festool belt sander
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Michael Kellough
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The last I heard they didn't think there is enough demand here. In NA people are all too familiar with the damage a basic belt sander can quickly do and are not familiar with the sanding frame which makes all the difference. So, most people are more than satisfied with the RO sanders and aren't asking for a belt sander.
The sander Festool makes is an improved AEG design from nearly 20 years ago. In it's AEG incarnation it was sold here for ten years or so so I don't know if UL approval would even be an issue. Tooling up to make 110 volt motors might not be cost effective for Festool at this time.
The sander Festool makes is an improved AEG design from nearly 20 years ago. In it's AEG incarnation it was sold here for ten years or so so I don't know if UL approval would even be an issue. Tooling up to make 110 volt motors might not be cost effective for Festool at this time.
Another issue is that there are several good belt sanders out there. I have a Makita 3X21. It took a little bit of doing, but I converted a Fein hose adapter to hook up my CT22 to my Makita. Result? Excellent dust collection. In addition, the Makita is well well built and a very nice tool.
Frankly, I'd rather see Festool focus on other areas where the options are poor to fair at best . Miter Saws come to mind. Table saws are another area. Festool drill press maybe?
For the rare areas (like removing lots of material from very narrow material) where belt sanders are better (IMO), there are other decent alternatives. For the vast majority of applications, a current US Festool sander is the best option. For 99.9% of all applications Festool can do nothing and still have the best alternative with current products. IMO, it's not a good use of their time or money to come out with a US Festool Sander.
Regards,
Dan.
Frankly, I'd rather see Festool focus on other areas where the options are poor to fair at best . Miter Saws come to mind. Table saws are another area. Festool drill press maybe?
For the rare areas (like removing lots of material from very narrow material) where belt sanders are better (IMO), there are other decent alternatives. For the vast majority of applications, a current US Festool sander is the best option. For 99.9% of all applications Festool can do nothing and still have the best alternative with current products. IMO, it's not a good use of their time or money to come out with a US Festool Sander.
Regards,
Dan.
Michael Kellough
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Dan Clark said:
Dan's description fits a basic belt sander without a sanding frame. His experience is similar to the experience of the vast majority of woodworkers, professionals included, since sanding frames are almost never included with belt sanders sold in NA. But, a belt sander in a sanding frame can FLATTEN a broad rough surface without risk of overcutting. An RO sander can easily SMOOTH such a surface but it takes a lot of careful checking to get the surface truly FLAT as well as smooth.
Christian A.
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Hi Michael,
some while back we exchanged a few emails on the subject of belt sanders. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what we talked about. So maybe we have already discussed this topic.
As far as I know, but I'm not absolutely sure, the initial manufacturer of the Atlas Copco belt sander you own was Holz-Her. Holz-Her still exists as a producer of industrial woodworking machines (such as vertical panel saws, edgebanders etc.). To my knowledge, Festool/TTS bought Holz-Her's hand-held power tools division back in 2000.
Today, a variety of former Holz-Her power tools is sold by Festool (e. g., belt sanders, Symmetric saw) and Protool (one of Festool's sister companies).
In Europe, the Holz-Her/Festool belt sander (75 mm/3” belt width) is also available from Metabo and Milwaukee.
Personally, I own a Makita 9404 belt sander. This tool doesn’t get used very often but when I need it, it performs well and meets my expectations. Of course, combing a belt sander with an aggressive sanding belt and an operator who lacks concentration and experience can cause serious damage to approximately any type of project.
BTW, how do you like this? Makita belt sander stored in a Festool Systainer with yellow latches …
Regards,
Christian
some while back we exchanged a few emails on the subject of belt sanders. Unfortunately, I don't remember exactly what we talked about. So maybe we have already discussed this topic.
Michael Kellough said:
As far as I know, but I'm not absolutely sure, the initial manufacturer of the Atlas Copco belt sander you own was Holz-Her. Holz-Her still exists as a producer of industrial woodworking machines (such as vertical panel saws, edgebanders etc.). To my knowledge, Festool/TTS bought Holz-Her's hand-held power tools division back in 2000.
Today, a variety of former Holz-Her power tools is sold by Festool (e. g., belt sanders, Symmetric saw) and Protool (one of Festool's sister companies).
In Europe, the Holz-Her/Festool belt sander (75 mm/3” belt width) is also available from Metabo and Milwaukee.
Personally, I own a Makita 9404 belt sander. This tool doesn’t get used very often but when I need it, it performs well and meets my expectations. Of course, combing a belt sander with an aggressive sanding belt and an operator who lacks concentration and experience can cause serious damage to approximately any type of project.
BTW, how do you like this? Makita belt sander stored in a Festool Systainer with yellow latches …
Regards,
Christian
Michael Kellough
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Hi Christian, good to hear from you! I do remember that you pointed out that several versions of the Holz-Her/Festool (AEG in my shop) belt sander are available in Europe. In NA there is very little to choose from.
