First post and first (of my final ever) Sander... And a DC question..

[rajuliano]

If anyone in the West Los Angeles area knows of a place, I'd be more than willing to take a day off and drive out and find somewhere to check the stuff out- that would be awesome.. or not so awesome from my wallet point of view, hah.

Check out Anderson Plywood in Culver City. I'm in Orange County now, so I haven't been there in a couple of years, but last time I was there they had an entire wing of the store dedicated to Festools. If you find yourself in Orange County, Austin Hardwoods has a ton of Festools in stock (and good hardwood selection).

 

[idratherplaytennis]

Check out Anderson Plywood in Culver City. I'm in Orange County now, so I haven't been there in a couple of years, but last time I was there they had an entire wing of the store dedicated to Festools. If you find yourself in Orange County, Austin Hardwoods has a ton of Festools in stock (and good hardwood selection).

[eek] Well. They're like 8 blocks from me. It's been awhile since I've been there and I totally forgot that hidden area. I'm used to just going and browsing for drawer slides or plywood stuffs... hah. It's only that you mention it that I now remembered. I'll definitely check it out tomorrow. Not sure if they have any testing spots but I will look into that and Eagle Tools later this week. Thanks!

 

[bruceinCT]

If you are working with windows and trim and have the potential for lead paint or even just lots of paint layers I cannot recommend enough getting the silent paint remover.  It is an infrared lamp that will literally lift the paint off the surface usually with such ease it will blow your mind.  Bahco and Stortz make the best pull scrapers.  Then get a RO 90 to do final cleanup and smoothing.  If you try ripping through 10 layers of paint with the rotex indoors it will make a mess and generate a lot of dust that will not get picked up by the DC.  However the 90 has a small enough head and the delta pad to really get into the nooks and crannies and much more effective than a multi tool.  I'm new to the sander and it was recommended here but I have restored / rehabbed a bunch of 100 year old windows and sills and the RO 90 with the infrared lamp combo has been awesome when put into practice last week.  DO NOT use a heat gun, you will vaporize the lead paint and potentially burn your house down.  Good luck.

 

[idratherplaytennis]

If you are working with windows and trim and have the potential for lead paint or even just lots of paint layers I cannot recommend enough getting the silent paint remover.  It is an infrared lamp that will literally lift the paint off the surface usually with such ease it will blow your mind.  Bahco and Stortz make the best pull scrapers.  Then get a RO 90 to do final cleanup and smoothing.  If you try ripping through 10 layers of paint with the rotex indoors it will make a mess and generate a lot of dust that will not get picked up by the DC.  However the 90 has a small enough head and the delta pad to really get into the nooks and crannies and much more effective than a multi tool.  I'm new to the sander and it was recommended here but I have restored / rehabbed a bunch of 100 year old windows and sills and the RO 90 with the infrared lamp combo has been awesome when put into practice last week.  DO NOT use a heat gun, you will vaporize the lead paint and potentially burn your house down.  Good luck.

We actually do have that and it worked amazing when we worked to restore a lot of the home my grandparents had moved to. The house was moved to Culver City in 1916 and sits across from the first house built in Culver City. It has amazingly detailed, ornate trim with crown around the top of the windows and doors that could never have been dealt with by a sander. We originally started by trying heat guns before quickly stopping, determining that the heat guns were too direct and would cause too much damage/burn the paint. That silent paint remover worked amazingly. I wish I took pictures of the fir after it was stripped before we rented the house out. The family is growing though so I'll have a chance to go back in and get more pictures and do more work to it once they move out. I think they have a fourth child on the way and a 2 bedroom won't work for long.

My goals for the rotex are definitely not to use it for that kind of work. Now that you bring it up, I'm not sure what my goals will be- but it won't be for stripping ten layers of paint. Maybe for flattening with a hard pad, to prep for a re-paint, maybe for something else- but nothing that deserves a true stripping of paint. Unfortunately I foresee myself buying my other sanders as well on the horizon- getting most likely the RO 150 in addition to the RO 90 and the ETS 150 for matching sandpaper to the same as the RO 150.

