Rotex Sanders - Need feedback and advice

[MBonomi]

Hi all.

New to Festools and new to this site.

I am thinking about getting a 150 Rotax with the ct26 to replace the use of my belt sander and old vibrator sander. I make custom cabinets and doors (if i have to.) The reason i want to get the rotax is mainly for the dust extracion.

My main concern is a rotary tool for sanding solid stock to veneer like a face frame on a finished end or a shelf with a solid wood edge. With the belt sander you sand with the grain which makes the finish sanding easier. The rotax is going to leave all kinds scratches in all kinds of directions on the veneer.

I can not seam to justify the dust extraction benifit vs the cross grain scratches.

Maybe the rotax is not the right tool for veneers and cabinets?

I will ask the guys at the local woodcraft stor if i can bring materials down and samole the product. Not sure if this will fly with them or not.

Any comments will be apricated.

Thanks

Mark

Any comments will be appricated.

 

[nickao]

It sounds like the ETS 150 is better for you.

It is not going to leave cross grain scratches at all, especially with the CT.

Get both the CT and the sander you will wonder why you did not do it 5 years ago.

If you have the funds get the Rotex 150 and the ETS 150/3 and the CT26 - This is your best option.

If you can only afford one sander, for your situation I would get the 150/5 and the CT 26.

Just my opinion, nothing more.

 

[MBonomi]

I would like one of those too. I guess my question should hav been do people use the rotax sanders for situations like i described?

 

[GPowers]

MBonomi, Festool USA offers a 30 money back guarantee. So get , try it and if you do not like it because it leaves too many scratches return it.

 

[mouppe]

The most delicate sander is the ETS 125. The rotex is the best all-round sander. I recently bought an ETS 125 for veneer work. Your local dealer should definitely let you demo the tools, and there is also a 30-day refund policy to take into account.

In answer to your second question, I use only festool sanders for the work you described. I really cannot stress highly enough how well they work, from the dust extraction aspect to the ergonomics to the results. For careful edge work, I would get the hard pad accessory as it will prevent the sander "rolling over" the edges. It is also better for the higher grits papers when you are polishing, smoothing the finish etc.

 

[MBonomi]

Thansk for your help and answers guys. I will go to the local dealer and try one or two out.

 

[nickao]

+1 on the hard disc, its all I use and you mentioned rails, a virtual must have for that.

If you have never ever used a Rotex I would not start on cabinet faces and veneers at all, you will probably destroy them. You need to practice a long while with that Rotex before you can get it to do fine work. Many guys take them back not realizing the learning curve saying they are just to hard to handle.

Looking and using at a store will not do it, you need the Festool sanders a couple weeks to really fall in love with them, IMHO.

I think the finest sander and most delicate is the ETS 150/3 myself, not the 125. To each his own.  

 

[fidelfs]

MBonomi:

The rotex has dual mode sanding with a gear-driven, aggressive mode for rapid stock removal or polishing and random orbital mode for fine sanding.

The fine sanding it is not the most delicate but you should have acceptable results.  I had only one festool sander  before the RO125.  I used the half sheet bosch sander after the RO125.  I started with veneer with the ro125 fine sanding and I continued with the half sheet.  I had no problem. 
Finally I bought the ETS125 2 weeks ago and it is really nice.

Try it, I don't think you would much problem, and If you don't like it them you can return it before 30 days.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The fine sanding it is not the most delicate but you should have acceptable results. 

Ok, I don't get you people. Keep on insisting the Rotex is nothing but a beast. There's a knob on it and you can dial the speed all the way down to 1. Slab on some 320 or 400 or if you want to go crazy 2000 for all I care and you got a very gentle and well mannered sander that will give the finest results possible. The Rotex can do all any ETS can do. And more. 

 

[nickao]

Well I agree for us, but not for someone that never used a Rotex. Heck I never turn it down, but for someone that never used one the sander tends to jump all over the place.

