Move over DTS400, there's a new king of orbital sanders.

[Lemwise]

So today my employer surprised us all with another new purchase, three Rupes LS71T orbital sanders to replace the old Festool sanders. The Festool is the most used sanders among boat builders in The Netherlands and for good reason. It's solidly build and the result is very good. The new Rupes sander however is even better. It's lighter, quieter, the motor is more powerful, the fan is bigger and the Ventury filter is the dogs kahuna's. You can literally see the machine sucking up the dust as you sand. Apparently it has a TNO 2 hours dust free sanding label. (TNO is a Dutch applied sciences/knowledge centre and the regularly advise the Dutch government and help them develop guidelines.) But what's most important is the end result the machine produces and it's excellent, even better than the DTS400 imo. Using 120 grit it leaves an extremely even scratch free surface on wood ready for varnishing.

 

[tony_sheehan]

Interesting....... not too expensive either

 

[oldie]

In the UK, there's one on eBay that is due to finish in 2/3 hours - (It's about 09:50 local time at the moment.) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262023075245?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT 

Interestingly, there are three versions: rectangular, triangular and 125mm circular. 
Each is available with, or without speed control. 

2mm orbit. 

Here's link to a PDF of the English instructions - lifted from the eBay site.   http://www.maxolen.co.uk/images/rupes/le71te_english.pdf 

Spoke to the importers earlier this morning, and unfortunately the 'backing plates' or whatever there're called,
cannot be swapped over.   

Richard (UK) 

(edit: removed unnecessary words) 

 

[Holmz]

Some of their sand look pretty nice... 680-gms, and 200-mm planetary, which is like an RO I think?.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

The Rupes delta sander looks very similar to the Flex ODE 100-2 delta sander.  The Flex even has the same or similar dust canister attachment, although that type of accessory could be manufactured by a third company for multiple brands. The Rupes and Flex sanders are similar enough that it could be easily presumed Flex is manufacturing the sander for Rupes or Rupes for Flex. I think I read on a different forum at one point that Flex might even be manufacturing some of the similar sanders for Festool. When I checked there were differences between some specs such as speed range, so if Flex is/was the OEM then Festool requested differences like they did with Vecturo.  This is a link to the Flex sander.
https://www.flex-tools.com/gb/Produ...ifen-_exzentrisch-orbital/ODE_100-2/index.php

 

[Stephen B]

From Italy to Australia too.
Near equivalent prices to Festool; eg,  Rupes 3mm/150mm Random Orbital Sander @ A$622 compared to Festool ETS150/3 @ A$619.

Interesting that their dealers in my State are Auto Supply Shops and Car Dealers; none are timber based tool dealers. Probably explained by a large range of air powered sanders.

[attachimg=1]
http://gngsales.com.au/products/our-brands/rupes/

 

[Holmz]

[member=19746]Untidy Shop[/member] , they are about 1/2 price from the old country, and shipping is ~50Eu.
So it doesn't make sense if the tool is cheap or if you can't get it tag-n-test.

So ~650 for the the one that is 950 here.

And one generally saves enough to offset warranty concerns.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

From Italy to Australia too.
Near equivalent prices to Festool; eg,  Rupes 3mm/150mm Random Orbital Sander @ A$622 compared to Festool ETS150/3 @ A$619.

Interesting that their dealers in my State are Auto Supply Shops and Car Dealers; none are timber based tool dealers.

[attachimg=1]
http://gngsales.com.au/products/our-brands/rupes/

In the USA Rupes seems most popular with auto detailers, similar to Flex.

 

[w802h]

I think the bevel on the DTS pad would be a big selling point for Festool's sander.  As good as the EC models are, I wonder if brushless technology will be employed in a small RTS/DTS type sander. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

I think the bevel on the DTS pad would be a big selling point for Festool's sander.  As good as the EC models are, I wonder if brushless technology will be employed in a small RTS/DTS type sander.

The Rupes also has a beveled pad. And eventually you can count on brushes being phased out completely.

 

[AlexThePalex]

In the USA Rupes seems most popular with auto detailers, similar to Flex.

Same here in Europe. Rupes is the No 1 choice in automotive. My father had a body shop and we mostly had Rupes random orbit sanders. Festool is trying hard to break into the automotive sector. And Rupes is trying hard to win more ground amongst woodworkers and house painters.

 

[Cheese]

Same here in Europe. Rupes is the No 1 choice in automotive. My father had a body shop and we mostly had Rupes random orbit sanders. Festool is trying hard to break into the automotive sector. And Rupes is trying hard to win more ground amongst woodworkers and house painters.

