.

[jacko9]

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.

The 150/3 is perfectly adequate for that job and removal of the old finish can probably be accomplished with 100 or 120 grit grant paper.

Jack

 

[festup]

Yet another vote for the ETS/150. I have the Rotex 150 and RTS 400 and I'll always find an excuse to use the ETS instead. Great sander.

 

[jacko9]

I should mention that I also have the RO90, LS130 and the ETS 125.  I mention this because the smaller 125 is perfect for the final finish on large projects after glue up where you now have a lot of vertical surfaces to touch up before applying the finish and the light weight of the 125 really helps at the end of the day.  I do use all of my sanders and I smile every time I do without that could of dust I put up with for so many years.

Jack

 

[jacko9]

If you have the 150/3 why would you consider the 150/5 it's not very different so I would recommend the RO90 which I use a lot along with my 150/3 because of the size and the additional delta capability.  I also suggest that you try the Granat composition it really is a quality sanding disc.

Jack

 

[Green Mojo]

I love my Festool, but you owe it to yourself to check out the Mirka Ceros ROS. It is an awesome sander.

 

[Holmz]

Honestly there is no way to compare a Festool sander to any other brand, they are two entirely separate worlds...
...

Good luck!

You may be right, but I just purchased a Mafell UVA 115, and it also fits onto the CT26.

 

[John H]

I love my Festool, but you owe it to yourself to check out the Mirka Ceros ROS. It is an awesome sander.

Yep - if your considering an ETS 150 you should at least look at the Ceros
http://flairwoodworks.com/2012/03/13/review-of-the-mirka-ceros/

 

[rst]

Just a side note, If you are in the Northeast...I buy 10 pc packs and tools from Bob Marino and most grits are available.

 

[bobdny]

My first Festool sander was the RO90, and I love it. My only regret is I wish I could have had it back when I built my wooden boat. I bought an assortment of grits in both the round and delta sizes (I love having both the round and delta heads.) It is much, much better than the 5" Bosch sander that I had when I built my boat, both superior dust collection and the ability to get into tight corners. The RO90 is my first go-to sander for most of my sanding jobs.

 

[myfinishingtouch]

Holmz,  Just curious why you opted for the Mafell UVA 115 instead of the RS2?
Thanks,
Dave

 

[Holmz]

Holmz,  Just curious why you opted for the Mafell UVA 115 instead of the RS2?
Thanks,
Dave

Mostly (95%+) because I wanted a 220v sander as my CT26 is 220v...
But the salesmanship has me believing that the Mafell is just as good.

I really wanted to go for their track saw, and found where someone gives the step by step to get it's rail onto a MFT3 (but it will also fit onto the Festtool rail.)
But I have a sanding job I used to justify getting the sander.

I generally have hand planed and hit things with some sand paper by hand.
So I am no expert in sanding.

But I like the idea of a sanding screen to prevent clogging of the paper... As there is no paper...

The only issue I will have is to make an extension cord if/when I go back to the US. So an American dryer male plug to an Aussy female [eek] receptacle. I will have to cut the Eu male plug off the Mafell's cord, but that is not a huge problem.

 

[Holmz]

The sander arrived last Friday.
I went to the sparky-shop and got a male plug, then cut the cord about 1 foot from the Euro plug, mostly so I had a piece left for a Euro to Aussie converter. But the Mafell cord has no ground, so maybe I would use it for a computer charger when traveling. Dunno.

It felt a bit off putting to cut a new machine's cord.

I hooked it up to the CT-26 and turned it on an no electrical smoke, and only sander and vacuum noise.
I smelled a bit for the first couple of minutes, so I assume it was grease or something outgassing from the motor.
I ran it for about an hour with a 120 grit screen over mahogony baseboards with varnish and a bunch of waves from the shaper/planner that originally milled the wood before the last home owner installed the baseboards. That was over about 1-1/2 square yards of wood.
I had to change the screen for the last baseboard.

This is an awesome tool. I can be a bit of a tool-snob, but this seems like a brilliant piece of gear.
There is no vibration when it is off the wood, and only a bit when it is on the wood.
I ran it at setting 3 (of 6), which sounded about right to my ear. It still makes noise with the wood vibrating so I chucked in some plugs.
I do not sand much, so I cannot really say with any authority whether it is better than any other similar sander, but it is way better than my 5" round RO sander for making the wood flat... Both make it smooth, but I do not have to worry about the thing wheeling around when the sander comes off the wood and spooling up to a high RPM.
Of course I used a job I am doing for the Mrs to justify the tool cost [cool], but she remains happy.
The dust extraction of the tool is great, and the CT-26 attachment was very good.
The Mafell case is a systainer, so I snapped it ontop the top of the CT-26.  [big grin]

So I am happy with the choice, but as mentioned... Take my recommendation as not overly experienced with sanders.
For buying the USA Timberwolf seem very helpful, and it works great with the CT-26. (Well with mine which is 220v).
The only downside might be the 220v. However most houses have a dryer plug and most shops have 220v.
It is a good mate for the DX93.