ETC-EC 150/3 or ETS-EC-150/5

[Steven Owen]

I put the ETS 125 through a bank of tests.  So far it’s not making a good impression. I’m considering taking advantage of the 30-day trial to exchange it for an ETS-150.

My applications are the following:

- Indoor and outdoor furniture
- Shelving
- Coffee Tables
- Bedroom furniture
- sanding between coats of varnish
- it might get the odd job standing paint/stain off a fence or deck. (I may have to buy a Rotex or Bosch 1250DEVS for those jobs)

This would be a goto sander.  Furniture making would be the primary task.  I’m not sure if a 5mm orbit will be too much for sanding between varnish and finish coats.

Which unit would make more sense.  The 3 mm or 5 mm orbit?

 

[ss]

Hi Steven

I've been having exactly the same conundrun (post).

I'm leaning towards the /3, as whilst from what I gather, the /5 might have a wider "range", the /3 is better at the finishing. (And I can see a Rotex in my longer term future for more aggressive work.)

I *think* that the /3 makes for a better pairing with a Rotext than a /5 would. I'd love to hear other's thoughts on that too.

Do you have other sanders?

Also, it would be interesting to know why the 125 isn't making a good impression.

Cheers,
Steve

 

[grbmds]

I have both the ETS125 and ETS150/5. I love them both. I bought the 150/5 because I planned to use it for coarser grits and the 125 for finer sanding. I found that the 150/5 works just fine for sanding at finer grits; just as well as the 125. I don't believe there is a significant difference between the 150/3 and 150/5 given that I get the same result with the 150/5 as I do with the 125. The 125 would be essentially the same orbit as the 150/3. If you sand a lot of smaller items you might want a smaller pad than the 150 gives you.

 

[semenza]

Probably would be good to be specific in posts if referring to the regular / older ETS or the newer ETS EC models. Or possibly the Pro5 edition. I know it is in the title but things can get confusing anyway.

Seth

 

[Steven Owen]

Probably would be good to be specific in posts if referring to the regular / older ETS or the newer ETS EC models. Or possibly the Pro5 edition. I know it is in the title but things can get confusing anyway.

Seth

It’s the brand new ETS-125 with the 250 W.  The rotation speed is too slow even when the ETS-125 is steaming away at full speed.  It’s not bad on hardwood maple.  The lack of speed makes the ETS-125 a bit skippy on softwoods like cedar.  It just doesn’t seem to have enough guts.

 

[semenza]

Probably would be good to be specific in posts if referring to the regular / older ETS or the newer ETS EC models. Or possibly the Pro5 edition. I know it is in the title but things can get confusing anyway.

Seth

It’s the brand new ETS-125 with the 250 W.  The rotation speed is too slow even when the ETS-125 is steaming away at full speed.  It’s not bad on hardwood maple.  The lack of speed makes the ETS-125 a bit skippy on softwoods like cedar.  It just doesn’t seem to have enough guts.

What's the RPM / OPM on that one? It is the 2mm stroke right?

Seth

 

[Steven Owen]

Probably would be good to be specific in posts if referring to the regular / older ETS or the newer ETS EC models. Or possibly the Pro5 edition. I know it is in the title but things can get confusing anyway.

Seth

It’s the brand new ETS-125 with the 250 W.  The rotation speed is too slow even when the ETS-125 is steaming away at full speed.  It’s not bad on hardwood maple.  The lack of speed makes the ETS-125 a bit skippy on softwoods like cedar.  It just doesn’t seem to have enough guts.

What's the RPM / OPM on that one? It is the 2mm stroke right?

Seth

This one is 14,000 OPM with a 2 mm stroke.

 

[peter halle]

Is the speed control turned almost all the way down on your dust extractor?  Too much suction can cause issues.

Peter

 

[ss]

Hi Peter - I didn't know that. Could you say more about what sort of issues / why?

