Vibration with ETS 125EQ

[kfitzsimons]

I purchased a used ETS 125EQ on the Festool classified ads last spring. I've been sanding a solid wood/ plywood (cherry) project and the ETS vibrates often and is not as smooth as I think it should be.  It's not drastic, just irritating.  I've varied the speed of the CT Midi to make sure it's not being sucked down to the wood too hard.  I'm using P120 - P220 paper.  I don't think the pad is too hard.  Maybe the vibrating is why the guy sold it. Has anyone else had this issue? Is it worth sending it in to Festool to be checked?  Is it worth the cost of fixing or just buy a new one? It is truly virtually dustless however, which is great.

 

[woodwrights_corner]

The easiest and fastest way to determine this is to call Festool Service/Warranty.  The number should be on the tool.

 

[jvsteenb]

It may just have to run in a bit. This particular motor housing is known to benefit from a decent run-in period. My RTS400 ( same powerpack ) was a bit jumpy when I got it, but after running it ( supended by the cord ) at  half speed for about 8 hrs it was broken in nicely, and now it's very smooth.

Do a search on the forum, you'll find a couple of extensive posts on the subject.

Regards,

Job

 

[AlexThePalex]

You'd think a used tool would already be broken in. Btw, I got a brand new DTS400 and there's no problem whatsoever, it's very smooth right from the start. Perhaps even a bit too smooth for my taste compared with my older DS400.

You could also look at the pad. When there's something wrong with the pad vibrations can occur. And if it's not the pad then it could be a worn out bearing.

 

[Brice Burrell]

You'd think a used tool would already be broken in. Btw, I got a brand new DTS400 and there's no problem whatsoever, it's very smooth right from the start. Perhaps even a bit too smooth for my taste compared with my older DS400.

You could also look at the pad. When there's something wrong with the pad vibrations can occur. And if it's not the pad then it could be a worn out bearing.

Not necessarily. Some guys don't use their tools much. And you're right, some sander work fine right out of the box. But, Woodwrights_corner gave you the best advice, call Festool. 

 

[kfitzsimons]

thanks for the info, guys.  It looks to be pretty used and broken in.  I'll give Festool Service a call.

 

[AlexThePalex]

You'd think a used tool would already be broken in. Btw, I got a brand new DTS400 and there's no problem whatsoever, it's very smooth right from the start. Perhaps even a bit too smooth for my taste compared with my older DS400.

You could also look at the pad. When there's something wrong with the pad vibrations can occur. And if it's not the pad then it could be a worn out bearing.

Not necessarily. Some guys don't use their tools much. And you're right, some sander work fine right out of the box. But, Woodwrights_corner gave you the best advice, call Festool. 

Well, maybe that's true for America, but I keep an eye on local seller sites like www.marktplaats.nl and www.eBay.nl and from the pictures you can see most stuff is very well used.

 

[thender]

It may just have to run in a bit. This particular motor housing is known to benefit from a decent run-in period. My RTS400 ( same powerpack ) was a bit jumpy when I got it, but after running it ( supended by the cord ) at  half speed for about 8 hrs it was broken in nicely, and now it's very smooth.

Do a search on the forum, you'll find a couple of extensive posts on the subject.

Regards,

Job

Gents-

I recently purchased a new ETS-125, and while in general I'm thrilled with it, I have noticed some "chattering" that has me wondering.

First, a description....

When I power up the sander it sounds fine and seems to run pretty smooth.  When I put it to the wood, most of the time it works perfectly;  it feels smooth, the RO action seems to work properly, and all is well.  But then it will start "chattering" -- by which I mean that the entire sander sort of jumps all over.  I hope this explanation makes sense;  the point is that the vibration comes from the entire sander kind of jumping.

I've tried sander speeds from min to max, and it seems to be worst at low speeds and best at high speeds.

I've tried CT-22 speeds from min to max, and while the chatter seems to be about the same at all vac speeds, the RO action seems better at low vac speeds so most of my usage has been at minimum vacuum.

I've used grits from ~60 (rubin) through 400 (Brilliant2) and haven't noticed much difference in the chatter.

I'm  using the pad that came with the sander.  Most of the time I'm working on horizontal flat surfaces (most notably a table top that is ~30" square)

As for the speed I move the sander, I try to stick to the ~1" of motion per second.  The chatter may be a bit worse  (or should I say occurs more frequently) when I move the sander quickly, but moving slowly does not eliminate it by any stretch.

When the chatter begins, the easiest way to control it seems to be to very slightly unload the "back" side (relative to the direction the sander is moving).

So....  I am quite sure this is a technique thing on my part, but I'm not sure what to do about it.  I've never experienced this kind of chatter on my other RO sanders (Bosch, DeWalt).  So I'm baffled.

Any thoughts/suggestions?  Is this part of the "wear-in" that some of you have described?  Or is there some technique that I'm missing?  Any thoughts are appreciated.

Other than the chatter, the ETS-125/CT-22 combo is awesome;  I can sand an entire workpiece and virtually no dust escapes;  so I don't make a mess, I don't sneeze all night, and the garage stays cleaner. 

Thanks in advance....
-Tom in Ventura

 

[Brice Burrell]

Tom, I know it's not intuitive but the chattering is likely to be a break-in issue. Break-in takes up to eight hours or so. There is chance it is user error, if you're pushing down on the sander. The best results are achieved with little or no downward pressure. The smaller sander seem to run best at the highest speed and with the vac suction turned down to 1/3 and less.

 

[thender]

Thanks Brice.

I'm not intending to push down at all -- just trying to counteract the weight of the vac hose and power cord. 

More than anything I wanted to make sure I didn't need to change pads, or something like that.

Thanks again for your response.

-TH