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Festool Sander Advice

Jeff Wright

Jeff Wright

Member
Messages
92
Location
Treasure Island FL
I am outfitting my new shop and want to add some sanding tools. I will be making furniture and cabinets mostly. I have no sanding equipment currently (except for a small jitterbug). I am getting the Festool 1400 router and C22 vacuum and like their dust handling capabilities, so I want to stay with the Festool line for sanders. What are your suggestions for which sander (or sanders) to get? Is there one that 'does it all' or should I get more than one sander. Thanks in advance.
 
I have the 150/3 6"
Does about all I need in the way of sanding.
 
I have the "old" 6" Rotex, it is a wonderful machine I use it all the time.

And then I bought DS 400 EQ for finer detail sanding, it had an "iron shaped" sole/base with a point that lets you get into corners. Per turned me on to the fact that I could buy a rectangular base for the sander so I got two sanders for essentially the price of one. I can't remember what the rectangular base cost but it wasn't a big deal.

In any event, they are get pieces of equipment. I don't love sanding but I don't hate it as much as I used to before I discovered the Festool equipment.

Jay
 
I've been eyeing the new dual mode 6" 150/3 rotex, looks like it will handle most all sanding needs.
 
I found that I needed 3 Festool sanders to accomplish the type of work that I do. I am going to extract material from another thread here that I responded to earlier today. It describes the sanders that I use.
The Rotex RO 150 random orbital hooked up to a vacuum eliminates dust, in aggressive mode replaces a belt sander, and in fine mode produces a superb finish. Perhaps it is not as good a finish as can be achieved with a scraper, but I can't tell the difference. As for getting into corners, I also have a Fetool LS 130 Linear sander that uses rectangular pds and a Festool Deltex DX 93 detail sander that uses small triangular pads. Of course these sanders hook up to the vacuum as well.​
 
I have the Rotex, the ETS 150/3, and the detail sander DS400. If I had to pick one, it would be the ETS palm ROS. The Rotex is great for aggressive sanding or gentle polishing, but it is big and heavy. The ETS is not quite so aggressive, but it gets the job done and its light and has very low vibration. The ETS and the Rotex use the same paper. I use the detail sander for corners and other tight spaces. All the sanders have excellent dust control.
 
I'll give my 2 cents. I started with the 1/2 sheet RS2-E and I love it. Since that machine, I've bought the RO150 and an RS400 quarter sheet. The RS2-E is my favorite. Heavy and smooth. Perfect to ensure a very flat table top...joe
 
Frank Pellow said:
I found that I needed 3 Festool sanders to accomplish the type of work that I do. I am going to extract material from another thread here that I responded to earlier today. It describes the sanders that I use.
The Rotex RO 150 random orbital hooked up to a vacuum eliminates dust, in aggressive mode replaces a belt sander, and in fine mode produces a superb finish. Perhaps it is not as good a finish as can be achieved with a scraper, but I can't tell the difference. As for getting into corners, I also have a Fetool LS 130 Linear sander that uses rectangular pds and a Festool Deltex DX 93 detail sander that uses small triangular pads. Of course these sanders hook up to the vacuum as well.​
Click to expand...
Frank, that's an excellent selection of sanders, and I was mainly thinking of hogging off vs. fine sanding, and the new dual mode seems to be an improvement on that possibly.

I had been planning to do what Jesse did, get the ETS 150/3, the form factor is a big consideration. Then I saw the dual mode come out, it looks nice.

I have a CT-mini I bought from a friend, and bought it intentionally to use with a sander. Would have rather had the CT-22, but this CT-mini will do for now.
 
Jeff,
I have the 125, 150, Rotex and the detail sander. They all have their purpose but I use the 125 the most simply because it is the smallest and easiest to use on small parts. I wish someone would make something like a 3" ROS or I could some how swing that widebelt I am drooling over!
 
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.
 
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, ???
 
Jeff Wright said:
...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). ...
Click to expand...
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.
 
Jeff Wright said:
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, ???
Click to expand...

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 :(
 
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.
 
Charlie Plesums said:
Another vote for Bob Marino. robarlmar@aol.com Glen Ridge, NJ 07028 973-896-4388 He also pays shipping on orders over $150
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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 :mad: -they don't know the product line :mad: and they don't want to deal with small-time woodworkers like me :mad: )
 
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