Anyone with a RS2E, I need HELP, or it's going back!

[mitch dugo]

I hope that it's just something that I'm doing wrong, cause I really wanted this sander to work for me. Tried it on a 2 1/2" piece of poplar, and it jerked so bad that I could see ugly cut marks all over the place.
I started it on a piece of luan on 3 and the thing was jumping all around. Took it up to 6 and it calmed down a bit, still it grabbed. Sanded maple plywood, half with the RS2E, the other half with ETS 150/3, both with 120 grit. Applied some dark stain and found many swirls every wear on the RS2E side, none on the 150/3 side.

Please give me some hints, I just can't believe that a $300 sander would leave such ugly swirls. No way would I ever let it touch one of my customers pieces!

 

[nickao]

Mitch don't know whats up. You do have to go up grits to get the finish of the 150/3.

If the 150/3  uses 180 go to at least 220 on the RS2. Mine glides smooth and I can one had it on large flat surfaces. There is a learning curve with all the Festools, with the 150/3 the simplest to learn to use in my opinion. Try another unit and see if it's better for you.

I use the Rs2 for flattening and finish up with a 150, never really tried to get the final finish sanding with it. But no jerking has occurred at all.

nickao

 

[nickao]

Just another thought. Are you using dust collection?

If you are using a CT play with the vac adjustment. Sounds like the suction  may be to powerful and the sander is sticking to the surface when you move the sander. It may be bouncing because of it grabbing the surface so hard.

Try backing off the vac all the way and move it up until you get the right feeling.

Worth a try.

nickao

 

[Scott W.]

I think nickao is right, turn the suction down on your vac. I have the RS2 and I love it. Smooooth!

Scott W.

 

[mitch dugo]

Thanks for the quick response guys. I won't be able to try it till tomorrow, maybe Monday cause of work. Nickao, wouldn't you get a lighter stain color if you used 180 on the RS2E, than 120 on the 150/3. My experience is that the finer you sand the lighter the stain will take. (pigmented stains) I wanted to use the RS2E on the face frame and inside the case, being that I could sand into the corners.

Scott, you don't have any swirls? I have noticed many of the projects here are finished without stain, so sanding as fine as you want has no effect on the color. If my customer picks a oil based stain from one of the many stain blocks that I have on the wall, I have no choice but to 120 grit so that their furniture will match the block. With my water base stains it's no that big of a deal because they are die and pigment.

 

[nickao]

Yes a lighter stain color is more than likely. I use nothing but clear finishes so not a big problem for me.

Nickao

 

[Ned]

Any of you RS2E owners:

In your experience, does the break-in period apply to the RS2E as it does to some of the smaller sanders?  That is, "give it 10 hours run-in, and it'll smooth out"?

Ned

 

[Scott W.]

Scott, you don't have any swirls? I have noticed many of the projects here are finished without stain, so sanding as fine as you want has no effect on the color. If my customer picks a oil based stain from one of the many stain blocks that I have on the wall, I have no choice but to 120 grit so that their furniture will match the block. With my water base stains it's no that big of a deal because they are die and pigment.

I normally go to 220 depending on the wood & finish. I haven't had a problem with the stained projects I've done. I normally run it on the highest speed.

Scott W.

 

[Scott W.]

Any of you RS2E owners:

In your experience, does the break-in period apply to the RS2E as it does to some of the smaller sanders?  That is, "give it 10 hours run-in, and it'll smooth out"?

Ned

Ned,

Once I figured out that I had to turn down the suction on the CT22 mine ran smooth. I used it for about 5 hours the very first day. I can't say that it has changed much since.

I will confirm that my RO 150 did run smoother after a few uses.

Scott W.

 

[nickao]

I get no more swirling with the 1/2 sheet than I do with the 150/5, but more swirl than the 150/3. I do use the 150 after I use the 1/2 sheet almost every time though.

I  know its labeled a finishing sander, but in my opinion it is really to keep large surfaces flat more than give the finish of a 150/3 and I would be lost without a 1/2 sheet sander.

If I go to 220 with the 1/2 sheet I do not notice swirl. I only use clear finishes. I think it just takes a knack to get a good finish with  the 1/2 sheet so use it awhile before you decide.

Nickao

 

[mitch dugo]

Hi underused, I might of had a misconception of this sander. From what I have picked up, if your doing large glue ups, this sander will help level it out. Then go to your 150/3 to remove any swirls. Guess it all depends how you are going to finish your project. If your not staining, you could continue as fine of grit that you want until you can't see any swirls. If I'm still wrong, please, someone set me straight.

 

[nickao]

Well wrong or right thats how I use it. I think a lot of people do use it as their finish sander though.

In another thread someone form the UK  showed pictures of 4 different Festool 1/2 sheet sanders they sell across the pond. I think the RS2 may be a compromise of all those 4 sanders qualities. From flattening to fine finishing. Only an observation.

nickao

 

[nickao]

No you can use it as a finishing sander. I think some people can verify on here  that the 150/3 gives a better finish more easily though.

