RS2E vs ETS150/3 for sanding large surfaces

[John Stevens]

I'm a very satisfied owner of the ETS150/3.  As a "hobbyist" who makes furniture, I like it because it makes it easy for me to take a piece of wood from the planer, start at 100 or 120 grit, and get a finish with no swirl marks at 180 grit.  I've done some fairly large surfaces with it, (for example, a carcase measuring 600mm x 750mm, about 24" by 30") and didn't find the process to be too long or difficult.  In a month or so I'll start making a kitchen table and dining room table, probably from QS ash, and I'm wondering whether the RS2E will either make the finishing process faster, or give a better-looking result in the same time.  I'd like to hear the opinions of those who have used both.

I'd like to mention that I'm wary of the RS2E because it's not a random-orbital sander.  I've only ever used one "non-random" orbital sander, the DTS400.  Maybe it's just my technique, but I avoid using it because of the swirl marks it leaves.  How do you get rid of the swirl marks when using the RS2E?  If I recall correctly, David McGibbon recently wrote a piece on orbital vs random-orbital sanders, and said that the proper technique with orbital sanders was to quickly run them back and forth, sort of like hand sanding.  Is that what it takes to get a swirl-free finish with the RS2E?  Or do you do go up to 150 grit with the RS2E and then repeat at 150 with the ETS150/3 before going to 180?  Or do you take the RS2E past 220 grit?  (I remember years ago reading a message from Jerry Work, describing how he sometimes sands up to 600 grit, but I don't remember why.)

I realize that as a U.S. buyer, I could buy it and return it if not satisfied, but I don't like to do that, especially if it turns out that I'm returning it because of problems that could have been overcome with more knowledge of how the tool is supposed to be used (which happened when I briefly owned the VS600).  Thanks in advance for any help you can give me with my decision of whether to buy the RS2E.

Regards,

John

 

[ken257]

I was recently thinking about the same set of choices myself. I decided to go with the Rotex 150 and the ETS 150 so that I do not have to stock yet another type of sandpaper. I already bought the Rotex and will order the ETS in a month or so with a MFT3. Another consideration is that the ETS has a plugit cord the RS2E does not. By the way I have the DTS400 and love it. I don't have a problem with swirl marks but it is much more fussy then a random orbit if you hit a spot against the grain, for example when sanding a face frame to smooth a joint.

 

[nickao]

John the RS2 excels at flattening. My work is generally flat work 36" x 72" sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller. When using the 150 you tend to get dips because you may see a small scratch and then concentrate on that area . Then you my try to feather it out, but it is never as  flat as you can get it with a 1/2 sheet sander.

Once you use the 1/2 sheet you will notice even more dips on the large flat work you do with the 150.  In other words you may be happy with the 150 until you see what the 1/2 sheet sanders do as far as flattening, then you may never go back.

I use the 1/2 sheet to flatten and smooth as much as I can. Then finish up with the ETS 150.

If I have something really bad I use the RO 150, then RS2, then finish up with the 150/3. It is not a long process once you get  the feel for it. You will know what paper on which sander and when to switch sanders by the feel you get for each project. It is all automatic to me now.

Oh and quickly back and forth does work well.

nickao