Maybe you are so used to it you just forgot how different the sander is? You already know the little tricks and its tendencies and take it for granted. Heck, when I first started using it I was not that impressed, not until at least the 3rd week with 40 hours on the sander. But that is me. No one said the Rotex was not a great sander, it is the one I use 95% of the time. I have just learned that telling a new user about this sander is tricky or you may get a call saying, "hey that sander was a piece of crap". I have, received that call. That guy  still does not believe to this day in the Rotex.

If you read comments on the Rotex outside this forum there is a large population that just hate the Rotex because it is so different and tough to handle(at first). Even hundreds of comments over the years in this forum have comments from people saying how hard the sander is to handle and how it jumps around etc. Tell someone that the sander is a dream and they expect the sander to run itself, the Rotex just does not do that. I still have a friend or two that will not even ask to use the sander.

And a finish that the Rotex gives at its best is not as good as the ETS 150/3, not in my hands. Really good, even great or fantastic, but not as good as the 150/3 for me personally.

 

[GPowers]

A Rotex trick we learned in the Festool cabinet class when Gear (aggressive mode) sanding narrow stock is to only use the upper or lower half of the sanding pad on the material.  I you use the middle section of the sanding pad it will jump all over the place. I you think about it makes since. If you are using the middle of the pad you are getting both the up and down motion of the pad going around which causes the Rotex to fight back and jump. Now so if you are using the top or bottom par of the pad.

 

[mouppe]

The fine sanding it is not the most delicate but you should have acceptable results. 

Ok, I don't get you people. Keep on insisting the Rotex is nothing but a beast. There's a knob on it and you can dial the speed all the way down to 1. Slab on some 320 or 400 or if you want to go crazy 2000 for all I care and you got a very gentle and well mannered sander that will give the finest results possible. The Rotex can do all any ETS can do. And more. 

No one said the Rotex is a beast, but the OP is asking for advice on sanding veneers. The stroke on the RO 125 is 3.6mm. The ETS 125 is 2.0mm. The smaller stroke on the ETS may get him to a smoother finish quicker than with the 125, which means less chance of sanding through the veneer.

 

[BigHonu]

I can get pretty decent results with the Rotex, but the ETS (125 in my case) is so much easier to use on vertical surfaces.  Generally, for me plywood = ETS125, solid stock = Rotex/ETS125.  I find its harder for me to mess up the thin face veneer on the ply with the ETS125...though I still muck it up from time to time.  My $.02

 

[WoodChuckWoods]

you should check out the ro 90 it comes out in a few months and might solve some of your probs being able to switch between all three modes?

 

[pdlandgang]

Another tip to help with the "jumping" is to turn down the CT's speed until you feel the sander floating.  I just recently purchased the Rotex 150 w/ the hard pad.  I was not quite sure how I would like it, but after a some time with it I am really impressed with it.  I had to sand down some tops for some dressers I am working on and it did a fabulous job.

I say get the Rotex 150 w/ the CT.  I do not think you can go wrong w/ the combo and after using it you will ask yourself why you were worry about how it would work.

 

[fidelfs]

I forgot to mention the festool sanders need a break in period, so don't get frustrated if the sander doesn't behave as you expected at the beginning.

It takes 6 to 8 hours to break in.

 

[meatman]

The rotex 150 is the better sander, as the surface area is larger than the other sanders keeping it flat and using the correct grit papers you be able to sand your veneer with ease and put on a professorial finish
The Midi dust extractor would be ample to remove the amount of dust that you are going to create

 

[jonny round boy]

Meatman,

[welcome]

Always good to see new members, especially from the UK!

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I find no need to turn the vac down with any sander except my ets 125.

Which I get great results with, contrary to others experiences.

I would just suggest buying them all, you will end up with all them eventually.

 

[fdengel]

I don't think I've ever had any of those problems with my Rotex 150...

In aggressive mode, the scratches may show up, but the motion is not 100% circular, which helps to hide the scratches.  This is the mode which would most closely replace the belt sander, for fast removal / roughing work, *NOT* for finished results.

In random orbit mode, which you would use for finishing, the scratches should be basically non-existent.  In this mode, the results are essentially equivalent to those of an ETS 150/5 random orbit sander.  Not nearly as aggressive, but this is the mode you would be using to get finish-quality results.