I actually did rent and try two machines: a big floor sander and a smaller critter billed as an "edge sander" for sanding right up to baseboards and stair risers. Both machines were excessively agressive and were returned posthaste, after which I went to Sears and bought the small(er) belt sander. The wear on my back wasn't all that bad; but my knees would have benefitted greatly from strap-on pads.
If I were to do the job again (and if I intended to make the house as beautiful as that first - not a given) I would use the same approach, except that I'd use my 1/4 sheet SpeedBlock (instead of a felt-wrapped sanding block) after the initial sanding; and I'd probably brush on only the first coat of varnish and wipe on the subsequent coats.
| I was thinking one forgo the cost and transportation of a floor | machine and go the same route with a broom handle or something | similar firmly attached to the handle of a belt sander so one can | do it standing up.
Geezerhood does change one's perspectives, doesn't it? :-)
Still, I think I'd do it the same old way - only with knee pads and much more frequent stretch breaks. I wouldn't make that kind of effort (then or now) except as a labor of love. YMMV
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
formatting link