I have recently purchased a number of Festool products, including the RO150 with the CT22. I was very impressed at first, but I have noticed (as have three others who tried it) that in the last week the sander has been ?grabbing? the wood and lurching across the surface. This happens regardless of the material (maple, cherry or poplar). It doesn?t seem to make any difference whether I am applying leverage (pressure) or not.
RO 150 Sander seems to be "grabbing"
- Thread starter Doclv
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- Jan 22, 2007
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Turn the Rotex handle 90 degrees and it should go away.
You shouldn't need to put too much downward pressure on the sander as it could leave swirl marks. Let the sander ride on top of the wood and do the work
Try it and see.
Dan Clermont
You shouldn't need to put too much downward pressure on the sander as it could leave swirl marks. Let the sander ride on top of the wood and do the work
Try it and see.
Dan Clermont
Hey Doclv (is that "Doctor Love"?) - This is a problem many of us have had. Check out this thread:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=2611.0
I've found two things that help: 1) the sander is very sensitive to the angle of the pad on the material. You need to experiment with very slight tilts of your wrist to find the position of the sander that allows the pad to move smoothly. Once you figure this out, you can use very small changes in angle to make the sander move any direction you want, very easily. 2) It seems that there's a break-in period for the sander - maybe 10 hours or so? My guess is that this has more to do with the user learning the sander than the sander changing anything, but it still seems to work. After a few hours of using my RO125, it was much better behaved.
Once you've mastered the sander, you'll be very happy with it, I'm sure. It's an amazing machine.
Poto
I've found two things that help: 1) the sander is very sensitive to the angle of the pad on the material. You need to experiment with very slight tilts of your wrist to find the position of the sander that allows the pad to move smoothly. Once you figure this out, you can use very small changes in angle to make the sander move any direction you want, very easily. 2) It seems that there's a break-in period for the sander - maybe 10 hours or so? My guess is that this has more to do with the user learning the sander than the sander changing anything, but it still seems to work. After a few hours of using my RO125, it was much better behaved.
Once you've mastered the sander, you'll be very happy with it, I'm sure. It's an amazing machine.
Poto
All of the above is true. I find that after sanding about 500 sq. ft. of flooring that control of this sander is almost a no-brainer. Almost because if you let your mind wander it can lurch on you a bit. This is not a big problem, the more you use it the less it will happen, and, if you are not using a lot of pressure, it doesn't do much harm to your work surface that a couple more passes won't erase. I use the machine in the Rotex mode most of the time and have no trouble controlling it. If I do have a small lurch, it is almost always when I am in the process of moving my body to get it out of the way of where I want to sand or when I am trying to rearrange the hose for the same, in other words, when I am paying less attention to the sander. If you are doing work right in front of you, like on the bench, it will soon become second nature to control it. Then you will love what it can do.
I never thought one could have good control by using the handle on the Rotex. I always have my left hand on the top grip or in front(with the edge of my palm grazing the surface). I always have the edge protector on so there is no danger of sanding myself 
. It is nice to be able to feel the surface get smoother without stopping the sanding. My right hand is on the barrel grip. I lightly grip and gently guide the sander across the work. Do not grip the sander tightly because it will tire you and you will not find the balance of the machine. The rotex is so well balanced that one handed operation is easy. Never use alot of downward pressure.
This was my proceedure from when the sander was spanken new to the present and have had no control issues. A brand new sander may chatter a bit while it breaks in.
Eiji
. It is nice to be able to feel the surface get smoother without stopping the sanding. My right hand is on the barrel grip. I lightly grip and gently guide the sander across the work. Do not grip the sander tightly because it will tire you and you will not find the balance of the machine. The rotex is so well balanced that one handed operation is easy. Never use alot of downward pressure.This was my proceedure from when the sander was spanken new to the present and have had no control issues. A brand new sander may chatter a bit while it breaks in.
Eiji
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