If I had to pick one it would be the RS2. I am positive a bunch of people would choose the 150/3 over it though.

The 150/3 is a true random orbital, the 1/2 sheet is not. So the 150/3 is going to give you the pristine finish you are looking for easily.

It's hard to answer for you.

Nickao

 

[poto]

This may be slightly irrelvant to the discussion, but I've found that one key to avoiding swirl marks is to 1) clean the sanded surface very carefully between different grits, and 2) wet the surface to raise the grain before the next grit. Cleaning the surface removes any bits of grit that might have fallen off the previous paper - these little puppies will definitely cause swirls if caught under the next pad. Using a damp sponge to wet the surface (for my furniture I do this 3 or 4 times) both removes the sawdust and grit, and also gives the sandpaper more wood to grip and sand. I've found that these two techniques give me a swirl-free finish, no matter what (also, don't skip grits!).

 

[John Stevens]

A few responses on this thread have addressed technique (one response mentions the amount of suction, another talks about cleaning the surface between grits and raising the grain between grits, and another cautions not to skip grits).  I'd like to hear more about the recommended technique for using this sander.

An article by Niall Barrett on Festool's USA web site instructs users of the random-orbital sanders like the ETS150s to move the sander with the grain at a rate of one inch per second.  Using that technique, I get a swirl-free finish with the ETS150/3.

If I recall correctly, I think Dave or Shane wrote (in SysNotes?) that orbital sanders like the RS2E should be scrubbed back and forth along the grain, almost like hand sanding.  I'd like to hear from RS2E users who are getting a swirl-free finish--in what direction do you move the sander, and how fast?  How many passes do you take before you move up to the next grit?  How do you know when it's time to move up to the next grit?  Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

Regards,

John

 

[gkeigan]

I had the same problems with mine out of the box. I did a lot of playing around with it with sanding to various grits and staining the sanded pieces. I was in the middle of a desk and bookshelf project and really wanted this to work. I was using knotty alder on my project which is really soft and was showing terrible swirls and long lines of tight swirls. What I ended up doing was using the RS2E on 120 and 150 grit and giving it a final sanding with 180 with my ETS 150/3. I  got good results with this and just am in the process of the finishing touches on the project. The RS2E is slowly getting smoother and is becoming more enjoyable to use. I don't know if it will get to a point that I would fill good about the final results by itself. You might have to bite the bullet and tandem it with a random orbital. In the past I have sanded alot with an old rockwell 1/2  sheetpad sander and and air driven random orbital. I worked at a custom cabinetshop  about 10 years ago doing sanding with the 1/2 pad sander about 80% of my day sanding cabinet parts, so I think I got use to the feel of what the sander need to be doing and the speed. The festool is a huge improvement with control and dust collection. As far as sanding speed it is tough to give an exact speed. I usually go  back and forth front to back 2 times with each grit at a moderate speed on a flat shelf. It seems you get in some kind of rhythm and put it on cruise control. I pull out my treble light or another bright light to check for swirl marks once in a while just to make sure things are going like I want. Hope this helps.

 

[Tim Sproul]

I find I use my RS2E at full speed to avoid the chattering/bumping around you describe.

 

[mitch dugo]

Thanks everyone for your take on the RS2E. I've decided that it was just not the tool for me. As far as using it for flattening wide glue ups, I just completed a cherry counter top (102"X28") with the ETS150/5 and it is as flat as can be. I've been using ROS's for the last 16 years and have become too familiar with them to change now. The prior 10 years, the only sanding I did was by hand, other than a belt sander for glue ups.

 

[Joe Jensen]

WOW, sorry I'm late to the thread.  The RS2E was the first Festool product I bought.
1) It is the THE smoothest running tool I have.  Smooth when held up in the air, and just as smooth at any speed when sanding a board.
2) I don't have a variable speed sander, but a very powerful WAP vac,  I don't have any problem with too much vac on this sander (with others yes)
3) The RS2E is an orbital sander and not a random orbit sander so you will need to go a grit or two higher than with the random orbit sanders.  Same as the RTS400.

I suspect something is wrong with your sample.  Mine never ran like yours did.  If it had, I would not have ended up spending thousands on Festool in the past 18 months...joe

 

[nickao]

Underused I don't think you can go that far. These Festools have a learning curve. I do think Festool makes a mistake telling people the RO can be used as a finish sander. I think the learning curve is more difficult with the RS2. You may be better off with an ETS 150/5 or 150/3.

I really sand a lot and since using the Festool sanders my speed has increased significantly. I don't get all the excessive swirls.

Could a batch of these sanders be lemons? Several people say the RS2 glides smooth as can be, others can't stand it and get excessive swirls. I hear the same about the RO. How can some people get super finish and others take it back because of swirling. It can only be technique or the sander.

Any thoughts?