A sanding machine for sanding the surfaces of work pieces placed upon a conveyor that transports the work pieces along a first direction towards and beneath a sanding head. The sanding head comprises a sanding belt entrained around an upper tension roller and a lower contact roller. The tension roller and contact roller are provided with a single translational orbital movement by a pair of eccentric shafts operatively connected thereto and rotatably driven by an operatively connected motor. At least one of the upper tension roller and lower contact roller is also driven by an operatively connected motor so as to provide the endless rotation of the sanding belt around the upper tension roller and lower contact roller. In this fashion, the sanding belt is provided with two contemporaneous superimposed movements consisting of rotational movement about the tension roller and contact roller and a single orbital translational movement imparted by the rotating pair of eccentric shafts. The resulting sanding pattern is homogeneous and renders scratches normally created by the endlessly rotating sanding belt substantially unnoticeable.