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[Cochese]

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[jacko9]

For my money, I bought the ETS 150/3 as my first Festool sander (not my last mind you).  I would also get the optional hard pad and a nice selection of Garnat discs from 80 to 220 grit.  I think you'll be a happy camper.

I am making the assumption that you already have a Festool Dust Extractor like the CT 26, if you don't I would make it a high priority, there is nothing like sanding in a dust free environment.

Jack

 

[johninthecamper]

festools website has a pick the right sander for your task chart

 

[sessler2013]

Honestly there is no way to compare a Festool sander to any other brand, they are two entirely separate worlds... In my opinion cut your losses short and just sell your sandpaper and sander and put it towards a Festool sander and abrasives. The Festool abrasives (granat) usually last me at least about 5x longer than the Norton or Diablo ones I used to buy at home depot, of course the dust extraction is a major part of the equation.

You will be very surprised though at how much better the Festool sanders do at capturing dust than any of the others even with just the little dust bag attachment that comes with it, it has to be at least twice as much as even what the best brands claim to capture...

Good luck! 

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Honestly there is no way to compare a Festool sander to any other brand, they are two entirely separate worlds... In my opinion cut your losses short and just sell your sandpaper and sander and put it towards a Festool sander and abrasives. The Festool abrasives (granat) usually last me at least about 5x longer than the Norton or Diablo ones I used to buy at home depot, of course the dust extraction is a major part of the equation.

You will be very surprised though at how much better the Festool sanders do at capturing dust than any of the others even with just the little dust bag attachment that comes with it, it has to be at least twice as much as even what the best brands claim to capture...

Good luck! 

I hear that! I have three Festool sanders and love using them! I always go into a calm Zen mode everytime I use one.  I have what I need, but am always open to an excuse to get another.

 

[packratpop]

+1 texas 357.
OP you have no idea how good they are until you TRY and compare them to anything else.

 

[Stoli]

festools website has a pick the right sander for your task chart

Can you post a link?  I just hit the us site, went into various sanders, and could not find a comparison table

 

[johninthecamper]

I couldn't find what I was looking for,but I did find a pdf how to choose the right sander, bobmarino has possibly the same thing on his website,my smart phone wont download right now,so not really sure what I found.I googled" how to pick a festool sander" those two places, plus a good chart from victorl.the one I saw was a flow chart leading to the final choice.

 

[copcarcollector]

Try this!

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[jacko9]

OK, so I'm following up.

Is there one to start with, and then what to add to it? Is there one that I can primarily work with for awhile that is a jack of all trades (heard some reviews that said the Rotex are masters of none)?

Should I try and stick with one size pad, and which one...or do something like one size for rough with a Rotex and the other for fine with the ETS.

Still lots of questions.

I think you need to consider the greater surface area of the 6" sanders as far as sanding efficiency goes.  My favorite out of the 4 Festool sanders that I own is the ETS 150/3.  Tell us what you plan to do with the sanders and we can give you a better answer.

Jack

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

If someone told me that I could only have one sander, it would be the Festool RS 2E.

 

[Stephen B]

[size=11pt]
Yes, think about ROTEX and ETS combination probably 150 but could be 125 depending on your needs. ETS 3 if you go for 150.

NYC is justifiably in love with his new RS2; I do not have one, have a MAKITA 1/2 sheet, and 1/2 sheet is certainly a great option for flat areas such as bench and table tops.

 

[jacko9]

I still would recommend that you start your Festool sanding with the ETS 150/3 and get the hard pad along with an assortment of granat sanding discs.  Tom Bellemare will put together an assortment for you so you don't need to buy a box of each grit.  The granat seems to last forever on bare wood so if you got an assortment of 10 discs each from 80 - 220 grit you should be able to nicely cover all of your sanding needs.  A follow up sander recommendation would be the RO 90 DX with the hard pad and a nice assortment of the round discs and the delta discs.  Those two sanders will do most everything that you need in the wood shop.

Jack

 

[Bob Marino]

I'll toss my hat into the ETS 150 corner. For whether the 150/3 or150/5 check out this thread.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/recommendations-for-first-festool-sander/

Bob

 

[sae]

I have RO sanders because of the dual mode ability. I have the RO 90 and the RO 150.

The two together are a pretty good combination for tackling fine cabinet work and also large surfaces, the 90 is a 3mm stroke and the 150 is a 5mm stroke.

Since I don't own a planer, I've been known to use the RO 150 in rotary mode w/ 24-grit for planing purposes (I don't do the fancy hewn finishes though, just normal planing), and then you can step the grit and switch to random orbital for finer work. RO 90 is great on cabinet stiles and rails and such, where I can step down to a 40 grit for removing a finish in rotary mode, and then also do the same and finish sand with higher grits in random orbital.

All in all, I've been very happy with the two. The RO 90 also has the delta pad for corners and such, but isn't small enough to be used like a mouse sander though if that's a big deal to you. I'd probably pickup a DTS 400 if I were doing a lot of cabinet interior refinishing and such.

 

[andvari]

It really is shocking how much better the Festool sanders are. It is one of the strong points of their product line.

You really should give one a try on the demo program.

 

[jacko9]

After thirteen months, I ordered and received my 150/3 today. Haven't had a chance to test it out, but I did order a 10-pack of Rubin 2 180 to try out.

Way to go, the 150/3 is an excellent sander.  I like the Granat and Tom Bellemare can make up an assortment for you to keep your total investment costs down.

Jack

 

[mike_aa]

After thirteen months, I ordered and received my 150/3 today. Haven't had a chance to test it out, but I did order a 10-pack of Rubin 2 180 to try out.

Way to go, the 150/3 is an excellent sander.  I like the Granat and Tom Bellemare can make up an assortment for you to keep your total investment costs down.

Jack

+1 on getting an abrasives assortment from Tom.  He helped me save money by buying smaller quantities of each paper and offered great advice on which grits to choose.

Mike A.

 

[JimB1]

Count this as another vote for the ETS150. It was my first Festool sander and is still my go to for most sanding requirements. If you do a lot of really rough wood you may like the RO150 but it is a more difficult sander to use in my opinion.
-Jim

 

[Neal W]

Curious to know the opinions....

I might be able to afford one sander, and my major "sanding" project is refinishing my kitchen table (72"x72" top when fully "expanded").  Will the 150/3 or 150/5 adequately remove the old (not very durable it seems) finish which has flaked off under less than aggressive actions.

Thanks.