RO125 with ct vac for plasterboard and new user of Festool

[Svirre]

I have just started my transition to festool.
Until now I have used makita, Bosch, dewalt, hitachi and other "high end" tools. Not as high end as festool of course but to notches above the average DIYer.

My first order is:
Ct 26 vac
Ts55 saw with track
Ro 125 sander
T18+3 drill/driver
Psc 420 jigsaw
Plus some boxes, bits, abrasives, blades etc.
my order should arrive this week or next I hope

So, first question,
Do people use the RO125 with vac for plasterboard sanding?
Here in Norway (where I am from/live), we use a lot of plasterboard on the walls and in the ceiling. In my own house that I am building on at the moment, I will have plasterboard walls and also no framing around the windows, there will be a typical plasterboard corner between wall and window inset as well.
There will obviously be a lot of sanding of plasterboard, I was thinking maybe I could use disposable vac bags (have also ordered the long life bag) and the RO125 to do this?
I know that there is a dedicated sander (giraffe we call it) but this is too expensive to justify on just my house.
Can I use the RO125 or do I get another one for this?
Would like it to be a sander that I can use later for other work as well, I got the RO125 as I need a general purpose sander anyway.

Great forum by the way, has stolen many hours that should have been used for sleeping

 

[AlexThePalex]

I use my RO 150 sometimes for plasterboard, and while it works quickly I am not impressed by the dust collection when doing so. The Rotex has a very good DC generally, but with plasterboard it takes so much material off DC can't keep up.

For plasterboard I prefer the DTS 400, ETS 150 or ETS 125, their dust collection is very good with plasterboard.

 

[BMH]

I don't know about the RO 125 but I use my ETS 125 all of the time on small drywall projects. Never did a whole house. My brother bought the Planex and vacuum for his house and resold it when he finished his all his drywall. He lost a couple of hundred dollars on the deal but made it up on time saved and clean up.

I do notice that my disposable bags performance decrease with drywall sanding faster then if it was wood products. Probably from clogging.

Good luck with your project

 

[wow]

First, {welcome] to the FOG!

I agree with the previous posters that the RO125 can easily handle the sanding job, but is not a good match if plasterboard is your primary use for it. The dust collection just isn't designed to take into account all of the fine dust that will be produced so quickly.

The Planex, on the other hand, IS designed to deal with this. It has a brush edge that completely encloses the area being sanded so that the fine dust is captured and directed to the DE rather than being 'flung' out into the room. I own the Planex for this very reason. It's just plain amazing!

As BMH pointed out, it's quite likely that you can buy the Planex, use it to finish your house at your leisure, and sell it for nearly what you paid for it. Around here a tool like that would rent for ~$100 per week, so you'd definitely come out ahead by buying one - assuming that the purchase price is doable for you.

Best of all, you'd have the BEST tool in the world for finishing drywall (plasterboard) AND you can work at YOUR pace rather than feeling rushed to get a rental tool back.

And please be sure to post pictures of your project as you move along with it? We LOVE pictures!

 

[Svirre]

Ok, a bit of a mixed bag for the sander for this purpose I see.
I will give it a go and see what it is like before going for other sanders I guess. I am going to try the Mirka Abranet sanding block with extraction for smaller details as well.
I will try to give out some pictures as I move along with my new tools. At the moment, it is very hectic on my site since I have a carpenter in doing some work. I like to do most things myself but there are some things required to be done by a carpenter according to Norwegian regulations. I really hate having other people work on the house, so I am probably a bad client, hanging over their shoulders.

Thanks for the buy/sell advice, I already have some stuff that will be sold after the project so I am trying to limit the use of buy/sell.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

While the Planex is on my "Want" list, in the meantime I've regularly used my RO 150 to sand drywall with reasonably good results. I generally use a ~240 grit Granat paper, in Rotex mode, speed set around 3ish. I DEFINITELY recommend using a Interface pad when sanding drywall, it is very forgiving and makes it easy to feather your edges. Interface pad for RO 125 is part # 492271, for RO 150 part # 496647.

Regarding dust extraction, using a D27 hose is asking a bit much. It sorta works, but like the previous posters mentioned you will have some dust escaping. I've been using the hose that ships with the CT-36 AC (part # 496972), and a Fein step adapter to connect to my RO 150, and I am achieving near 100% dust extraction. So, make sure you are using a 36mm hose to get better extraction results.

