Sander Foam Backing Pads - Life Limited to Five Years (According to Festool USA)

[ScotF]

Yep...and the cost of my sander that I just bought has gone up by $100 in the 6 years I have owned it. It is what it is....the new one works like a dream, though.

 

[Ron B]

Yep...and the cost of my sander that I just bought has gone up by $100 in the 6 years I have owned it. It is what it is....the new one works like a dream, though.

More like the value of the dollar has gone down. 

 

[Packard]

I recall in the 1980s that asbestos brake pads were going out of production. The brakes on my car had been lasting about 30,000 miles.

After the asbestos pads were no longer available, the replacement pads would last about 8,000 to 12,000 miles and cost twice as much.

So, I am wondering if the earlier pads were made from a formulation that is no longer available too.

Similarly, Freon for car air conditioners followed that same model.  Though I would note that brake pads are vastly better nowadays, and the currently available refrigerant seems to work well, but has gotten ghastly more expensive.  A complete replacement of refrigerant cost me more than $700.00 at the Chrysler dealer.

I would note that I’ve been using foam pads from Amazon for my 5” orbital sander for about a year.  Looking back, they were two for $12.00.  The 6” versions are not much more, though I don’t know if they would have the right hole pattern.  You could cut your own holes using a leather punch, I suppose. I would chec to see what other brands are available.

 

[luvmytoolz]

I recall in the 1980s that asbestos brake pads were going out of production. The brakes on my car had been lasting about 30,000 miles.

After the asbestos pads were no longer available, the replacement pads would last about 8,000 to 12,000 miles and cost twice as much.

So, I am wondering if the earlier pads were made from a formulation that is no longer available too.

I'd be surprised if they were, my Rotex was made in 1979 and I replaced the pad with the identical one a few years later before I learnt how to look after them, and I bought another identical spare one a few years later again when they were being cleared out. Sitting new in the pack in a cool location in a drawer it literally disintegrated. The newer pads I find actually last longer with care than the original ones.

 

[mino]

For those wanting to "store" pads, some general advice:

You "enemies" (in order of importance):
1) Sunlight and UV light in general (legacy neon lightining etc.)
2) Oxygen (and, in general, any "corrosives" in the air like high sulfide content in some areas etc.)
3) Changes in temperature
4) Changes in relative humidity (relates to *3
5) Freezing temperatures (unless completely humidity-free, see 3) and 4) )
6) Temperature

So, for practical purposes how can one store pads, or any "sensitive" stuff in general?

A) keep dry and oxygen-fee => an air-tight sealed bag/canister with oxygen absorber and chemical*) humidity absorber added
B) store at low non-changing temperature => wine style cellars are your friend here as they tend to be 10C throughout the year

Pads stored like this will degrade way slower, they WILL still degrade over a decade or two, but not in a year or two.

Even when not storing like this, basic rule is the pads should not be exposed to light sources while at storage. Especially not sunlight or other UV-generating light sources.

---
*) humidity absorvers sold for food storage are not suitable, silicate ones comonly seen with computers are better

 

[waho6o9]

It's a consumable, with the money saved on using less sandpaper, it all works out. 

 

[luvmytoolz]

It's a consumable, with the money saved on using less sandpaper, it all works out.

Depends on how many you have. Once you start getting over a few sanders it's an increasing cost, and the cheaper generic ones for "hack" work start looking attractive.

 

[waho6o9]

"and the cheaper generic ones for "hack" work start looking attractive."

Hopefully you had better luck with them than I had.  For me, it wasn't worth the hassle. 

All the best.

 

[luvmytoolz]

"and the cheaper generic ones for "hack" work start looking attractive."

Hopefully you had better luck with them than I had.  For me, it wasn't worth the hassle. 

All the best.

I bought several of the 150mm ones off Ebay to use on my very old Rotex and ETS sanders which worked out less than 1/4 the cost and have been using them the last year, I have no doubt the Festool are better and the dust extraction is likely superior, but they're more than adequate, I've found no usability difference other than cost. I also used one on an ETS EC while doing a reno that required quite a bit of grunt work where I didn't want to risk destroying the new Festool one in a short time.

 

[mino]

"and the cheaper generic ones for "hack" work start looking attractive."

Hopefully you had better luck with them than I had.  For me, it wasn't worth the hassle. 

All the best.

Generic tools make sense for tasks which are rare.

That is why ETS EC is worth it even when one is severely budget-constrained while the Rotex 150 tasks may be good-enough served by a Bosch analogue. The same for e.g. RTS 400. Most hobby folks will be well served by a generic Makita or Bosch sander for those cases where a super-fine traditional sander is needed.

With saws it makes all kinds of sense to get a TS 60 while at the same time having a cheapo $200 circular saw for carpentry work.

With drills it is the same. One's go-to should be a high quality one like the T18 or the TPC for the speed while a "heavy duty one" for the occasional masonry or carpentry tasks => a Makita or a Dewalt will do excellent for the rough work.

In the same vein, I got the new Bosch 12V quick-change drill, along with the hammer module. No, it is NOT an excellent tool. But it is good-enough for moving around with it in a box whenever I need to do something (random) off shop. Will never beat the CXS nor the BHC 18, but at the price it is an excellent deal for a secondary tool package. Besides, needed the 12V bats for the lasers .. heh.