Life expectency of the DTS400 pad

[eweber]

What is the life expectency of the DTS400 pads and when to change it?
I don't know if I have the wrong technique but the tip of the pad seems to wear out faster than the sand paper  :-X
I don't think I went through 200 sheets yet and the nose is half gone.

Emmanuel

 

[Dan Clark]

Emmanual,

I haven't a clue about life expectancy, but I like the icon!  It's a nice way of highlighting the subject category.

Dan.

 

[Brice Burrell]

  Emmanuel, I've had the DTS400 for a few months now, maybe 50-60 or so sheets, no sings of wear on the tip of mine. I always use it flat, never tipping it up, just using the nose, trying to speed up the sanding.

 

[eweber]

Thanks Brice,

I Only use it flat too but I might have an heavy hand when I try to reach into a corners.
I definitively had some sign of wear by 50/60 sheets.

Emmanuel

 

[Toolpig]

Yep.  I've worn the tip of my pad down, too.  This particular sander, because of it's triangular-shaped pad, spends much (if not all) of its time on its "nose" when getting into corners.

I've been to a couple of Woodcraft stores looking for a replacement pad, but they're always out of stock.  I guess we're not the only ones with worn out noses!

TP

What is the life expectency of the DTS400 pads and when to change it?
I don't know if I have the wrong technique but the tip of the pad seems to wear out faster than the sand paper  :-X
I don't think I went through 200 sheets yet and the nose is half gone.

Emmanuel

 

[Jerry Work]

Hi all,

The issue is heat.  When you spend much time in one small part of the pad (like the tip in a corner) it will heat up quickly and the heat will melt the hooks.  Keep the pad moving or lighten up on the DC speed and you will get much longer pad life.  DC speed is important on all but the 150 Rotex from my experience.  The smaller the pad, the lower the speed you want.  Too high a DC speed and it sucks the sander to the work pieces causing marks that are had to sand out with finer grits.

Jerry

 

[Michael Kellough]

Hi all,

The issue is heat.  When you spend much time in one small part of the pad (like the tip in a corner) it will heat up quickly and the heat will melt the hooks.  Keep the pad moving or lighten up on the DC speed and you will get much longer pad life.  DC speed is important on all but the 150 Rotex from my experience.  The smaller the pad, the lower the speed you want.  Too high a DC speed and it sucks the sander to the work pieces causing marks that are had to sand out with finer grits.

Jerry

Good point to keep in mind, especially for those using vacs that don't have speed control. Suction can be excessive and it does make a difference, not only in the surface of the work.

Also, avoid the temptation to press down on the sander as this will also make extra heat too much of which can spoil the hooks on the sander pad (in addition to deeper scratches).

 

[eweber]

Thanks all for your answers,

I already put the vac to the lowest suction.
I think my problem is that I probably do not move the sander enough when trying to reach into a corner and endup over heating the tip. I might also put to much pressure.
A replacement is on the way, I will be more carefull from now on and see how long it last.

Emmanuel

 

[Dan Clark]

Hi all,

The issue is heat.  When you spend much time in one small part of the pad (like the tip in a corner) it will heat up quickly and the heat will melt the hooks.  Keep the pad moving or lighten up on the DC speed and you will get much longer pad life.  DC speed is important on all but the 150 Rotex from my experience.  The smaller the pad, the lower the speed you want.  Too high a DC speed and it sucks the sander to the work pieces causing marks that are had to sand out with finer grits.

Jerry

Jerry,

I've read several threads about heat melting the hooks and about adjusting the DC speed for sanding, but this is the first time I've seen your rule connecting pad heat with speed and DC suction. This is very important information.  If this isn't in your sander book (on the Festool website) can you add it please?

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Brice Burrell]

  Dan, where have you been, we have talked about this before, unless it was on another forum, but I'm pretty sure it was here.  ???

  I can tell you, turning down the speed on the DTS400 will make it unusable. My experience is the vac must be turned way down and the sander's speed all the way up to get good results with the DTS400 sander. Don't be confused by Jerry's use of the word speed, he is referring to the vacuum's suction, not the sanders speed. The sanders speed does play a role it how much heat is generated, however, some sanders work better at, or near, full speed.

  I thought, I'd post this because when I first read Jerry's post, I misunderstood what he meant. But you guys are likely smarter than me and got it the first time around.