I recently had to replace an old sander and wanted to share my experience in case anybody else is stuck deciding between 5in/6in or RO/ETS models.
I already owned a Festool CT26, TS55, OF1400, MFT, and a bunch of other accessories, so I was excited to see if the dust extraction really worked as well as everyone said it did on the sanders. My shop is in the back of a retail store which is only separated by a partial wall, so up to this point I had to take all of my sanding jobs outside. The constant shuffling of tables, dressers, etc. in and out of the shop (and dealing with Chicago weather at the same time), wasn’t working for me. Although I was hopeful the Festool sanders would allow me to work in the shop, I was skeptical. My retail store is full of upholstered furniture and small gifts, so introducing dust into the air isn’t an option.
After doing a ton of research, I decided to purchase the RO 125. My decision was mostly based on the shorter stroke of the RO 125 vs the RO 150 and because I believed I’d be able to use the multimode feature to sand all the way to final finish. I read a mixture of reviews of the sanders and it seemed like some people thought you could achieve an acceptable final finish with the RO line and some did not (many people seem to think having both is the best option). I wasn't ready to invest in two sanders to cover the types of scenarios I use a 5-6 inch round sander for, especially since I had been getting great results from a single DeWalt unit for years. The research I did made me think that there might be a bit more of a learning curve to achieve a great finish with RO, but that it was doable and that the ETS was only a finish sander and would be very slow for dealing heavy material removal. I decided to move forward with the RO 125 and was pretty excited as sanding has always been my favorite part of projects.
The RO 125 was just like my other Festools – it had a solid build and all of the features were well thought out. Upon my first couple of tests, I could see the dust extraction was working better than I could have hoped for and that the RO in either mode was a beast at removing material FAST. All in all, I was happy with the sander, but was noticing that I didn’t really feel the experience it was giving me was as impressive as my other Festools. Namely, I thought the sander was a little hard to handle/not as balanced as it should be and extremely aggressive in both modes (I also wonder if the larger RO 150 has better balance due to the 6” diameter). Because of these issues, I was finding myself not enjoying the sanding process as much.
I decided I wanted to be as happy with my sander as I was with my other Festools, so I ordered the other model I had been considering, the ETS 150/3, to give it a try. The ETS is a different experience altogether. It is perfectly balanced to me, easy to handle, and a joy to use. One concern I had was that it would be significantly slower to use for heavy material removal (I do a good amount of refinishing and work quite a bit with stubborn woods/finishes). While it is true that the Rotex is faster, it did things too fast for me. The ETS works exactly at my pace. I do things quickly but carefully and the ETS is more than capable of doing everything I ask from it. In comparing final finishes, as expected, the ETS was a cut above the RO for me.
I think both sanders have their virtues, but I am in love with my ETS 150. I think the Rotex models are extremely impressive in how fast they remove material, but ultimately I would have ended up buying an ETS for finish sanding. My concern about the ETS only being a finish sander was unwarranted – with the proper abrasives it is the best general purpose sander I’ve ever used.
If you’re between the Rotex and ETS, I strongly recommend trying the ETS first. I don't think there is any argument that it is quieter and more balanced. Try the ETS on one of your more demanding jobs - if it can keep up and do what you want it to, you may not need the power of the Rotex. If you get the Rotex, you may like it and it may work just fine for you, but the ETS might be an even better fit for you and you'd never know.
I already owned a Festool CT26, TS55, OF1400, MFT, and a bunch of other accessories, so I was excited to see if the dust extraction really worked as well as everyone said it did on the sanders. My shop is in the back of a retail store which is only separated by a partial wall, so up to this point I had to take all of my sanding jobs outside. The constant shuffling of tables, dressers, etc. in and out of the shop (and dealing with Chicago weather at the same time), wasn’t working for me. Although I was hopeful the Festool sanders would allow me to work in the shop, I was skeptical. My retail store is full of upholstered furniture and small gifts, so introducing dust into the air isn’t an option.
After doing a ton of research, I decided to purchase the RO 125. My decision was mostly based on the shorter stroke of the RO 125 vs the RO 150 and because I believed I’d be able to use the multimode feature to sand all the way to final finish. I read a mixture of reviews of the sanders and it seemed like some people thought you could achieve an acceptable final finish with the RO line and some did not (many people seem to think having both is the best option). I wasn't ready to invest in two sanders to cover the types of scenarios I use a 5-6 inch round sander for, especially since I had been getting great results from a single DeWalt unit for years. The research I did made me think that there might be a bit more of a learning curve to achieve a great finish with RO, but that it was doable and that the ETS was only a finish sander and would be very slow for dealing heavy material removal. I decided to move forward with the RO 125 and was pretty excited as sanding has always been my favorite part of projects.
The RO 125 was just like my other Festools – it had a solid build and all of the features were well thought out. Upon my first couple of tests, I could see the dust extraction was working better than I could have hoped for and that the RO in either mode was a beast at removing material FAST. All in all, I was happy with the sander, but was noticing that I didn’t really feel the experience it was giving me was as impressive as my other Festools. Namely, I thought the sander was a little hard to handle/not as balanced as it should be and extremely aggressive in both modes (I also wonder if the larger RO 150 has better balance due to the 6” diameter). Because of these issues, I was finding myself not enjoying the sanding process as much.
I decided I wanted to be as happy with my sander as I was with my other Festools, so I ordered the other model I had been considering, the ETS 150/3, to give it a try. The ETS is a different experience altogether. It is perfectly balanced to me, easy to handle, and a joy to use. One concern I had was that it would be significantly slower to use for heavy material removal (I do a good amount of refinishing and work quite a bit with stubborn woods/finishes). While it is true that the Rotex is faster, it did things too fast for me. The ETS works exactly at my pace. I do things quickly but carefully and the ETS is more than capable of doing everything I ask from it. In comparing final finishes, as expected, the ETS was a cut above the RO for me.
I think both sanders have their virtues, but I am in love with my ETS 150. I think the Rotex models are extremely impressive in how fast they remove material, but ultimately I would have ended up buying an ETS for finish sanding. My concern about the ETS only being a finish sander was unwarranted – with the proper abrasives it is the best general purpose sander I’ve ever used.
If you’re between the Rotex and ETS, I strongly recommend trying the ETS first. I don't think there is any argument that it is quieter and more balanced. Try the ETS on one of your more demanding jobs - if it can keep up and do what you want it to, you may not need the power of the Rotex. If you get the Rotex, you may like it and it may work just fine for you, but the ETS might be an even better fit for you and you'd never know.
