RO-125 FEQ vs. ETS 150/3 EQ Decision?

[stvrowe]

I have the RO 150 E rotex sander (older model) and am looking to get a finer finish.  I am considering the RO-125 and ETS 150/3 sanders to complement my other sander.  The advantage of going with the ETS 150/3 is that it uses the same paper as my rotex so, I don't need duplicates.  The advantage of the RO-125 is that at times, my current rotex is too large.

For those who have both of these, can you get as fine a finish with the RO-125 as you can the ETS 150/3?  Are there any other things I should consider?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[bill-e]

I have the 150/5 and the Rotex 125 and if I had an Rotex 150 I'd get the ETS 150 and not the Rotex 125 to compliment it.

While the RO125 is nice the ETS150 is a better finish sander IMO.

 

[Ned]

...The advantage of going with the ETS 150/3 is that it uses the same paper as my rotex so, I don't need duplicates...

This was the argument I used to myself, and I'm sure many others have.  Hobbyists particularly are taken aback by the initial cost of supplies and figure they can cut into that if they have two machines that use the same stuff.

This reasoning led me to buy the (old) Rotex 150 and the ETS 150/3.  Both are great machines and a joy to use.  But having both, I quickly gravitated to the ETS for higher grits and the Rotex for coarser stuff and polishing.  In other words, there wasn't much real overlap in the supplies.

Why would this matter?  Just this--if I didn't buy the "shared supplies" argument, I would have bought an ETS 125 instead of the ETS 150.  The ETS 150 is the smoothest sander I've ever used, no complaints there.  But I miss having a smaller RO sander, like the Porter-Cable 333 I dumped when I went Festool.

Ned

 

[Bob Marino]

Steve,

The RO 150 and the ETS 150/3 make a great pair of sanders; they compliment each other perfectly

Bob

 

[Hotwheels]

I have the RO 125 and recently acquired the ETS 150/3. After using the 15/3, I can see tha the RO 2125 will have more focused use as a less than 100 grit aggressive sander. The ETS 150 is a subperb machine that seem an ideal sanding tool for the usual finishing tasks.

 

[Joe Jensen]

I have the new RO150, and a 150/3.  I looked closely at the 125 machines, but they do not share the same motor asembly as the 150/3 and 150/5.  The 150/3 and 150/5 are very smooth and have the least vibration IMHO.  If I got a 125, I'd probably end up buying 10 boxes of paper for it so there would be a big expense in consumables up front.  I'd say go with the 150/3.  I just used if for about 5 hours Fri and it is a joy to use.  No problem for me to use it one handed...joe

 

[stvrowe]

Thanks for the replies guys.  The decision has been made and the order placed.  I went with the ETS 150/3.
Steve