One last hoorah..

[Iceclimber]

So I'm gonna make another round of purchases.

I did not have any festool sanders to compliment my new army of green tools. I build mostly cabinets and furniture. I do alot of natural finishes but also do a fair amount of painted surfaces.

This past week i picked up a DTS 400 with the pointy pad. I only picked up 120 and 180 grit paper as it was all on a deep sale and thats what they had. Anyway the sander is awesome. I used it smooth the little bit of tearout from some birdeye maple i am working with and to sand some mahogany and teak bench edging flush with each other and the bench top. Mind you the edging is two pieces of 5/4 stock laminated together.

Anyway the sander actually got the job done be it very slow but also very very nicely! Im sure on the bench edging just dropping to 80 grit would had made things move much more quickly. On the birdseye strait out of my plainer the 180 was awesome. I think ill bring it through to 400 with the same sander.

So I'm thinking of buying the ETS125 to get something in my arsenal that is random orbit for quicker material removal and use with the lower grits. My reason for going with the ETS125 is mostly monetary as i NEED a few other things and stretching my money is kinda important at the moment. 

I do have a carrera marble floor i need to hone in the coming months and I'm sure a rotex would be better suited to that but i guess ill cross that bridge when i get to it?

Thoughts?

 

[Kev]

ETS125 is very much a finish sander - not very suitable for lower grits. For serious lower grit sanding ... RAS115 and ROTEX ...

There was a 150 with a 7mm orbit in years gone by, but now it's just the ETS150/5 and /3.

I wouldn't hesitate getting an ETS150/5 ... but if one day you end up with a ROTEX you'll probably want to pair that with something finer (ETS125 or ETS150/3).

ROTEX is the best upfront option as it can perform coarse and fine sanding (and also polish) - it's just a noisier and heavier option long term as you wouldn't use it for fine sanding if you had a fine sanding alternative.

 

[Knight Woodworks]

Pretty much what Kev said. Doubt you'd be happy with an ETS125 for that sort of work. I'd suggest a Rotex for now and add an ETS150 latter.

John

 

[BMH]

The ETS 125 is truly a finish sander and I love it. I would go with the ETS 150/5 if you are looking for a more aggressive sander/finishing. The RO 150 is a little bit of an overkill for furniture and cabinets, I would go for the RO 90 if you need the rotex setting and still have the triangular pad to get into small corners.

 

[NHSP759]

I've got both and my RO90 is great at heavy removal. My 125 is for finish only

 

[TCancelleri]

I just got an ETS 150/3 after contemplating getting the 125. If you're gonna go for 1 finish sander I'd say ETS 150/3. I'm gonna be adding a RO90 sometime after the holidays as I have other non Festool sanders that I can use to do rougher sanding.

 

[Justin Michael]

So I have a question about "finish sanding" and finish sanders.  When I went to buy a festool sander a few weeks ago, i thought i'd get the 150/5 or 150/3 to start.  It seemed like the F1 of random orbital sanders which I've been using as my primary sander for years and the logical upgrade.

I talked to the guys at woodcraft, who said that the ETS 150's were finish sanders and that they were optimized for sanding in between coats of finish. They concluded by recommending a rotex if i was working with raw wood - which we all are until we start putting on the lacquer, poly, shellac, etc - right?  This really threw me off.  So what gives, were the Woodcraft guys just trying to push me into buying a more expensive sander?

I ended up getting the Rotex 150 and its fantastic, no complaints.  I'll probably get a ETS 150/3 in the near future, but I thought i'd ask the FOG for some clarification.  Thanks.

 

[TCancelleri]

The Rotex is a more aggresive sander, it's a great sander for sure. But a finish sander it is not. You can however use it to buff finishes while in Rotex mode, using the polishing pad and some 8000 grit polish.

The ETS 150/3 has a very small stroke. The 3 being the number of mm in which the pad moves, creating very small scratch patterns. My take is the Rotex is very back heavy and keeping it flat on the surface is somewhat cumbersome. You'll get a better finish with the ETS 150/3 with 220 grit than you will with a Rotex 150 with 220 grit. It is a great sander though.

 

[Iceclimber]

Hmmm..

Seems like the logical answer is the 150/3...