What grits do you guys like to work with? I forgot that I'll definitely need to invest in some paper, going from the Norton abrasives I used for my 1/2 sheet Makita to the Festool stuff. I would generally go 60 or 80 to 150 to 220, however it's sounding from a lot of Festool vids on the Rotex and ETS's that not skipping anything is better, like 60-80-120-150 and then skipping once I get to the 200 range.

Side note: I saw a youtube video by Half Inch Shy doing a tour of Eagle Tools when he came out to Los Angeles, and it looks like an awesome store. I'll definitely be checking it out!

 

[rst]

Granat is the most useful and many dealers sell 10 packs which makes having a comprehensive assortment easy until you determine which grits justify buying boxes.

 

[andy5405]

I won't offer you sander advice as my sanding stable only amounts to a Bosch Pro 1/3 sheet sander, a Multimaster and a RO150. However I do own a CT26 and have used it extensively on site. I would trade it for a Midi in a heartbeat for site work as it is too heavy to be convenient. You will end up not using it at times as the extra weight and bulk especially when the bag is close to full is a real PITA. You will change bags slightly more often but it is nothing compared to the inconvenience of the extra weight of the CT26. I think most people would agree with me based on feedback when this topic has been raised in the past.

When you have been on any forum long enough there are 10-15 questions that get asked all the time and CT26 vs Midi is definitely one of those. Which 1st Festool sander is another regular question, if not the most regular and there are always many more answers to that one. The most common answer is buy any sander as you will end up with neally all of them anyway. You've got more chance of finding the end of a rainbow than only owning one Festool.

There's also TS75 vs TS55 and Domino 500 vs 700.......................

 

[bruceinCT]

When you have been on any forum long enough there are 10-15 questions that get asked all the time and CT26 vs Midi is definitely one of those. Which 1st Festool sander is another regular question, if not the most regular and there are always many more answers to that one. The most common answer is buy any sander as you will end up with neally all of them anyway. You've got more chance of finding the end of a rainbow than only owning one Festool.

There's also TS75 vs TS55 and Domino 500 vs 700.......................

Well said. I bought a track saw and 2 months later I have two more festool pieces.  The RO 90 was so awesome to use on my screened in porch rehab last weekend that I had a sh*t eating grin the whole time sanding all the trim, sills, etc.  Coupled with a vac it is a restorers dream.  I'm using a Fein Turbo II, works fine and bags are cheap and HEPA filter is as well.  Btw I purchased the "WOW" granat mix from Tool Home.  Comes with 10x most all grits for both the delta and round pad.  No brainer!

The thing I have come to realize is these tools while accurate and efficient (and expensive), just save TIME.  And time is money whether you do it for work or do it for fun after work.  If you are retired and want to hand plane and hand sand everything then that's a different kind of art and one I hope to master and enjoy some day.

 

[idratherplaytennis]

I definitely am not in the buy one and done crowd. I know better  [sad]. That said, I can estimate that I will definitely be getting an RO 90, RO 150, and ETS 150 within more likely than naught, the next 365 days, faster once I get the first one.. hah.

As to the other Festool stuff, well- it might be a little easier for me to hang back on those other categories of tools for a bit because I have a decent amount of stuff to supplant the need for the better tools for awhile. I have access to a Bosch 1617 which is, in it's own right an excellent router; a Makita track saw with a 55" and 118" guide rail, the TS 55 equivalent; a biscuit joiner I don't use much (I know I'll be obtaining both the Domino 500 and 700 following the sander acquisitions because I can definitely see their value in a lot of what I do, and want to.

