[JerryBurks]

random orbital sanders are fairly slow and meant to sand flat items.
flap wheel sanders wear out really fast it seems to me, but using a drill
will over heat the drill wouldn't it? they aren't meant to be run continuously for hours at a time.

thanks for the input. anyone know if those 1" and narrower hand held
belt sanders are flexible or just for flat sanding?

I find my DeWalt orbital sander with a 60 or 80 grit pad removes material quite quickly and allows for some curvature when using the perimeter. It may however leave some slight surface waviness. If there are hard features in the wood like knots it will leave a bump.

I also can say of my Milwaukee hand held hammer drill that I have used it often for hours at a time with a buffing wheel to polish aluminum and have not even replaced the brushes. May not work with a $30 Harborfreight drill, though.