A reduced height quarter sheet sander has a housing having first and second halves mated together. An upper portion of the housing provides a handle. An electric motor is disposed in the housing. The electric motor has a stator and an armature. The stator has field coils and the armature has an armature shaft on which a commutator is affixed. A pair of brush boxes is disposed in the housing on opposite sides of the commutator. The brush boxes lie in a horizontal elevation when the sander is upright. An orbit mechanism is coupled to the armature shaft and a platen is coupled to the orbit mechanism. In an aspect, a switch disposed in the handle of the housing and a terminal block (at which a cordset that enters the housing terminates) disposed in the handle of the housing have generally the same horizontal elevation as the brush boxes (when the sander is upright). In an aspect, first and second halves of the housing have lower screw bosses generally on opposite sides of the electric motor that extend across the housing from one half to the other half, the stator disposed in the housing so that the field coils extend across the housing from one half to the other half and outside the lower screw bosses wherein bottoms of the field coils are horizontally adjacent or below the lower screw bosses when the sander is upright. In an aspect, the sander has a vertical height of that does not exceed 135 mm. In an aspect, the sander has a vertical height that does not exceed 130 mm. In an aspect, the sander has a vertical height that does not exceed about 125 mm.