New to me LS130 ...

[Mike S]

All,

I have acquired a new-to-me LS 130.  When I take it out of the Systainer, there is a damp spot underneath which turns out to be oil.  The sander itself is damp on the metal housing just under the plastic case on the right side of the sander.

Normal, or not good ?  I would expect this to be bone dry.

Let me know your thoughts. 

 

[Birdhunter]

Cannot imagine that being normal. Mine was bone dry.

 

[copcarcollector]

So after you cleaned it off, did it leak more or.....?

 

[Mike S]

So after you cleaned it off, did it leak more or.....?

Haven't cleaned it off yet.  Wanted to check first.

I can't imagine this has a gear case full of oil. 

 

[Cheese]

I haven’t used mine in 18 months. Pulled it out of the Systainer and it’s bone dry.

 

[Mike S]

I called service... a little too late. 

They will touch base with me on Monday.  The gal that runs the Recon store doesn't believe there is anything to be concerned about, but she will be verifying with service on Monday.

 

[sancho57]

Wipe it off use it a few times let it sit if no more oil appears and it runs good I wouldn’t sweat it

 

[aloysius]

I've had & used a couple of Duplex sanders (LS130s) for some years now.  Bone dry so far, but that's the least of this tool's issues in my opinion.

In fact, over some 30 odd years the only Festo/ol's that I've had leak oil are the Kapex 120s, a well known & pretty endemic issue:  I've come across some 10 or so with this particular problem, including my own.  Maybe some slight ullage from the casing of my Trion jigsaw too, but not enough to be of concern.

 

[Mike S]

I've had & used a couple of Duplex sanders (LS130s) for some years now.  Bone dry so far, but that's the least of this tool's issues in my opinion.

Ut oh, what issues do you feel this tool has?

I am kind of jazzed about it, but now you have me wondering ...

 

[Mike S]

Wipe it off use it a few times let it sit if no more oil appears and it runs good I wouldn’t sweat it

now that I called service and documented it with photographs, I have no idea why I haven't wiped it off.  *sigh*

I plead the fifth.

Probably because a need a fifth.

 

[aloysius]

I've had & used a couple of Duplex sanders (LS130s) for some years now.  Bone dry so far, but that's the least of this tool's issues in my opinion.

Ut oh, what issues do you feel this tool has?

I am kind of jazzed about it, but now you have me wondering ...

Its just too flamin' s-l-o-w in use.  Honestly, a hand block, appropriately sized dowel or shaped wooden offcut wrapped in painters' paper is much more efficient, if a tad more messy in operation.

The convex pads' backing foam doesn't seem to last either.  A combo of frequent, rapid paper tearoff, exchange & repositioning, UV exposure & a bit of heat generated by friction seems to prematurely break down the contact between the velcro hook sheet & the foam, which tends to just crumble away. beneath.

The coarser papers on the profiled pads are forced to follow the same track back & forth, which leads to rapid, premature clogging with painted finishes.  Unlike orbitals & random sanders, the individual sanding papers last no time at all.

At about AU $60+ ea. for the profiled pads the promise of a simple and easy hand-sanding substitute is in reality more of a disappointingly slow, expensive-to-run disappointment.

I no longer have either of mine:  one was nicked, the other gifted to my ex-wife with a CTL Sys as a subtle form of "payback".  None of them are missed, neither are the sanders!

I've since picked up Mirka's DEOS orbital with similar base dimensions (but no profiled pads obviously):  as with all Mirka's sander range that I've so far experienced & used, it's just "a better mousetrap"  than the alternatives.  It's not just the gamechangeing Abranet abrasives either;  Mirka just seems to make a superior tool these days.

 

[JFelchlin]

I’ve had my LS130 - Along with multiple profile heads - For 5+ years.
Nary a leak of any kind.
I’m not a professional - But a serious hobbyist.
So, my tools get used regularly - But not daily, hard use.

For me, the LS130 is a terrific, multi-use sander.
Admittedly, it’s not an “aggressive” sander - Like my RO125 FEQ Rotex Sander -
But, for finish sanding a variety of surfaces/contours - It’s a great tool.

Hope you get some answers - And a satisfying “fix”.

 

[aloysius]

I will concede that the Duplex sander's accessory scraper base is a pretty useful addition if you have the need.  Just the ticket for removing smaller scale glued coverings such as worn stair tread protectors etc.  The tool's linear action lends itself to the scraping action quite efficiently.

If fitted & used backwards, it makes for a much more comfortable grip.  Keep the leading edge clean & sharp-ish & don't overwork it.  Let the tool do the work, not you.  If the action becomes too "juddery" or it pig-roots, then you're pushing it a bit too hard.

This is a pretty worthy successor to the old Festo RS1 carpet/tile scraper from the 90s, which interestingly had a lovely long accessory handle that allowed floor-level scraping from a standing position.  I believe this tool is still made, but it's orbital action makes it a bit less efficient & vibratory in use.

