Sooooo a friend suggested I check into the Festool sanders since we may do a far share of sanding work.I have done a bit of searching on the site and read a couple of threads about sanders and small hands.For a woman I have what is classified as small hands which makes tool buying a pain.Watching the videos of the sanders in the calibre we would prefer they appear to be for hands much larger then mine.
My partner and I have a business which we create functional art and high end furnishings.I do the majority of sanding usually running two orbitals at the same time 8 to 10 hours a day at least 2 to 4 days a week .So I prefer a good fit for my hands or we creative modify. We work with rough woods some of the slabs coming right from the Alaskan Mill while other woods may be reclaimed barn woods that require lots of sanding with finishing grits to keep the aged patina but make for a smooth finish.Yet at other times I am sanding a full out tree or cedar stump with all the curves and bumps. I also run different pads on the sanders based on the flatness of the woods umm or if I am abusing a sander using it for pre shaping for a carving, which yes does happen..
I have searched and read the forums small hands sanders replies which yes I get.Looking at the sanders the Rotex 150 or 125 would make the most sense for our business since we do run belt sanders and planers quite often as well.The handle and grips do not quite look as if I could run a sander in each hand like I am used to.But more in the lines of running a small grinder.Which I am concerned about cutting back my productivity having to go back to one handed sanding,LOL well unless I am running the belt sanders.
I am looking for suggestions, I run two sanders because of the sizes of some of our projects as well as the convenience of speed.I prefer to keep 4 sanders with 4 different grits ready to grab to be more efficient.That said I have read about a couple of the sanders being a tad slow on the forums here.At the moment my orbitals are a Dewalt,2 Bosch, a Makita,Porter Cable and a Rigid. A couple of which I have taken my dremel and modified for my smaller hands to cut the fatigue levels.
My closest dealer looks to be at least a 2 hour drive so it is not exactly like I can bounce right in and check these out in person. Any sharing that any one may feel would be helpful to me is greatly appreciated.Thank You.
My partner and I have a business which we create functional art and high end furnishings.I do the majority of sanding usually running two orbitals at the same time 8 to 10 hours a day at least 2 to 4 days a week .So I prefer a good fit for my hands or we creative modify. We work with rough woods some of the slabs coming right from the Alaskan Mill while other woods may be reclaimed barn woods that require lots of sanding with finishing grits to keep the aged patina but make for a smooth finish.Yet at other times I am sanding a full out tree or cedar stump with all the curves and bumps. I also run different pads on the sanders based on the flatness of the woods umm or if I am abusing a sander using it for pre shaping for a carving, which yes does happen..
I have searched and read the forums small hands sanders replies which yes I get.Looking at the sanders the Rotex 150 or 125 would make the most sense for our business since we do run belt sanders and planers quite often as well.The handle and grips do not quite look as if I could run a sander in each hand like I am used to.But more in the lines of running a small grinder.Which I am concerned about cutting back my productivity having to go back to one handed sanding,LOL well unless I am running the belt sanders.
I am looking for suggestions, I run two sanders because of the sizes of some of our projects as well as the convenience of speed.I prefer to keep 4 sanders with 4 different grits ready to grab to be more efficient.That said I have read about a couple of the sanders being a tad slow on the forums here.At the moment my orbitals are a Dewalt,2 Bosch, a Makita,Porter Cable and a Rigid. A couple of which I have taken my dremel and modified for my smaller hands to cut the fatigue levels.
My closest dealer looks to be at least a 2 hour drive so it is not exactly like I can bounce right in and check these out in person. Any sharing that any one may feel would be helpful to me is greatly appreciated.Thank You.