RO 90 abrasives for dummies

[awshucks]

Anticipating test driving first Festool sander in the next day or two. Must admit it was a little deflating to discover that the unit arrived with one round sheet of 80 grit. The research I did suggested the thing came with a small assortment of grits, which made sense, considering the 30 day return policy. Hard to stomach dropping $$ on 50 packs of abrasives just to see how the machine works but oh well. Now that I have the whining out of the way ....
90% of my sanding needs these days are bare wood prep and between coats of oil poly, mostly clear fir but some Birch,pine etc.
Would love some advise on abrasives, like most bang for the buck for bare wood and poly applications. I've spent some time on the abrasives section on the website but there seems to be significant overlap between products and thought some first hand experience would be worthwhile.
In the past I have had success using a PC 5" dialed way down with 320 grit and hooked up to a really poor vac. Hoping to be able to surpass those results with the RO90/Ct26 combo.
Thanks for any opinions.

 

[orm8426]

I agree that it is shameful that for such an expensive machine, Festool don't provide a greater selection of paper, included in the box to get you started.

Especially as Festool have such a bewildering array of papers and don't offer mixed sets.  I don't see why Festool can't do a mixed pack of 50 discs (in 90mm, 125mm and 150mm) comprising of:

5 x 24 grit
5 x 40 grit
5 x 60 grit
5 x 80 grit
5 x 100 grit
5 x 120 grit
5 x 160 grit
5 x 200 grit
5 x 240 grit
5 x 320 grit

 

[dpetrzelka]

Our very own WOW worked with Tom at Tool-home.com to create what some of us consider to be the ideal RO90 Granat starter set. I use Granat for all of my bare wood finishing, including on custom acoustic guitars I build. Its great stuff.

Festool Gr-WOW-90x93 - Granat Starter Assortment for RO 90

It includes the following in 90mm diameter format:
2 sheets P40
3 sheets P60
10 sheets P80
10 sheets P100
10 sheets P120
10 sheets P150
10 sheets P180
10 sheets P220
10 sheets P240
5 sheets P320
2 sheets P400

It also includes the following in 93mm delta format:

2 sheets P40
3 sheets P60
10 sheets P80
10 sheets P100
10 sheets P120
10 sheets P150
10 sheets P180
10 sheets P220
10 sheets P240
5 sheets P320
2 sheets P400

 

[orm8426]

Our very own WOW worked with Tom at Tool-home.com to create what some of us consider to be the ideal RO90 Granat starter set. I use Granat for all of my bare wood finishing, including on custom acoustic guitars I build. Its great stuff.

Festool Gr-WOW-90x93 - Granat Starter Assortment for RO 90

It includes the following in 90mm diameter format:
2 sheets P40
3 sheets P60
10 sheets P80
10 sheets P100
10 sheets P120
10 sheets P150
10 sheets P180
10 sheets P220
10 sheets P240
5 sheets P320
2 sheets P400

It also includes the following in 93mm delta format:

2 sheets P40
3 sheets P60
10 sheets P80
10 sheets P100
10 sheets P120
10 sheets P150
10 sheets P180
10 sheets P220
10 sheets P240
5 sheets P320
2 sheets P400

Would be great if one of the bigger suppliers in the UK would make such a set. Or god forbid, Festool themselves accommodated their customers with such an offering.

 

[awshucks]

My sentiments exactly. Granted, I don't expect a ton of paper, but one lousy sheet and none for the delta attachment! My Fein came with an entire pack of different grits and that was 20 yrs ago.
I also agree it is a crazy collection of abrasives which is why I posted. No doubt if I am happy with the sander I will eventually have a slew of different kinds but to get started I'm looking for the work horse that is a balance between longevity and results.
Is there a site or blog somewhere that discusses the relationships between abrasives, pad speed and vac suction or is it all just developing a feel and a sixth sense? My gut tells me the latter but I'll keep looking.

Thanks dpetrzelka, will check that out.

 

[awshucks]

Under normal use on soft bare wood, how long do these sheets tend to last? I can go through Norton sheets pretty damn fast even using a vacuum. Hope these have better legs.

 

[dpetrzelka]

Festool can speak to this more definitively, but I'm guessing due to the widely varying end use of their sanders, as exemplified by their diverse offering of abrasive styles and grits, means it would be challenging for them to provide an assortment with the sanders that fit everyone's introductory needs.

For use fine finish wood workers the high grit Granat would be ideal, for guys doing major stock removal it might be Rubin, Crystal if you're removing heavy finishes, or Titan for the automotive industry...

It would be wonderful if the sanders came with more robust starter sets of abrasives, but I'm not sure we could all align to what that starter set should look like. And then we'd be frustrated that we were paying for the abrasives in the set that we didn't want/need.

That WOW set from Tool-Home is almost unbeatable to get you up and running (sanding).

 

[orm8426]

Festool can speak to this more definitively, but I'm guessing due to the widely varying end use of their sanders, as exemplified by their diverse offering of abrasive styles and grits, means it would be challenging for them to provide an assortment with the sanders that fit everyone's introductory needs.

For use fine finish wood workers the high grit Granat would be ideal, for guys doing major stock removal is might be Rubin, Crystal if you're removing heavy finishes, or Titan for the automotive industry...

It would be wonderful if the sanders came with more robust starter sets of abrasives, but I'm not sure we could all align to what that starter set should look like. And then we'd be frustrated that we were paying for the abrasives in the set that we didn't want/need.

That WOW set from Tool-Home is almost unbeatable to get you up and running (sanding).

I'm sure that's a very similar answer to the one Festool would give.

But something in the box would be better than nothing in the box. Also an attempt at a universal starter pack for wood workers, would not suit everyone, but would suit a great many.

So let's just say it... Festool are simply being tight-fisted. I just had a look and even a £20 "own brand" catalogue store random orbit/delta sander and even that comes with a 25 piece assortment of varying grit paper.

 

[SittingElf]

I have gone to Tool-Home for assortments and Tom is exceptionally helpful at putting together the sets. STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!

You won't be disappointed!

Cheers,

Frank

 

[elfick]

I've got to shout out for Tom at tool-home.com also. I just got that same FESGr-WOW-90x93 described above and couldn't be happier.

 

[VW mick]

To be honest I got a couple of sample packs of granat with my RO 90. Which actually got me onto granat which I bought for my other sanders. I'm still using the samples have not bought any RO 90 granat yet as I bought quite a lot of brilliant with the sander

 

[Wuffles]

To be honest I got a couple of sample packs of granat with my RO 90. Which actually got me onto granat which I bought for my other sanders. I'm still using the samples have not bought any RO 90 granat yet as I bought quite a lot of brilliant with the sander

How long ago was that Mick?

 

[VW mick]

Probably about 3years. If I remember il did out the packets I've still got them

 

[Wuffles]

Probably about 3years. If I remember il did out the packets I've still got them

Ah yes, Festool were a little more generous back in those days.

 

[VW mick]

Yes I think so .I've also got a pack of about 30 jigsaw blades I got with my trion
Am still using them

Probably explains why. They stopped giving away consumables