Festool 150/3 Sander - Great Tool

[Neill]

Unless I missed it, I could not locate a review of this sander, although the Forum is full of favorable comments on the 150/3 and 150/5.  My objective is not to write a review, per se, only to reiterate what a GREAT sander this is.

One of my first Festool purchases was the Rotex 125.  The 150 just seemed too big.  I liked the 125 a lot although it took me a while to get into the rhythm of it.  I wound up buying the 125 EQ so that I could use the same abrasives.  I kept reading about how good the 150 series was though.

Well I finally broke down and bought the 150/3 about a week and a half ago and used it for the first time this weekend. I used it with Mirka Abranet.  All I can say is wow!  Once I got the vac suction set, it performed smoothly and flawlessly.  I was also surprised at the rate of material removal.  The balance and power are just incredible.

I will probably relent somewhere down the road and purchase the Rotex 150.  Still have the 125's and lots of supplies.  I also have a 6" Porter Cable in-line sander with great dust collection that I like a lot.  It works with my Fein Turbo II and my CT22.  It is about 10 years old, back when Porter Cable made good products.

Neill

 

[Bob Marino]

Neill,

Take a look at this link that Forrest supplied.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1185.0

Bob

 

[Neill]

Neill,

Take a look at this link that Forrest supplied.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1185.0

Bob

Bob,

Thanks for the link.  I did read many of those reviews.  Large part of the reason I bought the sander.  I guess I wasn't clear.  [embarassed]  What I meant to say was that I was looking for a review in the Forum to add my comments to rather than starting a new thread.

You know everytime I refer to that thread linking all those reviews and articles that Forrest prepared I am in awe.

Neill

 

[Mac]

Neill,

I agree completely, Forrest did a staggering job on those links. We should put him in charge of something... [smile]

I also agree with what you say about the 150/3. However, I'm sort of caught in the opposite spot to you; I have the 150/3 and also fancy a Rotex, and because I have a systainer full of the 150 abrasives, the Rotex 150 seems the sensible choice.  However, I really fancy the 125, which I think would be an easier tool for me to manage.  Hmm..choices, choices...  [blink]

Rick

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I have both the ETS 125 and ETS 150/3 (thanks to Bob Marino!!) as well as the RO 125, Deltex 93 and LS 130.  I now find the ETS 150/3 and LS 130 are my "Go To" sanders of first choice.  The ETS 150/3 is the "sweetie" among this group of five due to its smoothness of operation, stability and ease of control.  I used it extensively in making my granite topped coffee table, including the need for quite of bit of extra sanding of the exposed oak inverted pyramidal frame members due to my planer blades being nicked.

It appears that Festool may soon be getting a new competitor, at least in some trades.  The soon to be released (Spring 2010 in USA) Mirka VS DC motor palm grip, paddle switch RO disk sanders may become significant competition to some of the Festool sanders.  I witnessed a 5" (125mm) diameter unit demonstrated at the recent Hartville Tool show, and got to try it myself.  That machine is very quiet, very smooth, impossible to stall, very light weight, and transmits very little vibration to the operator's hand.  Pricing is estimated to be about US$450.  Makes the ETS sanders seem excessively tall and harder to control.  The Mirka RO unit comes with ~20 HD cord that extends from the electronics control box which is about 3" x 8" x 10".  Speed adjustments are made at the sander.  Dust collection is excellent.  For the demo, Corian sheet was being used as the substrate, and a new generation of Mirka abrasives that are not yet on the USA market.  With an 80 grit disk, 1/2 inch or more could be removed from a corner of the Corian sheet in less than a minute.  Even a 150 grit disk of this new abrasive quickly removed the Corian.

Dave R.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The soon to be released (Spring 2010 in USA) Mirka VS DC motor palm grip, paddle switch RO disk sanders may become significant competition to some of the Festool sanders. 

Got a link to that sander?

 

[EcoFurniture]

My Dad is a Mirka dealer in Germany and he just told me about that sander. Apparently that machine is amazing with a low center of gravity and only half the weight of a ETS125!
Here is the link:
http://www.mirka.de/front_content.php?idartlang=257&idart=257&parentcatname=Accessoirpages 

 

[Neill]

Well, to continue my epic of the 125 sanders vs. the 150 sanders, I finally relented and purchased the Rotex 150.  I am now the proud papa of six Festool sanders, not including the original hand sander.

I must say that the Rotex 150 is an awesome machine.  So far I have just used it with some Rubin 80 and 120 and some 80 grit abranet.  The project I am working on will be primed and painted so this is probably as far as I will go for now.

I originally bought the Rotex 125 because the 150 looked so big and hard to handle.  Not so.  After about 60 seconds I found myself in total control and not even thinking about the size of machine.

The only problems I had were trying to remember to let the sander do the work and to not press down on it.  Just guide it.  The other problem I had was that material removal was awful when I forget to affix the abrasive disk.  [embarassed]

By the way, I received my new toy courtesy of Tom at Tool-Home.  I ordered it on Tuesday and received it on Thursday.  As usual, well packed and great communication from Tom during the whole delivery process.  Also, knowledgeable and fun guy to talk to.

Neill

 

[Wood_Junkie]

I originally bought the Rotex 125 because the 150 looked so big and hard to handle.  Not so.  After about 60 seconds I found myself in total control and not even thinking about the size of machine.

I have the older RO150E (bought used somewhat recently for a song) and it is soooo easy to handle.  I can sand, aggressively (using Saphir 24g lately to strip some big stuff) using one hand if I want.  I have a heckuva time with my RO125FEQ.  It wants to skitter all over the place, and 'bounces' itself if the full pad isn't supported.  On the other hand the RO125 is a breeze to use on vertical surfaces, even one-handed.  The weight of the hose helps keep it aligned or something.

The other problem I had was that material removal was awful when I forget to affix the abrasive disk.  [embarassed]

Ha, that's hilarious!

 

[Brice Burrell]

....The other problem I had was that material removal was awful when I forget to affix the abrasive disk.  [embarassed] .....

[doh] [big grin]

....By the way, I received my new toy courtesy of Tom at Tool-Home.  I ordered it on Tuesday and received it on Thursday.  As usual, well packed and great communication from Tom during the whole delivery process.  Also, knowledgeable and fun guy to talk to.

Neill

My dealings with Tom have been first rate and I appreciate the effort he puts into the forum too. [thumbs up]

 

[tbellemare]

Thanks, Gents!

Tom