Ya, Rupes has a close working relationship/partnership with 3M which has always had a very tight relationship with the automotive body shops.

 

[Lemwise]

The Rupes delta sander looks very similar to the Flex ODE 100-2 delta sander.  The Flex even has the same or similar dust canister attachment, although that type of accessory could be manufactured by a third company for multiple brands.

Apparently Rupes developed this new filter and markets it as the "Green Tech" filter for use by third parties. What also interesting is the the 2 hours dust free sanding label is based on sanding wood. Seems to me they're not just targeting body shops and painters with the new filter but also woodworkers. Here's the TNO test report on the sander.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The Rupes delta sander looks very similar to the Flex ODE 100-2 delta sander.  The Flex even has the same or similar dust canister attachment, although that type of accessory could be manufactured by a third company for multiple brands. The Rupes and Flex sanders are similar enough that it could be easily presumed Flex is manufacturing the sander for Rupes or Rupes for Flex. I think I read on a different forum at one point that Flex might even be manufacturing some of the similar sanders for Festool. When I checked there were differences between some specs such as speed range, so if Flex is/was the OEM then Festool requested differences like they did with Vecturo.  This is a link to the Flex sander.

I would sooner think Rupes makes that sander for Flex. Milwaukee also has the very same sander, a rebranded Rupes LS21A.

Both Festool and Rupes make all their own sanders, as far as I know. Though the Rupes and Festool sanders like DTS400 and LS21A look very alike superficially, when you see them side by side they have their differences. I once had the opportunity to compare my DTS400 with the LS21A for a day long, using them side by side.

Rupes and Festool are the two big competitors in Europe when it comes to sanders. They constantly look at each other and copy eachother's designs.

 

[Lemwise]

So today I sanded an aft cabin with the Rupes and I definitely prefer it over the Festool DTS400. The suction on the Rupes combined with the filter works great and the filter also acts as a handle for your other hand giving you more control. The Rupes also runs smoother and leaves a noticeably better finish.

 

[mike_aa]

So today I sanded an aft cabin with the Rupes and I definitely prefer it over the Festool DTS400. The suction on the Rupes combined with the filter works great and the filter also acts as a handle for your other hand giving you more control. The Rupes also runs smoother and leaves a noticeably better finish.

In my opinion, this is no king.  I really don't see any reason to get excited.  I use an RTS400 and it works fine without ever needing another handle for it.  Also, I don't want to have to empty an auxiliary filter every 15 minutes of sanding so I will stick with my Festool which works just fine with excellent dust collection and easily coordinates with all my other Festool sanders.  When a cordless version with excellent dust collection is available, I might get interested.

 

[Holmz]

[member=60576]Lemwise[/member] said it also runs smoother and leaves a better finish.
As he has used both, I assume he knows?

 

[Cheese]

In my opinion, this is no king.  I really don't see any reason to get excited.  I use an RTS400 and it works fine without ever needing another handle for it.  Also, I don't want to have to empty an auxiliary filter every 15 minutes of sanding so I will stick with my Festool which works just fine with excellent dust collection and easily coordinates with all my other Festool sanders.  When a cordless version with excellent dust collection is available, I might get interested.

Ya I'm with you...if I really feel the need to use 2 hands on a sander I'll grab a Rotex. If I'm using a finish sander I want to use it one handed, making my life easy and not having to empty a very small dust container all the time. This may be fine for some, just not for me.

On the other hand, using this for automobile finishing as it was designed for (minimal amount of dust to collect and empty) might make a difference. It would be interesting to note if this is indeed an automotive sander adapted for the woodworking industry or a wood working sander adapted for the automotive industry. I feel it's the former... [eek]

 

[Kev]

I've had Rupes sanders in years gone by (and I have some Flex gear now too).

In terms of DC, the worst sander I've ever had was a Rupes Delta. This new delta format from Rupes wouldn't need to be that good to still be 1000% better that the previous model.

Runes aren't cheap .. some of their DC gear pricing will shock your pants off!! [eek]

For Festool to win my heart they should bring out a brushless unit that has interchangeable DTS and RTS formats ... that'd be worth waiting for!!

 

[Cheese]

For Festool to win my heart they should bring out a brushless unit that has interchangeable DTS and RTS formats ... that'd be worth waiting for!!

Festool should have done that (DTS & RTS interchangeable heads) 5-10 years ago. [thumbs up]