Interface & Supersoft sanding pads

[cahicks]

We are looking to purchase the ETS 125 for finish sanding. Do we need to purchase the super soft or interface pad for the finish sanding, our surfaces our flat and we mostly sand redwood but also sand other species such as walnut, maple and australian burl wood...  some of the wood slabs have a rounded contoured edge...

Festool has not returned my call so I am not really sure if we need these extra pads

Any input would be greatly appreciated

 

[PaulMarcel]

The supersoft and interface pad both are made for contour sanding as the pads will conform around contours; supersoft conforms around large radii curves, interface pad handles much smaller radii curves.  I use the interface pad to sand tablesaw coves.

If your projects are flat, get the hard pad instead.  It is especially useful to help prevent rounding edges you don't want rounded. Also good at preventing dishing when sanding stock with varying hardness

 

[cahicks]

we usually round our edges on our table tops, could the super soft pad be used to polish up the edges?

 

[shed9]

+1 for the blue hard pads

 

[PaulMarcel]

we usually round our edges on our table tops, could the super soft pad be used to polish up the edges?

It could. Certainly I use the standard (just soft, no super) in the RO-90 to do that with a fast pass on shop/utility projects. For other stuff, I prefer a hand block as it goes pretty fast and I can't screw up as quickly.  With the sander, you need consistent pressure as you sweep an edge; press too hard in one place and the softened edge will be 'dished' compared to the rest.  With a hand block, it is easy to maintain the same pressure and only takes 3 swipes per edge for a nice round softened edge.

I think the pressure you'd need to apply to make the super soft merited over the standard soft would be too much for softening a corner.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Uncle Bob pointed out to me that the ETS-125 doesn't have a hard-pad counterpart to the Rotex version I use.  Mea culpa.  In this case, use the hardest pad you have, which is the soft pad it comes with.

Since I don't have an ETS sander, I didn't realize the pads were different between the same-size brethren.

 

[shed9]

I wasn't aware there was no hard-pad option for the 125. I have the ETS150 variant and the hard pad is a bolt on unit as opposed to the normal quick turn of the Ro150.

 

[Bob Marino]

I wasn't aware there was no hard-pad option for the 125. I have the ETS150 variant and the hard pad is a bolt on unit as opposed to the normal quick turn of the Ro150.

Yes, the ETS 150  sanders have a hard pad as an option, the ETS 125 does not. The ETS sanders attach with the bolt, the Rotex with Festool's "FastFix" (tool-free) system.

Bob

 

[ceddy]

I have the ETS 125, ETS 150/5 and the RO90 and I would question the need for the 125, its really for light and very fine sanding. Unless I am mistaken, the ETS 150/3 will have the same stroke as the ETS 125 but will have a larger surface area. You get the same Finnish but with less effort, paper lasts longer and you have more choice for paper as well. Not to mention the hard pads being available for the 150. Just my two cents. I just never use my ETS 125. The 150 is just much more versatile.