New Granat Profile sanding sponges

[Michael Kellough]

Just ran across these on the Festool USA website. The 80mm x 133mm could be really handy when used on the LS 130 sander.

Grit Abrasives 80x133 GR PRO/10-Set Granat PROfile

www.festoolusa.com

I really do hope this soft pad works and looking at this photo makes me think the more the foam is compared the less it can wiggle so maybe my doubt is overblown.

 

[mino]

Funny you mention that mino, I was shaping a custom pad just last weekend for my LS130, and it occurred to me that aside from the retaining clips, it also has 4 screw holes. And as the PU pads are hard, there's no reason you couldn't simply make new equivalent pads out of timber, HDPE, etc, and simply drill 4 holes to screw them on.

The velcro sheets are super cheap on Temu, Ebay, etc, I bought a 10m roll of 150mm for not much at all. And if you want a softer pad then standard 150mm interference or protection pads can be cut to suit.

I think the linear motion makes it a great candidate for jerry-rigged pads.

Yep, indeed so with the LS 130. Though my comment was more generic.

E.g. I am confident my RS 200 E will be useless 20 yrs down the line as no pad will survive by then and making a foamy one is no fun/realistic .. same with other discontinued tools.

 

[onocoffee]

IMO Festool should create a category of "essential" consumables which will cover things like pads for the LS130 and other high-wear/limited lifetime items and include them in the 10 years parts guarantee.
This needs to be public - so the customer knows which consumables are guaranteed to remain available.

On the economy side, all that is needed is that once the sales of those consumables inevitably dwindle, raise prices to keep them still profitable to stock towards the end of the guaranteed availability period, instead of dropping them as is the case today.

Considering I'm about to buy an RS2 tomorrow, I don't know if ten years is long enough for their sanders!

And on raising prices, for certain things they most certainly do. A five pack of filter bags for the CT22 now costs $56 (I remember it being half that a year ago when I passed on it because I thought it was too pricey).

 

[PaulMarcel]

Funny you mention that mino, I was shaping a custom pad just last weekend for my LS130, and it occurred to me that aside from the retaining clips, it also has 4 screw holes. And as the PU pads are hard, there's no reason you couldn't simply make new equivalent pads out of timber, HDPE, etc, and simply drill 4 holes to screw them on.

The velcro sheets are super cheap on Temu, Ebay, etc, I bought a 10m roll of 150mm for not much at all. And if you want a softer pad then standard 150mm interference or protection pads can be cut to suit.

I think the linear motion makes it a great candidate for jerry-rigged pads.

I've created 2-3 custom pads for the LS-130 using Bondo. Don't know if I have any around still (and as I type this, I have a couple questions for myself!) Worked well to create an exact copy of some of the moulding in my house to clean and refinish. Learned it from Charles Neil.

 

[luvmytoolz]

3D printing would be awesome for that too. In fact, if you'd like I could model a generic base (with the screw hole patterns ) that could then be customized for new use cases.

I think that would be useful for a lot of people here. If it helps here's one I prepared earlier that I was planning to CNC. I did add extra pockets for the expanding foam to key into.

I can email a dxf file if anyone needs, the outside measurement is 132mm x 80mm.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The reason the custom pad blocks are hard is so the linear motion is actually transferred to the surface of the abrasive, as you know and anyone who has used them knows.

So I’m doubtful that will occur with soft foam in between the machine and the abrasive, even more doubtful the coarser the abrasive. If you apply enough pressure for the abrasive to wrap around the profile the abrasive will stop moving and you’ll just wiggle the foam.

But maybe…

This is exactly my concern. The only pic I saw was RTS 400. If it applies to a lot of other forms, I'd assume the ROs would be the best candidate. Rotex mode would easily overcome the movement of the foam.
The tiny stroke of the ETS, RTS, etc might not do so well. It would be nice to be proven wrong.

 

[PaulMarcel]

I think that would be useful for a lot of people here. If it helps here's one I prepared earlier that I was planning to CNC. I did add extra pockets for the expanding foam to key into.

I can email a dxf file if anyone needs, the outside measurement is 132mm x 80mm.

