Makita Rotex style sander

[zukinut]

Has anyone used this, or seen it in person?
https://www.toolnut.com/makita-bo6050j-multi-mode-random-orbit-6-inch-sander.html

Thanks in advance
Will

 

[TinyShop]

Hmmmm, according to ToolNut this tool is manufactured in Japan. My interest is piqued!

That said, and according at least to Amazon reviews, it has a propensity to fail after only very limited use. Moreover, it only comes with a 1-year warranty. Still, I too am curious what folks have to say about it.

 

[PaulH99]

Bosch has a similar model, which I believe is made in Germany:
https://www.toolnut.com/power-tools...-electronic-random-orbit-sander-polisher.html

 

[ColossusX]

I've been debating on these two plus thr 2 smaller Rotex. The Makita because I prefer the brand, the Bosch has some great reviews and has been around for awhile. Then there are the Ro 90 and the 125. There are so few reviews for the 6050J that it's hard to make a final decision.

 

[waho6o9]

Stick with Festool, there's a reason why the competitors charge less. 

 

[Michael Kellough]

I’ve been using that Bosch 6” dual dual mode RO for about 15 years and a Bosch 6” finish RO for even longer. That’s why I don’t have any Festool 150mm sanders.

 

[zukinut]

I think the competitors charge less partly because they don't have the hype associated with festool.  Festool is great stuff, no doubt. I have an ec125 and love it.  It's way more refined than the ridgid it replaced.  But I don't think it's 350$ more refined.  I gladly paid for the festool and will never get rid of it. 

The Bosch that's been used for 15 years is probably better than the ones that are available today, unfortunately.  Lord knows my 25 year old makita skill saw is WAY nicer than the newest version of it. 

 

[JimD]

I've only had my Bosch for less than a year but I like it a lot.  I've never used a Festool sander so I can't compare but the Bosch is the nicest sander I've used.  I used it to strip a bunch of clapboards that had peeling paint.  I was surprised how fast it tore the paint off.  Dust collection is good.  It is controllable with one hand although in rotary mode with 40 grit it isn't much fun.  With 100 or finer, like I would normally use for woodworking, in random orbit mode it works fine one handed.  I still have an old DeWalt 6 inch that is shaped similarly.  There is no comparison.  The Bosch both sands faster and is much more pleasant to use. 

 

[Steven Owen]

Bosch 1250DEVS is the only sander on the market that would hold it’s own against a
Rotex.  They’re pretty close overall with a slight edge in favor for the Rotex in accessories and dust collection. 

 

[PaulH99]

Have you tried the Makita BOS5060j? How does it compare to the Bosch?

Bosch 1250DEVS is the only sander on the market that would hold it’s own against a
Rotex.  They’re pretty close overall with a slight edge in favor for the Rotex in accessories and dust collection.

 

[Steven Owen]

Have you tried the Makita BOS5060j? How does it compare to the Bosch?

Bosch 1250DEVS is the only sander on the market that would hold it’s own against a
Rotex.  They’re pretty close overall with a slight edge in favor for the Rotex in accessories and dust collection.

I’ve used the Bosch.  I never bothered with the Makita.  It doesn’t review very well.  It’s not even in the running.

 

[serge0n]

I was in a similar situation a year ago, when I had to flatten out an ash tabletop. I was choosing between Bosch 1250, Makita BO6050J and Rotex 150.

Makita has very bad reviews, there was also a YouTube video (can't find it anymore) where one of the reviewers demonstrated a tiny, thin metal strip that is used to switch the sander between rotary and ROS modes. He stated that this little strip breaks due to metal fatigue within the first couple of weeks of moderate use and you get stuck with a 1-mode sander. He got 2 replacements from Amazon, all failed. A 1 year warranty does not inspire trust either. Backing pads cost as much or more than Festool's. I'd stay away from Makita.

Rotex is prohibitively expensive.

So I purchased Bosch 1250 DEVS and was using that until I stumbled upon a great deal on Rotex, so I got that one too and was able to compare both sanders side by side. People who say that Bosch's offering is on par with Festool's simply haven't used 2 sanders side by side. Rotex is so much smoother. Dust collection on Rotex is much better, especially with lower grits on a vertical surface.

I was helping my father to strip cedar siding on his garage to bare wood using 40 grit paper, Granat for Rotex, Freud for Bosch. Bosch 1250 was very hard to control and wanted to jump all over the place. Only 6 holes in the sanding paper didn't help with dust collection at all, a ton of paint powder has collected on the ground and a lot of fine dust was in the air. Rotex was smooth, powerful and didn't leave any dust in the air. Some fell to the ground, but it was night and day compared to Bosch in terms of dust collection and ease of operation. There was 3 of us sanding in turns, everyone wanted to grab the Rotex, not the Bosch.

For the tabletop, Bosch fared much better and in terms of power was equal to Rotex, but nowhere as smooth. Dust collection was also not very good, you could feel a lot of dust on the surface with your hand, some particles were in the air. Rotex sucked up almost all of it from the wood surface and nothing went airborne.

Where Bosch clearly wins is the switch between sanding modes, it's very easy to use and you can tell at a glance from any angle what mode the sander is in. Not so with Rotex.

Bottom line is, RO 150 is the best rotary sander, bar none. But it costs twice as much as Bosch 1250. Is it twice as good? Not at all. However, to me personally dust collection is very important and a considerable amount of airborne particles is a deal breaker. Even if I didn't get the Rotex on a deal, I'd still shell out $600 for it eventually. There is no way to collect 95% of sanding dust with just 6 openings in the sanding paper.