Festool Sander Advice

[Sam Blasco]

Ditto on what several others have said. the 150/3 is my favorite. Would make a great all around sander if you only could choose one. I also love the rotex for my more aggressive stuff, and for use with polishing compounds. I like the Fein multi master for the detail work.

[Jeff Wright]

Thanks for the many outstanding suggestions! Looks like Festool products can easily become habit-forming and an addiction requiring a second (and third!) job.

My current thoughts are to get the newly-introduced RO 150 FEQ dual-mode sander and an ETS 150/3 EQ model. A Festool factory rep (at the Atlanta IWF show in August) felt the dual mode RO 150 was great for coarse and intermediate sanding, but to get both intermediate and fine sanding results consider going with both the ETS 150/3 and ETS 150/5 sanders (I'm told the number 3 and 5 in the model name indicates the sanding stroke size - 3mm or 5mm). Going with the RO 150 FEQ and ETS 150/3 would give me the capability to do coarse and intermediate (by using the RO 150) and fine sanding operations (with the ETS 150/s). Then, maybe in time, get the DS 400 EQ for getting into the hard-to-reach spots. I had thought about getting only the ETS 150/3 and ETS 150/5 units to handle fine and intermediate sanding, but that would mean I wouldn't have a machine to do the real heavy sanding.

I will add the CT22 dust extractor and the 1400 router to the order as well. Anyone have any suggestions about where best to purchase the machines? Festool.com, McFeely's, Woodcraft, ???

[Steve Clardy]

Bob Marino. He will treat you right

[Russ Massery]

Another Vote for Bob.

[Jeff Wright]

Who is Bob Marino? I don't see him listed as a forum member. How do I contact him? You can contact me off line if you prefer. Thanks.

[Steve Clardy]

http://www.festool.safeshopper.com/

[Charlie Plesums]

...My current thoughts are to get the newly-introduced RO 150 FEQ dual-mode sander and an ETS 150/3 EQ model. A Festool factory rep (at the Atlanta IWF show in August) felt the dual mode RO 150 was great for coarse and intermediate sanding, but to get both intermediate and fine sanding results consider going with both the ETS 150/3 and ETS 150/5 sanders (I'm told the number 3 and 5 in the model name indicates the sanding stroke size - 3mm or 5mm). Going with the RO 150 FEQ and ETS 150/3 would give me the capability to do coarse and intermediate (by using the RO 150) and fine sanding operations (with the ETS 150/s). ...

Another vote for Bob Marino. robarlmar@aol.com Glen Ridge, NJ 07028 973-896-4388 He also pays shipping on orders over $150

Consider how much heavy/coarse sanding you will be doing...given your other equipment. I got the 150/3, and thought I was going very rough by getting 100 grit paper. Bob convinced me that I would appreciate the lighter weight of the 150-3 rather than the heavier Rotex for the kind of work I do. I use the same sander to 800 grit with the Abranet abrasives, and expect to go to even finer grits to rub out finishes.

[Joe Jensen]

Thanks for the many outstanding suggestions! Looks like Festool products can easily become habit-forming and an addiction requiring a second (and third!) job.

My current thoughts are to get the newly-introduced RO 150 FEQ dual-mode sander and an ETS 150/3 EQ model. A Festool factory rep (at the Atlanta IWF show in August) felt the dual mode RO 150 was great for coarse and intermediate sanding, but to get both intermediate and fine sanding results consider going with both the ETS 150/3 and ETS 150/5 sanders (I'm told the number 3 and 5 in the model name indicates the sanding stroke size - 3mm or 5mm). Going with the RO 150 FEQ and ETS 150/3 would give me the capability to do coarse and intermediate (by using the RO 150) and fine sanding operations (with the ETS 150/s). Then, maybe in time, get the DS 400 EQ for getting into the hard-to-reach spots. I had thought about getting only the ETS 150/3 and ETS 150/5 units to handle fine and intermediate sanding, but that would mean I wouldn't have a machine to do the real heavy sanding.

I will add the CT22 dust extractor and the 1400 router to the order as well. Anyone have any suggestions about where best to purchase the machines? Festool.com, McFeely's, Woodcraft, ???

I highly recommend finding a place where you can try them. I have the RO150 and in rotary mode it's a beast. You really have to hold on to it with both hands. In orbital mode, I find it to still be a two hand machine. I hadn't considered the 150/3, but I tried it at the woodworking show and it's as smooth running as the RS2-E, and it's a machine that I think I could use one handed. (I find myself using one hand to hold the board and one to hold the sander a lot.) I also have the RS400, but I'm a little disappointed. I bought it to replace the Makita 1/4 sheet sander that I've been using to years. The RS400 has awesome dust collection, but I find that it wants to jump around a lot more than the Makita. I like the Makita better but the dust collection is worthless. I don't know if my next sander will be the 150/3 or the 5" round orbital. I have a Porter cable 5" and the dust collection is pretty good.

The hidden cost of my new Festool addiction was the 6-8 boxes of sandpaper I bought for each sander. I think I spent more on sandpaper than on sanders

[Brian Gumpper]

One more Bob vote, I bought my stuff from him. I upgraded to the CT33 too, it wasn't much more and the extra capacity is always nice.

I used my Rotex Friday for the first time and what a nice sander. For it size, one handed operation wasn't difficult at all.

[Frank Pellow]

Another vote for Bob Marino. robarlmar@aol.com Glen Ridge, NJ 07028 973-896-4388 He also pays shipping on orders over $150

I also recommend Bob. He is knowledgable and responsive.

But, Bob does not pay the shipping, Festool does. So the "free" shipping on orders over $150 applies no matter which dealer you choose.


aside: We in Canada used to be able to buy Festool from the USA, but now we are forced to by from Hafele Canada (and they do a terrible job -they don't know the product line and they don't want to deal with small-time woodworkers like me )