Heads up - RAS 115 and Sysports Discontinued (US)

[Shane Holland]

Doesn't Rotex or similar rotary sanders from Bosch or Makita perform the same function in rotary mode? Same as RAS 115.

[member=15585]Svar[/member],

The Bosch 1250DEVS and Makita BO6500J are basically the same as the Rotex RO 150 in functionality.

We have both in stock, ready to ship.

[member=15585]Svar[/member] -- Just announced today, new Bosch 5" and 6" multi-mode sanders coming next month.

 

[Svar]

[member=15585]Svar[/member] -- Just announced today, new Bosch 5" and 6" multi-mode sanders coming next month.

Looks great. Any guinea pigs... I mean, early adopters out there?  [popcorn]

 

[Michael Kellough]

This new sander is the third generation of Bosch RO sanders. I have both the previous generations of Bosch multi-mode 6” sanders. My sample of the first gen suffered some electronic speed control issue that made it run slow so I bought the next gen. I’ve never bought a 6” Festool sander because the Bosch sander works fine. I actually think the longer body on the Bosch makes it easier to handle than the Festool 150 RO sander.

 

[ScotF]

Looks like this is temporarily out of stock again...

 

[Shane Holland]

Looks like this is temporarily out of stock again...

[member=6605]ScotF[/member], yes, they’re going fast but more on the way. To reiterate. If you order with a credit card, we do not bill until it ships and it will reserve part of our next shipment for your order. We should have more by middle or end of the week.

 

[ScotF]

[thumbs up] [thumbs up]

The one I ordered from you last weekend is supposed to be delivered on Monday...thanks for offering these at such a great deal!!

 

[RKA]

[member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] , the out of stock messages don't allow you to add the item to cart.  I'm not sure whether it's really OOS this time or you just need to work some magic on the back end so an order can be placed? 

 

[Shane Holland]

[member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] , the out of stock messages don't allow you to add the item to cart.  I'm not sure whether it's really OOS this time or you just need to work some magic on the back end so an order can be placed?

[member=21249]RKA[/member]

We have backorders blocked on this item to make sure we don't sell more than we have or can get. Additionally, I am manually managing the inventory to some extent rather than it being synced with our warehouse system.

We have units in stock ready-to-ship right now. More on the way. Sorry for the bad inventory on the website.

 

[safety1st]

Does RAS being discontinued mean that the sandpaper and accessories will be discontinued as well?
If so what are the options for the long term?

 

[Shane Holland]

Does RAS being discontinued mean that the sandpaper and accessories will be discontinued as well?
If so what are the options for the long term?

[member=20998]safety1st[/member], this was mentioned earlier in the thread. Festool USA stated the following:

We are planning for long-term support of the pads and abrasives for the RAS 115 for the foreseeable future and as long as there is reasonable demand.

If they do discontinue abrasives at some point in the future, I see no reason why you couldn't use a generic 5" abrasive since there are no holes for dust extraction.

 

[safety1st]

thanks for the response, sorry i missed this info from earlier.
hoping Festool will have abrasives available for a long time for the RAS.

just a question on using generic 5" abrasives.
if a 5" abrasive is used won't it block the dust collection as the paper will be 1/4" proud all around.

 

[AlexThePalex]

if a 5" abrasive is used won't it block the dust collection as the paper will be 1/4" proud all around.

Use your scissors.

 

[Shane Holland]

just a question on using generic 5" abrasives.
if a 5" abrasive is used won't it block the dust collection as the paper will be 1/4" proud all around.

[member=20998]safety1st[/member], so in testing this, the 5" isn't going to work well without trimming it down, like Alex suggested.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I do it all the time, trimming down sandpaper. Most papers stick out a tiny bit, inconsequential most of the time, but if you don't want to marr an adjoining surface it is necessary to trim it down to match the pad exactly. Oh, and pads wear on the side, they get smaller than original very quickly.

 

[RJNeal]

Thanks Shane and the toolnut gang. I received the twins today.
I like and thank you for your new sticker.
Have a great weekend
Rick.

 

[Cheese]

Maybe with this renewed interest in the RAS, Festool will restablish the RAS as a viable tool to support for the future...then again...maybe not.  [sad] [sad] [sad]

 

[RKA]

Well, I just received one from toolnut who got “fresh” stock from Festool.  It had a manufacture date of 2/17 if I recall.  I don’t think Festool will be eager to replace it with anything that sits in the warehouse for 2.5 years.  For my own part, I had been thinking about getting one for a while, I had just been waiting for the next project I needed to scribe, cope or strip paint.  After 1.5 years of sitting on the fence, the discontinuation of the tool pushed me over the edge.

 

[peter halle]

I am going to venture a guess that the RAS was slated to be discontinued quite a while ago but the popularity of it at times in North America kept it just above the threshold.  I had the opportunity to visit Festool USA late in 2017 and they had just received a huge shipment of pallet upon pallet upon pallet of RAS, so that might explain the manufacture date.

Great tool.  Sorry to see it go, but I just purchased new backing pads and am ready once again to sand away aggressively.

Petr

 

[Cheese]

Well, I just received one from toolnut who got “fresh” stock from Festool.  It had a manufacture date of 2/17 if I recall.  I don’t think Festool will be eager to replace it with anything that sits in the warehouse for 2.5 years.  For my own part, I had been thinking about getting one for a while, I had just been waiting for the next project I needed to scribe, cope or strip paint.  After 1.5 years of sitting on the fence, the discontinuation of the tool pushed me over the edge.

Mine, purchased in July, was manufactured in 2016.  [eek]

That's exactly my situation, between the Rotex's, the other Festool sanders and a couple of Milwaukee RA grinders, I never really needed the RAS until it was discontinued. I've already used it to strip a neighbor's picnic table that had multiple coats of latex, oil based paint and what appeared to be a clear poly coating.

Great tool...it works well, happy I made the purchase.

 

[peter halle]

Just a reminder:  register your RAS and save your receipt.  In the absence of doing this the date of manufacture might come into play in the event of an issue. 

Peter