Sander recommendations for a hobbyist / home improvement type

[JohnDistai]

Hi, I am taking the Festool plunge and beginning to sell my old tools and buy Festool replacements.  I primarily do home improvement type stuff, but may start building some built ins and some tables.  I don't have much space in my garage, and I don't do sanding very often.  If you were in my position, and could only afford or have the room for one sander, which sander would you buy?  Would you go for a 5" or 6" disk, and why?

Thanks,

JD

 

[Bob Marino]

John,

This is a topic that seems to be a favorite, or one of the most frequently asked questions; doing a search here will yield tons of info and recommendations. But just a few things to consider - are you going to be doing lower grit sanding/lots of polishing? If that's the case, look at the Rotex 150. It is the all-in-one sander for sure - but a a higher cost, louder and heavier tool compare to the ETS 150's. If as you say, you won't be doing much sanding, or if you will be doing the "basic" type sanding - grits 80-220 primarily, I'd get the 150/5. Just a pleasure to work with, well balanced, doesn't get smoother than this. Me, I prefer the larger sanders, seem to run a bit smoother and are way faster due to their larger surface area and beside, the newer Jetsream pads are only available in the 6" size.

Bob

 

[NVA_WW]

I just purchased a 150/5 and I'm extremely happy with it.  I've only gone up to 180 grit and I didn't notice any swirl marks.  Boy is it smooth and I don't get the vibrating fingers/palm afterwards.  I didn't think I would buy a Rotex, so that's why I went with the 150/5 versus the 150/3.

 

[JohnDistai]

Thanks for the replies.  I am considering the RO150, but see that based on the Festool "flowchart" that a RO125 may be more suitable.  I am under the impression that the aggressive and random orbit functions could take the place of a belt sander and a random orbit sander.  Am I way off in my assumption?

 

[Kevin Stricker]

For general home improvement refinishing efforts (such as stripping paint or sanding drywall) I prefer my 5" Festool sanders(RO 125 and ETS 125).  Most of these projects don't have the decency of being flat and horizontal so ease of use becomes the most important factor.  The RO 125 is a great little sander, super aggressive when in direct drive mode and a decent finish sander as well.  For built-in construction it is hard to beat the ETS 150 sanders though.  A Rotex is a big investment but can do most everything you need a sander for.  

I would recommend having a specific use in mind before buying any Festool.   That way you will have a project that gets completed because of your purchase, not another tool waiting for you to find a use for.

Also, I don't know about where you live but right now around here it's the absolute worst time to sell any tool.  Your lucky to get 50% of retail on an almost new tool, so you might consider waiting tell the tide turns to dump the old ones.  It's also nice to have some beaters around to lend to the neighbor or do the real dirty home improvement jobs.

 

[ShawnR]

JD,

I am in the same category as you.  I bought the Rotex 150 and love it.  Like Bob said, it is just so much faster and more versatile.  If you are going to be sanding a lot of vertical services, I would go with a pneumatic sander or one of the smaller Festools.  And, Festool does make pneumatic tools as well.

Cheers

 

[Brice Burrell]

John, I think you can see now that this is a subject that's hard to nail down. It's such a personal preference on how best to tackle a sanding project(s).

Here is one piece of advice that I'm going to offer when it comes to deciding on a Festool sander. Go to a local dealer and try out all of the sanders. Many a member here has gone to a dealer thinking they were going to buy a particular sander only to walk out with a different model instead. This is particularly true of the Rotex sanders. Go out and get your hands on these puppies. Good luck and let us know what you decide. 

 

[JohnDistai]

Thanks guys!

And thanks for the advice about selling the tools.  I've already posted some of them on the various listing sites, but if they don't sell at what I'm asking for now, or if I don't get a decent offer, I'll wait and try again later.  I'd like to sell them, but I'm not going to give them away.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Ro125 + Dx93. I know, that's 2 sanders instead of one, but that little DX 93 comes in so handy when it comes to home improvement work. I recommend the Ro125 for you as a hobbyist because it's easier to handle, lighter and cheaper. The Ro150 would do very nicely too of course, as I can attest but will cost you more and tire you quicker. It does have more options in available sand paper though.

 

[tbellemare]

I am under the impression that the aggressive and random orbit functions could take the place of a belt sander and a random orbit sander.  Am I way off in my assumption?

I don't think you're off at all. A Rotex can take the place of a belt sander and all disc sanders. It is truly a sander for every occasion though limited in its configuration (circular). As Alex pointed out, the Deltex compliments it perfectly.

I personally use the RO 150 more than any other sander. I don't consider it unruly, but rather a very tame beast. It is more expensive initially than the RO 125 but gets the job done about 50% faster because it has almost 50% more area on the disc.

Tom

 

[Pyotr]

Regarding the Dx93, is it discontinued? I can't find it on the Dutch and UK Festool websites  ???