There are some curious profiles there...

 

[luvmytoolz]

Considering I'm about to buy an RS2 tomorrow, I don't know if ten years is long enough for their sanders!

And on raising prices, for certain things they most certainly do. A five pack of filter bags for the CT22 now costs $56 (I remember it being half that a year ago when I passed on it because I thought it was too pricey).

Don't hold off on the RS2, it is a sensational sander and you'll really appreciate it on the jobs it excels at.

The bags costs I totally get though, the cost for us is usually double the cost for the US, and I really struggle to spend up big on something that's intended to be thrown away.

Consequently three of the CT's have long life bags, and with my 45 year old SR5E (38L) I bought with a pack of 5 bags, which I slit the end open and use two bits of wood to clamp the end tight, so I can tip the contents out.

I'm getting between 10-15 years use out of each bag before it needs to be replaced, and I'm down to my second last bag, that's the kind of economy I like! ;-)

 

[PaulMarcel]

For the CT-22 bags (I have a CT-22, btw) maybe look at a CT-26 longlife bag. Sure, it's bigger than the 22, but it just means it could hold more than the interior of the 22 will allow. I snagged a longlife bag for the 22 and bought one before I even got my CTC-Sys vac. They are so much more convenient and overall cheaper than the 5-packs. Maybe I shouldn't say that since I believe I have a 5-pack of the 22 bags sitting somewhere...

 

[luvmytoolz]

There are some curious profiles there...

Hey Paul, the pic is looking from the "Top" face, the one against the sander. But as highlighted in the attached pic, a lot of the holes are just for giving the PU as much to kay against as possible, the only holes of consequence are the four screw holes in the corners, with the two centre rows good to add for dust extraction if wanted, but are not necessary. From memory I based the design on the spare "shapeable" pad that has some extra dust extraction machined in. "i've attached a pic of the standard base for comparison.

 

[onocoffee]

For the CT-22 bags (I have a CT-22, btw) maybe look at a CT-26 longlife bag. Sure, it's bigger than the 22, but it just means it could hold more than the interior of the 22 will allow. I snagged a longlife bag for the 22 and bought one before I even got my CTC-Sys vac. They are so much more convenient and overall cheaper than the 5-packs. Maybe I shouldn't say that since I believe I have a 5-pack of the 22 bags sitting somewhere...

The CT26 bags will fit the CT22??? I ask because when I look at both of the longlife bags: Longlife-FIS-CT 22 and Longlife-FIS-CT-26, they don't look like the orientation of the port is the same.

Filter bags

www.festoolusa.com

 

[PaulMarcel]

The CT26 bags will fit the CT22??? I ask because when I look at both of the longlife bags: Longlife-FIS-CT 22 and Longlife-FIS-CT-26, they don't look like the orientation of the port is the same.

Filter bags

www.festoolusa.com

Ah, that could be. -insert-rabbit-hole- So the Longlife-FIS-CT-22 seems to be available from a couple dealers when clicking through the FestoolUSA page.

And you are correct that the position of the port is centered on the 26 vs on the side of the 22. The 22 and the 33 were active together and I noticed the 33 bag looks identical albiet larger. If the 22 isn't available, click through the FestoolUSA page for the Longlife-FIS-CT-33 bag. In fact, you may like the 33 bag better if you click through the Beaver Tools link as it is $70 cheaper than the 22.

 

[onocoffee]

Ah, that could be. -insert-rabbit-hole- So the Longlife-FIS-CT-22 seems to be available from a couple dealers when clicking through the FestoolUSA page.

And you are correct that the position of the port is centered on the 26 vs on the side of the 22. The 22 and the 33 were active together and I noticed the 33 bag looks identical albiet larger. If the 22 isn't available, click through the FestoolUSA page for the Longlife-FIS-CT-33 bag. In fact, you may like the 33 bag better if you click through the Beaver Tools link as it is $70 cheaper than the 22.

Thanks. I'll check those out.

BTW, I was looking for videos on YouTube about the RS2E - is that you on Half-Inch Shy? Very informative on the RS2 - Thanks for that too!