Shane Holland said:
Welcome to the forum.
The ETS 125 (non-EC) is a fine finish sander. While it can be used as a general purpose sander, that's not its forte. If that's what you're looking for, it may do the job for you.
Personally, I would have gone with the DTS 400 if I was on a budget or the RO 90 if I had a little more to spend for doing face frame sanding. Both will let you get into corners as well as work on the flats. The DTS is one of my favorite sanders in the line up.
I'm sure you'll get plenty of feedback from the members here.
In the end, you have 30 days with Festool to buy it and try it. If you don't like it, you can return it or exchange it, no questions asked. So, give it a shot before you make up your mind.
Shane
Thank you for the warm welcome as well as the feed back, it is very much appreciated.
Holmz said:
Basically you have large flat surfaces which are best sanded with large flat sanders.
Then you have narrow flat surfaces.
And there are narrow non-flat surfaces.
Lastly there are corners.
I started with a used DX93 corner sander.
The DTS 400 that Shane mentioned is the newer version.
Since the DX93 is very handy, I assume that the DTS400 is as well.
For large surfaces the majority prefer round RO sanders.
However I have not been able to figure out why... So I use a 1/2 sheet sander, and the large base allows for the surface to be flat and it is very controllable.
Perhaps someone could probably make a cogent argument that an LS130 and another sander for the large flat surfaces is also a good way to go?
If you start with how much time you spend on each (flats, corners, raised contours) then you would know where it is wisest to invest.
Or do like I did, then you could start with the sanding that pi$$es you off the most, and get the sander to alleviate that.
I think my next one may be an LS130, but I got some hand blocks to try first.
At the moment, I don't sand that much as I mainly do cabinet installations. However on my spare time I love building things and getting better since I have only been in this trade for one year. Thank you for the feed back!
Acrobat said:
Mathias welcome to the forum. Check out the dts400. I agree with Shane's recommendation but either way festool make fantastic sanders but ensure you hook one up to a vac. Not only will the air you breathe be better but you will find you will get a better result and the papers won't clog anywhere near as much, saving you money and time. Welcome to the slippery slope you won't stop at just one
Thank you for the warm welcome, it's nice to see such a close community here. Speaking of vacs and slipper slopes my next "goal" would be a CT vac + the track saw combo. Though I need to take a breather as I've only been in the trade for a year so a lot to learn before being able to use so many of these awesome tools. All I know is, the systainer is sweet. (It came in the mail today and I fell in love with it already.)
Edward A Reno III said:
Wecome to the FOG Mathias.
Remember you have 30 days to try it out and make up your mind, so you might want to limit the number of abrasives you buy initially just in case you decide you could benefit from a different size sander. The ETS 125 has the finest/smallest stroke of all the Festool sanders, and so will have the least amount of stock removal per stroke. You won't be disappointed with the ETS 125 for face frames provided they are aligned when put together. If there is a height differential between the frame members, it will take a bit of work to knock them down to the same plane -- this is where something like the Rotex 90 really excels. If you know you will be doing lots of flat, open work, then a 150 size sander might make more sense. The ETS sanders (both the regular and EC versions) are stable enough that I would feel totally comfortable running a 150 size over narrow face frames, whereas I might get a bit impatient if I had to sand a 4x8 sheet with just the ETS125.
As someone else has already commented, if you want to get the full benefits of the sander, and save money in the long run on abrasive costs, you should really look into getting a vac. The advantage of a Festool or Fein Turbo vac is that you have automatic start and variable suction, the latter feature being needed on many Festool sanders to ensure that the pad does not get sucked into the work.
Thanks for the welcome & feed back Edward. I would definitely like to get a vac next. However before I plunge myself into a full set up, I need to get a work van to organize everything. Right now I am using a pick up truck with a bed cover so my storage space is limited. Specially if I were to get the CT26 which is what I may be looking into. Not sure how mobile it is though in terms of on-site usage.
