ETS 150/3 & RO 150 Set Up

[m8]

I finally gave in and purchased the ETS 150/3 and Midi package from Bob Marino a couple of weeks ago.  Due to my work schedule I have not been home to unpack it and get a little practice with it.  To provide everyone with a little back ground on my next project, I will be using the ETS and RO to prep my sailboat for paint.  I will be stripping/removing old paint, fairing, and prepping.  At this time I will only be working on vertical surfaces with it and was wondering how to determine what the correct setting is on the Midi.  I want to create enough of a vacuum for proper dust collection but due to the high quality of surface preparation I'm looking for I don't want to set the vacuum too high and have the sander digging in.  As always I greatly appreciate the help.  I might add that Bob was excellent to deal with.  He reviewed my order to make sure that all items were correct and also followed up with e-mails within in expedited manner.

 

[tbellemare]

The easiest way I know to adjust the speed of the dust extractors with any sander is to run the sander with the dust extractor turned off but with everything hooked up. Noticed how the sander sounds and feels.

Then, turn on the dust extractor set on low speed. Turn it up until you hear the sander start to "load up" and feel different. At that point, you know you need to back off the speed of the dust extractor.

It's going to be different for each sander (mostly based on pad size), but as the grits get finer, it changes also.

In general with Festool sanders, you don't have to try to overpower the suction to get the best results.

To the contrary, most people who have poor results with any Festool sanders are either using a dust extractor that has no speed control, or they haven't adjusted the speed control, or they are holding the sander wrong (maybe even pressing on it).

I've found that until you get to pretty fine grits with a 150mm pad, you can run a CT 22 or CT 33 at full suction and it works fine. Smaller pads require less suction.

Tom

 

[Bob Marino]

The easiest way I know to adjust the speed of the dust extractors with any sander is to run the sander with the dust extractor turned off but with everything hooked up. Noticed how the sander sounds and feels.

Then, turn on the dust extractor set on low speed. Turn it up until you hear the sander start to "load up" and feel different. At that point, you know you need to back off the speed of the dust extractor.

It's going to be different for each sander (mostly based on pad size), but as the grits get finer, it changes also.

In general with Festool sanders, you don't have to try to overpower the suction to get the best results.

To the contrary, most people who have poor results with any Festool sanders are either using a dust extractor that has no speed control, or they haven't adjusted the speed control, or they are holding the sander wrong (maybe even pressing on it).

I've found that until you get to pretty fine grits with a 150mm pad, you can run a CT 22 or CT 33 at full suction and it works fine. Smaller pads require less suction.

Tom

Tom is right on. The only item I would add to the list of reasons for poor sanding results is the skipping of too many grits.

  Bob