I just realized that the most recent Dewalt belt sander does come with a sanding frame but it uses a hard fiber contact surface like the Elu belt sander. The stiff bristle contact surface used by Festool and Bosch works much better IMO.
Did you get a sander that can use a frame? I like your yellow latches. My Elu (3x21) sander in frame fits very nicely (sideways) in a Systainer 3 with room for several stacks of belts so it's the one I take out of the shop. My AEG (also 3x21) has a larger form and much larger more stable sanding frame (the bigger the better like jointer beds or a TS fence). With the frame installed it won't fit a regular Systainer so it stays in a Maxisystainer with a vac hose adapted to work with it and a large supply of belts. My Bosch belt sander is a 4x24 and with it's frame is too large to fit in any of the Systainers.
I just realized that the most recent Dewalt belt sander does come with a sanding frame but it uses a hard fiber contact surface like the Elu belt sander. The stiff bristle contact surface used by Festool and Bosch works much better IMO.
Did you get a sander that can use a frame? I like your yellow latches. My Elu (3x21) sander in frame fits very nicely (sideways) in a Systainer 3 with room for several stacks of belts so it's the one I take out of the shop. My AEG (also 3x21) has a larger form and much larger more stable sanding frame (the bigger the better like jointer beds or a TS fence). With the frame installed it won't fit a regular Systainer so it stays in a Maxisystainer with a vac hose adapted to work with it and a large supply of belts. My Bosch belt sander is a 4x24 and with it's frame is too large to fit in any of the Systainers.
Christian A.
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Hi Michael,
a sanding frame for my Makita belt sander is available in my neck of the woods but I don't own one yet. The Makita 9404 is a 4 x 24" unit and I tend to think that a flat surface can be achieved more easily with this size than with smaller (3") sanders.
The Makita sanding frame should be similar to your Elu’s. As far as I know, the material the surface of the sanding frame is made from is called Pertinax.
I bought the Systainer at an Austrian store named Schachermayer. Schachermayer’s corporate colour is yellow so Festools sold by Schachermayer come in Systainers with yellow latches.
Greetings from Austria,
Christian
a sanding frame for my Makita belt sander is available in my neck of the woods but I don't own one yet. The Makita 9404 is a 4 x 24" unit and I tend to think that a flat surface can be achieved more easily with this size than with smaller (3") sanders.
Michael Kellough said:
The Makita sanding frame should be similar to your Elu’s. As far as I know, the material the surface of the sanding frame is made from is called Pertinax.
Michael Kellough said:
I bought the Systainer at an Austrian store named Schachermayer. Schachermayer’s corporate colour is yellow so Festools sold by Schachermayer come in Systainers with yellow latches.
Greetings from Austria,
Christian
Michael Kellough
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I hope you get the frame, it should change how you use (and how often you use) your belt sander. Your's doesn't have enough dust on it anyway. 
"Pertinax", this word is hilarious! Think of it as a drug (are you sure it isn't a trademark of Merck & Co.?), it could be a cure for Katie Couric syndrome.
"Pertinax", this word is hilarious! Think of it as a drug (are you sure it isn't a trademark of Merck & Co.?), it could be a cure for Katie Couric syndrome.
Festool makes 75mm (3”) and 105 mm (4,2”) belt sanders. These sanders come with sanding frame. Most sanders sold in US don’t have sanding frame or it sold as accessory (~$100). Yes, you can easily damage delicate wood surface w/o frame. With this frame your work will be piece of cake! Another most important aspect is excellent quality, warranty and dust collection. Do you remember your hesitation when you first time tried your “bulky” circular saw with “useless” rail? Do you really want to switch back to more “traditional” circular saw? No way. How many companies make RO sanders? A lot. Do you wand to switch back from your Rotex?
Belt sanders have their own niche. If Festool will run good advertising campaign it will sell a lot of belt sanders here. IMO just show people the difference.
Belt sanders have their own niche. If Festool will run good advertising campaign it will sell a lot of belt sanders here. IMO just show people the difference.
I love my complement of Festool sanders but I do think there would be room for a Festool belt sander with a good frame. I think an easily controllable belt sander with the typical Festool DC qualities would be a pretty good seller. As an example, there are some of us who just love the RS2e but my guess is that it is not a particularly big seller. I bet a belt sander would be a bigger seller than the RS2e. I am not comparing them to each other. They are two radically different sanders. The comparison is only in regards to sales potential.
Christian A.
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Hi Michael,
currently, the sanding frame is not on my wish list but I might get it one day.
Let me assure you that the reason I don't use my belt sander very often is not that I don't feel comfortable with it. I don't do much renovation projects. As for building new things, I try to build everything as accurate as possible, thus aggressive stock removal is hardly necessary.
Regards,
Christian
currently, the sanding frame is not on my wish list but I might get it one day.
Let me assure you that the reason I don't use my belt sander very often is not that I don't feel comfortable with it. I don't do much renovation projects. As for building new things, I try to build everything as accurate as possible, thus aggressive stock removal is hardly necessary.
Regards,
Christian
Bob Marino
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Carl,Carl said:
Me too!
Bob