 

[Steven Owen]

Is the speed control turned almost all the way down on your dust extractor?  Too much suction can cause issues.

Peter

I have to run it off it’s dust bag for now.  The CT26 has to wait unit January with X-Mas expenses coming up.

 

[antss]

Have you considered keeping the 125ec and getting a 150 pad for it when you actually need the xtra footprint ?

There are some drawbacks noted here:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/ask-festool/ets-ec-125150/

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] has done trials whit his and you may want to reach out to him via pmail.

 

[Holmz]

I put the ETS 125 through a bank of tests.  So far it’s not making a good impression. I’m considering taking advantage of the 30-day trial to exchange it for an ETS-150.
...
This would be a goto sander.
...  The 3 mm or 5 mm orbit?

As you may recall thee were about 10 exchanges of posts about the Mirka Deros.

IMO you got the wrong sander.
Even in that thread you questioned whether the extra 50W of the DEROS was worth it.
Then you went and got the 1/2-power sander... ???

I mentioned before, if I was in your mukluks... I would be looking at the ETS/EC 150/5.
Return that ETS, and get the other sander.
If you do not love it, then return it too.
(I doubt you would return the proper sander)

Or just ignore the advise that you ask for...

 

[Steven Owen]

I put the ETS 125 through a bank of tests.  So far it’s not making a good impression. I’m considering taking advantage of the 30-day trial to exchange it for an ETS-150.
...
This would be a goto sander.
...  The 3 mm or 5 mm orbit?

As you may recall thee were about 10 exchanges of posts about the Mirka Deros.

IMO you got the wrong sander.
Even in that thread you questioned whether the extra 50W of the DEROS was worth it.
Then you went and got the 1/2-power sander... ???

I mentioned before, if I was in your mukluks... I would be looking at the ETS/EC 150/5.
Return that ETS, and get the other sander.
If you do not love it, then return it too.
(I doubt you would return the proper sander)

Or just ignore the advise that you ask for...

I’m planing to buy the Deros or the EC-150 no matter what.  The ETS 125 was just meant to be a light duty sander for finish sanding.  I was hoping the 125 would handle the 325 - 400 grits while a Deros or the ETS-EC-150/5 would take care of 80-220 sanding tasks.

I plan to test the ETS 125 again this weekend.  We’ll see if I can get a better result with a different technique.

 

[Holmz]

I suspect that an ETS EC 150/5 would do the finish work just dandy.
Maybe it will not with your specific woods, but from all the plywood to hardwoods that I put my sanders to, they seem to come out pretty nice.
Granted I am not make fine furniture using walnut or Ipe, so you need to test to your specific requirements.

Since you have the 30-days, it makes sense IMO to figure it out in the near term.
If the ETS EC does not go quick enough for you, then I would be more than just a little bit surprised.

...
I’m planing to buy the Deros or the EC-150 no matter what.  The ETS 125 was just meant to be a light duty sander for finish sanding.
...

All that said, it is not uncommon for me to use a fine grit in the paw, or with a paw on a sanding block, for the final 1/2-minute of finishing... So maybe the /5 would not suit your work flow... I cannot say.

Basically I skipped the finish sander and invested in cheaper vacuum hosed "hand blocks".

 

[semenza]

Or just ignore the advise that you ask for...

I’m planing to buy the Deros or the EC-150 no matter what.  The ETS 125 was just meant to be a light duty sander for finish sanding.  I was hoping the 125 would handle the 325 - 400 grits while a Deros or the ETS-EC-150/5 would take care of 80-220 sanding tasks.

I plan to test the ETS 125 again this weekend.  We’ll see if I can get a better result with a different technique.

Sounds to me like Steven has made a plan based on the advise he has gathered.

OK, seriously the ETS125REQ has a top speed of 14,000 ?! I think that is the fastest in the Festool stable. You said it doesn't seem to really move fast.  I wonder if there might actually be something wrong. Like the pad brake or defective speed control? 

