RO125 review.

[wotan]

I bought the RO125 along with the CT22. I was really impressed with the rotary power and I got a little careless and ground off some of the molding on this door I was working on. I work as  an exterior painter and restorer, I was using it for stripping of old paint (alligator)
The RO125 is great for horizontal work, like working on a work bench or woodwork suspended between two saw horses.
But if you intend to work on a vertical surface, it is murder to control.  I ran it all day attempting to remove built up paint, but without a side handle it was very hard to control and i got tired very quickly.  Especially with your arms extended over your head. Also i was working off of a 28' ladder.  Maybe if it was a few pounds lighter, you wouldn't need a side handle. A few other observations I made:
1) The edge protector doesn't really work, shake shingles & thin trim  got underneath the protector and rendered it useless or knocked it off. I think the protector need to extend flush with the pad.
2) The soft pad that ships with the tool is too soft for vertical work, tears up real easy, you definitely need the hard pad.
3) The weight is 5 pounds, but it's not that light,especially when working over your head for extended periods. It needs an optional  side handle for better control and handling.

  In retrospect maybe i should have tried it on some other project, but I returned it. This tool might be great for carpenters and woodworkers, but it needs improvement for painters.  I kept the CT22 which is awesome and I bought a  ETS 125 EQ which works great and the weight is awesome too.  I wish Festool would come up with a backpack vacuum, that would make working off of a  ladder so simple.

 

[PaulW]

I had the RO 125, traded it in for the RO150
The 150 with the 6 inch pad and more power is much more stable and the added power is a plus for removing paint.  ;D
The edge protector has allways worked well for me.

 

[wotan]

I guess with the RO 150 you at least have a side handle for better control?  Like I said in the review I only used it for one day, and probably should have tried it out longer.  I guess with all the different sizes of trim on these old houses I work on I was looking for a smaller diameter pad.

Another problem i have with sanders is that more often than not, roofers shoot nails through the soffets and edge of the facia. If you don't flush cut everything you see it tears up the pad, and that was an issue with the edge protector. I realize that these tools were designed for the woodworker and I am trying to adapt them to my style of work. The edge protector worked great up against wood that was 2" or thicker, but i was sanding facia near the roof line and it would get caught under the flashing.  I guess I'm just bitching, I mean a person does the research and finds the equipment they think is going to be the ultimate be all/end all tool and  you buy it and it is less that stellar.  My tennis elbow was acting up  at the time too and I'm sure that added to my distaste.
I started using the ETS 125 for finishing  cracks in the ceiling with drywall compound, it works great. I hate sanding ceilings by hand, hate,hate,Hate!

I was wondering if anyone else besides Matthew has used a RAS115? I sure would like to see another review on that tool.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

    I don't have the RAS but since it is designed for removal it certainly seems more suited to your task.  Same weight but I bet it strips faster than the Rotex and thus you won't be holding in awkward positions for as long.  I did a quick google search and found this-
               

Seth

 

[jaegerhund]

Hello --- this being my first post here, I would like to say I appreciate all the information on this site.

I have both the RAS115 and RO125.  The RAS is definitely faster for removing paint.  It has a very slender profile and is easy to handle --- I can handle it with one hand on horizontal surfaces if I need to.  You do have to watch out for burning the paint and/or the pad but with a little bit of trial and error, the rotating speed can be set to match what you're sanding.  If I find that  the paint is starting to bubble and collect on the sanding disk, I move on and hit it again after it cools a bit.  If I had to do serious paint removal on vertical/overhead surfaces, this would be the tool I would use.  Amazingly,  it leaves a surface that is fairly uniform with little gouging.  It also can get pretty close in for doing edge work.

The RO125 is slower for removing paint, but I've had little to no problems with it burning paint or the pad or even mucking up a disk. Sometimes, I use the RO125 after the RAS115 to remove the remnants of problem paint and clean up and level the surface. 

Both are great products when used for their designated purpose.

Justin

 

[semenza]

Hi jaegerhund,

  Thanks for the first hand experience information. That is one of the things that makes this forum great. And welcome to the FOG

Seth

 

[jaegerhund]

Thank you Seth  --- seems like a bunch of great guys here with brains definitely worth picking.  If anyone has any definite questions about the RO125 or RAS115, please ask away as I'll do my best to answer.

Justin

 

[robtonya]

Welcome Justin, great info, I was really wanting the RO150, maybe when I get my extra tax check ;D

 

[pmkierst]

I did a quick google search and found this-
               

Wow. I don't even need to strip anything and I want to buy one.

 

[jaegerhund]

Thanks RobTonya for the welcome.

