125/3 ec or 125 ets for finer grits?

[Jmacpherson]

I own both the EC 125 and the ETS 125, although the ETS was branded as the Pro 5 when I bought it.
  I can strip finishes like old stains and Varnishes with the EC 125/3, it's got that much power even with the small orbit.  It CAN be gentle, with a light touch and high grits too, but it's not the same sander as my Pro 5
I use the Pro 5/ ETS 125 as my gentle sander, easily sanding between coats of film finishes with no worries about sanding through if you're just careful.
Get the ETS if you are worried.....

Thanks this is what I needed to hear, the lower orbit in higher grits seems to be the key.

 

[Jmacpherson]

The body (shell) is the same only the model number labels are different. I never noticed any difference in handling characteristics between the different pads because they're both so smooth and the low center of gravity of the sander itself.

I can fire up the sander and just hold it by the hose and it stays in one place and rotates, that's with either pad attached.

The Festool demo should be interesting as they are both 2 mm stroke sanders while the ETS is brushed and the ETSC is brushless but are housed in essentially the same/similar shell.

Thanks.
Regarding the ETS vs ETSC I'm curios to see if the extended battery housing area makes a difference

 

[rvieceli]

[member=19734]grbmds[/member] the ETS EC 150 will NOT take the 125 mm pad. The 150 has a couple of "wing" keys on the spindle that the pad attaches to. The 125 pad does not have the recess for those keys. The center section on both pads is the same, that's why the 150 pad fit the 125

Ron

 

[Cheese]

Regarding the ETS125 accepting the 150mm pad, I suppose the reverse isn't true - meaning that the ETS150 will accept the 125mm pad. Correct?

Exactly as Ron noted and here's a photo for visual identification. 150 mm pad on the right.

FWIW...the uniform dark ring that's about 1/4" wide on each pad is the area where the brake rubs.

[attachimg=1]

Here's a shot of the 125 ETC EC without the accessory pad.

[attachimg=2]

 

[grbmds]

I thought the answer was that the reverse use of pads wasn't possible. Too bad, though. While I love the ETS125, the ETS150 is a much more stable and smoother operating sander.

 

[Cheese]

I thought the answer was that the reverse use of pads wasn't possible. Too bad, though. While I love the ETS125, the ETS150 is a much more stable and smoother operating sander.

The sanders in question are the ETS EC 125 and the ETS EC 150. They use the same bodies and the same mechanical and electrical parts.

 

[Jmacpherson]

Demo finally happened. Some broken comms and only had ETS 125 and RTS 400 to look at but not the end of the world.
Since I own the ETS 150 EC I know what the ETS 125 EC would feel like anyway and was more interested in the ETS 125 anyway.
Unfortunately cordless wasn't present but with its cost probably wouldn't get the hybrids anyway.

So, the 125 does feel different to a EC model naturally. The grip is higher and almost square if you want to wrap your fingers around it like if you were holding it like a drill vs the narrower round section of the EC.

Instead of comparing it to an EC, I got smart and compared it to a Makita ROS in the store and then the differences were immediate. Festool felt better, lighter, better built etc. The more I held it and played with it the more my hand and brain grew accustom to holding it.

With the power on I felt very little vibration if any regardless of speed setting.
I've ordered the ETS 125 along with a interface pad and the protection pad since I'm going to use mirka abranet with the sander.
Thanks once again for everyones input

 

[Alanbach]

Congrats on the decision to order an ETs! Just curious as to what you thought of the RTS400?

 

[Jmacpherson]

Congrats on the decision to order an ETs! Just curious as to what you thought of the RTS400?

I really liked the RTS400, in my opinion it has the same grip and feel as the ETS and weight felt identical.
For both of them the bag makes sense to me verses a hose, with the bag attached makes zero difference to feel or balance of the sander.

If I hadn't bought the CT cyclone last week I would have ordered the RTS too. But my wallet said no  [mad]
Will pickup the RTS or DTS later this year for all my window frames.

 

[grbmds]

Congrats on the decision to order an ETs! Just curious as to what you thought of the RTS400?

I really liked the RTS400, in my opinion it has the same grip and feel as the ETS and weight felt identical.
For both of them the bag makes sense to me verses a hose, with the bag attached makes zero difference to feel or balance of the sander.

If I hadn't bought the CT cyclone last week I would have ordered the RTS too. But my wallet said no  [mad]
Will pickup the RTS or DTS later this year for all my window frames.

Since I bought the DTS awhile ago, I have never been sorry. While I don't regularly use it to sand into corners, it does come in handy when I need it. Plus, sanding of other surfaces is excellent also. It's a smooth operating sander, great for finishing at finer grits. I also like my ETS125 for finer grits. They both are great and I can never figure out which I like better, so I have kept both.

 

[Jmacpherson]

Put the 125 ets to work yesterday on some MDF. (very limited use)
Was very light and nimble even with the 27mm hose and I noticed the difference very quickly in one handed use vs my 150 ets ec.
Using it on the edge at speed #1 especially

There are things you just can't determine in a demo, happy I bought it to compliment my growing sander collection

 

[leakyroof]

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