RAS...wow

[ear3]

The other contractor who's been working on the art installation I'm on has also been assembling a collection of Festool -- and I don't think we could have planned it any better, since he seems to have all the ones I dont, and vice versa, so we've been trading back and forth. Anyway, included in his kit is the RAS, which I've come close to getting a few times but just never pulled the trigger.

I had to take off a number of oak battens that are covering the seams on the wall panels, and then remove the adhesive from the back before repositioning them, and I realized I didn't have anything coarser than 80 grit for my RO150, and it was a paper that I knew would gum up pretty quickly....so I borrowed his RAS and set to work.  It took me under a minute to get the adhesive off the back of the entire 8 ft board with that monster.  I then used it as an ersatz disc sander to scribe a curve on the end of some other 1x boards, which it did faster than you can say scribe.

And all with minimal  dust, of course.

All I can say is wow. I think I'm going to have to get me one...

 

[stvrowe]

The RAS is a jewel that is a must have for certain types of work.  I have used it to scribe side splashes to a post-formed laminate countertop and it worked great.  I am also remodeling my home and took up a linoleum floor that was glued over the entire surface (not just the perimeter).  Having an RO150, I decided to use that to remove the left over adhesive from the underlayment and it took me the better part of a day to prep a fairly small room.  That process wore me out.  I should have used the RAS and at the time actually had it.  For the next four rooms, I used the RAS to knock down high spots, grind construction adhesive, paint, joint compound, etc. and learned quickly the RAS is a much better tool to use for this activity.  It cut the time down to 30-45 minutes for a large room.  I wouldn't exactly call the RAS dustless particularly when pitted against leveling compound but overall, it did a decent job of collecting debris.

 

[peter halle]

The RAS is one of those tools that really hasn't gotten its due.  A number of years ago simultaneously several users posted videos on the RAS and scribing.  The popularity increased and Festool USA went into a backorder situation.  Supposedly even Germany inquired what had happened to boost sales.

My RAS was purchased for one project and I swore to my wife that it might be going back within the 30 day period if I didn't get the job.  She laughed at me.  I did the experiment and it worked great, but the customer decided to not go thru with the job.  The RAS stayed with me.

Peter

 

[bigjonh]

RAS goes on every job with me, framing to trim, whatever.

 

[greg mann]

The RAS is the best kept secret in Festool's arsenal.

 

[nickao]

Please bring the RAS 180 to the USA!

 

[ali]

The RAS is the best kept secret in Festool's arsenal.

I've got to admit I didn't even know it exists and I love everything Festool.

Needs more publicity and marketing!

 

[ear3]

Just ordered one up.

I'm curious about paper selection for the RAS.  I added to the order the lowest grit Saphir (24g) and Rubin (40g), but I noticed that Festool offers the full line of Rubin paper at 115mm, up to 220 grit.  For what applications would one want to use the higher grit paper on the RAS, or step up through the grits (40, 60, 80, etc.)?

EDIT: Just watched Paul Marcel's review of the RAS, where he noted that because of the aggressive nature of the sander, it makes sense to start with a slightly higher grit than you might think.  But I'm still wondering about when you might use grits 100 and above...

 

[Dwayne]

Interesting, not available in Canada. Wonder why?

 

[peter halle]

Interesting, not available in Canada. Wonder why?

The RAS does not have the required Canadian Electrical certification.

Peter

 

[curt boyer]

When I'm scribing crown moulding or hardwoods I'll use 80 or 100 grit because the 24 and 36 grit is big and leaves a rough edge. When you use the RAS to scribe make sure you wear safety glasses as the grit and chunks of wood go a flying! I keep 24,36,50,80,100 grit paper with the RAS and I don't see the need to go any higher in paper grit. Awesome tool!
Cheers
Curt

 

[JonSchuck]

Just ordered one up.

I'm curious about paper selection for the RAS.  I added to the order the lowest grit Saphir (24g) and Rubin (40g), but I noticed that Festool offers the full line of Rubin paper at 115mm, up to 220 grit.  For what applications would one want to use the higher grit paper on the RAS, or step up through the grits (40, 60, 80, etc.)?

EDIT: Just watched Paul Marcel's review of the RAS, where he noted that because of the aggressive nature of the sander, it makes sense to start with a slightly higher grit than you might think.  But I'm still wondering about when you might use grits 100 and above...

I used mine with an interface pad for an RO 125 to take the rust off four wing struts for an old biplane I am restoring.  I think I used 120 grit.  Maybe higher.  For this you are supposed to exchange the brush for a metal one and put a spark-arrester on the vac but with the interface pad on, the sandpaper  was projecting out past the brush and the vac wasn't doing any good.  So I just took the brush off and sanded them outside with no vac.  Worked good except for some corners and things that I had to sand blast.