First Festool Purchase

[paulwhitaker]

Apologies ahead of time. This has been covered extensively but after reading countless threads and watching dozens of YouTube videos I'm still undecided and need a push in one direction or the other. Also, sorry for the long thread, but I wanted to be thorough about my question and situation.

I have the good fortune of having a wife that is extremely interested in turning our garage into a workshop for making our own furniture and doing many of our own renovations. We like Festool because everyone in the family is sensitive to dust and because we want / need to keep things compact. (Cant afford thousands of square feet in the SF Bay Area).

The first purchase will be a Dust Extractor and a Sander.
Our first project is actually to sand some dry wall fixes smooth, just small spots, but our house has lead paint so the filtration is critical. Second project will be to drywall the garage walls and ceiling, then build some cabinets to accommodate more tools After that, some small furniture pieces and some kitchen cabinets. Then... hopefully, on to bigger and better projects that require more tools and more skills.

I want advice on my first two purchases. To start, this is what I think I should do and why. Can I get an "Amen" or an "Oh no no no!"

CT26
I want room to grow, more volume but not too heavy and a little more HP on the vacuum (just because I love more power

ROTEX RO 150
I think that eventually I will need to buy additional sanders for specific jobs but it seems that the RO 150 is a great all round option to start with when my initial priority will be covering more surface area and the range needed to polish up rough reclaimed wood.

I had considered the RO 90 but I think the surface area is too small, and I plan to get a DTS 400 the moment I need to get into corners.

I also decided against the ETS series because I plan to clean up a lot of rough wood.

If you read this entire message and still feel like you have time to response, it's greatly appreciated!

 

[sae]

Welcome.

It sounds like your first/primary projects are all drywall related, and in my opinion, the RO150 won't be fun to use for drywall. It's 5 lbs., plus whatever the weight of the cord and hose is depending on how high you lift it. I'd probably get something small/light like the ETS125 that's just under half the weight, and then address your other sanding needs later.

edit: or you can grab the DTS400 initially and use it for drywall since that's on your future to-grab list, then pickup the RO150 later. Less surface area than the ETS125, but just as lightweight and lets you get into the corners. Only caveat is you'll wear out the tip of the sandpaper quickly if you're using it in corners a lot, and the DTS shape doesn't allow you to rotate your sandpaper to use the other two corners, while the RO90 does.

 

[paulwhitaker]

Good point about the weight but... The Drywall work will be very very minimal. I'm talking about just a hand full of small repairs in a few rooms. The main concern is lead dust and dry wall dust. I'm also 210 lbs of not so good looking man. The extra weight will be ok.

By the time I do the garage, I'll have had convinced my wife to buy sander number 2. It won't be the professional dry wall sander, but something on the lighter side as you mentioned because at that point, there will be a lot of overhead and sheetrock work.

 

[Staniam]

Welcome to the FOG, it's always fun to see new people on here.

At first glance, both of your initial choices seem very practical as both tools are versatile. I do agree with the previous poster though that I can't imagine the RO 150 being very fun to use sanding drywall.

I'd say your next purchase should be one of the TS saws. Either way, have fun and enjoy the green tools!

 

[ear3]

I'm actually hoping someone with more drywall experience can chime in, because I've heard mixed things on the forum about the advisability of using certain sanders with drywall.  RO150 would be okay for small spots, I suppose, but as others have said, it would get old pretty quick holding it above your head for ceiling sanding, even with the side handle.  When I'm doing work at home, I still do most of my drywall sanding by hand, which is why I'm probably going to invest in the sanding block, which can be hooked up to the CT.  It was just briefly reviewed on the site:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/a-short-vid-featuring-the-hsk-80x130-vac-sanding-block/

If you're not going to be mudding a large surface area, might be good to go the cheap route with the block, and then devote those dollars to other tools.  That doesn;t mean you shouldn;t get the RO150 though, which is an amazing tool on wood.

 

[G3Trim]

I would have to totally agree with Edward about the hand sander vs power sander for drywall. The problem with powersanding drywall mud is its soft, you can sand right through the mud and into the paper before you know it. 

 

[paulwhitaker]

Thanks for all of the comments. It seems like the CT26 with the RTS 400 might be the right way to go given the jobs I have lined up. Later I'll back that up with a RO 150 and a DTS 400.

Any other comments or suggestions are welcome.

 

[wow]

The ONLY power sander that I could recommend in good conscience for drywall is the Planex. (And that includes the Porter Cable 7800 drywall sander that I previously owned, btw.) While any of the Festool sanders have plenty of power, they don't have adequate 'finesse' nor dust collection. I think you'd discover during the first 10 seconds of operation that you'd create a cloud of dust - even with a CT connected and running!

I agree that the DTS or RTS sound like the right tool for you - for now.

[big grin]

 

[paulwhitaker]

I ended up getting the ETS 150/3 and the CT26.

Super happy with the results and I really can't believe how dust free this thing really is. Thanks for the help. I'm sure this will be the first of many questions.

 

[jacko9]

Paul,

I live in the San Francisco bay area and my garage is a woodshop.  I have been doing this for over 35 years and I have built my own cabinets, doors, flooring and furniture.  My wife has been highly supportive of my "hobby" and loves to have new pieces of furniture.  I would have suggested the ETS 150/3 as your first sander and I am sure that you will find it extremely useful even resurfacing rough boards.

I have the older CT22 dust extractor and a whole assortment of Festool machinery along with a full shop of industrial machines and dust collection.  Let me know if I can help with any other tool selections.

Jack

 

[sancho57]

Well you are off to a good start. As I have said many times here, Festool is a system.

Te basics of that system is the CT, TS 55/75 (which ever fits your needs) and the MFT. plus the associated clamps etc. You will also be needing a variety of guide rails (diffferent lengths). You get a 1400 with the TS. I suggest gettting a holy rail ILO a standard 1400 rail. Most dealers especially  the ones here will make the swap for a few bucks more.
Next will be the CMS, at this point in time I suggest you get the 1010 then the CMS. That is a good combo. Eventually getting the 2200. The 1010 and 2200 is tthe best combo going as far as routers go.

This is all my opinion, your milage may vary

 

[semenza]

I ended up getting the ETS 150/3 and the CT26.

Super happy with the results and I really can't believe how dust free this thing really is. Thanks for the help. I'm sure this will be the first of many questions.

Hi Paul,

    Welcome to the forum!  [smile]

          Enjoy the dust free sanding!

Seth