 

[yetihunter]

[member=9481]aloysius[/member] and I disagree about everything.  [big grin] I love the LS130. 
It's always on the ready during finish sanding.  You have to be sure to
not go cross grain with it, which means (in my case) there's an RTS and DTS working with it.....and even a RO90.  Obviously, I generally prefer the round 125 and 150mm ROS's for the bulk. 

 

[sancho57]

General question for those who have a LS130.

How is it for removing old paint?

I have some exterior painting to do on my house.

Paint on some of the eaves and fascia are peeling and need to be repainted?

Normally I would do this with a paint scraper and a wire brush.

Just curious, thanks for your advise.

 

[aloysius]

As previously mentioned, the Duplex sander is not all that accomplished at paint removal tasks.  Nor at paint maintenance.  Alternative sanders will do a much better job, quicker & less expensively in regard to consumables too.

Problem one is the linear action.  Whilst quite suited to timber finishing duties & maybe even intermediate sanding between finish coats, the paper is forced to follow the same track back & forth, rapidly clogging even stearate coated papers such as the Brilliant range & its equivalents.  It can't effectively sand up against "stopped" substrates, such as where a weatherboard butts against a corner block, architrave or sill moulding.  The tools just wants to bounce back fairly violently without abrading into the right angled concavity.  Angling the pad to compensate will induce excessive wear & premature breakdown of the pad's foam backing.  The papers just rapidly clog and can't be easily cleaned with abrasive cleaning blocks.

Problem 2 is slow operation.  It's probably the slowest sander I've ever used for paint removal.  In descending order of effectiveness & speed the following rules seem to apply for paint removal:  rotary sanders are the fastest but messiest, fastest of all being a mini-grinder fitted with a flexible backing pad & 16g abrasives.  Not really recommended, as it's terribly messy.

Next fastest is belt sanding, with 24-40g belts.  Belters tend to be big, heavy & fast, & a big handful on all but flat, horizontal surfaces.  Overhead or vertically or even held horizontally against a wall they can in fact be quite dangerous to operate, and are again not really recommended.

Next best is the rotary gear-driven eccentric action of the Rotex type machines.  Fastest is of course the big 'uns, like the Rotex 150 or the Fein 200mm machines.  I'm told that Rupes make a pretty good Rotary sander too, as do Makita & Bosch, but haven't as yet had the pleasure myself.

Next is the standard random orbit eccentric sanders.  Examples are legion, at a bewildering variety of price points.  The current state of the art in random orbit machines seems to be EC motored machines: Mirka/Metabo's Direct Eccentricity Random Orbit Sander (DEROS) in 8mm, 5mm & 2.5mm orbits in aggressive/general purpose/fine eccentricities respectively & Festool's own EC 150 random tools in 5 or 2.5mm grades.  These tend to feature a killer combination of extreme light weight (

 

[sancho57]

[member=9481]aloysius[/member]

Thank you, that was a very detailed review. I have the rts400 which might work for overhead as its not to heavy. I also have the fien multicaster with a scraper blade that works ok. 

again thanks

Ron

 

[Cheese]

I also have the fien multicaster with a scraper blade that works ok. 

I've used the LS 130 with the scraper blade for removing tile mastic from a bathroom plaster wall. It worked well if the mastic wasn't strongly bonded to the wall. In those cases, nothing short of a sharp chisel would remove the mastic and sometimes it took out some of the plaster along with the mastic.

If the paint is loose and peeling you may have some success with the scraper blade.

 

[jjowen]

At the bottom of the pile are the linear sanders, being much more suited to finishing work than paint stripping.  I bought my 2 LS130s for this precise purpose:  stripping multiple aged layers of paint from hundreds of meters of complex colonial mouldings in a Victorian house, only to be bitterly disappointed in their miserable performance. 

Darn, that is more or less why I bought mine. From my limited use of the LS130 so far, I am not at all surprised by your findings. Though I have found the lamellae pads (extend the pad beyond the body of the sander to get in under things) to be very useful. When I get around to the exterior of the house, I will just have to remember to take the Rotex and DTS400 too!

 

[yetihunter]

[member=9481]aloysius[/member]

Thank you, that was a very detailed review. I have the rts400 which might work for overhead as its not to heavy. I also have the fien multicaster with a scraper blade that works ok. 

again thanks

Ron

The RTS, actually has a pretty fast removal rate for it's size and power. 

Honestly, for dedicated paint removal, I'd look into primarily using the Metabo Paint Stripper (or similar cutting tool) and then using any given geared ros (doesn't have to be a rotex) sander or a rotary sander or variable speed angle grinder with interface pads for the curved surfaces.  All of these things have dust extraction in 2018.

And to the op, the grease that Festool uses can certainly seperate if the tool sits without getting hot for awhile.  In that case, some oil will leak out wherever it finds it's way.  No big deal.