Fine furniture making - which Festool sander to get (first) ?

[Annesofie Andersson]

Hi!

I'm about to embark on my first Festool shopping adventure, but am overwhelmed by the choice of sanders! I guess like most people I was hoping to find the one perfect sander that can do everything (but I have given up on that request).

Anyways, I make furniture so I need an effective sander for relatively large areas (like table tops etc), but also for smaller areas(!?); I would need a good finish sander; and then I would also need a sander for veneer work.

I have been looking at the following: ETS 125, ETS 125/3, ETS 150/3, RTS 400, RS 200, RO 125

Does anybody have some advice on round vs square sanders when it comes to veneering?

All help very much appreciated!

Thanks/ Sophy

 

[bobfog]

I would say the ETS EC 125 with the 150mm pad is your best all round sander for fine furniture. However for veneers. I'd go with a non rotating sander such as the RTS 400 or one of its bigger stablemates such as the RS200 or 300 dependent on the average surface area you'll be regularly sanding.

 

[Annesofie Andersson]

I would say the ETS EC 125 with the 150mm pad is your best all round sander for fine furniture. However for veneers. I'd go with a non rotating sander such as the RTS 400 or one of its bigger stablemates such as the RS200 or 300 dependent on the average surface area you'll be regularly sanding.

Hi Bobfog,

Thanks for the quick reply. Just to be sure you say I can use the 150mm pad  (let's say the hard version) with the ETS EC 125? If that is the case it would be ideal, but it says that the pad only adapts to the ETS EC 150...

Many thanks!

 

[leakyroof]

I would say the ETS EC 125 with the 150mm pad is your best all round sander for fine furniture. However for veneers. I'd go with a non rotating sander such as the RTS 400 or one of its bigger stablemates such as the RS200 or 300 dependent on the average surface area you'll be regularly sanding.

Hi Bobfog,

Thanks for the quick reply. Just to be sure you say I can use the 150mm pad  (let's say the hard version) with the ETS EC 125? If that is the case it would be ideal, but it says that the pad only adapts to the ETS EC 150...

Many thanks!

  One thing to point out is that you're limiting yourself to a 3mm orbit with the EC125 instead of being able to get a 5mm orbit with either the ETS 150/5 or EC 150/5.  The pad trick is nice, but doesn't change the orbit of the sander.
If you don't need the slightly more aggressive versions, then great, you won't miss them. However, if you're not working with Veneer that often, and instead, raw wood, the ability of the 150/5 sanders to work both aggressive in lower grits and gentle with grits over 150/180 gives you pad AND orbit size.
For straight line work on a large surface or table top, the RS 2 is a nice sander for that task. Veneer sanding would be another reason to chose the RS 2,but remember it's not a fast sander so that might affect your time with other raw/regular wood sanding tasks in the shop if it's your main sander.
I have worked through coarse grits with mine, but I think the orbit is small in the sanders spec. You can always look it up.

 

[Michael Kellough]

It is a great time to be shopping for Festool sanders, especially with new models on the near horizon and the Pro 5 promotion and the $50 voucher that includes a 10% discount on the dust extractor you'll also need.

With the range of work you do you're eventually going to own at least three sanders.

The choice of which to start with is complicated by the special deal on the Pro 5 (ES 125) which is the one I'd normally recommend starting with but the Pro 5 won't ship for a month so the problem is which to buy now.

Not much help eh?

 

[Steve-Rice]

I build a great deal of furniture and I find the ETS EC 150/3 to be an excellent all around sander.  It works very well with very low grit abrasives (e.g. 40 & 60 grit) if you need to be aggressive but really excels in the 150 grit and up area.  I love the feel of this sander - it's light weight and well balanced and can be used for hours at a time without fatigue. I also do a lot of veneer work and I find this sander to be superb on thin fragile veneers. I typically start at grit 150 and work my way up on veneers.  I tried an RO 150, but returned it as it is so big and heavy you need two hands to hold it - it's very tiring to use, whereas the ETS EC 150 is a breeze with one hand. The ETS EC 150/3 is really the only sander I need.

As a newbie to Festool, you might consider the current promotion of the PRO 5 for $99.  The 2mm stroke should be excellent for veneer work. Then you can use the $50 voucher should you decide you want another Festool .

Best of luck...

 

[Brice Burrell]

....As a newbie to Festool, you might consider the current promotion of the PRO 5 for $99.  The 2mm stroke should be excellent for veneer work. Then you can use the $50 voucher should you decide you want another Festool .

Best of luck...

