RUTSCHER RS 200 Sander - Performance Issues

[AlbertoLainguini]

Hi all, I have purchased the Rutscher RS 200 sander for large worktop finish sanding and I am finding that it is grabs a lot and seems to pull off in a jerky motion. I am using Festool abrasives and have it hooked up to the CT26E on a low setting but it still seems very aggressive for a finish sander. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks, Tim

 

[CO_JCD]

My first thought was that the suction of the vac was too high - I see you are already on min….

Other thing to try is adjusting the speed of RS200 - there seems to be an optimal range for each job - slower is not always best.  Try varying the speed over the mid range and see if this helps.

Also, there is some suggestion that the sanders need something of break-in period before the motors settle down and the brushes wear in.

My RS200 is definitely the best sander that I have for large surface finishing - and say this on the basis that I also own most of the other Festool sanders as well.

John

 

[greg mann]

M RS2E (prior version of your sander) was pretty squirrely for the first six or eight hours too. Now it is smooth as silk. I can't tell you if it was me or the sander that changed but I had experienced a similar phenomenon with the RTS and the RO150. I did not experience this with the RO90. Is that because the RO90 needs no 'breaking in' or because my technique has improved.

Either way, the anecdotal evidence suggess that it won't hurt to hang the sander from a hook and let it run for eight hours or so.

(I can envision Rick C. rolling his eyes as I type this!)

 

[elfick]

I am finding that it is grabs a lot and seems to pull off in a jerky motion.

I've experienced this with my DTS. It seemed it was because I was running the sander too slow. Increasing the speed definitely improved the handling.

Have you tried slowly increasing the sander speed to if there is a sweet spot where it doesn't grip quite so much?

 

[AlbertoLainguini]

Thanks all for your suggestions. This gives me some faith. I am going to give it a real workout and will report back.