Early Intel on the New 5" Sander

[Scott B.]

Todd and I have been running the bejeepers out of the new Ets Ec 125 for a couple of months. This isn't a comprehensive review per se, but more of an overview of where we see this new sander fitting the existing line of Festool sanders.

Here is the link: http://topcoatreview.com/2015/09/festool-ets-ec-125/

Thanks for reading.

By way of disclosure, we did not purchase this tool, it was submitted to us by Festool for our assessment in the disciplines of painting and wood finishing prep. With tools, everyone uses them in different ways with different expectations. So, mileage will vary. We recommend that you consider multiple sources of information while researching tool selection decisions, and let the most influential voice be your own.

 

[jonny round boy]

It even works upside down:

[attachimg=1]

(Scott, you may want to fix that picture) [tongue]

 

[Scott B.]

LOL Yes, in any orientation.

Not sure what is up with that...using Chrome as a browser it shows correctly, using Safari it is upside down for me.

What browser are you using?

I have just recently switched my entire life over to a MB Pro, so it may be a bug on my end. Will try to get it sorted out to so everything displays correctly regardless of browser.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[jonny round boy]

I'm using IE11 on Windows 10.

 

[Timtool]

I have just recently switched my entire life over to a MB Pro, so it may be a bug on my end.

When someone post an upside down image theres a 99% chance he's using an Apple product, i fear you just opened the Pandora's box of issues now working with mac in a pc dominated world. I think you need to rotate each image 180 degrees in your system before saving and for some reason that fixes it.

 

[Scott B.]

I have just recently switched my entire life over to a MB Pro, so it may be a bug on my end.

When someone post an upside down image theres a 99% chance he's using an Apple product, i fear you just opened the Pandora's box of issues now working with mac in a pc dominated world. I think you need to rotate each image 180 degrees in your system before saving and for some reason that fixes it.

Oh, I promise I won't let my digital life become that cumbersome!! These things are supposed to make our lives easier. So far so good actually. I am slowly weening off the old laptop, big step.

My IT expert is in Utah, I am hoping she can sniff out the issue over coffee this morning. I think it is specific to that one image, as it hasn't seemed to happen with any other recent content.

 

[Brian Livingstone]

Another great review !  Thanks Scott.

Brian

 

[Scott in San Diego]

Scott,  Great ETS EC 125 review article and comparison of the entire 125 line.  I have been waiting to see an end user overview from someone that has logged some hours with all three of the 125s.  Thank you for stepping up to the plate.

Power-wise, the new ETS EC 125 falls nicely between the ETS 125 and RO 125 sanders.  I have both of the current 125 sanders and always thought there was large performance gap between them.  I may have to fill that gap very soon.  But, I plan on keeping the old ETS for fine finishing and because of its overall smaller physical size.  I will also keep the RO125 just because it is a Rotex and I like it a lot.

On a related subject, I hope you are also taking a test drive of the new ETS EC 150 line-up.  I have no-hands-on ETS EC experience, however I am on my fifth ES/ETS 150 over the past fifteen years.  But, purely based on power, weight and size specifications, the ETS EC 150s seem to not compliment the old ETS 150s.  At first glance and in my opinion, the ETS EC 150 could render the ETS 150 obsolete.  Time will tell.

 

[Scott B.]

Thanks for your feedback, guys, I really appreciate it. Feel free to also leave thoughts in the comment section of the article itself, there are many readers on our site who would gain from your experiences and opinions as well. We will at some point also put out some video accompaniment on the 5". The biggest challenge is only having 24 hours in a day!

We do plan on sharing similar overview info on the 6" EC as well, sometime in the near future.

Using the 5" ec tec made me think a lot about Rotex, and I am working on an article for our site about exactly that...the Rotex role in the power band and across the grit range. It occurred to me that when stepping through the grits, we prefer to spend the least amount of time in the low grits (80 and under) because the purpose of that stage of sanding is to rough in or shape the piece (plus it's just hard work!), then move up through to clean up and finish. Too much time in the low grits can cause a lot of backwards motion. There really is no such thing as (or need for) perfection in the low grits. And with Rotex at low grits, where it is a two handed exercise requiring full focus, if things go off course at all, you can quickly damage adjacent surfaces that you didn't intend to sand. We see that risk a lot in our work.

Anyways, lots of thoughts about sanding in the pipeline...

Thanks again for reading, we enjoy hearing how it helps your own approach to your work.

 

[Bob Marino]

Well done, Scott. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make the review.

Bob

 

[Scott B.]

Well done, Scott. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make the review.

Bob

Thanks Bob. Hope you've had a good summer.

 

[Coliban]

When someone post an upside down image theres a 99% chance he's using an Apple product, i fear you just opened the Pandora's box of issues now working with mac in a pc dominated world. I think you need to rotate each image 180 degrees in your system before saving and for some reason that fixes it.

No.

I´ve posted several pictures and i am working on a MBA, iPad and others, but i have never the issue of an up-side-down pictures. It has nothing to do with apple, i think.

 

[Bob Marino]

Well done, Scott. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make the review.

Bob

Thanks Bob. Hope you've had a good summer.

Yes, I did and it's turning out to be a looooooooong summer.
Festool Connect in Rhode Island for you in 2016?

B

 

[Scott B.]

Well done, Scott. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make the review.

Bob

Thanks Bob. Hope you've had a good summer.

Yes, I did and it's turning out to be a looooooooong summer.
Festool Connect in Rhode Island for you in 2016?

B

Hoping for a long indian summer here, it has been very rainy this season. Still lots of projects to wrap up before snow flies.

We will definitely be at JLC Live Providence in '16, and would definitely be honored to present on the Connect stage again. That was such a great time in '14. Those plans don't usually nail down until December. Stay tuned on that...

