ETS 150/5 issue

[archetypeLLC]

Newbie here to the forum. Please forgive me if this has been addressed or I'm in the wrong space...

Own several Festool products and couldn't be happier. Just purchased a 150/5...

Perhaps my expectations are too high, but the sander doesn't seem to rotate flat; as in the top where my hand would sit rotates too much, it seems. The problem with this is that I don't mind the sander moving some, but if it doesn't feel flat, I can't help but think that it isn't cutting flat because of the way it's behaving.

I had the original backing pad swapped out, thinking it might have been out of round. I even took my hand off of the sander to let it do the work and take me out of the picture. You can see a relatively large orbit on top of the handle, maybe about 3/8". Does this make sense? Yes, I get it, it's an orbital sander, but it doesn't feel right to me. And when I say orbit, it's not an orbit registering flat/parallel to the surface, it's more of a rotation.

Anyone else have this issue? Thanks for the help and suggestions!

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Welcome to the forum.

You said that you replaced the backing pad, I would remove it and make sure that it seated properly. Also inspect underneath the pad to make sure nothing abnormal is there.

While the pad is off you can also inspect the back of it to make sure that there's no cracks in the plastic.

 

[archetypeLLC]

Thank you, Shane

I'm pretty sure it's seated properly, but I will double check. Will also check for a crack, but this second backing pad is also brand new. I'll recheck everything tmrw. Cheers!

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

That sander is very well-behaved and should run smoothly without you even needing to hold onto it. If that's not the case and you're within 30 days, you can return it to your dealer and exchange it for new one. If not, we can get it sent in for service. Sorry to hear that you're having these problems.

 

[archetypeLLC]

I think I might have just got a bad one.... I'm pretty relentless as far as digging into something before I go ask questions. It's only 6 days old, so I may send it back. No Festool loss of faith here, my XL alone has paid for itself a dozen times over.