Teaser: Positioning Aid 205316

[Bob D.]

"...Another bonus is that there won't be any costly divorce settlement involved if things don't work out..."

[member=57948]ChuckM[/member] - so you are anticipating a series of one night stands, sort of a 'sanders with benefits' arrangement?  :-X

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member] does it look like the RTS will fit a well. Which sander do you think you use more with it?

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Here Ya go Ron [member=3192]rvieceli[/member] , here's a shot of the DTSC to give you an idea of where the pad resides relative to the Housing Shell (2-2). The Housing Shell is in the lowered position.

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Here a piece of LS 130 paper has been placed on the DTSC in the approximate position as a RTS sander. The Housing Shell is in the raised position for sandpaper replacement.

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The Housing Shell is now in the lowered position for use.

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I think the RTS will fit on this positioner fine.  As far as increased wear goes for both the pad and the paper when used with the DTS or RTS sanders, I'll just monitor mine and note the results. As I previously said, I have several extra pads for the DTSC that have the point worn down and this will be a great way to get a bit extra service life out of them.

Besides, I'm using 180-320 grit for sanding the edges so there isn't a lot of resistance. Also, when using this positioning aid there isn't a lot of sideways pressure exerted on the sander. You're simply kissing the edges to remove very small blade marks, somewhere in the .002"-.003" range. It really works well and it is fast, just a light pass up one edge and your done.

 

[ChuckM]

When I ordered this aid, I knew I'm going to use it mostly for edge sanding the endgrain (table end, or any exposed endgrain of a build) to a higher grit so I can get a uniform look after the piece is oiled or stained. 

To remove machine marks, I use a handplane (previously on the jointer which I don't have anymore). And I do that in the stock preparation stage, so the dimensions of the final work (doors or drawers) are not changed by the sanding.

 

[rvieceli]

Thanks. There’s a groove around the front and side edge on the newer sanders. Does something engage this groove on the attachment?

Ron

 

[Cheese]

Thanks. There’s a groove around the front and side edge on the newer sanders. Does something engage this groove on the attachment?

Yes, towards the rear there are 2 prominent tabs that engage a recess in each side of the body and the tabs are part of a rib that circles the body and end in the front. Some photos to help.

The 2 tabs and their attached ribs.

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The deep recess for the tabs and the shallower recess for the ribs.

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The tabs and ribs as they circle the body and end in the front.

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The grooves in the front of the sander to retain the Positioning Aid ribs.

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[mrboult]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]

What kind of material is the white glide surface? The surface that runs on the top surface.

Cheers

 

[Cheese]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]

What kind of material is the white glide surface? The surface that runs on the top surface.

Cheers

Festool calls it velour but it has a rather weird texture to it. The good thing is that it’s hook & loop so easily replaceable. They recommend using a different liner for painted vs oiled surfaces. That makes sense.

 

[pfkiel]

Hi Cheese
So you have used this with the Pro 5 LTD and it does lock in place perfectly?  I posted this question earlier under Edge Sanding Guide but I just noticed your post here under its product number. Looks like you are fairly happy with it so far. Well worth the expense then?

 

[Cheese]

Hi Cheese
So you have used this with the Pro 5 LTD and it does lock in place perfectly?  I posted this question earlier under Edge Sanding Guide but I just noticed your post here under its product number. Looks like you are fairly happy with it so far. Well worth the expense then?

Yup, the Pro 5 locks in just like the newer ETSC & DTSC models. It has the requisite grooves & recesses that are used for installing the edge protector.

 

[dltflt]

I am supposed to get mine Tuesday. It will live on my Pro 5 sander. This will be an opportunity to use the Pro 5. I will need to buy sandpaper for it now.

 

[pfkiel]

Thanks Cheese thats good news.  Nice to have a definitive answer.
Paul

 

[08G8V8]

Ordered one today from Woodcraft for my RTS 400 REQ.  thanks

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[ben_r_]

Man this makes me wish I would have kept my Pro5 all this time. Who'd have thought.

 

[promark747]

Man this makes me wish I would have kept my Pro5 all this time. Who'd have thought.

Ditto

 

[Peter_C]

Man this makes me wish I would have kept my Pro5 all this time. Who'd have thought.

I was ready to dump my Pro5 and upgrade it to an ETS EC 125, right when Festool announced the "edge guide", so plans changed, and the Pro5 will be dedicated to edge sanding.

Has anyone come up with a way to store them assembled together in a Systainer? Sys3 size needed?

Roughly how long does it take to put on, and take off? Wish it was some type of quick latch, or thumb type screw. 

 

[Cheese]

FWIW...I've mounted the ETSC 125 in the Positioning Aid and have been sanding Ambrosia maple drawer front edges. I wanted to remove these blade marks made with a MT 55 and a new blade.  They look worse than they really are, some can be caught with your finger nail while others cannot be caught at all. I'd say they're in the .001"-.003" range.

[attachimg=1]

It was relatively slow going using 240 grit Granat, so I decided to swap out the ETSC for the DTSC...still using 240 Granat the job went 50%-70% faster, Then I noticed this.

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I never noticed this amount of sawdust when using the ETSC, then again with the ETSC I had to make several passes, wipe the edge, check for marks and then make several passes a 2nd time and sometimes a 3rd time.
Using the DTSC I just ran it down the edge forwards, then backwards and 95% of the blade marks were removed.

I also noticed this when I turned the DTSC over, sawdust being evacuated through only 2 holes...that makes sense. I'm sure paper usage is not optimal and wonder if the RTSC would be better because the paper can be rotated 180º.

[attachimg=3]

All of these drawer fronts were cut to length using a Kapex with a sharp clean blade. The ends were really nice & smooth. I decided to sand the ends anyways and they became like velvet, just incredibly smooth. That's good news for you [member=57948]ChuckM[/member] for your end grain usage.

Finally, I took a piece of Birdseye maple, adjusted the positioner to 45º and took a quick light pass on the edge with 240 Granat. The outcome was a really nice clean, smooth edge break about .035" wide.

[attachimg=4]

 

[ChuckM]

Snip.
All of these drawer fronts were cut to length using a Kapex with a sharp clean blade. The ends were really nice & smooth. I decided to sand the ends anyways and they became like velvet, just incredibly smooth. That's good news for you [member=57948]ChuckM[/member] for your end grain usage.

Thanks, Cheese, for sharing that observation. [thumbs up] I plan to pick up my sanding aid along with a few other online orders by the weekend.

I wonder if the dust collection will perform better with the use of mesh-type sandpaper.

 

[xedos]

Cheese - wonder if mesh abrasive would be a better choice on the DTS ?

 

[Cheese]

Cheese - wonder if mesh abrasive would be a better choice on the DTS ?

Xedos both you and ChuckM came up with the same idea  [scratch chin]...and I think it's a great one. I'm going to get some net material and try it out.  [big grin]

 

[Michael Kellough]

It was relatively slow going using 240 grit Granat, so I decided to swap out the ETSC for the DTSC...still using 240 Granat the job went 50%-70% faster, Then I noticed this.”

Seriously? The tiny orbit sander was faster that the random orbit sander?