RO 150 vs RO 90

[Birdhunter]

I had the ETS 125 palm sander and loved to use it for finish sanding. I wanted a more aggressive sander but with the Festool dust collection so I bought the RO 150.

I tried it on a box top I was making out of ebony and paduck. Even on the aggressive setting and 80 grit paper it was really slow going. After a while, I gave up. I got out my big Porter Cable sander and got the job done in seconds.

I returned the sander to the store and bought a RO 90.

Wow, what a pleasurable difference. Had to watch Halfinchshy to learn how to switch pads as the manual isn't very helpful. The RO 90 was great both in the aggressive and the fine mode. Ended up turning the speed down to 4 from the 6 it was set on out of the box.

The RO 90 will be a keeper.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Not sure what was going on with your RO 150, because it's just as aggressive, it not more so, than the RO 90.

 

[Kev]

Yes - there was certainly something going wrong with your RO 150 trial, it's a beast ad should have made mince meat of the porter cable's efforts ... If you still have a need for a RO 150 form factor you should really look into it again and find out what was going wrong.

 

[jc]

Not that applying force to a sander is the "correct" way to use the RO sanders but in some cases, I do apply some force to the head of the sander for quick aggressive removal, especially on surfaces whose quality I don't really care for.  With that said, the same applied force to the head of the sander would result in lower sanding pressure for the RO150 vs the RO90 due to the difference in contact surface area. 

I have found the RO90 and RO125 to be EASIER to remove material in a pinch compared to the RO150.  EASIER being probably a combination of handling, maneuverability and effort/force applied to the head. 

 

[Birdhunter]

Most of my work is on smaller stuff like boxes and small furniture. The RO 90 and ETS 125 combination is perfect for these pieces. If I have a larger piece in the future, I may try another RO 150. Mine may have been defective.

I have a BUNCH of Festool products and, until the RO 150, they have all a joy to use.

I like working with exotic woods and have had allergy issues with the dust. Since replacing almost all of my tools with Festool, I've had zero allergy problems.

I notice I spelled Padauk as Paduck. Oops.

 

[Scott B.]

I've been running ro150 alot in recent weeks for aggressive stock removal and finish sanding. It is one of the most misunderstood sander, in my opinion.

 

[peter halle]

I've been running ro150 alot in recent weeks for aggressive stock removal and finish sanding. It is one of the most misunderstood sander, in my opinion.

Just curious - why do you feel that way?

Peter

 

[Scott B.]

I've been running ro150 alot in recent weeks for aggressive stock removal and finish sanding. It is one of the most misunderstood sander, in my opinion.

Just curious - why do you feel that way?

Peter

Its on my list of things to expand upon in more detail, but in a nutshell, I have spent several weeks with all Rotex and RAS, which is a shift of gears for me, as I tend to gravitate to the orbitals and cabinet grade. But I do have a fair amount of hours logged with Rotexes, and while they are family, they are all different. The 150 especially.

Because of its size and horsepower (figurative), the RO150 seems to be perceived as a material removal or aggressive stock preparation specialist. Where you really learn about the RO150 in Rotex mode is when you are on technically strippable surfaces, but not intending to strip. It will go as deep as you want, and deeper, so when it becomes an exercise of getting the tool to hold back, you learn about the tool. With the 150, you can't fight it, you can only work with it. So, how do you do that when its probably the most commonly discussed sander in the family with potentially aggressive tendencies? Thats one side of it. The other is just what a truly random orbital sweetheart it really can be. 80 g in gear driven and 80 g non are a simple example of its multiple personalities.

I guess the big thing for me, and it flies in the face of what alot of Festool purists want to hear, is that the RO150 is the one in the group that doesnt really want to be treated all the time with the classical Festool recommended technique. Sometimes it wants to be up on edge, and most of the time (for me) it wants to be held way out back by the hose and always with the grinder style handle attachment for a much more versatile pivot point. None of this is really anything that others on the fog haven't pointed out at times, but it really takes some hours on the tool to figure out how to get it to do exactly what you need in the moment without skipping a beat.

