Rotex Sanding Video

[Stone Message]

Hello Everyone

I went to a trade show not long ago and, of course, made my way to the Festool stand hoping to get a glimpse of the new TS55R. I arrived just as one of the Festool guys started a demo of his sanding technique using gear driven sanders (the Rotex range). It all looked terribly easy and he managed to get a fine finish in next to no time.

For some reason I remembered the demo the other day and decided to try the technique out on a really rough old piece of oak that was otherwise going to help keep the family warm. Here is the short video that I made to share what I had learnt. Luckily I managed to get the Festool guy's business card and so I was able to give him the credit for teaching this old dog a new trick!

Festool Rotex Sanding

He also did a demo of the Surfix system which has changed my idea for general finishing. I am just about to run out of Danish oil and have my first Surfix kit on order.

For those of you who are new to Festool, check out the lack of dust during the whole sanding process in the video.

Peter

 

[vkumar]

Very nice video and demonstration Peter. Thank you for doing it.

Vijay

 

[RC]

Heh, my first thought was that wow, new tune, but sadly no  [big grin]

 

[Kev]

Heh, my first thought was that wow, new tune, but sadly no [bigsmile]

Yes, even sprinkled through the video ... Unfair!

 

[woodguy7]

Lol, not my taste in music either.  Peter, if you do a review on the Surfix oil kit I would be interested to see how it performs on harder to get at areas & thinner stock.  Through only ever see it demonstrated on big areas like table tops.

That is the only thing holding me back from ordering one.

Cheers.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Guys

I missed a trick - I should have done a 'gotcha' when that old tune rolled in. Finding royalty free music is not easy. The Scott Joplin music is being played by my son on his electronic piano. He has promised me something else soon (I hope).

When I get my Surfix I will do a review and will make sure that I cover the awkward areas and thin stock. I must admit that the demo that I saw was also on a big piece of work top. I remain confident that it will suit my needs and, I hope, the majority of the Foggers.

Thank you for being nice to me about my videos. I really do have to turn that piece of wood into a table/stool but it is not the most pressing job on my list.

Take care.

Peter

 

[Acrobat]

Awesome, thanks for that tip. I was totally unaware, although it seems obvious now. I was really only using the gear rotary mode for the rough grits and simply switched to orbital for the finer grits. Thought in rotex gear mode I'd roughen it back up! Now I'll do both modes for all grits. Sweet. Thanks for taking the time to demo and explain it.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Glad acrobat chimed in as I somehow missed this thread first time around.

Nice video; I like that technique and your demo showed it off very well.  That'll be a very nice table; I have many "junk" offcuts like that I can't throw away as they have too much character.

 

[tbellemare]

Nice video(s), Peter!

The far counterclockwise position of the mode switch, the material removal position, puts the sander in a gear-driven orbital mode as opposed to a rotary. That's why it's harder to handle than the RAS for a task like scribing. The RAS is strictly rotating and the Rotex(es) are orbiting.

I like to use your technique of gear-driven orbital and with the same abrasive, switch to random orbital also but only in the rough grits, up to about 120. After that, the work piece is already quite smooth and I think the gear-driven mode is unnecessary. At that point, you are using the sander more like an ETS.

Tom