NEW ETSC 2-125 & 150-18V battery powered

[FestitaMakool]

Well this should be interesting as the ETSC 125 has a 2mm stroke while the new ETSC 2 125 has a 3.5mm stroke.

That was my thought too. Having the kit with edge guide on the ETSC I may be reluctant to part with it, as on paper it should perform better as a fine sander. I won’t get into these types of test right now, but I will compare later.
As for shipping, tracking shows it should be available for pickup tomorrow afternoon, along with a pair of the “new” Festool color-draped clamps. I have the Bessey ones, I know you too Cheese, and I’ve found I could use more of them They are very versatile.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Some images first:
Table before:

Side by side same pad and 60 grit Granat:

ETSC always to the left - ETSC 2 always to the right:
Divide the table in two, left and right - held both sanders and did the same moves with my left and right hands:
Image last without machines are final result after approximately 12 minutes of sanding.

Notice dust build up on the ETSC 2 in comparison:

Balance weight/flywheel states 125mm:


Now.. with 150 pad (6"):

 

[FestitaMakool]

Note insert: With 125 pad and 125 protector

With 150 pad and 150 protector

125 pad and protector attached and 150 protector and pad stored:

Difficult to show - here’s results with ETSC 2

Here’s result with ETSC:

Again, ETSC to the left - ETSC 2 to the right:

Dust piles after emptying the dust bags:
BEWARE - Here: ETSC 2 to the left and ETSC to the right:

 

[Stu_S]

Thanks for posting the comparison so quickly. The difference in the post-sanding condition of each machine is a bit of surprise. I bought the 150 with the intention of ordering a 125 pad and bumper, so I can't see a reason why that won't work, either.

Thanks again.

 

[Cheese]

Thanks for posting the comparison so quickly. The difference in the post-sanding condition of each machine is a bit of surprise. I bought the 150 with the intention of ordering a 125 pad and bumper, so I can't see a reason why that won't work, either.

Thanks again.

The 150 pad fits the 125 sander straight-away...no modifications. Unfortunately, the 125 pad will only fit the 150 sander with modifications.

 

[FestitaMakool]

As Cheese say, not impossible the other way around, but requires som dremelling work.
I’m curios whether the counterbalance have anything to say, if different between the two. It felt very equal in vibrations with both pads.

 

[onocoffee]

Sorry if I'm a bit obtuse - but are we expecting the ETS EC/ETSC2 150mm pads to fit on the ETSC 125 sander? Because my understanding as been that the 150mm ETS EC pads never did fit on an ETS/ETSC 125.

 

[Cheese]

Very interesting @FestitaMakool ...

I'm surprised at how the ETSC 2 "soils" itself compared to the ETSC sander. I noticed the pile of saw dust was smaller with the ETSC 2 but maybe that's because the ETSC 2 wears more of the dust. The removal rate appears to be the same for both sanders inspite of the different orbit sizes, is that correct?

The photo of the ETSC 2 minus the pad is also interesting. They chose an aluminum fan instead of the normal plastic variety, I wonder why?

Here's a photo of the ETS EC 125 without a pad vs your photo of the ETSC 2 125. Note that both sanders use the same bearing/retainer/shaft assembly, 200017.

 

[Stu_S]

The 150 pad fits the 125 sander straight-away...no modifications. Unfortunately, the 125 pad will only fit the 150 sander with modifications.

Bugger. I thought that was going to be straight forward. Are there any pics/guides on here to show the modification required to the 125 pad? Thanks

 

[Cheese]

Bugger. I thought that was going to be straight forward. Are there any pics/guides on here to show the modification required to the 125 pad? Thanks

The 150 mm pads have 2 small areas that need to be machined out on the 125mm pads. In this photo you can see that the 150mm pad will fit the 125 sander without any modifications, but not the other way around.

The other alternative is to swap out the 150mm drive shaft for a 125mm drive shaft but that's a $90 modification.

 

[Stu_S]

Thanks Cheese. I'll hit it with the Dremel. Much appreciated.

 

[FestitaMakool]

Thanks guys!

Here I’ll l try write write up some of my first thoughts further below.

