I got to use my new 150/3 last night for a bit and figured I'd post a few thoughts. This isn't really a review, just a few things I thought were interesting or gotcha's that I didn't think about when getting it...
First, the discs: It comes with a selection of 5 disks (Rubin 80, 120, 180 and Brilliant2 220, 320). I haven't tried the Brilliant disks yet. After using it for an hour and a half or so (the first 10 minutes or so on scrap to get used to the sander) on some glued up rail and stile doors and solid wood edging using all three rubin disks, the 180 seems to be wearing out quick. 80 and 120 seem much better. I think I may need to pick up Granat or Brilliant2 180 and see if they last longer. 5 Packs seem to be going away and the 5 packs out there don't appear to be multi-jetstream disks so testing different disks can get expensive. I really think that the grits for Festool aren't quite the same as the 5" grits I am used to. I think there are a few standards for grits and I expect that Festool uses whatever standard is in use in Germany. The Rubin 180 Grit seems finer then the 180 grit pads I have for the Porter Cable.
Next, the sander itself: On the panels, I didn't think about this when I bought the 6" but the radius of the pad is much larger then the 5". What this means is that the area in the corners that I have to sand by hand is much larger then when using the 5". The plus side is that the rails and flats go much faster and while it is not that aggressive, using 80 grit and slowing my passes down I can get out planer blade marks in about 2 passes then can move on up the grits. A couple of the pieces I used it on I had gone over previously with the Porter Cable 333 and the 150/3 flattened them and sharpened the edges nicely. I don't have the hard pad yet but it seems to work fine on 2 1/2" rails and even the 3/4" x 3/4" solid wood edging without rounding the edges at all. As I went along last night, the vibration I initially felt in the unit gradually went away. A few folks have said it takes a few hours of use for it to break in but it seems to be very good on vibration now even after an hour and a half. I've found that the most comfortable way for me to hold this is one hand on top and one hand where the hose meets the sander. This way the hose doesn't mark the wood and the weight stays balanced. One really cool thing is if I line the center of the unit up, it stays balanced even on the 3/4" x 3/4" pieces without rounding over the edges or feeling awkward and tippy. The other thing with smaller pieces is that the unit does transmit the vibration into the pieces so if you are holding a piece manually, you will get the full vibration in that hand and it causes he pieces to walk around on the table unless they are secured somehow.
Final thoughts: I like the sander a lot, very nice so far and comfortable to use. A few things I need to think about as far as sanding in corners. With the 6" pad, it almost doubles the corner area I need to hand sand. I don't have the cash for another festool to handle corners so I may need to invest in another brand 1/4" sheet sander now because the time saved using the 6" is used up by having to hand sand more in corners on some pieces. The issue of sanding disks is complicated. I wish they had a mixed grit pack or something $9 - $16 a 10 pack to see if I like a type is a lot to spend. especially since it seems that some types are better in certain grits then others.
Well, that's my quick first real use thoughts... hope they are useful for someone.
-Jim
P.S. Notice I didn't mention dust control? That's because it is a given for this sander. There is no dust when using a CT extractor. My Midi works great with it. [thumbs up]
First, the discs: It comes with a selection of 5 disks (Rubin 80, 120, 180 and Brilliant2 220, 320). I haven't tried the Brilliant disks yet. After using it for an hour and a half or so (the first 10 minutes or so on scrap to get used to the sander) on some glued up rail and stile doors and solid wood edging using all three rubin disks, the 180 seems to be wearing out quick. 80 and 120 seem much better. I think I may need to pick up Granat or Brilliant2 180 and see if they last longer. 5 Packs seem to be going away and the 5 packs out there don't appear to be multi-jetstream disks so testing different disks can get expensive. I really think that the grits for Festool aren't quite the same as the 5" grits I am used to. I think there are a few standards for grits and I expect that Festool uses whatever standard is in use in Germany. The Rubin 180 Grit seems finer then the 180 grit pads I have for the Porter Cable.
Next, the sander itself: On the panels, I didn't think about this when I bought the 6" but the radius of the pad is much larger then the 5". What this means is that the area in the corners that I have to sand by hand is much larger then when using the 5". The plus side is that the rails and flats go much faster and while it is not that aggressive, using 80 grit and slowing my passes down I can get out planer blade marks in about 2 passes then can move on up the grits. A couple of the pieces I used it on I had gone over previously with the Porter Cable 333 and the 150/3 flattened them and sharpened the edges nicely. I don't have the hard pad yet but it seems to work fine on 2 1/2" rails and even the 3/4" x 3/4" solid wood edging without rounding the edges at all. As I went along last night, the vibration I initially felt in the unit gradually went away. A few folks have said it takes a few hours of use for it to break in but it seems to be very good on vibration now even after an hour and a half. I've found that the most comfortable way for me to hold this is one hand on top and one hand where the hose meets the sander. This way the hose doesn't mark the wood and the weight stays balanced. One really cool thing is if I line the center of the unit up, it stays balanced even on the 3/4" x 3/4" pieces without rounding over the edges or feeling awkward and tippy. The other thing with smaller pieces is that the unit does transmit the vibration into the pieces so if you are holding a piece manually, you will get the full vibration in that hand and it causes he pieces to walk around on the table unless they are secured somehow.
Final thoughts: I like the sander a lot, very nice so far and comfortable to use. A few things I need to think about as far as sanding in corners. With the 6" pad, it almost doubles the corner area I need to hand sand. I don't have the cash for another festool to handle corners so I may need to invest in another brand 1/4" sheet sander now because the time saved using the 6" is used up by having to hand sand more in corners on some pieces. The issue of sanding disks is complicated. I wish they had a mixed grit pack or something $9 - $16 a 10 pack to see if I like a type is a lot to spend. especially since it seems that some types are better in certain grits then others.
Well, that's my quick first real use thoughts... hope they are useful for someone.
-Jim
P.S. Notice I didn't mention dust control? That's because it is a given for this sander. There is no dust when using a CT extractor. My Midi works great with it. [thumbs up]
by going for the 90. [cool]
