LS 130

[AugieDoggie]

I'm new to th FOG. Have several Festool tools and am very pleased. Thinking about buying an LS 130. Read thru most of the comments, most seemed to be 5-10 years old. I do a lot of raised panel work and cabinets. My wife buys old furniture, and flips it, i.e., repairs, refinishes, paints or stains it and then sells. Thought this would be perfect for a lot of what she does. I know it's not as aggressive as an ROS. When I asked about one at the store, the guy said he's only sold one in the last few years. None of the other stores around have one in stock. So what's that tell me? I cant find anything on the market even similar. If you have one, would you buy it again? Thanks for any info.

 

[denovo]

I've only used mine for one job restoring trim in an 150 year old house.  It paid for itself in the amount of time I saved doing that one job.  It's one of those tools that is great for the job it's designed to do but that's about it. 

If you are restoring old furniture with a lot of detail then the sander will save you a lot of time sanding

 

[jjowen]

I have a few different sanders, and certainly, the LS 130 is the least-often used, but some tasks require a linear sander. Also consider the lamellae backing pads. These are great for getting in under things.

Taking the old paint of the garage door the other weekend was clearly a rotex job, until you want to get into the V groves between the panels!

[attachimg=1]

 

[ScotF]

I like mine. Not aggressive, but it is great for cleaning up rabbets and of course other profiles. The make your own profile kit works pretty good. I redid a stair rail using this pad and it worked well stripping the old finish off.

 

[sancho57]

Hey Scott, whenever get together, Id like to check out that 130.

Its a sander Ive been looking at but not sure about.

Im about finished with this table Im building, then gonna reorganize my shop yet again [eek].

then maybe we can get together.

 

[Dougparke]

Hi I am the same as others. Bought mine to renovate our 119 year old farm house and with the custom profile capability I saved a ton of time and did a far better job. Now I use it whenever I have curved surfaces or a small area to sand.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AndrewG]

Just wondering if the LS 130 would be suitable for sanding edges? One issue I’ve had in the past is balancing my ETS 150 on edges and trying to not round over too much.

I got a RO90 now and I imagine with a hard pad it will be better suited than a 150, but how does the LS 130 go with the appropriate pad? I don’t know what it is about this sander but it intrigues me and if I can get a second hand one at the right price I’ll consider it. But just trying to work out how many uses there is for what I do.

Cheers

 

[semenza]

Just wondering if the LS 130 would be suitable for sanding edges? One issue I’ve had in the past is balancing my ETS 150 on edges and trying to not round over too much.

I got a RO90 now and I imagine with a hard pad it will be better suited than a 150, but how does the LS 130 go with the appropriate pad? I don’t know what it is about this sander but it intrigues me and if I can get a second hand one at the right price I’ll consider it. But just trying to work out how many uses there is for what I do.

Cheers

  I like and use the LS130 for profiles. Originally I purchased it thinking it would be great for sanding flat narrow edges ( 1/2" - 1") using the flat pad.  I found that I did not like it in that application. It is more difficult to control with the flat pad than with profiles and it takes some practice for those as well. The linear scratch pattern is OK for some wood grain but not others. And it can take quite a few slow passes. But it is great for other profiles. I like it but not on flats.

  I actually prefer an ETS150 with hard pad for narrow edges. I have the RO90 as well but still like the 150 better. It is my go to sander for edges. Why the 150?  The large pad makes it  easier  to keep flat due to the wide / long sight plane of the pad. You can tell very easily when it is not flat on the edge due to the multiplication of tilt at the edge of the sanding pad. It is also smooth and fast. I find the form factor and small pad size of the RO90 difficult to keep flat on narrow pieces.

Seth

 

[jjowen]

Just wondering if the LS 130 would be suitable for sanding edges? One issue I’ve had in the past is balancing my ETS 150 on edges and trying to not round over too much.

I got a RO90 now and I imagine with a hard pad it will be better suited than a 150, but how does the LS 130 go with the appropriate pad? I don’t know what it is about this sander but it intrigues me and if I can get a second hand one at the right price I’ll consider it. But just trying to work out how many uses there is for what I do.

I am often free-hand sanding 24, 18, 15 and 12mm birch plywood edges.

I find that the ETS EC 150 is good for free-hand edge sanding. Your hand is closer to the point of contact so there is less leverage to wobble and being a generally stable sander, easier to feel when you are on square. While sanding I am just focusing on the squareness between the sanding disk and the edge. The ETS 150 appears to have the hand further from the contact point.

