ROTEX or RAS?

[justinmcf]

hi all, i am considering buying the rotex or ras.

at the minute, i am making timber slab furniture, my mate mills the timber, and i turn it into rustic slab furniture.

there is a lot of saw blade marks on the slabs which i have to remove, they are 1mm-4mm deep grooves. timber slabs vary in size from 400mm-600mm wide by 2 meters - 3 meters long.

we use 5 and 6 inch grinders to remove these marks/ grooves, but the amount of dust created is unbelievable!

i then use the festool bs 105mm belt sander with 80 grit and 100 grit to remove all marks left by the grinders.

next i use a festool ets 150/5 and ets 150/3 to finish with 120, 240, 320 grits.

we dont have access to workshop machinery because we work outside, most of the time where the logs are milled.

which product would you recommend for fast removal of rough timber material.

rotex or ras?

cheers, justin.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

RAS for sure.

 

[Dongar]

RAS for shaping or grinding Rotex with Cristal if you want to smooth and level after belt sanding.
Don

 

[nickao]

In that application you are still going to get dust using the RAS.

I do not think the RAS is going to help you much for your application.You are holding the grinder onto a 3 D object, correct?  If you are I just do not see you getting any dust collection off the RAS. Possibly moving the shroud to the correct position will help catch some of the debris.

I believe you need flat surfaces and have to move the shroud around all the time for any  effective dust collection at all with the RAS and still nowhere near the other Festool sanders dust collection performance. That being said after trying one it is next on my list of Festool purchases for the shop.

Fast removal most say the RAS.The Rotex is still darn good but I actually need something more powerful my reason for getting the RAS and the new Fein through the Pad 8" Rotary sander. The Fein blows that RAS away, but it is a huge monster to hold up.

 

[justinmcf]

hi nickao, all slabs are on stools, so i am always working on a flat horizontal surface, i never try to sand surfaces vertically.

i think the fein would be too heavy, in australia we can get the RAS 180, i think that size would be perfect, a hardwood slab can take up to 15 minutes to grind, and somedays i will grind 30 - 40 slabs, weight would be my first consideration, followed closely by dust extraction.

from what i am learning here, the ras is a more aggressive tool than the rotex, that suits me because i already own ets 150/3 and 150/5 sanders.
i dont need a 3 in 1 tool just yet, but theres always a new tool on my hit list!

thanks, justin.

 

[Haugummobelsnekkeri]

Im curious. Since you have the bs105. Do the ras ras flatten faster than the bs? I use bs105 for flatening, it sure beats the rotex. But id be willing to try anything even faster.

 

[waho6o9]

I use RAS first and then the Rotex.

Given your choices and since you have the belt sander I vote for the RAS.

Best luck.

 

[thudchkr]

I had the Rotex 150, an ETS EC 150 and an ETS 150 and seriously questioned whether to get the RAS. I also have 4x24 Porter Cable belt sander for rougher work. After seeing the RAS demonstrated, I ordered one before they become no longer available. The RAS has the capability to aggressively remove stock, yet also displays a finesse that is unobtainable from my belt sander.  It is, however, like the belt sander in that it can gouge your surface in a hurry if you’re not paying attention.

I am convinced the RAS has earned a definite place in my assortment of Festool sanders.

 

[Haugummobelsnekkeri]

I think What makes the bs105 stand out is the sanding frame. It manes sanding with it safe, and the piece gets flat. I can finish of tables only using the bs105 with frame.

However. Some poor alignment with glueups or rough planing sure takes ITS time, even with p40.

Hence the question, if the ras will more rapidly remove stock than the bs.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I think What makes the bs105 stand out is the sanding frame. It manes sanding with it safe, and the piece gets flat. I can finish of tables only using the bs105 with frame.

However. Some poor alignment with glueups or rough planing sure takes ITS time, even with p40.

Hence the question, if the ras will more rapidly remove stock than the bs.

Belt sander with frame is for flattening. RAS115 is for unflattening.

Both will remove material quickly with aggressive grits but the BS with frame only removes the tops of hills. The RAS will remove hilltops but also makes valleys and ditches and holes etc.