ETS 125 EQ Random Orbital Sander under powered

[yellowtruck75]

A few weeks ago my ETS 125 EQ Random Orbital Sander died on me so while I had it out for repair I started using my Dewalt orbital again.  What I have noticed is that the Dewalt is much more powerful than the ETS 125 EQ Random Orbital Sander and the only upside to the Festool is the dust extraction.  My Dewalt is nothing special its just a standard 5" sander.  Anyone else notice this problem with under power.

 

[VictorL]

ETS-125 is finishing Random Orbital Sander. Festool makes Orbital sanders RTS-400, DTS-400 etc. ETS-150/5 is ROS, but more aggressive. There are three Rotex sanders for even more aggressive sanding, and true rotary RAS-115 sander for extreme sanding. You can chose right tool for any job.

Regards,
VictorL

 

[flair woodworks]

A few weeks ago my ETS 125 EQ Random Orbital Sander died on me so while I had it out for repair I started using my Dewalt orbital again.  What I have noticed is that the Dewalt is much more powerful than the ETS 125 EQ Random Orbital Sander and the only upside to the Festool is the dust extraction.  My Dewalt is nothing special its just a standard 5" sander.  Anyone else notice this problem with under power.

Do you know about turning down the suction level so that the sander isn't fighting the increased resistance?  Just checking...

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

The ETS 125 is designed to be a fine finish sander. It has a 2mm stroke, which is very small. Some other manufacturer's sanders may have a more aggressive stroke, but that compromises the quality of the finish. I think you may be misinterpreting stroke size for power. Could that be the case?

 

[Brice Burrell]

The ETS 125 is designed to be a fine finish sander. It has a 2mm stroke, which is very small. Some other manufacturer's sanders may have a more aggressive stroke, but that compromises the quality of the finish. I think you may be misinterpreting stroke size for power. Could that be the case?

I think Shane is right, the stroke is what you're likely noticing.  You know, I really like my ETS125 but.... if Festool came out with a more powerful motor and slightly larger stroke, 125 sized sander (and no I don't mean the something like the Rotex) I'd buy one in a heartbeat.  You don't need a 2mm stroke for a fine finish in most common materials, especially wood.  I say bring on the 2.5 amp, 4mm stroke ETS125.

 

[Dan Clermont]

The ETS 125 is designed to be a fine finish sander and the one I would use to prepare the board for finish.

The RO 125, ETS 150's and RO 150's all have a minimum 3mm stroke and are much more aggressive.

If you want speed anda good finish use a Rotex and between the Rotex and Random Orbital mode you'll speed up the process signifcantly.

Dan Clermont

 

[ghostofhoward]

I have to agree with Brice on this. Everyone likes to say its a finishing sander and doesn't need more power but why not have a sander with more power and simply turn it down to a slower speed for fine finishing?

 

[waho6o9]

ETS 125 EQ totally rocks. Makes for a fine finish, thanks festool.  [big grin]

 

[Brice Burrell]

I have to agree with Brice on this. Everyone likes to say its a finishing sander and doesn't need more power but why not have a sander with more power and simply turn it down to a slower speed for fine finishing?

Turning it down isn't going to make the finish and finer/better.  Sure there are other options for more aggressive material removal.  The downside is that there are times when I more material removal but I don't want a to use a bigger sander.  I can't see that a more powerful ETS125 wouldn't be able to produce the same high quality finish.  I believe this likely a marketing thing, I'm pretty sure Festool would double their sales of the ETS125 if it was more aggressive like the PC sander Nick likes so much.  The other side to that is it would likely cut into Rotex sales. 

 

[Wonderwino]

I seem to get a smoother finish with higher speeds  from my ETS125EQ.  Like the others said, it is a finish sander, but not capable of smoothing really rough stock with large grit papers.  I use my RO125FEQ for that with 60 or 80 grit.  (I wish I had a RAS115.)

I suppose a guy could take out a concrete sidewalk with a claw hammer, but that would take too much effort.  There are times when a sledge hammer or jack hammer are more appropriate.  The same holds true for sanding.  Remove old paint=RAS115; final sanding and between coats with 220 grit=ETS125EQ.

 

[Brice Burrell]

...I suppose a guy could take out a concrete sidewalk with a claw hammer, but that would take too much effort.  There are times when a sledge hammer or jack hammer are more appropriate.  The same holds true for sanding.  Remove old paint=RAS115; final sanding and between coats with 220 grit=ETS125EQ.

Your point is well taken.  However, I'm not taking about wanting to aggressively remove material.  I talking about removing planer marks, the EST125 will do it, slowly.  A new ETS125 model with slightly more guts could cut the time in half.  Besides, I shouldn't have to use the Ras or Rotex to remove planer marks. 