I can't imagine the LS130 being better. It tends to want to walk forward or backwards, depending on just where you put the pressure. I might try it.

If I wanted to annihilate the edge I would use my RO 125. Would an RO90 would be much different? My rotex still intimidates me.

[attachimg=1]

 

[jjowen]

[member=1619]SRSemenza[/member] must have been posting at the same time as me. We seem to have very similar conclusions!

 

[AndrewG]

Thanks for the feedback on sanding edges. I don’t sand profiles, so I thought it might be handy for edges but you both replied with the same conclusions which make sense.

Anywhere else where a LS 130 would be preferred over a disc sander?

 

[semenza]

Just a follow up to illustrate since the general thinking is that a small pad is better for narrow edges. Also I do most of my sanding prior to assembly. So pieces are flat on the bench for sanding. These two pictures show my edge sanding method. By looking straight down on the sander pad you can very easily see if it is tilted using the large size sander.

      However I do really like the 130 for more than a few feet of profiles and especially for stripping or sanding profiles that are already installed.

      [attachimg=1]        [attachimg=2]

Seth

 

[leakyroof]

I own the LS 130, and the Porter-Cable 9444VS Profile Sander AND the Profile Sanding Pads for my Fein Multi-Master.... Take that as a hint... The LS 130 will not get into fine detail profiles since the pads are much larger than my other tools, but generally, if it fits, it will sand rings around the other two tools and has much better Dust Collection as well.

My fav use for the LS 130 is Hand Rail sanding since its larger Concave or Convex Pad shapes are suited to larger Architectural Shapes and Angles than tight details.  I find that a Hand Scraper, with a custom ground blade made of steel to fit the tiny detail pattern or profile I'm trying to clean up is a simpler way to go when the going gets into the little 'stuff'.  I use the Bahco 625 Scraper, and sometimes its Carbide Blades actually fit most or some of a profile I'm working with.  If not, I buy blank steel blades, I think from Lee Valley, and carefully grind a profile on a grinding wheel or Dremel tool if needed.

 

[AugieDoggie]

Thanks to all for the comments. Think I'll give it a shot The sanding fairies in my area must be on strike, so anything that makes it easier.

 

[ScotF]

If it is edges, I actually like orbital sanders for this task - the DTS and RTS excel in my opinion. Lightweight and very smooth - and the orbital action helps keep the sander on a narrow edge and not veer off as easily with random-orbit type sanders. That has been my experience, anyway.

 

[fernando2014]

I picked mine up for $80 used but in great condition. I also agree with the general sentiment that it's not the sander I go to first. Usually I reach for the ETS 125 or Rotex 125 for tougher jobs but the LS130 has come in handy where the rest could not so in a sense it's like an impact driver for me... not used all the time but when I need to use it, there's nothing else that could do the job. I have yet to try the make your own contour thing but I could see that coming in very handy. I currently have the flat, v and u shaped attachments. I'd recommend it but I don't think I would have paid retail.

 

[yetihunter]

Not a first sander, but a great one, nonetheless.  It adds up to an expensive kit because you will need to buy all of the different pads seperately in order to get the benefit out of it.  The build quality is first rate.  Traditional detail sanding (triangle) is not really what it can do for you.  Rails (big and small) and inside corners (big and small) are it's strength.  Beats hand sanding (and leaves an identical finish).  The movent is front to back and not orbital nor random orbital (if I'm not mistaken).  I used mine a lot but I could have hand sanded those areas just as easily.  It's just, with the plug-it cord, it's really convenient to rotate in if it's there.    For roundovers and things of that nature, I stuck to the 5" or 6" random orbitals with a foam interface pad.   

 

[Coen]

Yes, the LS130 sells less then the ETS, DTS, RTS, RO, BS, but there is a use for it. Everytime I have some profile where my other sanders dont work I think about buying one. At some I probably will and then I will regret not having bought it sooner.

 

[rst]

Like Leaky, I also have the PC and Fein linear sanders to compliment the LS.  My LS pays for itself as I use it to sand 3/8" acrylic edges with the curved pads more than any other thing.  It is great for plastic prep prior to flaming the edges.  Probably not as pertinent to most as it is a niche market.

 

[Michael Kellough]

Like Leaky, I also have the PC and Fein linear sanders to compliment the LS.  My LS pays for itself as I use it to sand 3/8" acrylic edges with the curved pads more than any other thing.  It is great for plastic prep prior to flaming the edges.  Probably not as pertinent to most as it is a niche market.

What grit is good prior to flaming?