ETS 150/3 out of balance

[Sammy J]

Hi,

I recently bought an ETS 150/3, after sanding a flat surface I noticed my sander appeared to be running out of balance. The orbital sanding motion seems fine, its the random rotation of the pad that seems out of balance.

From my understanding of a random orbital sander, all the sanding action should be in the same plane as the object you are sanding, say "x-y plane". However, my sander is vibrating or moving in the "Z-plane" vertical to the surface I am sanding as the pad rotates.

In the picture below, there is movement of around 2-3mm in the "G direction", as the pad rotates in the "R direction".  I have tried several pads and the problem remains. It appears to me one of the bearings is out of alignment.

Is this a normal movement of the sander, and does anybody else experiance this situation?

Thanks!

Sam

 

[Brice Burrell]

Sam this isn't normal, as Joe posted you can return the sander if this is a new tool, if it's used call Festool service they'll fix it.

I see you removed the sanding brake (the black rubber gasket looking this), if your sander was new don't take it apart to trouble shoot problems. Allow your dealer or Festool to fix the problem. There several reasons for this, first, Festool wants you to have a working tool right out of the box as much as you do. Second, a user's repair can cause more damage then it was intended to fix. And third, if you tinker with the tool trying to fix it Festool isn't going to know what exactly what was wrong with it so it doesn't happen again.

 

[Sammy J]

Thanks Joe and Brice for your replies.

The sander is new, it has only done an hours worth of work before I noticed the problem while sanding some 18mm thick MDF for a few minutes, I haven't used it since.

I took the sander back to the place of purchase, they sent it off to get checked out by the Festool agent in Australia, it came back with the attached report. Essentially they told me this is completely normal and caused by variances in pad thickness.....

That's when posted as I didn't believe the report, to see if this "gyration" for lack of better words is normal

Thanks for picking up the sanding brake is not present Brice, I haven't done anything to the sander except removed/replaced the sanding pad, I was wondering where the sanding brake was!

Interestingly when I discussed the problem with the sander to a Festool service rep, he advised without the sanding brake the free rotation of the pad would be faster then it should be, and would account for the pad movement in "G direction" noticed. He was also surprised the service department did not pick up the sanding break was missing.... I have attached a photo of my sander base with only the sanding pad removed.

Anyways, the service rep advised me the original vendor will swap my sander over for a new one next week, I look forward to the exchange and will keep forum users posted. It's a shame the 30day satisfaction gurantee doesn't exist in Australia, otherwise I could have just swapped my faulty sander for a new one and saved all the stress!

Cheers

Sam

 

[justinmcf]

where abouts in australia are you mate? you can come round and use both my ets 150 sanders and check the difference. i will be glad to help you. but i am sure festool would be glad to help you first. their customer service is second to none.
regards, justin.

 

[Sammy J]

Hi,

Just got back from an overseas holiday, things have been a bit hectic.

Anyways, I have some good news my sander got swapped over for a brand new one through the original place of purchase, I can't thank Just Tools enough!

Happy sanding days!

Thanks for your kind offer Justin, I managed to compare the sanded to some other demos in the shop and established there was a problem with my orginal sander. The second sander does the same but to allot smaller extent i.e. it's plausible the pad is causing it..... I live just outside of Melbourne mate.

Cheers