Festool ETS EC125 or ETS EC150 sander.

[chrisrosenb]

I have been using a Festool RO 150 FEQ & a 6" ETS 150/3 sanders for the past 8 years. I also have a ETS 125 sander that gets little use. For the 12+ prior years I used 6" Bosch barrel grip sanders.

Saturday I got to use one of the new ETS EC125 sanders for about 2 1/2 hours, to sand solid wood that had been first sanded with a wide belt sander with a 120 grit belt. I also sanded maple plywood. I was very impressed with how well it sanded. I believe it sanded better than all of the other sanders. I used Rubin paper on all of the sanders. I used a lot fewer 5" discs than I would have used 6" discs with the 6" sanders.

Has any one used both 5" & 6" ETS EC sanders to compare if they sand equally well?

 

 

[Tooldude]

They both sand essentially the same.  The 5" has a 3mm orbit as did the 6" version you used (also available in the 5mm stroke).  The  6" will sand faster only because of the greater surface area (nearly 45% more) and the fact that a larger pad means the velocity of the grit at the rim is slightly faster.  Both are very smooth.  They microprocessor can detect an unbalanced condition and correct for it such as if you have paint or other debris stuck to one area of a disk.  In situations where you are sanding with a slower speed (such as a finish) the ability of a brushless motor to keep the speed constant is much better as the torque is not diminished at slower speeds.