- Regarding the dust build up on the new sander I was a bit surprised myself - even the vent holes on the 4Ah battery was contaminated.
Could it be that it is more static? I felt the blow from the outlet without the dustbags to feel very similar. There were also build up on the aluminium fan blades (Removed before the photo). In contrast the ETSC was almost clean in comparison..
This could also be a result of the differences I found, here in my first thoughts:

(I’ll call them "old" and "new" just for ease - the latter does not replace the former in my opinion)

# Old felt better in handling, less noice, less vibration in the hand - overall a very smooth sander - so this will definitely stay!
# New spins the disc considerably faster, higher removal rate. It’s very visible and you can feel it working more aggressively.
- This also shows when sanding - it throws the dust centrifugally.
# New with the 4Ah battery feels heavy.. it’s 400 grams more with battery.. than the old. I’d grab the old long before the new when sanding vertically or overhead for longer sanding sessions.. Horizontally moved it’s not a big difference. Still the old has the edge from my subjective opinion. @mino has a point that Festool should bring back Bluetooth on the 3Ah batteries.. but, se next:
# I cannot verify in an absolute manner that both batteries where freshly charged, at least both showed all three led dots as full when I started.
After the 12 minute session on full speed (I noticed I had knocked the speed dial on the old at some point)
When finished the new blinked and warned empty, the old had lost only one led dot with remaining two leds glowing. Both ran the exact same time. Given that the new is more aggressive, with faster rpm rate, it’s possibly more power hungry.
# Yes, the dust pile (without any form of measuring) seemed to be a bit bigger from the old, it seem to collect dust better.
Now, I’ll test on the same surface during the weekend with the 150 pad to see comparison on the dust build up and collection.

The new have a more aggressive removal rate, and felt very efficient, apart from the dust collection. It is also visible on the table where there is more paint left after exact same sanding time - although it wouldn’t be much more time on the old before the results would be similar.

- I’ll also see if I can get better close up photos of the finished surface.

 

[IrvinPang]

Thanks guys!

Here I’ll l try write write up some of my first thoughts further below.

- Regarding the dust build up on the new sander I was a bit surprised myself - even the vent holes on the 4Ah battery was contaminated.
Could it be that it is more static? I felt the blow from the outlet without the dustbags to feel very similar. There were also build up on the aluminium fan blades (Removed before the photo). In contrast the ETSC was almost clean in comparison..
This could also be a result of the differences I found, here in my first thoughts:

(I’ll call them "old" and "new" just for ease - the latter does not replace the former in my opinion)

# Old felt better in handling, less noice, less vibration in the hand - overall a very smooth sander - so this will definitely stay!
# New spins the disc considerably faster, higher removal rate. It’s very visible and you can feel it working more aggressively.
- This also shows when sanding - it throws the dust centrifugally.
# New with the 4Ah battery feels heavy.. it’s 400 grams more with battery.. than the old. I’d grab the old long before the new when sanding vertically or overhead for longer sanding sessions.. Horizontally moved it’s not a big difference. Still the old has the edge from my subjective opinion. @mino has a point that Festool should bring back Bluetooth on the 3Ah batteries.. but, se next:
# I cannot verify in an absolute manner that both batteries where freshly charged, at least both showed all three led dots as full when I started.
After the 12 minute session on full speed (I noticed I had knocked the speed dial on the old at some point)
When finished the new blinked and warned empty, the old had lost only one led dot with remaining two leds glowing. Both ran the exact same time. Given that the new is more aggressive, with faster rpm rate, it’s possibly more power hungry.
# Yes, the dust pile (without any form of measuring) seemed to be a bit bigger from the old, it seem to collect dust better.
Now, I’ll test on the same surface during the weekend with the 150 pad to see comparison on the dust build up and collection.

The new have a more aggressive removal rate, and felt very efficient, apart from the dust collection. It is also visible on the table where there is more paint left after exact same sanding time - although it wouldn’t be much more time on the old before the results would be similar.

- I’ll also see if I can get better close up photos of the finished surface.

Thanks for the detailed comparison!
Good news is the new ETSC2 125 can still use those 150mm abrasive pads just fine – works great.
The only thing left to consider now is the significant increase in power usage, roughly three times what the old ETSC one needed.