I'd be more vague and abstract if I could.

 

[skids]

I've been running ro150 alot in recent weeks for aggressive stock removal and finish sanding. It is one of the most misunderstood sander, in my opinion.

Just curious - why do you feel that way?

Peter

Its on my list of things to expand upon in more detail, but in a nutshell, I have spent several weeks with all Rotex and RAS, which is a shift of gears for me, as I tend to gravitate to the orbitals and cabinet grade. But I do have a fair amount of hours logged with Rotexes, and while they are family, they are all different. The 150 especially.

Because of its size and horsepower (figurative), the RO150 seems to be perceived as a material removal or aggressive stock preparation specialist. Where you really learn about the RO150 in Rotex mode is when you are on technically strippable surfaces, but not intending to strip. It will go as deep as you want, and deeper, so when it becomes an exercise of getting the tool to hold back, you learn about the tool. With the 150, you can't fight it, you can only work with it. So, how do you do that when its probably the most commonly discussed sander in the family with potentially aggressive tendencies? Thats one side of it. The other is just what a truly random orbital sweetheart it really can be. 80 g in gear driven and 80 g non are a simple example of its multiple personalities.

I guess the big thing for me, and it flies in the face of what alot of Festool purists want to hear, is that the RO150 is the one in the group that doesnt really want to be treated all the time with the classical Festool recommended technique. Sometimes it wants to be up on edge, and most of the time (for me) it wants to be held way out back by the hose and always with the grinder style handle attachment for a much more versatile pivot point. None of this is really anything that others on the fog haven't pointed out at times, but it really takes some hours on the tool to figure out how to get it to do exactly what you need in the moment without skipping a beat.

I'd be more vague and abstract if I could.

Deep thoughts..I guess I know what you mean, hadn't thought this critically about it I suppose. I do think the Rotexes, particularly the 125 (which I own) and the 150 take some hours logged to get a good rhythm  down. I found my hand placement, how high the vac was turned up (almost all the way down works best for me) and the material all factor in to it's performance very much. My point is, you have to reserve judgement on these sanders, they are more sophisticated than most, and be patient enough to learn how they work.

I love my 125, and if I run into a need a for a smaller sander the 90 is on my list, overall the 125 is very universal and tough as nails.

 

[tiralie]

I found my hand placement, how high the vac was turned up (almost all the way down works best for me) and the material all factor in to it's performance very much. My point is, you have to reserve judgement on these sanders, they are more sophisticated than most, and be patient enough to learn how they work.

Agreed. Vacuum setting, paper (120 Cristal vs. 120 Rubin e.g.)  and type of wood are all factors in getting the best results. I really like my 150 and the ability to cover a lot of surface area quickly and switch from aggressive Rotex mode to random orbit mode.
I hate sanding, but I know it determines the quality of the finish more than any other factor. I think it's the difference between a finish looks good and when it looks so good you just have to touch it.
As an aside, when Tommy Macdonald dropped off the Bombe Secretary to his finisher he didn't realize how much rubbing out she had done to get the final finish.
Tim

 

[davee]

I've been sanding on a white oak slat table top over the last couple of days, using both the RO150 and RO90.  I found the RO150 to be significantly faster for stock removal (both in Rotex mode with 80 grit Rubin).  Both are excellent sanders.

 

[TurnagainD]

We use the hell out of our RO150, mostly prepping Doug fir timbers, and have been very happy with how fast it takes material down.  I have found that using 40 grit of 60 grit saphir maybe adds a step but it roughs the material so much quicker and with less effort that there is less "swirlies".  Once we get to 120 grit I like to use the ETS though.  It is less of a wrestling match than the RO 150.  I like the RO90 too but the larger surface on the 150 usually wins out.  I have found the RO 90 is small enough to sand the inside of a shallow radius, the triangle pad is handy too.