Seth

 

[grbmds]

I have both the ETS125 and ETS150/5. I love them both. I bought the 150/5 because I planned to use it for coarser grits and the 125 for finer sanding. I found that the 150/5 works just fine for sanding at finer grits; just as well as the 125. I don't believe there is a significant difference between the 150/3 and 150/5 given that I get the same result with the 150/5 as I do with the 125. The 125 would be essentially the same orbit as the 150/3. If you sand a lot of smaller items you might want a smaller pad than the 150 gives you.

Good point. I actually own the older versions of the ETS125 and ETS150/5 so I don't have any experience with the EC models, so take my comments for what they're worth on use of the 150/5.

 

[Holmz]

Or just ignore the advise that you ask for...

...

Not a problem, as I don't even take my own advise most of the time...  [smile]

 

[Cheese]

I have a RO 125, an older ETS 125, an ETS EC 125 and a Pro5. Do yourself a favor and just purchase the ETS EC 125 and purchase an extra 150 pad for it.

The ETS 125 and Pro5 are similar in performance with the Pro5 being just a bit better because it has more power and seems to be more aggressive.

The RO is great if you need to remove a lot of material in a short period of time.  However it is heavy and the ergonomics are not that great for extended sanding intervals.

The ETS EC 125 is the best overall sander in the bunch. It’s light, compact, vibration less and it’s my go-to sander of the bunch. It’s aggressive when you amp up the grit and the speed selection, yet decrease both of these variables and it’s a great all around sander. If I had to chose only one...it’d be the ETS EC.

I can replace the Rotex with a belt sander and a right angle grinder with a sanding disc. I have both, however the Rotex is more convenient.

If you feel the need to go 150...just purchase a 150 pad and install it on the ETS EC 125. Same motor, same parts, same armature, same speeds, same power...yada, yada, yada..

The 150 pad fits on the 125...the 125 pad DOES NOT fit on the 150.

 

[Steven Owen]

I suspect that an ETS EC 150/5 would do the finish work just dandy.
Maybe it will not with your specific woods, but from all the plywood to hardwoods that I put my sanders to, they seem to come out pretty nice.
Granted I am not make fine furniture using walnut or Ipe, so you need to test to your specific requirements.

Since you have the 30-days, it makes sense IMO to figure it out in the near term.
If the ETS EC does not go quick enough for you, then I would be more than just a little bit surprised.

...
I’m planing to buy the Deros or the EC-150 no matter what.  The ETS 125 was just meant to be a light duty sander for finish sanding.
...

All that said, it is not uncommon for me to use a fine grit in the paw, or with a paw on a sanding block, for the final 1/2-minute of finishing... So maybe the /5 would not suit your work flow... I cannot say.

Basically I skipped the finish sander and invested in cheaper vacuum hosed "hand blocks".

IPE is one of my least favorite woods to work with.  It wears out Planer blades, Saw Blades, Drill bits quickly.  It has an extemely tight grain, it’s difficult to stain, difficult to cut and it’s no where nearly as attractive for outdoor furniture as mahogany, cedar, cherry or white oak.  It’s also ridiculously heavy to use for outdoor furniture.  IPE can be an absolute nightmare to work with.  They call IPE “diamond wood” for a reason.

Some customers love it because it super, super durable.  You just end-up having to suck-it up use it.  I’ll be curious to see which abrasive does better with IPE.  I ordered both Garant and abranet.

IPE is a sandpaper killer too.  I have a mix of Makita, Dewalt and Bosch sanders.  The sandpaper mileage with IPE is very poor.  I’m hoping the Festool and possiblely the Mirka upgrade will save bundles of paper going up into smoke on IPE based projects.

 

[ear3]

ETS-EC 150/5 is my general purpose sander of choice, and my favorite sander of the Festool lot.  I've found that you only start to notice a difference in finish quality between the /5 and the /3 starting at very high grits, like 400+