That said, I'm not a fool. I know when you get a taste of really high quality stuff- it makes you want more. Happened to me when I got my Senco nail guns, or Stabila levels, or even my stupid expensive Stiletto TiBone Hammer- I mean really- I didn't think a hammer could be made any more pleasant to use than my $30-40 indestructible Estwing, but the more expensive titanium stiletto... well- it made me see the err of my thinking that everything can always be improved on. (speaking of which I need to save a couple hundred to grab their micro pin nailer and an extra hundred for their baby compressor for quick in and out jobs- Just glad Festool isn't making air guns yet... to my knowledge)

I just received my Festool punch plate for putting holes in the non-Festool branded sand paper for the RS 2, the holes of which match PERFECTLY to my Makita 1/2 sheet. Just from something as simple as a flat sheet of steel with 2 bends and a lot of spikes, I can say that I can tell it was made with great attention to detail. The 2 bends were crisp and had very tight tolerances, and the spikes were all amazingly scary sharp. I can just imagine the quality of their more expensive products like their sanders.

 

[rst]

Festool quality really does suck one into the fanaticism shown on FOG.  I mostly do commercial/industrial work.  I started with an Amazon Warehouse Makita track saw, (Festool rails-local dealer) after buying a recon ETS125.  Both worked really well using my existing Fein vacs.  The Makita did not like cutting 3/8" acrylic so I bought a used TS75 from EBay.  I now own the an MFT, ETS125, the RO125, the RO90, the LS130, the RTS and DTS 400 and an ETS150 (used-EBay).  I do a lot of shaped edges and use them all regularly.  The only reason I don't have the RS is because, like you I have the Makita, and It works fine.  I also have the 1010 and the 1400 routers along with my existing PC and Bosch routers ( 9 in all).  I bought the 1400 and the LR32 to make my own work tables, not really sure why I needed the 1010 (probably the  result of Knob Creek, FOG and credit card availability).

 

[idratherplaytennis]

Festool quality really does suck one into the fanaticism shown on FOG.  I mostly do commercial/industrial work.  I started with an Amazon Warehouse Makita track saw, (Festool rails-local dealer) after buying a recon ETS125.  Both worked really well using my existing Fein vacs.  The Makita did not like cutting 3/8" acrylic so I bought a used TS75 from EBay.  I now own the an MFT, ETS125, the RO125, the RO90, the LS130, the RTS and DTS 400 and an ETS150 (used-EBay).  I do a lot of shaped edges and use them all regularly.  The only reason I don't have the RS is because, like you I have the Makita, and It works fine.  I also have the 1010 and the 1400 routers along with my existing PC and Bosch routers ( 9 in all).  I bought the 1400 and the LR32 to make my own work tables, not really sure why I needed the 1010 (probably the  result of Knob Creek, FOG and credit card availability).

[eek] Your first sentence TOTALLY threw me out in left field, I thought you were going somewhere else with this whole thing about the fanbase on the forum being overrated  [big grin]. I will say I love the Makita BO4900V and I did a LOT of research because (I was totally set to get the same Milwaukee 1/2 sheet sander my dad had until I found out it was out of production) I didn't want to buy one and then re-buy later down the road unless absolutely necessary. A lot of reviews proclaimed the Makita to be on par with the Festool and so I figured, for my budget and what I do it's good enough. Same with the track saw. I'm just starting to slowly get into more money and the bigger budget dictates I can look at better stuff now which is why for my first random orbit sander, I'm only really considering the Festools, hah.

That said... 9 routers  [blink]. Uhhhhhh. Nope. Noooooo. I know I won't do that. Although I do have... 5 skilsaws. So I am NOT one to judge. But in all fairness, I bought one of them because it was still made in the USA, despite always using the Chinese ones... That Skilsaw Mag77LT has me hooked though. The 4 less pounds is awesome!

 

[rst]

Lets not talk about saws...I have an 8 1/4" Skilsaw, a 10" Milwaukee, an 6 1/4" PC, a TS55 and 75, an 18V Milwaukee metal cutting saw and an 18V Milwaukee wood saw and they are not just trophies...I use them all.  I still have my original as they came out Hitachi 8 1/4" slider, a 12" Makita slider, PM 66, an old 10" Delta tilting table that I converted to standard type, and an old Sears 8" that I use strictly for aluminum.  Besides the table saws, I mostly use the 18v 8 1/4" metal cutting and the TS75.  CRAZY...who you calling CRAZY