Finally, a standard CT vac will struggle to keep up with the dust you will generate sanding drywall compound. While it will likely void your Festool warranty, I've had great luck with the Ultimate Dust Deputy from Oneida, it is a cyclonic dust separator that clicks t the top of your CT. Otherwise, you need to look at a vacuum with pulsed filter cleaning, either the CT-36 AC, or Starmix makes some fabulous vacuums as well, particularly the ISP series (I just got a Metabo ASR 35 ACP and am very pleased with it thus far).

I hope this helps!

 

[Phil Beckley]

Hi
  The other area to consider is using the correct machine and the correct dust extraction Planex + A.C = cleaner environment, better health and better finish.
  The collection rate from a Planex always surprises me considering the volume of dust produced.
RG
Phil

 

[Phil Beckley]

While the Planex is on my "Want" list, in the meantime I've regularly used my RO 150 to sand drywall with reasonably good results. I generally use a ~240 grit Granat paper, in Rotex mode, speed set around 3ish. I DEFINITELY recommend using a Interface pad when sanding drywall, it is very forgiving and makes it easy to feather your edges. Interface pad for RO 125 is part # 492271, for RO 150 part # 496647.

Regarding dust extraction, using a D27 hose is asking a bit much. It sorta works, but like the previous posters mentioned you will have some dust escaping. I've been using the hose that ships with the CT-36 AC (part # 496972), and a Fein step adapter to connect to my RO 150, and I am achieving near 100% dust extraction. So, make sure you are using a 36mm hose to get better extraction results.

Finally, a standard CT vac will struggle to keep up with the dust you will generate sanding drywall compound. While it will likely void your Festool warranty, I've had great luck with the Ultimate Dust Deputy from Oneida, it is a cyclonic dust separator that clicks t the top of your CT. Otherwise, you need to look at a vacuum with pulsed filter cleaning, either the CT-36 AC, or Starmix makes some fabulous vacuums as well, particularly the ISP series (I just got a Metabo ASR 35 ACP and am very pleased with it thus far).

I hope this helps!

I think we crossed on the posts  [eek], and sure a C.T for this is not the way forward with drywall and correct on the warranty point.
RG
Phil

 

[Svirre]

Thanks for the good advice on settings, that was my next question actually. As for model of vacuum, I was under the impression that when using bags in the vac, not the long life one but disposable, the filter would be OK?
I was looking at getting the oneida that has its own box to click on top of the vacuum...

 

[wow]

The current Oneida UDD (the black one) is completely AntiStatic and should be no problem at all. I would NEVER consider doing sheetrock work without it on any Festool DE with the possible exception of the AutoClean models, since they are made to not clog up. Even then, catching the bulk of the sheetrock dust in the UDD instead of the bag makes a great deal of sense to me.

A resounding vote for the UDD from me - and I have an Auto-Clean model!

 

[AlexThePalex]

Thanks for the good advice on settings, that was my next question actually. As for model of vacuum, I was under the impression that when using bags in the vac, not the long life one but disposable, the filter would be OK?

Depends on the volume. If you do a small job now and then, there is nothing the matter. But if you produce lots of dust for a longer period then the chance of clogging will become bigger and bigger.

When I sand plaster or drywall I mostly use my CTL Mini with it. If I put in a new bag it is often totally clogged by the time it is 1/4 full and suction comes to a halt. Mind you, I still have the old paper bags, not the new cloth type so results might vary. When I check the filters, most of the time there is nothing there, but sometimes a small amount of white dust. 

 

[Svirre]

I will give it a go with the dust deputy then.
Has anybody tried festool sanders with Mirka Abranet?
Advertising says they are fantastic, I was thinking maybe it would be good for drywall sanding to get as much dust flowing through the "paper" as possible:http://www.mirka.com/en/Abrasives/Net_Sanding_Range/?productgroup=&product=ABRANET___540

I was hoping my tools would be here now, have to check the supplier to see how far away they are

 

[AlexThePalex]

I never used Abranet myself, so I can only repeat what I've read here: many people use Abranet with Festool sanders and are very happy with it's performance. But make sure you use a pad protector to protect the hook & loop of your Festool pad. Mirka makes those pad protectors also.

 

[Svirre]

Great stuff!
I will go for trying out ro125 with Abranet and protector, my new vac and dust deputy.
Almost looking forward to the sanding job now, I don't usually like that part too much.

 

[Svirre]

Here is the outside of our house from yesterday.
Still a fair bit left.

