LS 130 accessories?

[tvgordon]

I was talking to Tim over at the Festool Junkie and he said he prefers the LS over the RTS for final sanding and sanding between coats of finish.

For those of you who have the LS, what are your most used accessories?  I know I will buy a flat pad and one of the radius pads, but I'm not sure what to add after that.  I figured at over $25 for each pad I should ask you guys what gets used the most.  Have you used the custom pad?  How easy is it to make the pad fit the profile?

Thanks for all your help,
Tom.

 

[Eli]

Mirko used the custom pad, and said it was easy.

I've used the:
Flute profile sanding pad (SSH-STF-LS130-R25KX)
Rebate profile sanding pad (SSH-STF-LS130-90 GR)
V-groove profile sanding pad (SSH-STF-LS130-V10)

and all were great, it really depends on what you think you'll need it for. If I was doing a restoration and had miles of all the same trim, I'd get the custom, no doubt. The flute and v-groove are good for working almost any type of trim in combination, and the rebate is more of a square corner.

 

[Ned]

Tom--

With the scraper, the LS130 can do a fine job removing floor tile and such.

Ned

 

[Dave Rudy]

The only additional comment is that the LS130 is an inline, not a random orbit sander.  Its strokes are linear along the long edge.  The sandpaper sheets are exactly the same size as the 400, which is random orbit.  I bounced around on this one for a while and finally ended up with the LS 130, which I love.

HTH

Dave

 

[Eli]

I have the RTS 400, and the LS 130 is on the list, I just went the other way first! ;D

 

[Dave Rudy]

I have the RTS 400, and the LS 130 is on the list, I just went the other way first! ;D

Well the 400 is on my list, so I guess "a turnabout deserves fair play!"

 

[tvgordon]

Thanks for the help. 
Eli, I've found that I use my PC profile sander mainly to sand after I use a round-over router bit.  These are usually between 1/8" and 1/2" radius bits.  And after a cove cut every now and then.  I would like something better than the PC.  The holders fall out, sandpaper falls off and no dust collection.

Dave, the linear motion is why Tim likes the LS.  Says it resembles hand sanding (something I'm trying to minimize). 

The scraper blade is one attachment I was planning on buying, Ned.  Read a lot of good things about it in earlier posts.
Tom.

 

[Dave Rudy]

Dave, the linear motion is why Tim likes the LS.  Says it resembles hand sanding (something I'm trying to minimize).

Me too Tom.  It is a great sander.  You wont be disappointed.

 

[Corwin]

I have the RTS 400, and the LS 130 is on the list, I just went the other way first! ;D

Well the 400 is on my list, so I guess "a turnabout deserves fair play!"

Hmmm, I finally decided to get the LS and after looking at the cost for all the abrasives I would want to get, the RTS 400 looked like a good accessory, if you will.  As it turned out, they all arrived as I was preparing the deck railing for some paint.  Tried both new sanders on the the posts and around the glass trim and found the 400 worked really nice one handed at the top of the ladder.  It also worked better on rough stuff.  Well, the railing is all painted now and looks looks waaaaay better than ever.

Oh, other accessories I started with are the scraper, 6mm Radius and the DIY kit -- so I also am interested in what profiles other have found to be of most use...  So glad it was asked.

Corwin

 

[Programmergeek]

I hate you guys, just kiddn....  Now after reading this I am going to have to go get one.  I was on the edge but they make alot of sense.  For me it would be the roundover I would use the most, I alwas get little burns or ruff edges espically routing accross grain. 

 

[Ned]

Tom,

Here's something no one's mentioned.  On the card in the LS 130 lid, Festool's got a diagram that I think is intended to show grit equivalences.

One column heading shows hand and LS 130 sanding (linear motions) and the other column shows an RS 400-style sander (orbital motion).

Linear	Orbital
P150	P240
P80	P120
P60	P80

I don't know what to make of the arrows pointing downward from orbital values to linear values in their chart, but I'm certain the general point is that linear grits are coarser for equivalent smoothness of the work.

The info might save you a few bucks.

Ned

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  I just added  a review of the LS 130 to the Review  section.  And as Ned notes, I included some details of the grit equivalencies that I found in use.  Pics too!

Seth

 

[Bill in seattle]

I was talking to Tim over at the Festool Junkie and he said he prefers the LS over the RTS for final sanding and sanding between coats of finish.

For those of you who have the LS, what are your most used accessories?  I know I will buy a flat pad and one of the radius pads, but I'm not sure what to add after that.  I figured at over $25 for each pad I should ask you guys what gets used the most.  Have you used the custom pad?  How easy is it to make the pad fit the profile?

Thanks for all your help,
Tom.

they are both great sanders but with different functions in use. ls 130 is strait  inline and one must use care when using coarse grits to prevent cross grain scratches. best suited for narrower pieces and linear detail work. the moulded pads work fine and do speed up some pretty monotonous jobs. the pads with points like the 90 degree do lose abrasive on the fold quicker so move the sandpaper around often to avoid burnishing the work on the inside corner to maintain a uniform finish. My opinion is that dust extraction should be mandatory when using the ls 130 as its fine stroke needs to have dust removed continually to achieve the best results and make the abrasive last longer.
for larger areas and sanding up into corners the rts would be a better choice as it is random orbit and you don't have to worry about orientation of the sander to the workpiece. again use dust extraction for best results.
and for those who insist on hand sanding for that final just right touch you can use the ls pads by hand , they do ok.
the interface pad 490160 can also be used in conjunction with preformed pads to create new profiles,i.e. make the 18 or 25 radius pad fit a smaller radius or the 90 or 88 pad fit a larger inside radius ect.