Does anyone find the RTS400 difficult to operate

[dltflt]

This is the first time I used this sander and seems to grab the wood and I  have no control. I turned the vacuum all the way down and it was Still bad. So I disconnected the DC and it is Easy to use. Has anyone found a solution to this issue. I can honestly say I'm disappointed with this tool, I glad I bought during the big sale last year.

 

[Michael1960]

Occasionally I find the RTS400 behaves as you describe.  I believe this is related to the properties of the surface being sanded and the sandpaper.  It seems the sander adheres too tightly to surface and RTS becomes difficult to control. I'd be interested to see if you tried another piece of timber and you get a better result. 

 

[Brice Burrell]

The current gen of CT vacs are too powerful for the small sanders (ETS125, RTS and DTS 400) in my opinion.  Even with the suction all the way down I find the small sanders grab too much to be able to easily control on some surfaces.  Drywall in particular, but soft woods sometimes as well.  I'd like for the suction to be able to be reduced even farther than it does on the current vac. 

 

[mastercabman]

Try it without a vac attached to it and see if you get the same feel
I have the rts400 and really like it
It has been pretty smooth so far

 

[jbasen]

Here is a post I did a while back on a solution for the problem of the Festool vacuums being to powerful for the smaller sanders.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/vacuum-reducer-for-sanders/msg356909/#msg356909

Hope this helps

 

[Brent Taylor]

I have swapped over to the Makita 3/4"  hose with my smaller Festool sanders, I have no issues with my Makita sanders the regular hose works fine with those sanders. I am thinking of replacing the tool end with the Bosch unit that has  the pressure relief valve like on my Mirka hose. I believe that Festool has there set up on the hand sanders with dust collection, but I'm not sure and if they do I'm sure it will cost more. The Makita VS sander with the handle out preforms the ETS 125, but I like the weight of the 125, so I use it for the higher grits and polishing.  If I  had to do it again I wold not  buy the 125, I would still have the 400 though,  reminds me of a Roybi 1/6 th  sheet sander I had, it was a great tool, so I put up with the problems with the 400.  I Just preformed a little drilling  magic on my 36 to 27 mm adapter, four  1/4 " holes around the insert  (36 mm end) and depending on the depth of insertion, you can control the amount of vacuum pressure you have at the tool. 

 

[junk731]

Get the Festool Y connector that allows you to attach 2 hoses to the vac and then adapt a 2 1/2" blast gate to the open port on the Y. This allows you to further reduce suction and allows the small sanders to work properly. I really don't understand why Festool hasn't brought a solution to the table.

John

 

[junk731]

This message shows the Y with a blast gate. The image is near the bottom of the first page.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/wcr1000-your-setup/msg154154/#msg154154

John

 

[jbasen]

Festool has a solution.  For reasons I can't even come close to understanding it is NAINA.  ???

http://www.festool.com.au/epages/tooltechnic.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/tooltechnic/Products/496112

 

[dltflt]

Try it without a vac attached to it and see if you get the same feel
I have the rts400 and really like it
It has been pretty smooth so far

I did and works great but Festool is supposed to be dust free.

 

[dltflt]

Here is a post I did a while back on a solution for the problem of the Festool vacuums being to powerful for the smaller sanders.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/vacuum-reducer-for-sanders/msg356909/#msg356909

Hope this helps

Thanks, that should do the trick

 

[dltflt]

Get the Festool Y connector that allows you to attach 2 hoses to the vac and then adapt a 2 1/2" blast gate to the open port on the Y. This allows you to further reduce suction and allows the small sanders to work properly. I really don't understand why Festool hasn't brought a solution to the table.

John

I have the Y and the blast gates so I will give that a try first.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I have no problem using the RTS400 with the vac.

Do you have a brand new one? Brand new RTS sanders need a break in period because the brushes aren't properly seated and only perform at half power. Once the brushes are properly seated the RTS has plenty of power and will be perfectly controllable. Could take up to 8 hours before you're there.

Only gripe I have with the RTS is that it is a bit tippy sideways due to the small form of the pad. But using it on window and door trim for fine sanding lately, I have come to appreciate it better than I used to in the past. 

 

[SS Teach]

I've used my RTS 400 for a little over 3 years. Worked like a champ right out of the systainer. It did not need a break in period, it did not buck, it is smooth as can be.

 

[tjbnwi]

I also use the blast gate if I need to decrease suction to a tool. I plug the blast gate directly into the CT, close it slightly, there is some bleed through the gate handle and the valve restricts the flow to the tool.

Tom

 

[dltflt]

The blast gate worked great.  So I will do that until this gets broke in.

 

[Sparktrician]

I find, too, that remembering to NOT press down on the sander helps tremendously.  Pushing down on it causes the effective suction to rise, pulling it further into the wood and making it buck, even with the suction turned all the way down.  As I was told in one of the Festool classes, "Let the tool do the work." 

 

[dltflt]

I'm probably guilty of pushing down a bit on that sander.

Just an FYI. I did contact Festool over the weekend about the 27mm adapter and had response in my email this morning stating that they have been thinking about bringing the adapter to North America.

 

[leakyroof]

I'm probably guilty of pushing down a bit on that sander.

Just an FYI. I did contact Festool over the weekend about the 27mm adapter and had response in my email this morning stating that they have been thinking about bringing the adapter to North America.

  oooooo, Ahhhhhh.... Thanks for contacting them about it. That would be, you would think, an easy thing to add since it's not electrical and hopefully doesn't need any UL type inspecting to get into the US/Canada... [smile]

 

[grbmds]

I find, too, that remembering to NOT press down on the sander helps tremendously.  Pushing down on it causes the effective suction to rise, pulling it further into the wood and making it buck, even with the suction turned all the way down.  As I was told in one of the Festool classes, "Let the tool do the work."

I have the DTS400 (looks like about the same sander) and the first thing I noticed was exactly that. The sander operated best just gliding over the surface without any downward force with no vibration. I also notice that it seemed to operate best and with least vibration at its highest speed. The speeds below that resulted in more vibration and more grabbing the sanded surface. I actually like the DTS a lot though because it is light and does a great job.