 

[Brent Taylor]

I have had to do work where I needed it to be dust-free (hospitals  and electronics labs). It is possible to do drywall work dust- free, you have to uses less mud and float each coat, you also may need a fourth coat, than damp sponge and maybe a little sanding. This being said, If you are plastering (brown coat than top coat), you should not need any sanding at all. I am sorry that I am unsure of which system your using, but with a little time, you can learn to apply either system dust and sand-free. I know the extra steps it takes to do this takes time, but it saves both time and money. Less material waste (no dust on the floor or in a bag) and little to no clean-up. Good luck, B.

 

[Svirre]

Thanks for the tip Brent. I have tried the wet sponge before and was not completely sold on it. A lot of my stuff came today, just missed the drill an jigsaw set. Something had happened in packing apparently, so have to wait until next week for that. Bummer.
Anyway, plunge saw, vac, sander, work centre and misc supplies are looking good.

 

[Svirre]

Here is the update on the tools I was thinking would be with me the week after recieving my first tools.
I still don`t have the missing tools and dont know how to get them either

Here`s what happened:
I ordered my tools from Dorch & Danola in Denmark. They seem fairly large at Festool here in Scandinavia and have good prices compared to the Norwegian dealer.
It took a couple of days for them to wait for everything from Germany and I paid for the order by bank transfer while waiting. Everything came from Germany and the order was shipped.
A couple of days after this again, I hear from the shipping company that needs me to pay import duties before the goods are released to me. Papers are sent over and I pay the duties. This takes me a couple of days as well since the paperwork ends up in the spam box of my mail.
No big deal, the shipping company tells me I will get the goods the day after.
The shipping company does not have local drivers so the goods are given to another shipping agent who will deliver to me. They did not have time to drive it out that day, but I can come and collect.
Perfect I jump in the car and drive over to them, one pallet of Festool is there and I sign the papers to release them to me.

I start unpacking and see that some of the things are not there.
499752 T18+3 drill and PSC420 Plus Jigsaw set
495128 Drill set 3-10mm
492523 3.5mm drill with countersink
490178 Jigsaw blades

The value of this is: 
NOK 8725 or
USD 1250 or
EUR 1000

You can imagine my anger with the value of the tools missing!

I call the shop that sent this to me then and there, since the guy at the shipping agent cannot help me and just tells me I have to call the sender.
I took pictures of the shipment before opening it and after (was sending them over to my brother to show off my new tools) and this is sent to my contact at the shop. They say they can see that the pallet has been tampered with (extra tape or something) and that I need to report it to the police as someone has stolen the tools from me.
The shop also calls the shipping agent who does not take responsibility for what has happened.
Police says they will not find out who did it (I have reported it), The shop say they will not follow this up further, I have sent a message to "service" at Festool, as I read about the theft insurance part of the All-inclusive service. No answer from Festool either.
I am trying to get hold of the shipping agent tomorrow but I guess they will reject any claims as well.

Anyone here had the same happened to them, and did you manage to resove this somehow?
I have bought tons of tools and other items both national and international, never had any problems so this is very very frustrating.
Insurance from the sender? Insurance at the shipping agent? I have no idea
Should not Dorch & Danola take more responsibility for this?
Yes, I did sign for the pallet, but I signed for the release of it and then went through the contents then and there, I did not take it home and then went through it. Also , I let them know straight away that there was things missing. The tools would have been missing wether I signed for it or not.

 

 

[Svirre]

so, today something happened all of a sudden.
Turns out that the supplier wants to turn this around after all. It just took some moree nagging and me sending them a more official complaint form. Or maybe they read about it online, who knows.

This time there was another guy calling me, so maybe it took the right person.

Dorch & Danola is now back on top in my book. They will be sending the missing tools next week and all is well.
I am really happy since they gave me some good prices and have a good selection of tools.
Next time, I will of course check the contents of the parcel properly before signing but nor me or them has had this experience before.

I think the next tools on the list for me is vecturo and equipment for the track saw. I want a longer rail (Have the 1400 now).
I am going to look into if it is worth converting my Hitachi router to fit Festool equipment or I should just have a Festool router. I do like my Hitachi though and have used it for a lot of stuff.
Parallell guides looks like something I want and I think the MFT3 is coming on my list as I will make a lot of cabinets for the house.
I like erock`s videoes on youtube, good tips both for beginners and the more advanced