Is there still a place for orbital sanders?

Michael1960

Michael1960

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Jan 31, 2012
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Currently I am reviewing the Festool Sanders I use for preparation of timber furniture for refinishing work.  Most of this work requires removing old surfaces and getting ready to re finish ie Wiping varnish / French polishing  / spray work.  Currently I haven a Rotex 150 ( a beast!) a FEQ 150 / 3 (finesse) and a RO90 (adaptable all rounder)
I have been thinking about the role of the orbital sanders such as RS200E.  Will this add a useful tool to my existing sander line up.  Or have random orbital sanders replaced the orbital sanders?
 
Depends on what you're working on. In the case of the RS200 I think that most of it's work can be done by random orbit sanders, because it is meant for large surfaces and in my case I prefer RO sanders for that. But if you're working in window trim an orbital sander like the DTS 400 or RTS 300 seems much more useful to me.

And RO sanders of course don't get into corners, you'll need something for that too.
 
My only orbital sander is a DTS400 that i use when there are corners, otherwise i use any of my 3 RO sanders.
I have also been tinkering about what any of the bigger orbital sanders could bring, but besides bringing in a tower of expensive abrasive boxes i see no true benefit worth the expense.
 
I've been looking at replacing a Makita with thr RS200. I dragged the Makita out of hibernation the other day ... and after having the "old sanding experience", will never use it again - but thats another story.

I loosely trigger my Festool purchases on potential projects and the RS200 for me will at best follow the LS130 (I have RO90,RO150,ETS150/3,ETS150/5,DTS400) ... but it could get bumped even further if I retire the Bosch belt sander.

So the RS200 may never happen for me - it's a really nice sander, but I doubt I REALLY need it.

If you'd started your Festool sander journey with a DX93 and a RS200 you'd probably be happy with them, but the ROTEX and ETS sanders are so good they're probably outselling the RS range twenty to one!

I for one would love to know what people think is the one application that the RS200 surpasses all others ... bench tops?

 
Orbitals are great for fine finish work ---  preping for final hand sanding and finishing the finish....  

For getting a flawless tabletop, the half sheet orbital is a great tool.  But I don't use it for much else...

So, for me it is a specialty tool...  nice to have around when doing a dining room table and the like...
 
I would say YES...the RS2E is perhaps my favorite sander and I think it is under appreciated by many for what it can do.  When I want to ensure flat and smooth surfaces, nothing can beat it IMHO.  I think it is one of the essential sanders to own for furniture building and I think Jerry Work has an article on his site and shares the same sentiment.  If I could only have three sanders, it would be the RS2E, DTS400 and the RO150 -- 2 orbital sanders in the mix and only one RO.  If I could have 4, then I would add the ETS150/3 to the mix.  Once you use one and get the hang of how it drives it might well become your go-to sander.  For sanding edges and narrow pieces I find it works very well as the movement of the pad does not cause it to veer off the edge as easily as an RO sander.  Also, I find the flat pad and design of the tool easier to hold perpendicular to a surface, especially on edge.  This is not to say that you cannot achieve the similar results with an RO sander, but you have to develop the right techniques for whichever type you choose.  The learning curves are different, but the RS2E comes out on just about every project.

Scot
 
ScotF said:
I would say YES...the RS2E is perhaps my favorite sander and I think it is under appreciated by many for what it can do.  When I want to ensure flat and smooth surfaces, nothing can beat it IMHO.  I think it is one of the essential sanders to own for furniture building and I think Jerry Work has an article on his site and shares the same sentiment.  If I could only have three sanders, it would be the RS2E, DTS400 and the RO150 -- 2 orbital sanders in the mix and only one RO.  If I could have 4, then I would add the ETS150/3 to the mix.  Once you use one and get the hang of how it drives it might well become your go-to sander.  For sanding edges and narrow pieces I find it works very well as the movement of the pad does not cause it to veer off the edge as easily as an RO sander.  Also, I find the flat pad and design of the tool easier to hold perpendicular to a surface, especially on edge.  This is not to say that you cannot achieve the similar results with an RO sander, but you have to develop the right techniques for whichever type you choose.  The learning curves are different, but the RS2E comes out on just about everey project.

Scot
Click to expand...

My wife hates you  [big grin]
 
Kev,

She will love you when she gets to see first hand how wonderful a surface the sander leaves!  I just got done using mine smoothing a desktop -- spent about 5-6 hours with it today.  I shot some video that I hope to get edited and posted so that those unfamiliar with it can see it in action. 

Scot
 
Thanks for the responses.  Scot - I would like to see the video.  It was interesting to read Jerry Work's support for orbital sanders.  Currently I am restoring an old desk with a highly polished top.  There are fine scratch lines that need to be removed.  The customer says the top is solid timber.  I think it's a veneer surface and care needs to be taken to avoid sanding through... What would be the best Festool sander option?
Kev - maybe our wives could set up a support group for Festool partners!!
 
Michael1960 said:
Kev - maybe our wives could set up a support group for Festool partners!!
Click to expand...

LOL - I think mine thinks she's a Festool widow !

W.O.T.F.O.G. Wives of the Festool owners group ???  [eek]
 
I own and use in my shop all of the Festool electric sanders available in the USA, including the DTS400. There are many sanding tasks I prefer to do using an orbital sander. I have been woodworking since the 1930s when electric sanders were mounted on benches. Later we did have orbital sanders, so I became effective using them for finish work.

For many tasks I do prefer either rotary or random orbit sanding. Still for me there are those times when the finish I want is best done with orbital motion.
 
Michael1960 said:
Thanks for the responses.  Scot - I would like to see the video.  It was interesting to read Jerry Work's support for orbital sanders.  Currently I am restoring an old desk with a highly polished top.  There are fine scratch lines that need to be removed.  The customer says the top is solid timber.  I think it's a veneer surface and care needs to be taken to avoid sanding through... What would be the best Festool sander option?
Kev - maybe our wives could set up a support group for Festool partners!!
Click to expand...

Hi Michael,

I think that the RS2E would be a great sander for this purpose -- we sanded some plywood in a Festool training class with it and it worked great.  The problem you can have with an RO sander, especially with veneer, is that you have really got to pay attention as any lingering and you can quickly burn through the veneer.  The RS2E is not quite as aggressive and you move it back and forth over the surface pretty quickly so you are less likely to sit in one spot -- at least that has been my experience.  If you prefer the RO type, then I think an RO150/3 or the RO 125 would be great choices.

Scot
 
Thanks Scot for your feedback and the video.  The pencil marking on
the plywood is a good tip.
It looks like another sander will be finding its way into my workshop.... [smile]

 
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