 

[Wonderwino]

A RAS might be is too aggressive for mere planer marks!  An ETS150/5 might be a better choice for the lower grits, followed by the ETS125EQ for the 150+. 

My 15" Jet planer doesn't leave very deep marks when I do the final passes in low gear; they come out with 80 or100 grit fairly quickly.  Before I had the ETS150/5, I did use my RO125FEQ for that duty in the random mode.  I only use the rotary mode on sawmill-grade surfaces or to remove old finish.

The ETS150/5 or ETS150/3 are less expensive than the RO sanders and will work fine for more aggressive finish sanding if you don't need the rotary mode.  Then, there're the LS, DTS, RTS or RS that are good choices as well, depending on the application.  [scared]

 

[AlexThePalex]

I expressed my wish for a stronger 125 mm a long time ago already in the Festool Wish List part of this forum. Basically, I want an ETS150 with a 125 mm pad. I think this is a sander that's really lacking from the Festool line up and would fill a gap.

Metabo does this for instance, they give you more or less the same sander with two pad sizes:

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

 

[Brice Burrell]

I expressed my wish for a stronger 125 mm a long time ago already in the Festool Wish List part of this forum. Basically, I want an ETS150 with a 125 mm pad. I think this is a sander that's really lacking from the Festool line up and would fill a gap.

Metabo does this for instance, they give you more or less the same sander with two pad sizes:

I remember that post Alex.  I believe Metabo also has sander with dual strokes, that would be sweet on a Festool sander, so how about the Festool ETS150/3/5 and ETS125/2/4 sanders?

 

[AlexThePalex]

Sounds good to me Brice. Btw, that dual stroke sander is the SXE 450 pictured above. That's where that little red knob is for next to the dust port.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Sounds good to me Brice. Btw, that dual stroke sander is the SXE 450 pictured above. That's where that little red knob is for next to the dust port.

My brother has an older dual stroke Metabo rebadged as Ridgid.  It's a very nice sander that Home Depot was selling for a song (a very low price).  It's a little on the heavy side but the front handle is a nice touch.  Overall, not as nice as the Festool ETS150.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I feel let down by Metabo. Once it was a great brand but their quality is not anymore what it used to be. When the B&D sander I had for 16 years broke down (not really, as I now know only the pad break was worn out) I looked everywhere for a replacement until I decided the Rotex 150 was going to be my first Festool. I also looked at and tried several Metabo sanders and they just felt so 'plasticy', light with no substance. A local big box store was cleaning out its full Metabo stock, I could have bought 6 Metabo sanders for what I paid for the Rotex (€275), but decided not to.

Shortly after I got the Rotex, my not so heavily used Metabo delta sander gave up for the stupidest of reasons, so I'm not gonna touch Metabo again. Got me an excuse to buy the Deltex though.  [smile]

By the way, I see Maffel has upped the ante again for Festool. The Rotex 150 is not biggest beast out there anymore. They now have the Mafell AG UX 150 E with no less then a 900 watt motor and active dust extraction with a built in fan. I think active dust extraction is a feature unfortunately lacking from the Rotex.

[attachimg=1]

But I don't like the proportions of this sander. Makes me think of this:

[attachimg=2]       

Sorry for going a bit off-topic.  [embarassed]

 

[nehardwoodfloors]

I expressed my wish for a stronger 125 mm a long time ago already in the Festool Wish List part of this forum. Basically, I want an ETS150 with a 125 mm pad. I think this is a sander that's really lacking from the Festool line up and would fill a gap.

Metabo does this for instance, they give you more or less the same sander with two pad sizes:

[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]

Agreed on this. I switched back to my 3.3amp Bosch and literally had to hold on to it for dear life!
Much faster at removing swirls then my festools but gave me that tingly hand feeling almost instantly.

I would like to see a 125/5.  In the line up as well as a high speed 125. Seems as though the opms could be faster IMHO.

 

[nehardwoodfloors]

I think Fein has a killer 6 and 7 inch grinder/ sander....might be the most powerful.

 

[ghostofhoward]

I have to agree with Brice on this. Everyone likes to say its a finishing sander and doesn't need more power but why not have a sander with more power and simply turn it down to a slower speed for fine finishing?

Turning it down isn't going to make the finish and finer/better.  Sure there are other options for more aggressive material removal.  The downside is that there are times when I more material removal but I don't want a to use a bigger sander.  I can't see that a more powerful ETS125 wouldn't be able to produce the same high quality finish.  I believe this likely a marketing thing, I'm pretty sure Festool would double their sales of the ETS125 if it was more aggressive like the PC sander Nick likes so much.  The other side to that is it would likely cut into Rotex sales. 

Point taken Brice,I was trying to say if a person desired a less aggressive sander for sanding between finish coats for example the speed could be dialed down on a more powerful sander,the ETS 125 at full speed is where I would want my 5" RO running at in half speed.To each his own friends  [big grin]