Sanders / Vacum advice to finish doors- pic attached

[spiral15]

Hi Guys, have an ets 125, but need some other sanders to finish these doors off but not sure which sanders to buy as i have only started to use festool. i bought the ets-125 on its own used without a vacum

Was thinking buy both DTS_400 & RTS-400??

Was also thinking about buying the CT-36 Vacum? bigger = Better??

thanks
John

 

[elm]

John:
I thought I would chime in on the extractor question you had.  I have a 36 AC (got it from Festoolrecon.com) and love it.  I do not need the AC portion but it was too good of a deal to pass up.  I got started with a friend's 33.  To be honest, what the differentiating factor with all of these (other than possibly the very smallest CT SYS) is capacity.  Noise and performance is dang near identical (in my experience and from the specs).  If you have the space, then the bigger one will have you emptying the bag less, but that is about the only difference.  I initially ordered a CT 26 but it got here with some broken parts so sent it back. I would have been very happy with the performance of that one and perhaps a bit happier with the size.  I am cramped for space.  That said you cannot go wrong with any of them.  Just decide on how big of a capacity you want and go from there.  Performance is the same.  The one piece of advice I can give is if you want to eventually get a boom, the smaller unit boom attachments are cheaper.  Something to think about.

Here is a link that may also help (you probably already found it). https://www.highlandwoodworking.com/festool-vacuum-comparison.aspx

 

[Alanbach]

I have a DTS and it is a great sander. The pad and sandpaper are just under 4” wide so know that. From the looks of your doors the only place where that will be an issue is on the door with the stop. You might consider removing that, sanding and then reinstall. I believe that the RTS is also 4” wide but I’m not certain. Honestly, I don’t think that you need both for this project. Personally I would start with the DTS as that Delta point sure comes in handy. Either the DTS or the RTS will do great work on edge to sand those raised moldings on these doors. If you had to do hundreds of feet of edges I’d recommend the RTS but for this small a project I don’t think that you will mind using the DTS on the longer flat areas and edges.

The only other FT Sanders that I can think of here are the RO90 and the LS130. The RO90 has a smaller Delta head than the DTS and is also very versatile for getting into tight spots. The LS130 is certainly overkill here but it has the ability to accommodate custom sanding profiles so you could actually make your own sanding pad capable of getting in between that door stop and the raised moldings. Like I said I think that would be overkill as the LS130 is super specialized but for certain very specific tasks you can’t beat it.

 

[Alanbach]

On the vac question, as was already pointed out here, the only difference between the 26 and the 36 is the size of the machine and the capacity of the bag. If you are shop based and do not go mobile very often you might choose the 36. If you are mobile a lot and have to drag the vac up and down stairs, etc. then you might go with the 26 (or even smaller) I chose the 36 for my shop as I don’t use it outside of my home shop. Height might also be a consideration if you want it to live under something else in your shop. The 36 is a couple of inches taller than the 26 and the 26 is three inches taller than the midi and so on. 

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I think that the RO90 would be a good sander for this application. You can buy different size guards to allow sanding up to the edge of the glass panels. The DTS and RTS are also great sanders. The RO90 would give you some good versatility with the three modes and smaller delta head.

 

[AlexThePalex]

I would do this with the DTS.

 

[Pompeio]

I have the DTS 400 but wish that had I purchased the RO 90 instead.  The 400 is likely more manageable in the hand but the leading tip of the sandpaper can quickly wear out and, therefore, requires more changing of the abrasive.  The 90, on the other hand, i believe, would allow you to turn the delta head on the body to enable using all three vertices (corners) of the abrasive as the leading tip. 

 

[tjbnwi]

I have the DTS 400 but wish that had I purchased the RO 90 instead.  The 400 is likely more manageable in the hand but the leading tip of the sandpaper can quickly wear out and, therefore, requires more changing of the abrasive.  The 90, on the other hand, i believe, would allow you to turn the delta head on the body to enable using all three vertices (corners) of the abrasive as the leading tip.

Most (me included) tend to tip the DTS when we get to the intersecting edges. I find I do this more with the short edge of the pad. This does wear the paper along the edges. The way I solved it is I cut the paper into 1/2” strips place them on the pad along the front edge, sand those pesky little areas. Change the strips as needed.

Tom

 

[sancho57]

RO 90 would take it down faster. RO 90 asalready mentioned had a delta head that will get into the cornors. They also sell as a accessory a larger delta head for it.

RTS 400 would work to.

Go through the grits on this one maybe starting with 80grt. Dont for get to turn the suction down on the CT to help avoid swirl marks.

I suggest the CT 26. It seems to be the most versatile CT festool makes. Unless you can find a CT 22 in good working condition for a good price. I have both CTs 26 and 22. Either one will be more than adequate for this project.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The 400 is likely more manageable in the hand but the leading tip of the sandpaper can quickly wear out and, therefore, requires more changing of the abrasive. 

People keep saying this here, but that's just their own wastful behaviour and totally not how it can be. When you work on something you just have to divide the load all over the paper and you'll use your paper to the max.

 

[rmhinden]

I have an ETS 125 and RO 90.  That combination works well for me.  I would think the RO 90 would be very good on the doors you are working on. 

One thing to think about, buying the sander is only the deposit.  It's the sandpaper over time that will be expensive.  So since you have the ETS 125, getting one of the larger sanders will mean a new investment in sandpaper.  For example, an RO 125 might make some sense.

 

[nickao]

That looks like sanding block work to me. Tell me, where are you even getting the delta in there? Not in about 75% of that, that's where.

I could do a great job with some custom made wooden blocks made from scrap wood and some sandpaper.

Maybe I am old, but owning every sander type pretty much sold and being able to buy any sander  I want regardless of cost for work, I still see a sanding block useful for stuff like this.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have the DTS 400 but wish that had I purchased the RO 90 instead.  The 400 is likely more manageable in the hand but the leading tip of the sandpaper can quickly wear out and, therefore, requires more changing of the abrasive.  The 90, on the other hand, i believe, would allow you to turn the delta head on the body to enable using all three vertices (corners) of the abrasive as the leading tip.

Most (me included) tend to tip the DTS when we get to the intersecting edges. I find I do this more with the short edge of the pad. This does wear the paper along the edges. The way I solved it is I cut the paper into 1/2” strips place them on the pad along the front edge, sand those pesky little areas. Change the strips as needed.

Tom

I do that too.