How to control the Rotex 90

[fifo28]

I have used my Rotex 90 only a handful of times, and each time I use it is a challenge.  I recently used it to sand some base molding and I found it difficult to use.  It was hard to keep flat and control.  It was set to fine sanding and I had the speed at 4 (slower speeds were worse).  Has anyone else found this to be the case?  Any tips?

 

[Walk On Wood]

Try turning the vacuum down.  It should only be at about 20% power.  The more vacuum, the harder it is to control..  Beyond that, use two hands. One at the front, the other all the way at the rear.

 

[Ben H]

I too have had trouble with it.  Two hands is a must for me, but damn it loves to dance around.  I never considered turning the vac down, I will try that this week and see what happens.

 

[mouppe]

One hand on the head and one on the hose, not on the body. Speed set to max. Dust control to half.

 

[NorfolkNgood]

Yes, it's all down to dust extraction control, TURN IT DOWN !!!

 

[SMJoinery]

It's very true the 90 and the 150 are a handful until I turn down the extraction (midi) to lowest setting and not only handling improves but also quality and in the case of the 150, stock removal.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I don't get it, I always use full dust extraction with the Rotex sanders. They're way too powerful, they're not hampered at all by the suction. In fact, they can create so much dust, I want the suction on full or it's going to be messy.

 

[Paul G]

My RO90 is much more manageable after performing the break in described here  http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/for-all-you-new-rotex-users-a-public-service-announcement/

You'll see in that thread it elicits much controversy but for me it made a big difference, YMMV.

 

[MahalaHomecraft]

Alex-

I've been sick for a couple days and have been reading a lot of old fog posts. 

Based on your posts in this thread, as well as those in the RO break-in thread, I can't help but wonder:

Are you, perhaps, a giant?  Have you massive hands and tree trunk arms?  Maybe that explains the difference between your opinion and most other people's?

I like my RO 90 but I definitely feel it's not quite working the way it was intended.  I'll be trying the break in today.

 

[Oldwood]

Hi,

I think the reason the RO 90 is harder to control than the RO 150 at least for me is because it is harder to get a feel for when it is flat on the surface. Anyone who has run a floor buffer will tell you if you lift the front or back it will scoot in one direction or the other. I struggle more with the RO 90 than my other sanders to feel when it is flat on the surface.
I find holding it by the cord & the head helps but I can sand with my RO 150 one handed & would not consider trying that with the RO 90.

YMMV

Gerry

 

[jacko9]

I was having difficulty when first using my RO90 but, I kept at it and over the past year somewhere along the line it has become tame almost to the point of using it one handed.

At first two hands were "required" to keep the sander on the work piece and even then it was a handful but, using it yesterday to smooth the edges of a table top after using my Triton Jigsaw to cut the curves, I found myself using the tool one handed and I'm an old guy.

Keep at it and I think they do breakin with use.

Jack

 

[MahalaHomecraft]

I just ran my ro90 through the break in process and immediately noticed the difference.  With proper grip (hand just behind the "bulb," pinky and ring finger around the handle, pointer, thumb, and middle around the bulb) it's easy to use one handed.

 

[Paul G]

I just ran my ro90 through the break in process and immediately noticed the difference.  With proper grip (hand just behind the "bulb," pinky and ring finger around the handle, pointer, thumb, and middle around the bulb) it's easy to use one handed.

Yea, it was a very noticeable improvement for me as well.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Alex-

I've been sick for a couple days and have been reading a lot of old fog posts. 

Based on your posts in this thread, as well as those in the RO break-in thread, I can't help but wonder:

Are you, perhaps, a giant?  Have you massive hands and tree trunk arms?  Maybe that explains the difference between your opinion and most other people's?

I like my RO 90 but I definitely feel it's not quite working the way it was intended.  I'll be trying the break in today.

[smile] No, I'm not a giant. I'm about 1.80 m / 6 foot and my hands are actually a bit smaller than general. While my clothing size is always L, my glove size is M.

I did grow up in a bodyshop, so I learned to work with powertools and especially angled sanders from a very young age. Maybe that's why they are easy for me to work with, my muscle memory is thoroughly tuned by and to them.

I do remember when I was young how I also struggled to get the angled sanders under control. They are simply more difficult to control than the orbital sanders that are more common. Probably took me a couple of years to get it right. But once you do, it's like riding a car, you don't forget.

But as my comment towards suction control in this thread, it is my opinion there's too much mystification towards Festool tools here on this board. What do I mean by that? People tend to act a bit like there's all kind of secrets to know about these tools, about how to use them and once you're in on those secrets it elevates you to a higher level. I think people tend to exaggerate this a bit sometimes.

I regard the suction control issue with Rotex's as one of those myths. It came to life with the smaller DTS/RTS sanders, and for those sanders it's very true. I mean, you can litterally stick a DTS when it's turned off, but with full suction on, to the wall, and it will stay there like a vacuum clamp. Same with the break in period for those sanders. When you get one new out of the box, you just feel it works with only half power. If you dial it down below 3, you can actually make the new sander come to a halt without much effort.