Right now I am restoring some double hung windows.  I am removing the windows as well as the casing(s) and I am able to lay the pieces out and comfortably sand them (in a horizontal configuration).  As such, one can easily get by with the RO125 as it will get the job done and is easy to handle.  Even with crystal 60 grit  and in the more aggressive mode, it leaves a surface that is perfectly suitable for repainting ----- the first time I used the RO125, I was really amazed at the quality of surface it left behind.  I have tried to use the RO125 on vertical surfaces and though it can be done, I would not want to do it for long. 

The RAS115 , even though it uses a pure rotary mode, is easier to handle for me than the RO125 as the RO125 tends to bump and bounce a bit.  Because it has a smaller disk surface, it  can better get into tight spots  ---- today I was using it to actually sand deglazed muntins (the rabbet portion) and was really impressed .  I have used a disk grinder quite a bit (summers spent when I was younger in oil field machine shops dressing up repaired tongs) and even though the RAS115 is of the same configuration , it is much easier to handle --- amazing really. 

Justin

 

[wotan]

Well,

I went and did it!  I bought another Festool sander. I bought a RAS 115 and I do like it. Even though it is about the same weight as the RO125 it is much easier to handle. You have to think about the direction you are sanding in and move the brush/vacuum piece so you don't blow debris in your face. I did make the mistake of letting the paint gum up on the pads and it caused the edge of the stickfix hard pad to wear off. I then reread the manual and discovered the error of my ways.  A somewhat expensive error, I am still using it.
It really cleans up painted ceder shake like there's no tomorrow.  Like Jagerhund stated you have to back off when the paint starts bubbling and let it cool and go back to it.
Most of my painting buddies use the Makita 5" disc sander for paint removal, but it throws paint dust & chips at least 10' from the house, if you are not careful it will gouge cedar shake or clapboard when you start it up.  I always use a respirator and goggles and ear plugs, but no matter how hard you try that Makita will get paint dust in your eyes & ears every time.Granted it is very light weight, but I was looking for something a little more enviromentally sound.  The RAS 115 .04 E  is about twice as heavy as the Makita but it won't gouge upon startup, and that adjustable brush insert deflects the majority of the debris from your face. The vacuum doesn't work as well as the other sanders that have holes in the pads, but it does pick up the majority of the dust.  You still need to drop off your work area.  You can also remove the adjustable handle and mount it on the opposite side for left handed users.
I also recently read in the local paper that the EPA is going to require everyone that does any restoration on houses or buildings where children reside to be certified in lead removal by 2011. This bodes well for the use of Hepa filtration in the restoration field.
New question and it's not about a Festool product: Does any body have any experience with the Metabo SXE 400 compact orbital disc sander? It uses a 3 1/8" pad and I figure it would be great for really small areas.

 

[jaegerhund]

I haven't used the Metabo SXE 400 but do you think it would be aggressive enough for paint removal (if that's what you want it for).
I think Metabo is manufactoring most (a lot) of their products in China and I've heard that there has been a corresponding decrease in quality.

Justin

 

[Frank Pellow]

...
  I kept the CT22 which is awesome and I bought a  ETS 125 EQ which works great and the weight is awesome too.  I wish Festool would come up with a backpack vacuum, that would make working off of a  ladder so simple.

Now, there is a great suggestion.  I have done lots of sanding on ladders with my Festool sanders connected to a vac and have never been able to find a good spot for the vac.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I don't have a need for a backpack vacuum at the moment and most of my house is low in elevation, but I still think that is great idea.  Do you envision a corded model or a gas-powered one?  If the fuel cell engineers and manufacturers ever get their technologies perfected at reasonable cost, a revolution in the design of many products will occur, including portable powered tools.  Think of a saw that you don't have to plug in or recharge for weeks or months.

Dave R.

 

[Notorious T.O.D.]

Dave,

I may be ahead of my time but I have a couple of those saws in my shop already...I usually call them handsaws...LOL

Best,
Todd ;D

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Todd,

Do you mean HPKAS (Highly Portable Kapex Ancestor Saws)?  I have quite a few in my collection, too.  Here's one in use since I had so much stock and work in progress in my small shop that I could not move the long board to my cheapo CMS which was sitting on the floor under the table.

(smile)
Best wishes for the Holidays and all days!

Dave R.

 

[Neill]

Dave,

I think I have one of those hanging on a pegboard in my workshop.  It looks just like one of my jigsaw blades, only bigger and with a wooden handle.

The last time I looked at it it had some reddish-brown crap all over the metal part.  Do you think that I have discovered some kind of chemical or galvanic reaction that will enhance the performance of this implement?

Neill

P. S. When I ran the spell checker it selected "reddish-brown" and offered "rattlebrain" as the correction.  What the...