Meanwhile, we are teaching three classes out in Chicago at the JLC Remodeling Show and Deck Expo at the end of this month, and we are also teaching at events in Dallas and Connecticut this fall. Exciting times...

 

[Scott B.]

When someone post an upside down image theres a 99% chance he's using an Apple product, i fear you just opened the Pandora's box of issues now working with mac in a pc dominated world. I think you need to rotate each image 180 degrees in your system before saving and for some reason that fixes it.

No.

I´ve posted several pictures and i am working on a MBA, iPad and others, but i have never the issue of an up-side-down pictures. It has nothing to do with apple, i think.

In matters of computer technology, I rarely blame the equipment, as I am barely competent. Tools are more my thing. I think it was operator error in this case (me). I hope the image is right side up in all browsers at this point! I did add a handy dandy 5" sander comparison table to the piece as well.

 

[Bob Marino]

Well done, Scott. Thanks for taking the time and effort to make the review.

Bob

Thanks Bob. Hope you've had a good summer.

Yes, I did and it's turning out to be a looooooooong summer.
Festool Connect in Rhode Island for you in 2016?

B

Hoping for a long indian summer here, it has been very rainy this season. Still lots of projects to wrap up before snow flies.

We will definitely be at JLC Live Providence in '16, and would definitely be honored to present on the Connect stage again. That was such a great time in '14. Those plans don't usually nail down until December. Stay tuned on that...

Meanwhile, we are teaching three classes out in Chicago at the JLC Remodeling Show and Deck Expo at the end of this month, and we are also teaching at events in Dallas and Connecticut this fall. Exciting times...

Been way too dry here in NJ, but glad you will be there at the CONNECT event. I am hoping they will go back to the large room they had used for several years and not the stadium sized area they used last year.
B

 

[ear3]

Thanks for the review!  I'd be interested to see a similar user review for the 150.  I have the RO150 and the ETS 150/3, and have noticed a similar "gap" in the mid-range grits (though I imagine this is less the case with the 150/5), and so am wondering whether the new EC150/5 might be worth it for me.

 

[Scott B.]

Thanks for the review!  I'd be interested to see a similar user review for the 150.  I have the RO150 and the ETS 150/3, and have noticed a similar "gap" in the mid-range grits (though I imagine this is less the case with the 150/5), and so am wondering whether the new EC150/5 might be worth it for me.

That will be coming soon for sure.

I was just talking with someone about that yesterday, regarding the current ETS 150/3 versus the /5. I usually will grab a 5mm stroke over a 3 because it is easier to get a 5mm to do fine sanding than a 3mm to do low grit sanding.

I can see your gap for sure. There is a lot of "space" between the 150/3 and the RO150. Of course, the RO150 can meet most of your 6" needs, it's just not perfectly built for all of them.

A big part of the decision comes down to the question of how much sanding do you do. I have been thinking lately that if you sand more than a hour a week, it is probably worth looking at finding the right combination of sanders for exactly what you do.

 

[Cheese]

In matters of computer technology, I rarely blame the equipment, as I am barely competent. Tools are more my thing. I think it was operator error in this case (me). I hope the image is right side up in all browsers at this point! I did add a handy dandy 5" sander comparison table to the piece as well.

FWIW, I pulled up and read you review  [big grin] on a MB Pro and the image was right side up and the chart was all there. Decided to try the iPhone and iPad because sometimes they present the same information differently. Sure enough, in both cases the image was correct, however, the chart on the iPad appeared the same as the MB Pro, but the chart on the iPhone did not have the small pictures on the RH side, there was now a green box on the LH side of the chart that had a + sign that you had to click on to see the small picture of the sander.

That's the reason I'd rather surf with the iPad because the experience/presentation is more like a computer.

[member=13337]Scott Burt[/member]

 

[Scott B.]

In matters of computer technology, I rarely blame the equipment, as I am barely competent. Tools are more my thing. I think it was operator error in this case (me). I hope the image is right side up in all browsers at this point! I did add a handy dandy 5" sander comparison table to the piece as well.

FWIW, I pulled up and read you review  [big grin] on a MB Pro and the image was right side up and the chart was all there. Decided to try the iPhone and iPad because sometimes they present the same information differently. Sure enough, in both cases the image was correct, however, the chart on the iPad appeared the same as the MB Pro, but the chart on the iPhone did not have the small pictures on the RH side, there was now a green box on the LH side of the chart that had a + sign that you had to click on to see the small picture of the sander.

That's the reason I'd rather surf with the iPad because the experience/presentation is more like a computer.

[member=13337]Scott Burt[/member]

I know what you mean. As much as the tech experts talk about making sites mobile compatible (because evidently most people look at things on their phones), it is impossible - within the budget constraints of my little independent operation - to create the perfect viewing experience for every device and browser. I am not nearly as concerned about that as I am about sharing good quality info.

I did see the the iphone incarnation of the chart, and that is something that the site does automatically to adjust for the reality that the phone screen is only so big. Took me a second to figure out that the right side of the chart was made into a dropdown on the left side lol.

Overall, I am enjoying my long awaited conversion to the mac world. I'd been refusing for years.

It's similar to power tools. How many $400 laptops do I have to kill every two years before investing in something that is built for what I really do? I loved my laptops because I understood windows really well and could fly on that type of a keyboard. I do find the mbp keyboard a bit "flat" for my style, but I am loving the ability to drag and drop, the text wrap ability, the ease of importing raw pic and vid footage from other devices, the way I can syn everything. I had to ditch Safari as the browser though and set up Chrome, as I am one of those who must have a dozen tabs open.

Don't worry...no danger of me writing tech reviews!