Scribing with rotex

bwehman

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Mar 21, 2016
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Hey all!

Deciding whether or not to buy the RAS but have all the Rotex's already. Has anyone tried occasional scribing with these? I feel like, without having tried it, that the RO90 might do well. But ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
bwehman said:
Hey all!

Deciding whether or not to buy the RAS but have all the Rotex's already. Has anyone tried occasional scribing with these? I feel like, without having tried it, that the RO90 might do well. But ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yup. I  have done scribing withe RO90 and RO150.  Hard pad on both with some sort of coarse grit.  RO150 over the 90 for sure. I find the 90 just doesn't have the power that I want for scribing. I also find that the RO90 doesn't like a heavy touch  and can be difficult to keep the pad turning properly for scribing. The 150 works well. You need a stable bench to keep things from vibrating a lot while scribing with the RO150 in Rotex mode.

The RAS  has been shown to be excellent for scribing. I have one but have not had the opportunity to scribe with it yet. But of the three the RAS should be the best.

Since you have a RO150 you should just give a test try.

Seth
 
I’ve used my 90 to scribe. I feel it works very well. A coworker recently bought a RAS and he says it is also very good for scribing.
 
I scribe with the RAS most of the time. If it’s a small amount of scribe and the 90 is out then we use it. If the RO 150 is out then I will also use that.
Rick
 
I have used both the RAS and the RO150 recently for this purpose and found the results to be close enough that I would not have a problem reaching for either systainer when in need. I prefer the RAS when given the option as it seemed to get to the result a little quicker but that could be in my head and since speed is not an indicator of quality outcome - you may one that “your mileage may vary.”
 
I own the RAS, the RO150 and had the RO90.

RO90 works OK on thin stock like 12 mm, 1/2'' and smaller but is bad with thicker wood.

RO150 works fine on most materials and sizes, but you do have to work hard to guide it sometimes.

RAS is a breeze all the time.
 
In Sedge's tip he shows using just the front part of the pad for scribing. That also helps when using the Rotex to scribe.

Drag the the front in sort of a raking motion.

Seth
 
GoingMyWay said:
Sedge posted a tip for scribing with the RAS yesterday:https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ibRLmJ1Ja/.

This was actually the reason for heading down this thought train haha. I’ve gotten rid of all the 125 sixes sanders to streamline the shop to either the RO90 or 150 sized papers, and the thought of adding another for the RAS seemed counterproductive, but would’ve been willing if it was super worth it. Doesn’t sound like it is. Thankfully, ha.
 
bwehman said:
GoingMyWay said:
Sedge posted a tip for scribing with the RAS yesterday:https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ibRLmJ1Ja/.

This was actually the reason for heading down this thought train haha. I’ve gotten rid of all the 125 sixes sanders to streamline the shop to either the RO90 or 150 sized papers, and the thought of adding another for the RAS seemed counterproductive, but would’ve been willing if it was super worth it. Doesn’t sound like it is. Thankfully, ha.

It really depends on how fast you want to scribe. I would say the RAS will easily scribe twice as fast as the RO150 and with much less vibration.  Though I haven't used the RAS for that purpose yet myself I have seen full length floor to ceiling scribes done in person. It was waaaay faster than it would have been with the RO150.

Seth
 
Scribing with the RAS is very fast, especially with a very coarse grit (way coarser than you can get for the slower sanders). The scribed edge will be smoother than you’d expect but if it is too rough just stay away from the line for the first fast pass then do a final adjustment pass with a finer grit.

The very coarse grits make more sweepable dust but less airborne dust so it’s not crazy to do the scribing inside.
 
bwehman said:
GoingMyWay said:
Sedge posted a tip for scribing with the RAS yesterday:https://www.instagram.com/p/B4ibRLmJ1Ja/.

This was actually the reason for heading down this thought train haha. I’ve gotten rid of all the 125 sixes sanders to streamline the shop to either the RO90 or 150 sized papers, and the thought of adding another for the RAS seemed counterproductive, but would’ve been willing if it was super worth it. Doesn’t sound like it is. Thankfully, ha.

Like others said above, I'll add for emphasis, but the speed difference is huge compared to the Rotex. What Sedge does there with the RAS in a few seconds can easily take 10 times longer with the Rotex 150. And he only does a very thin strip for demonstration purposes, wait till you have to dig deeper and do more complex shapes. The Rotex takes a lot more time.

As a guy who owned 13 Festool sanders at one point I always find the paper size argument odd, because especially for a professional I'd say it is much more important to have the right tool for the job. Your time is more expensive than a few extra boxes of paper.
 
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