For all you new Rotex users.....A public service announcement

[erock]

Here is the back story of this video.....

A few weeks ago I went to a small woodworking store near me for some screws for my recent shop update I did.

While I was their I checked out the small Festool display they had because I was running short of 125 sand paper.

Needless to say, they had no grits I wanted so I had to order my paper from Tom.

But while I was looking at the Festool display a guy asked me what Festool sander I had.    He told me he was having trouble with his RO150.

I told him about the break in period, which he was unaware of.  I gave him my cell phone number and offered to help him if he still needed help.

Well he called me about 2 weeks after our little chat at the store.  He thanked me for taking the time to explain how the sander needed the break in

period.  Mostly because when he went to the store to complain about the sander, the salesman was no help.

He thought about returning the sander but after putting it through the break in period, he said the sander is fantastic.  He told me I should make

a video explaining the break in period because he would have never known about this if we never met at the store. 

So he said I needed to do a Festool public service announcement  [tongue].

Most of you guys have already done this with your sanders.....but I'm sure others are unaware.  ENJOY!  [big grin]



Eric

 

[overanalyze]

Thanks! I did not know that and that the explains my frustrations with the sander.

 

[tjbnwi]

Thanks! I did not know that and that the explains my frustrations with the sander.

All you had to do was say something or ask about it.

Tom

 

[Paul G]

Thanks for the info, did I miss this in the owners manual? Is this why my RO90 is more squirrelly in random mode than any of my other random sanders?

 

[erock]

Thanks for the info, did I miss this in the owners manual? Is this why my RO90 is more squirrelly in random mode than any of my other random sanders?

The owners manual?  [scratch chin]  [bite tongue]        You got a manual with  your sander???  [tongue]

Eric

 

[dicktill]

Thanks Eric.

Do you see any problem with breaking the sander(s) in "on the job", assuming it is not too rough to operate?

Does seem to me that it would be nice to have the Festool factory do this break in for us if they feel that it is necessary ...

Regards, Dick

 

[John Stevens]

Thanks for the info, did I miss this in the owners manual? Is this why my RO90 is more squirrelly in random mode than any of my other random sanders?

+1  Anybody got a link to a post by a Festool employee on this topic?

--John

 

[Paul G]

Thanks for the info, did I miss this in the owners manual? Is this why my RO90 is more squirrelly in random mode than any of my other random sanders?

The owners manual?   [scratch chin]   [bite tongue]        You got a manual with  your sander???   [tongue]

Eric

Yes, my RO90 came with an instruction manual, has important stuff like illustrations on the T-lock positions, and safety instructions like don't use while taking a bath, not intended for callus removal or polishing teeth. But don't recall anything about a burn-in period. And yes my question was sincere, is this why my RO90 is squirreley in random mode compared to my other random sanders?

 

[Bhend18]

Will this still work if you've had the sander for a while?

 

[erock]

Dicktill,

 when I first started using my RO125 I thought it would work itself out.  Then after reading a couple different post on the FOG regarding the breaking period I decided to give it a shot.  Letting it run worked for me.  I couldn't see myself sanding long enough for the sander to break in.  

Paul G.....sorry, I did take your question seriously.  I just forgot to answer it.   My guess would be YES.   This may be a good reason why our RO90 is a little squirrelly  in random mode.  What do you got to loose?  Hang it safely from something for a few hours and test it out after the fact.  But my guess would be it will work better for you after the break in period.

Eric

 

[Paul G]

Paul G.....sorry, I did take your question seriously.  I just forgot to answer it.   My guess would be YES.   This may be a good reason why our RO90 is a little squirrelly  in random mode.  What do you got to loose?  Hang it safely from something for a few hours and test it out after the fact.  But my guess would be it will work better for you after the break in period.

Eric

Thanks, yes I'll try it, my wrists will appreciate a little smoother operation if it helps. I'll report back results.

 

[erock]

Will this still work if you've had the sander for a while?

If you're having trouble controlling the RO sander, then I would recommend you put the sander through some break in time.

If you sander is smooth and doesn't jump around, then I would think you're good and don't need to worry about it.  Chances are you have some

good hours behind it and you're good.

Again, I'm not a pro.  Just a hobbyist like some of you guys.  I'm just passing along info that I read here on the FOG, just in a form of a video.