So yeah, for those small sanders there definitely are some things to be aware of.

But it is really a mistake to generalise that to the Rotex sanders. For their size, they are the most powerful sanders I have ever seen or used in my life, and I have used quite a couple. Make it come to a halt by leaning on it? Impossible. Making it stick to the wall with the suction of the vac? Impossible. The Rotex's have so much power, they rotate through anything.

From my days as a psychology student I remember how I learned that people rather prefer to blame outside factors when they fail at something instead of inside factors. My apologies if I offend anyone by saying this, but I see that here on this board often when it's time to talk about the Rotex sanders. The suction must be wrong, the sander needs a break-in period, the pad must have a flaw, while in reality it's just because the sander is a handful to control because of its power and its off-balance weight distribution. As I said above, it probably took me years to get the hang of it. But because I did it at a very young age I am set for life. People shouldn't be surpised they can't do the same in just a week.
 

 

[Sparktrician]

I learned as a very scrawny 13-year-old to use the 24" floor buffer at my dad's place of business and saw him cringe more than once as the buffer bounced itself and me off walls and such until I learned how to balance the buffer to control it.  Once I learned how to balance it, I could use it one-handed with ease, even keeping it in one place with one finger under the handle.  The same principle applies to Rotex sanders.  I concur with Alex that the Rotex sanders are almost unstoppable.  That power coupled with the CT's strong vacuum can cause damage to a finished surface unless the vacuum is turned down to low power.  Whether I'm using the Rotex or ETS or RTS sanders, turning the suction down is as critical to getting a good finished surface as is letting the Rotex get broken in. 

 

[Paul G]

From my days as a psychology student I remember how I learned that people rather prefer to blame outside factors when they fail at something instead of inside factors. My apologies if I offend anyone by saying this, but I see that here on this board often when it's time to talk about the Rotex sanders. The suction must be wrong, the sander needs a break-in period, the pad must have a flaw, while in reality it's just because the sander is a handful to control because of its power and its off-balance weight distribution. As I said above, it probably took me years to get the hang of it. But because I did it at a very young age I am set for life. People shouldn't be surpised they can't do the same in just a week.

I appreciate the candor Alex, it's useful to know you think it is all in my head lol. I'm reminded of golf, I sucked rocks at driving for years, spent lots of money on lessons addressing my internal factors with little lasting results and then an hour with a club fitter and the ball goes where I want it to using a tool made to fit me. I know many folks with a closet full of drivers who still can't hit it straight, but as for me I typically assume I'm doing something wrong if the results are not as expected. Generalizing is tricky business, especially with products. In spite of the best efforts of manufacturers, all of their products are not the same even though they have the same part number.  I remember the first discussions about the TS55REQ blade retraction problems that resulted in a recall, there was an abundance of advice that assumed the tool was flawless. Similarly we've never used each others RO90. I would hope and expect they perform identically when new but life experience has taught me to no longer assume it will always. My sander greatly benefited from a break in, or more important to me my elbows that suffer from tendon problems benefited greatly from breaking in my RO90. It went from being a very useful sander that was hard to control with two hands and left my elbows aching to an even more useful sander since I can now easily manage it with one hand without my elbows reminding me for the next week that they are not well. My elbows couldn't give a rats behind that anyone thinks it's all in my head.

 

[MahalaHomecraft]

Alex - I understand what you're saying, it's just that I was having trouble using the rotex, which, ok, maybe I have to get used to it.  But after breaking it in I immediately noticed the difference in usability.  Is my brain so powerful that I psychosomatically tricked myself into learning how to use this sander properly so quickly?  Because that's a theory I can get behind.

 

[Sparktrician]

Is my brain so powerful that I psychosomatically tricked myself into learning how to use this sander properly so quickly? 

It's all in how you hold your mouth... 

[poke]

 

[jmbfestool]

I have Rotex 150 and 90 both of them I struggled with for the first 1-2 hours after that I can use both with one hand above my head - upside down - eyes closed - while listening to radio - I can even use both at the same time one in each hand.

I don't believe their is a break in period but a practice period!  Some people take longer to learn how to use a Rotex than others.  The trick is to feel the Rotex learn its ways and become one with the Rotex!

I watched the "break" in Period video on the other topic! It made me laugh.

Funny thing is he's using the Rotex with one hand fair enough but his hose is acting like a second hand. If you watch you can see the hose is pulling up which is supporting the Rotex just like if you was using two hands.

This is why he made it look easy using one hand!

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have Rotex 150 and 90 both of them I struggled with for the first 1-2 hours after that I can use both with one hand above my head - upside down - eyes closed - while listening to radio - I can even use both at the same time one in each hand.

I don't believe their is a break in period but a practice period!   Some people take longer to learn how to use a Rotex than others.  The trick is to feel the Rotex learn its ways and become one with the Rotex!

I watched the "break" in Period video on the other topic! It made me laugh.

Funny thing is he's using the Rotex with one hand fair enough but his hose is acting like a second hand. If you watch you can see the hose is pulling up which is supporting the Rotex just like if you was using two hands.

This is why he made it look easy using one hand!

[thumbs up]