap between the split fences you would see that 8" is about the minimum width that won't get jammed up/ ruined.
For parts like sides of 6" drawer faces we use the back side of the machine with the miter gauge and just touch them to the belt then maybe hit them with a sanding block.

As you seem to know, they do offer a belt on the pressure beam along with a second lower drive belt- this might be the best setup for holding very small pieces. I believe they are still sold through a partnership with Holzher USA so contacting them might be best.

Mine was a demo machine so I got a small discount but with that setup + the casters I paid something like $22K back in 2011. I can imagine adding the double belt + top belt would approach $30K in these 'unprecedented times'. Probably still worth it though- it is that useful. I would never be without it especially when making kitchens, shelves of any type, + we even send large passage/ entry door parts through it prior to assembly so we don't need to sand the inner edges afterwards.

I can't detect any angle to the power feed alignment like a shaper setup but it does a good job holding everything in place. We watch parts as they go through to watch for wandering and it is rare.

As Joe pointed out, the placement of these machine should be considered well because you really need access to three sides in order to utilize the different functions it offers. The mobility casters help a bit with that.