I am writing to air a (common) frustration, seek some guidance and also present an alternative.
First, in a phone call yesterday with Festool USA, I was told that I shouldn't expect the foam/plastic backing pads (the hook and loop covered disc that mounts directly to the sander - in my case an ETS 150 via an allen head bolt) to "last" more than five years. And by "last" I mean not blow apart under scant use.
I have a thirty five year old Porter Cable ROS still fitted with its original backing pad that's still going strong. Thus, as a consumer, I am insulted that Festool produces a component for its sanders designed to fail in short order (planed obsolescence anyone?). The Festool rep tried to tell me that the foam used is "super soft" to better absorb vibration and thus the negative side effect of this is that the foam degrades after only a short while.
I suppose I wouldn't mind if I used my Festool sander eight hours a day, five days a week. But it sees comparatively very little use. Hence, knowing that every five years I need to dump ~$40 into this tool is, well, disgraceful.
So, the primary reason I reached to Festool USA yesterday was to request guidance on what adhesive I should use to re-glue the two pieces that my backing pad broke apart into. The two parts mate up perfectly (once I properly oriented them in the original configuration) so I really don't see why a little adhesive designed to glue foam to itself and plastic shouldn't work to at least allow me to get a little more life out of this barely used part. So, has anyone tried this and, if so, what was your experience? The Festool rep suggested I not attempt this given how the end result would likely be an unbalanced machine. Another insult. After all, we're not talking nuclear centrifuges here.
Finally, given how the spare Festool-branded pad I (luckily) had (Festool Part# 202460) is not produced in Germany but instead in one of the "China of Europe" countries that manufacturers love to set up operations in to save $ (while not passing those savings on to consumers), I have no allegiance to buying another Festool-branded pad and, instead, am contemplating buying one of the many knock-offs that proliferate on sites like eBay and Amazon. Has anyone tried one of these far less expensive alternatives? And, if so, which one and what was your experience? I simply can't justify spending ~$40 on a spare pad that won't be reliable for when I find myself needing it and am hoping that the knock-offs use the kind of long-lasting foam that my Porter Cable's backing pad utilizes. I'll accept a little more vibration-transfer in exchange for a component that actually stands the test of time.
Thoughts?
First, in a phone call yesterday with Festool USA, I was told that I shouldn't expect the foam/plastic backing pads (the hook and loop covered disc that mounts directly to the sander - in my case an ETS 150 via an allen head bolt) to "last" more than five years. And by "last" I mean not blow apart under scant use.
I have a thirty five year old Porter Cable ROS still fitted with its original backing pad that's still going strong. Thus, as a consumer, I am insulted that Festool produces a component for its sanders designed to fail in short order (planed obsolescence anyone?). The Festool rep tried to tell me that the foam used is "super soft" to better absorb vibration and thus the negative side effect of this is that the foam degrades after only a short while.
I suppose I wouldn't mind if I used my Festool sander eight hours a day, five days a week. But it sees comparatively very little use. Hence, knowing that every five years I need to dump ~$40 into this tool is, well, disgraceful.
So, the primary reason I reached to Festool USA yesterday was to request guidance on what adhesive I should use to re-glue the two pieces that my backing pad broke apart into. The two parts mate up perfectly (once I properly oriented them in the original configuration) so I really don't see why a little adhesive designed to glue foam to itself and plastic shouldn't work to at least allow me to get a little more life out of this barely used part. So, has anyone tried this and, if so, what was your experience? The Festool rep suggested I not attempt this given how the end result would likely be an unbalanced machine. Another insult. After all, we're not talking nuclear centrifuges here.
Finally, given how the spare Festool-branded pad I (luckily) had (Festool Part# 202460) is not produced in Germany but instead in one of the "China of Europe" countries that manufacturers love to set up operations in to save $ (while not passing those savings on to consumers), I have no allegiance to buying another Festool-branded pad and, instead, am contemplating buying one of the many knock-offs that proliferate on sites like eBay and Amazon. Has anyone tried one of these far less expensive alternatives? And, if so, which one and what was your experience? I simply can't justify spending ~$40 on a spare pad that won't be reliable for when I find myself needing it and am hoping that the knock-offs use the kind of long-lasting foam that my Porter Cable's backing pad utilizes. I'll accept a little more vibration-transfer in exchange for a component that actually stands the test of time.
Thoughts?