 

[tbellemare]

I still sell them. Maybe they shipped them all over here.

Tom

 

[Forrest Anderson]

Regarding the Dx93, is it discontinued? I can't find it on the Dutch and UK Festool websites  ???

Yes, it's still available on the UK website, but is hidden away slightly.

Go to www.festool.co.uk

Click on the Sanding picture.

On the page of sanders, look for this part of the page:

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Under "Geared/orbital Sander for rough sanding", click on "triangle sander", and you'll see the details of the Deltex.

Alternatively, type 567808 into the search box, and you'll be take to the sander.

For the Dutch site, go to www.festool.nl

Click on the sander picture besides "Bewerking van oppervlakken"

Under the heading of "Tandwielvlakschuurmachine/ vlakschuurmachine voor grofschuren", click on "Driehoek schuurmachine".

Forrest

 

[proclive]

Do the Rotex sanders have any less vibration than a normal sander? I had to sand 100+ deck rails once and my hand was numb at the end. I learned afterwards how sanders can actually cause damage to your hands because of the vibration. Since I'm still young I don't want to be dealing with bad hands by the time I'm 40.

 

[Pyotr]

Thanks Forrest. I searched for "deltex", "Dx93" and "567738" (US part), turns out it is a "DX 93" (with a space in between) and the partnumber is different in the Netherlands (and different again in the UK).

As to John, I am not a pro either; I did buy the RTS400 which is very nice for paint prepwork but not nearly aggressive enough to (for example) flatten a warped teak tabletop. I may buy the RO150 in the future to complement it (first I have to fatten the piggy bank though  [tongue]).

 

[PaulMarcel]

Well, I haven't sanded that many deck boards, but...

I did a couple hours straight of sanding with the Rotex-125 on a set of 3 cabinets.  I wanna say it was 2.5 hours with no break.  My hands didn't have that post-sanding vibration feeling at all.  Having had bad bouts with carpal tunnel in the past, my hands tend to be overly sensitive to stuff like that.  Now in disc mode (not random orbit), you'll feel more the torque of the sander when starting it up or when you hit certain surface anomalies (like knots), but that's understandable.

The Rotex-125 was my first Festool sander.  I've since picked up a Rotex-150 as a lucky find off eBay.  I still prefer the 125 unless I need the extra power of the 150 (such as recently stripping paint off a box) or if I'm doing a very large surface since, as pointed out, the 6" has 44% more surface area.

For finish sanding, though, I'm really liking the DTS-400 (triangle pad version of the rectangular RTS-400).  Very light, no effort to more, no vibration, and in the case of the DTS, the pad gets to those spots I _should_ have sanded before assembly.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Do the Rotex sanders have any less vibration than a normal sander? I had to sand 100+ deck rails once and my hand was numb at the end. I learned afterwards how sanders can actually cause damage to your hands because of the vibration. Since I'm still young I don't want to be dealing with bad hands by the time I'm 40.

Are you sure your hands were numb because of the vibrations or because of the weight of the machine? I sanded a lot of 2'' x 1'' planks with the Ro150 last week and after doing 30 of them in one session my hands were numb too. But my hands (and arms) were numb because of holding the weight of the tool and the force you need to keep it up and steer it for such a long time, and not because of the vibrations it made.

And ANY tool will make your muscles numb if you use it for a longer period of time.

I have experienced the vibrations effect of a power tool on my hands just a very limited number of times. I did have it once last summer when I was de-rusting an iron grate with a 125 mm Elu angle grinder and a wire brush attachment. Took me about 2 hours to do so. After that, my fingers were tingling heavily for another 2 hours and felt strange for the rest of the day. That was a very unpleasant feeling, but it was totally different from the numb feeling you get when your hands get numb from being tired.

So to answer your question, I don't think you have to worry about the vibrations made by the Rotex or most other professional sanders. And I say that as somebody who was raised in a car/furniture/industrial paint spray company, so I always had to do a lot of sanding each day. But keep in mind that what I say doesn't count for hobbyist sanders. They're always made out of lighter materials with inferior bearings and counter weights, and will transfer a lot more vibrations to your hands than professional models.

 

[proclive]

I was sanding everything on a plywood table on top of two saw horses before it was nailed in place so all of the material was laying flat and I was just moving the sander around. I wasn't trying to sand anything that had already been in place or anything like that. It took about 4 hours to get all of it done. It was a basic dewalt random orbital sander, which I don't think costs more than $50.

 

[AlexThePalex]

proclive, if I did that for 4 hours, my hands would feel numb too.

 

[JohnDistai]

I tried the sanders at the local dealer today (thanks for the suggestion).  I only used them for a few minutes.  I could feel some numbness after the Rotex.  I may be sensitive to vibration though.