I just don't like the answer because " A its more expensive than the ETS125 & B because if I'm gonna spend more than a couple hundred on a sander i cant help but want a Rotex...

I can get one of two 150/3 used at the moment if i want. One is a sander from the recon sale in a classic container for $195. The other is a newish one used on one major project sanding some oak stair treads for finish. That one comes in a T-lock and a maybe 20 sheets of paper and is $250.

I just hate buying used tools when new ones come with a three year warrantee. Im also not stoked about a classic systainer as all my stuff is new style to date.

On the other hand i can but that CT33 and the recon 150/3 for $490 total vrs. $802 for CT36 and ETS125 new...

Its only a $300 savings though vrs new tools. Guess it depends on how you look at things?

 

[semenza]

Personally I think you will find the ETS150 /3 or /5 a better compliment to the DTS400.  It will do a broader range of sanding work while still being a fine finish sander. The ETS125 is more oriented to fine finish sanding.

Seth

 

[Iceclimber]

I have been starting to grasp this concept.

On the other hand my new DTS 400 with 120 on it is actually making pretty good work of getting rid of some minor tearout in some birdseye maple that my plainer just cant help but make.

Its slow but it does the job and it does it keeping the boards flat and not all wavy gravy like a cheap RO in the inexperienced hands...

I was kinda thinking if that be the case the ETS125 with 80 on it should get the job done just fine?

 

[Kev]

There's a point where the grit wants to dig in and move the sander round in your hand - then you know you've gone way too coarse relative to your RO's orbit.

I'd be curious regarding the lowest grit people think makes sense on an ETS125. I would never have considered below 80 ... I would have thought 80 itself borderline. I use the ETS150/5 with 80.

 

[Landmade]

I'll concur with the majority in saying the 125 is a great finish sander and would be misused if anything heavier than 80 grit was used on it.  I'm sorry to say I do not yet have a rotex but rather Bosch's version of it with the same "heavy removal" setting, and sanders like that are key in surface prep in my opinion.  I'm building furniture and cabinets for a living so time is key to get things done as efficiently as possible. I use the larger 6" sander to clean up any residual planer marks or saw marks on larger flat surfaces and then switch to the 125 for  edges and final cleanup with finer grits.    I could certainly get all my work done with just the 125 and running through the different grits, but you mentioned honing some stone flooring as well as woodworking.  For this task I would say the rotex would be my first choice.  Dial the speed down and practice on as crap piece to figure out how the tool moves and cuts to avoid any gouging or cupping before applying it to a project.
As soon as my Bosch dies I'll be buying the 6" rotex. 

 

[Iceclimber]

Thanks guys,

Well you have all successfully steered me clear of the 125 at least for the time being.

I think I'm gonna continue my trend of go big or go home. I started filling my cart at ToolNut with a CT36, RO90 and all the paper needed and it was like $1400. I t made mw think of I'm gonna spend that  kind of money again i might as well just get the right tool. In my case the right tool being the one that has the most crossover and can will see the most use.

So i think not 100% but i think it will be the RO150 Nd the CT36. And some dogs. The woodpeckers stuff and a longer guide rail will have to wait. After buying the two shapes of paper for the RO 90 its kinda like buying the 150 so.. I figure then i have my DTS for the final finish and face frames and stuff like that. Plus its less painfull to go spend $195 on the $125 even if $$$ is tight vrs the RO150.

Only thing it all has me thinking is i could but the Domino XL for the same $$$$ and i could really use that machine. On the other hand i have only the one midi but also a Kapex and a CMS router table.

As my shop is setup now the Kapex has a 5 horse Rigid hooked to it on a auto switch device and then my midi lives under my MFT/CMS setup and then has to be unplugged and moved around when i want to sand or rip sheet goods with my TS.

With the CT sander combo i could dedicate my midi to the kapex and put a splitter on the hose so on that side of my shop i could hook another tool up to it. I could then do the same with the new CT36 saving g myself the headache of alwAys moving around a CT and juggling stupid hoses and cords?

 

[semenza]

I have used the ETS150/5 with 50gr Rubin and even 40gr Cristal. It is a sander with a very wide range.

Pretty sure you would find the ETS125 to be more oriented to fine sanding with a less broad range than the DTS400.

Seth