Eric

 

[erock]

Paul G.....sorry, I did take your question seriously.  I just forgot to answer it.   My guess would be YES.   This may be a good reason why our RO90 is a little squirrelly  in random mode.  What do you got to loose?  Hang it safely from something for a few hours and test it out after the fact.  But my guess would be it will work better for you after the break in period.

Eric

Thanks, yes I'll try it, my wrists will appreciate a little smoother operation if it helps. I'll report back results.

[thumbs up]    Man I hope it works for you.....how big of a chump will I look like if it doesn't work out for you and you  send me hate mail?   

[scared]  [big grin]

Eric

 

[Bhend18]

Will this still work if you've had the sander for a while?

If you're having trouble controlling the RO sander, then I would recommend you put the sander through some break in time.

If you sander is smooth and doesn't jump around, then I would think you're good and don't need to worry about it.  Chances are you have some

good hours behind it and you're good.

Again, I'm not a pro.  Just a hobbyist like some of you guys.  I'm just passing along info that I read here on the FOG, just in a form of a video.

Eric

I still have some control issues in my RO150 and RO90. I appreciate your help. I subscribe to your YouTube channel and happened to see the video there. I just thought it was part of the aggressive nature of the sander.

 

[festnoob]

I've used my RO150 for extended periods and have noticed that, like most sanders running continuously, it tends to heat up slightly. I can't seem to imagine that running one continuously in 4 hours increments was considered in the engineering. Granted that Festool puts their tools through strenuous testing, but aside from slight calibration on certain tools they come ready to use out of the box, I mean systainer.

I wonder what Festool's take is on this?

 

[Motown]

Rick, I have to say that I truly appreciate the contributions you have made with the various supplemental manuals as they have been extremely helpful to me and many of the guys. That said, your post seems way too harsh! Regarding your question: Do you even know how the sanders work? Clearly, many of us don't..... because we are experiencing the same exact issue and being that there isn't information available directly from Festool I could surely use some guidance on how to make my RO 90 and 125 easier to use.

I appreciate the effort and video(s) erock made and I believe that he has the best of intentions. That said, is there a better way to overcome the control issues that many of us are experiencing?

Respectfully,

Motown

 

[ajones]

Ick

While it is clear that you have a different view to the op I, and many others  would find it really helpful if you could elaborate , and share some of your technical knowledge with us.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

This topic has been discussed on the forum before...

Sanders and other tools come with brand new brushes with are square-ish on the end. Therefore, they do not conform to the round shape of the armature in the motor. So, when you first use the tool, the brushes do not make full possible contact. Over time, say the first 8-10 hours of use, the brushes wear in and begin to conform to the shape of the armature. During that time, the sander will run warmer and will not have full potential power. Some users have chosen to sit or hang a tool in a location and run it to expedite this "break in" period.

There you have it. If you have questions, let me know. Note, I cannot watch the video at the moment to comment on its contents.

Shane

 

[AlexThePalex]

Wow, I can't help but have the same reaction as Rick.

This video is a great way to get false rumours out.

The Rotex sanders DO NOT need a break in period.

Period!

Their motors are way too powerful to be hampered by some "factory roughness", and rotate right through that. The break in period is useful for the smaller sanders, the DTS 400, RTS 400 and ETS 125 because they have far less powerfull motors. People should not generalise that to all Festool sanders. It is simply not true.

Eric, I appreciate that you try to educate people, but don't educate them with the wrong thing like you do now. The fact that you call it a "public service announcement" also goes way too far, trying to make it look more official than it is.

 

[erock]

LOL......

We're all grown men...we all have our own opinions.

Watch the video and like it, watch the video and hate it. 

Choose to put your sander through a "break in period", or choose to believe it's a myth.

I don't care.  You bought the tool, do what you want with it.

The fact the I choose to do so because I used the search button to figure out why my sander was jumping around and I read a few post

describing a break in period, I tried it, it worked for me.  To each their own.

I'm not trying to get into a petty high school pissing match with anyone.  I'm making videos to show people what helped for me.

Now that we have several different opinions on the matter, in the future, when a guy  does a search hopefully this thread will pop up, he can

read it and made the decision himself, kind of makes it a public service announcement..... [tongue]

Eric