The Pro 5 sander deal for $99 is for the US, $129 in Canada.  In the rest of the world this sander is know as the ETS 125 REQ.

 

[McNally Family]

I would say the ETS EC 125 with the 150mm pad is your best all round sander for fine furniture. However for veneers. I'd go with a non rotating sander such as the RTS 400 or one of its bigger stablemates such as the RS200 or 300 dependent on the average surface area you'll be regularly sanding.

Hi Bobfog,

Thanks for the quick reply. Just to be sure you say I can use the 150mm pad  (let's say the hard version) with the ETS EC 125? If that is the case it would be ideal, but it says that the pad only adapts to the ETS EC 150...

Many thanks!

  One thing to point out is that you're limiting yourself to a 3mm orbit with the EC125 instead of being able to get a 5mm orbit with either the ETS 150/5 or EC 150/5.  The pad trick is nice, but doesn't change the orbit of the sander.
If you don't need the slightly more aggressive versions, then great, you won't miss them. However, if you're not working with Veneer that often, and instead, raw wood, the ability of the 150/5 sanders to work both aggressive in lower grits and gentle with grits over 150/180 gives you pad AND orbit size.
For straight line work on a large surface or table top, the RS 2 is a nice sander for that task. Veneer sanding would be another reason to chose the RS 2,but remember it's not a fast sander so that might affect your time with other raw/regular wood sanding tasks in the shop if it's your main sander.
I have worked through coarse grits with mine, but I think the orbit is small in the sanders spec. You can always look it up.

I love the RS 2E.  With the paper punch accessory, you can buy sandpaper in full sheets and use the paper punch to create your dust extraction holes.  The sanding stroke is 2.5mm, and because of the size and weight, the RS 2E is great for creating a flat surface on tables and such.  Because it does get a little heavy for vertical and overhead work, I am now looking at the new $99.00 special as well.  I need something smaller and lighter.  I also like using the hand sanding accessories that are capable of dust extraction. 

I learned early on that there is not really one sander that will fill all your needs.  It is really a question of which one to buy first, and then fill in with others as you go. 

 

[QuailRider43]

I like the combination of RO150 (for the low end grits) and the ETS-EC 150/3 (for the high grit finish work).  That way you can share abrasive discs between them.  Supplement with a dealer stocked abrasive systainer.  I'll probably add a delta sander when the need arises, but I'm hoping that if I wait long enough there will be a brushless version of the DTS.  After using the ETS-EC form factor, I can't go back to Festool's older sander design.

 

[monstrol]

You'll need to consider paper as well.....Granat.  Just saying...

 

[sancho57]

Good get that 125 for 99 bucks and a $50 voucher can't go wrong..I go 3 festool sanders and thinking about getting that one my own self

 

[RussellS]

I have the 150/3 sander.  I want my sander to smooth the wood.  The 3mm stroke does this better than the 5mm stroke.  If I want to remove wood, I use my 4x24 belt sander with a coarse grit.  Or a hand plane.  The finish sander is to smooth the wood after it is already down to the right thickness.  Small 3mm stroke is best for this.

 

[SS Teach]

There is no one sander that does it all. It all depends on the project you are working on. Veneer is easy to burn through so a light weight sander comes in handy. For large areas the 150s are great. For corners a delta or rectangular is needed. As far as consumables are concerned it's the least expensive to stick with the same size sanders, 125s or 150s. All the advice so far is great. Buy a sander and try it. If it doesn't do what you want return it you have 30 days. You'll most likely end up with 5 of them anyway. Most importantly you need to get a CT. Working in a dust storm is no thrill, plus it's bad for your lungs. Good luck in choosing. I'm sure you'll enjoy whichever sander(s) you select.

 

[ajmdecorators]

Rts 400 is the best all round woodwork sander in my opinion. Might be abit small for really big areas like table tops but then you could get an ro150 to blitz them and also have the Benidorm of the rotary mode

 

[Annesofie Andersson]

Hi guys,

Thank you so much for your suggestions and advice. Really appreciated!
I decided to go for the ETS EC 125/3 and also bought the 150mm hard pad. Unfortunately we don't have any offers on the new Pro5 (ETS 125 I assume?) that many of you were talking about here in the UK so decided to go for the one that could carry a bigger pad  [smile]
Will probably add either the RTS 400 or the RS 200/300 in the nearest future depending on the veneer work I have to do!

Thanks again and happy weekend  [thumbs up]

 

[Steve-Rice]

I wasn't aware you could put a 150mm pad on a 125mm sander.  I was under the impression there were balance issues.

Am I mistaken here....?