Ro150 interface pad

[Master Carpenter]

Hello. LTUFTP.

I have a project with a LOT of timber work, all planed with the hl850 rustic head. Client wanted heavy cuts, but the tool marks sanded out, so I'm using the ro150 with the thick interface pad to clean up the beams. Problem is I have to tilt the sander a bit to get into the deep undulations without rounding them over too much for the clients taste. After maybe 1/10 of the sanding, prob less than 10 hours total on the pad, it disintegrated, shooting the half with the sandpaper on it across the room.

It's not in the budget to buy a dozen interface pads to complete the job. Does anyone have any ideas on how to extend the life of the pads?  Now that I'm concious of the problem, I'll tilt the sander less, but I still need it to get into the deep contours.

Thoughts? Ideas? Tips?

 

[sae]

You'd probably fare better with an angle grinder and a flap disc, or a dedicated tool from Arbortech.

 

[flair woodworks]

Are you leaning heavily on the foam pad to try to make it conform?  What grit are you using?

I think that a smaller diameter pad would be better suited for your application.  The RO 90 has a 90 mm (3.5 inch) diameter pad, and that with the interface pad would fit the curvature nicely.

PS:  What is "LTUFTP"?

 

[Master Carpenter]

Hi Chris

I'm not leaning too heavy, but was in rotex mode on the last few beams which I think is the root of the problem. I guess I'll stop by there this week and pick up a new pad for the 150 and I'll try one for the ro90.

Also using 120 grit.

Long time user first time poster

 

[ear3]

Because of the smaller pad the RO90 is a better bet, as someone already suggested.  Depending on how you use them, though, the interface pads can be shredded pretty quickly.  I just went through 3 this weekend (thank god I get to expense accessories as needed!).

You could experiment with doing the sanding in ROS mode, since this will not stress the pad as much.  You may find your patience wearing thin, though, waiting for the sander to do it's work when it's out of Rotex mode.

 

[Peter_C]

Hopefully you are already doing it...One other thing of note is to be very careful when removing the sand paper. You MUST hold the Velcro when pulling the sand paper off not stressing the foam. Same goes when removing the foam pad from the RO150's pad. Any nick in the foam will accelerate failure.

Even 125 grit on rough wood is something I would consider to put a lot of stress on the foam. I'd probably try a few different options in my arsenal...*sigh* before going back to a Rotex LOL

 

[flair woodworks]

I use my RO 90 for sanding sculptures.  I usually use the lower grits (80 and lower) directly on the soft pad and use the interface pad with 120 grit and higher.  I don't put any more pressure on the pad that what is required to get it to contact the surface uniformly.

 

[sancho57]

I use a interface pad on my RTS400 no issues at all. But if I were you and you are going to do this sort of thing on a few more projects, I would look at the LS 130 you can make a profile to fit what your sanding. I've been doing a lot of refinishing furniture and I'm looking hard at one  to help with the sanding and not rounding over the profiles
http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/linear-sander-ls-130t-loc-/p/567852/

 

[greg mann]

RAS115 is the tool for the job.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I would make the owner buck up the extra money to make his stuff look just how his picky self wants it, or charge more next time.

Sorry, if you can't afford a few hundred bucks in consumables on what seems like a job that should be paying well, charge more.

 

[Woodwork Wizard]

The RAS 115 is perfect for this...

 

[10digit]

My interface pad hand grenated yesterday while in the Rotex mode.  I am a hobbyist and don't use this device all that much.  I was cleaning up some deck hand rails before staining them and after about a half hour of use, the pad shredded and flew apart.  For a machine that cost over $500, I was very surprised that the pad could not hold up to the use it was intended for.  I was using Abranet 50 grit and switched between Rotex and standard modes several times to get the surface prepped.  The machine is about 5 years old - do the pads begin to deteriorate with age?

Is there a different pad that will hold up to the Rotex mode I should be using?

 

[Jamestoolie]

I noticed you have a RO 90 listed in your signature.  I think the small pad might work better.  I have used my RO 90 with an interface pad frequently with no trouble.  I don't think the pads are made for heavy stock removal, as the middle foam part will be the weak link.  If you think about it you have the torque of RO is aggressive mode  and you have the resistance of the sanding pad on the wood surface.  The foam will fail. 

 

[aloysius]

Interface pads are ultra-consumables.  The foam from which they're made is weak, flexible and prone to abrasive, heat and point loaded damage, all significantly shortening its life.

For this very reason I'm not a great fan of them myself.

There's another alternative, however.  Metabo's little SXE 400 sanders are cheap, take 80mm dia. papers (or three & a bit former king/warlord's thumbjoints or twelfths of his bare foot in the old medieval measure) in 40-400 grit, and follow contours like a champ, or unlike anybody else's.

You could try a Festo Rotex 90, but I don't like mine at all for this type of work.  Abysmal ergonomics is just part of its problem.  The little SeXE 400's are just so much more manoevreable, light & handy in comparison.  I have four of them, & often use them 2 at a time with different grits.

Having smaller pads will cause localised heat damage to velcro pads & rubber backing in any small sander with heavy-handed &/or injudicious use, however, and interface pads are an absolute no-no in these smallest sanders.  Having only about 1/5 (20%) of the surface area compared to a big Rotex means that both pads & papers wear 5 times faster too, but also makes carefully controlled contour sanding a quantum less difficult in compensation.

I've had my 2 daughters using the little Metabos for painting prep and general projects right from primary ages through to their adulthood.  I've even used them fitted with some 6mm dowels glued into every other hole of an old pad as a back massager on the slowest speed!  Try that with a Rotex.  Probably the easiest to use, safest, lightest and at slower speeds & with 400 grit papers the gentlest sander I own or have used.

Plus they fit into places any other ROS would find impossible:  rocking horse carvings, between treads in stairwells etc.