ETS 125 sander problem

[Jay Brewer]

Happy New Year everyone. I have had an ES125 for a couple of years, I use it almost every day. I bought a new ETS 125 about a year ago, but have never used it. Today I thought I would pull out and help my employee with the sanding, ( he was using the older one)

The pad on the newer one ( ETS) just doesn't spin very fast at all ( most the time just vibrating), like the pad brake is not releasing. It might spin about 20 to 50 rpm's. The older one spins a lot faster. It doesnt matter how much or little pressure I use. The pad seams to spin freely by hand, though not quite as easily as the older one. I do have the speed control all the way up, and I have tried it without the vac so its not the suction.

Any ideas? Is it a different design from the older one and not supposed to spin fast?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Jay, sorry to hear you're having trouble with your sander. I'd recommend you give our service department a call on Monday morning. They can help diagnose and resolve your issue. The number is on your sander and below in my signature. Alternatively, send me your contact information and a convenient time to call and I'll have someone call you directly.

Thanks,
Shane

 

[EcoFurniture]

The ETS125 needs break in time! Strap it down somewhere and let it run for a couple of hours. That should do the trick.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Mine need some run time before it seemed broke in.

I am having a heck of a time getting my ets 125 to turn on and off.

It is almost impossible to flip the switch.

 

[nickao]

If you lined up all the Festool power tools on a table with the worst on the left progressing to the best on the right, the ETS 125 would be the first tool on the left.

I think the Rotex may be on the far right with the ETS 150/3.  

 

[Ken Nagrod]

If you lined up all the Festool power tools on a table with the worst on the left progressing to the best on the right, the ETS 125 would be the first tool on the left.

I think the Rotex may be on the far right with the ETS 150/3. 

[big grin]

What about the tape measure so many have commented on?

 

[nickao]

I said POWER tools 

 

[AlexThePalex]

Ditto on the break in time. This is important especially for the ETS125 / DTS400 / RTS400 models. They really run a whole lot slower when you first use them. Once they're broken in so that the coal brushes are settled they will reach their optimal speed and power.

I am having a heck of a time getting my ets 125 to turn on and off.

It is almost impossible to flip the switch.

I have had this same problem with a used DS400 I bought. I opened the sander and found out what it is and it's easily corrected.

I posted some pics below so you can see how it looks inside the sander. Mine was the DS400 but as we all know the ETS125 is the same inside. The green plastic is not the actual switch, it's just a piece of plastic that pushes against the real switch. The real switch is not a standard on/off switch that sticks into the on or off position, it is a simple spring action switch that connects when a pin is pressed and automatically disconnects when it's released.

Now in order to make the switch stick in the on and off positions, the green piece has two extrusions on either side that catch behind a metal rod. The problem why the switch was difficult to operate was that the metal rods where both rusty.  

I simply took my Dremel and gave the two metal rods a good spin with a wire brush until all the rust was gone. Then placed all parts back and closed it up again. Et voilà, as good as new. You just need to loosen the two screws on top to get the top off. It's very easy to do this and you can't really do anything wrong as long as you're not completely mental.

[attachthumb=1]

[attachthumb=2]

If you lined up all the Festool power tools on a table with the worst on the left progressing to the best on the right, the ETS 125 would be the first tool on the left.

No way. The ETS125 is a great sander and does me excellent service. So far I have owned between 15 and 20 Festools by now and I haven't seen a single bad apple yet. If you don't like a sander, well, that can happen, but it's probabely mostly because it doesn't suit your particular way of doing things than because of it being bad.

 

[Jay Brewer]

Thanks everyone for the advice. To break it in, do I need to be sanding with it, or can I strap it upside down on the bench and just let it run?

Thanks again.

 

[AlexThePalex]

You can just put it in the bench. All it needs is that the motor is running.

 

[Jay Brewer]

Thanks everyone for the help. I let the sander run for 3 hours and it seems to be working fine now [big grin],

 

[Roseland]

Ditto on the break in time. This is important especially for the ETS125 / DTS400 / RTS400 models. They really run a whole lot slower when you first use them. Once they're broken in so that the coal brushes are settled they will reach their optimal speed and power.

I am having a heck of a time getting my ets 125 to turn on and off.

It is almost impossible to flip the switch.

I have had this same problem with a used DS400 I bought. I opened the sander and found out what it is and it's easily corrected.

I posted some pics below so you can see how it looks inside the sander. Mine was the DS400 but as we all know the ETS125 is the same inside. The green plastic is not the actual switch, it's just a piece of plastic that pushes against the real switch. The real switch is not a standard on/off switch that sticks into the on or off position, it is a simple spring action switch that connects when a pin is pressed and automatically disconnects when it's released.

Now in order to make the switch stick in the on and off positions, the green piece has two extrusions on either side that catch behind a metal rod. The problem why the switch was difficult to operate was that the metal rods where both rusty. 

I simply took my Dremel and gave the two metal rods a good spin with a wire brush until all the rust was gone. Then placed all parts back and closed it up again. Et voilà, as good as new. You just need to loosen the two screws on top to get the top off. It's very easy to do this and you can't really do anything wrong as long as you're not completely mental.

[attachthumb=1]

[attachthumb=2]

If you lined up all the Festool power tools on a table with the worst on the left progressing to the best on the right, the ETS 125 would be the first tool on the left.

No way. The ETS125 is a great sander and does me excellent service. So far I have owned between 15 and 20 Festools by now and I haven't seen a single bad apple yet. If you don't like a sander, well, that can happen, but it's probabely mostly because it doesn't suit your particular way of doing things than because of it being bad.

Thanks for your guidance here. I probably wouldn't have attempted a repair without knowing what was inside.  It now works as it should!

Andrew