Used Rotex - What to Check?

[MattrYYC]

Today I'm going to look at a used Ro 150, the price is pretty attractive on it, considering all of the pieces it comes with and additional abrasive - as a hobbyist I don't know if I could palate the new price so I'm checking it out. It has been well used and I believe was purchased 2009, but last year was sent into Festool for an overhaul on the brushes and bearings, I will be able to confirm via receipt on this and the seller seems quite genuine.

Is there anything in particular I should look for when checking out this sander? Should I be concerned that it was repaired assuming it was done properly at Festool? In my mind this is probably a bonus.  It comes in an old style sys with the additional paper assortment sys and a good quantity of supplies.

Appreciate any advice.

 

[leakyroof]

Bring a rough piece of wood with you, a small board, to try out the sander in both its modes. Pop some aggressive grit paper onto the disc and move the selector mode slider over to the right at the top of the sander.
Try out the Rotex mode and see how it works. It will probably not be easy to control when you first use one of these sanders, so don't get frustrated. Smoother control comes with some time spent with the sander.
Now stop and try the random orbit mode, with either the same paper installed or a few grits higher.
Notice the huge difference in control effort when working the sander.
try the Green speed dial control to make sure it works.
Look at the pins for the Plug-It style cord at both the tool and the cord to make sure no burning or damage is seen to either end[I really doubt it, but it's worth a look before you buy]
Unless you have the added advantage of hooking up a vacuum to the sander while you're using it, you'll just have to take our word that the performance of the sander and the abrasive only goes up once you have one connected to the sanders.
I bought my RO150 at the reduced sale a couple of years ago, so once the tool goes through Festool's hands, they've really gone through it and reworked it as needed.  very rebuilt.
Mine also came with the older systainer and older pad design, but it works very well for the 30% off  sale price that I got it for.....  [big grin]

 

[MattrYYC]

Bring a rough piece of wood with you, a small board, to try out the sander in both its modes. Pop some aggressive grit paper onto the disc and move the selector mode slider over to the right at the top of the sander.
Try out the Rotex mode and see how it works. It will probably not be easy to control when you first use one of these sanders, so don't get frustrated. Smoother control comes with some time spent with the sander.
Now stop and try the random orbit mode, with either the same paper installed or a few grits higher.
Notice the huge difference in control effort when working the sander.
try the Green speed dial control to make sure it works.
Look at the pins for the Plug-It style cord at both the tool and the cord to make sure no burning or damage is seen to either end[I really doubt it, but it's worth a look before you buy]
Unless you have the added advantage of hooking up a vacuum to the sander while you're using it, you'll just have to take our word that the performance of the sander and the abrasive only goes up once you have one connected to the sanders.
I bought my RO150 at the reduced sale a couple of years ago, so once the tool goes through Festool's hands, they've really gone through it and reworked it as needed.  very rebuilt.
Mine also came with the older systainer and older pad design, but it works very well for the 30% off  sale price that I got it for.....   [big grin]

Great advice, thanks very much. I'll make sure to run these through to test things out, I have a good vibe from the current owner - moving overseas and has a good amount of nice heavy woodworking equipment for sale so I suspect all will pan out.

 

[mouppe]

Check that the pad is removable by putting it in Rotex mode and pressing the green button on the side whilst twisting it. You may want to get a new pad or pads for it in the future.

Also check that the sander is operating smoothly even at top speed.

 

[MattrYYC]

Thanks all, the Sander was actually in great shape and I found that he had a number of different pads (old and new style), the receipt was there from service and everything looked to be in great shape. Very happy with it thus far, although I wasn't expecting just how powerful it is - I've used chainsaws that cut less quickly than this thing with 40 grit, but still very smooth. I'm sure I will get a handle on it soon (no pun intended - I do need to buy a front handle )

And because Pic's or it didn't happen...

 

[Holzhacker]

Based on completely random discussion with my dealer; check the plug it cord connection for electrical damage

 

[MattrYYC]

Based on completely random discussion with my dealer; check the plug it cord connection for electrical damage

Yes, I saw some nasty pictures from a few years ago of cords arc'ing and melting. Fortunately this one was all good.

 

[leakyroof]

Based on completely random discussion with my dealer; check the plug it cord connection for electrical damage

Yes, I saw some nasty pictures from a few years ago of cords arc'ing and melting. Fortunately this one was all good.

. You'll love it. Nice buy too from your pictures. Those pads cost money... [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up]

 

[mouppe]

Do you have the screw-in side handle? I couldn't tell from the photos.

 

[MattrYYC]

Do you have the screw-in side handle? I couldn't tell from the photos.

Yep, that was hiding in there as well just didn't have it attached. It had a few other pads there for polishing (Green) as well as a Soft and I think Medium (Grey in color) pad, I might get the hard pad as well.

I tried out some of the S2000 grit platin, that stuff made hard maple look like I had already added finish. I'm liking this a lot already, but I do think I'm going to add the front handle soon to help with control.

 

[semenza]

Yup, green is polishing,  soft  (medium in effect) is black, super soft is gray. Yes, get the hard pad (blue) it is very useful on that sander.

Nice that you got the abrasive Sys with a bunch of disks  as well.

That front handle can be useful in some situations but is certainly not necessary for most things  http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/front-handle-for-rotex-ro150/

Seth