RO90 running on random orbit seems very weak-- is it broken?

[eagle32]

I have an RO90 that I have not used much and for the last two weeks I have been working on repainting my boat and I have two guys helping me and they have been using my RO90 -- and I picked it up yesterday to do some sanding on the random orbit setting and the pad hardly spins and I can stop it easily by pushing onto the surface or even with my hand-- just seems very anemic. It sands fine on the aggressive setting however--

I have an older Rotex and it also seemed very weak in the random orbit setting so I sent it in for repair-- but it was making lots of clanking and grinding noise-- so it was easy to know it needed repair-- but this RO90 sounds like it always has -- so my question is whether on the random orbit setting should the pad still spin with some integrity? Should I be able to stop it easily with my hand?

thanks--

Jeff --

 

[Brice Burrell]

Jeff, it is normal.  This is one, and only, weak points of the RO90.  If you adjust your sanding method a bit, paying a little more attention to holding the sander perfectly flat with no downward pressure the pad with rotate as it should.

 

[Laminator]

I think it would be nice to hear a festool technical explanation as to the weak rotation of the ro90 pad when in random orbit mode.  With my sander, you cannot really call it a 3 mode sander as the "random" part of the orbit really doesn't exist.  Is it really designed to be this way? Just curious as for most of my needs it stays in rotex mode which is awesome.

 

[semenza]

Hmmmm, I was using mine today, and didn't have too much trouble. I think it probably comes down to technique. I have noticed that because the pad is small and the tool is not even close to balanced (especially with the hose attached) that I have a tendency to push down more than with  other sanders in order to keep the  pad flat. Definitely more of a problem when using it one handed. With two hands I find that a little lift at the back helps keep the pad flat without pushing down much on the front. More like "up force" not really lifting.

Seth