As far as the sander goes, it came in the mail today and I gave it a test run on a cabinet frame I built recently. I have to say, it is pretty nice, although it seems to go out of control. Not sure if is due to the "break in" stage? I haven't really handled many sanders in my life-time so the only experience I have is more or less from the cheap Dewalt one.
Brice Burrell said:
Welcome to the FOG Mathias. If you do a search here on the FOG you'll find the ETS 125 sander to be a love it or hate it tool. I'm in the love it camp. I find it to be an okay general purpose sander. As Shane pointed out it is best suited as a finish sander, meaning that it isn't meant for aggressive stock removal. The advantage is it is a small light weight sander with almost no vibration transmitted to your hand. Also the dust collection is pretty good with the dust bag and it is superb with one of the Festool vacs. I think your needs for sanding cabinets and since you don't sand a lot, the ETS 125 will work well for you.
In all fairness there are other brand sanders that are better general purpose sanders at a lower price. These sanders have more vibration, new sanding pads are not stocked anywhere and they will likely have a shorter lifespan. The upshot, you can pick one up for well under a 100 bucks and you'll find sandpaper for one of these sanders at any big box store.
I'm sure you have already looked at a Festool track saw, that's what you really need. It can change your life. [tongue] Good luck and again, welcome.
Thank you!
As far as the sander goes, I gave it a test run today and I liked it except for the random out of control "seizures". It felt like it wanted to escape my grasp, not sure if it is due to the break in process I've read about. Either way, it's hard for me to really place my opinion as I have no real prior sanding experience and this is my first sander. Im fairly new to the wood trade, so I may be over stepping my boundaries with these purchases. But at the same time, I went to set myself up for the future.
And yes yes yess!!! I'd love to get the track saw next, and possibly a CT combo with it. I've been building two book cases this past week and using my Dewalt circular saw with a long piece of wood and the endless measuring is just too time consuming.
Alex said:
I think the ETS 125 is a very fine sander and could work with what you want to do. But it's best for the finer tasks and not so all-round as some other sanders.
I agree with Shane's idea that the DTS400 might have been a better choice. Very good with face frames, cabinets and furniture in general. And almost everything else you throw at it.
Thank you for your feedback!
SS Teach said:
Welcome to FOG. When I refinished the cabinetry in my house I used 3 sanders, an ETS 125, RTS 400, and an LS 130. Along with a DE they made what could have been a very dusty and tedious job much more pleasant. All three preformed superbly. I have used the ETS on a redwood slab that sat outside for 20 years. It did just fine. I will admit my Ro 150 will do it much faster. You cannot do corners with the ETS and that is problematic. So if you are only going to have one sander the DTS would most likely be the one to get. As others have said you have 30 days to try and decide to keep or return. But only one sander? Good luck and I'm sure you will be very pleased with which ever sander you end up with.
Thanks for the welcome and feed back. As for your question; for now I'd like one sander since I'm new to the trade and are focused more on the other type of tools. I do know I'd like to fabricate more in the future so I suppose I will be getting more than one sander in due time. But for now, I'd like to stick with as little as possible haha.
kixnbux said:
Ok, I'm fairly new with Festool products and I also chose the ETS 125 to be my first sander. I used a dewalt ros prior to this. Now these folks that are used to the apparently insanely effective larger sanders from Festool give comments like this is really a finish sander and you need an RO 90 or equivalent. Well, coming from dewalt, this 125 is incredible. No palm vibrations for hrs after sanding. No static shocks continually through the top bolts. Much more power and near zero dust. I just finished sanding an entire kitchen cabinet set with mine and I'm in love!!! Yes I want a bigger sander as well but you festie junkies gotta learn that folks coming straight from standard tools are stepping way up regardless of the one they pick lol.
I did find when stripping layers of paint that 60 grit stripped faster than 40 with this sander due to the small 3mm stroke I'm guessing
It's definitely a step up for sure. It's a lot to take in, specially with the prices and my current experience level. Thanks for the feed back, specially with the paint stripping grits.
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Thanks to everyone for the very warm welcome, glad to be part of this community.
