What's the Proper Use Application for both the LS130 and RS2 sanders?

[onocoffee]

I've seen these two sanders pop up from time to time and recall a lot of enthusiasm regarding the LS130, but under what circumstances do these sanders shine? And how do they compare, if at all, to the current Festool lineup?

Just trying to understand better the differences in sanders and how they fit in the larger pantheon. Thanks!

 

[luvmytoolz]

If you're talking the RS2E, that is an absolute beast of a sander with heaps of grunt and can reduce a tree to dust in short order, yet it's extremely capable as a fine finish sander for projects.

And due to the 1/2 sheet pad, it's fantastic for large flat work on panels, doors, etc.

The LS130 I love, it's a very niche machine that's superb for sanding any profile, as well as lining boards, panels inset in doors, etc, etc. It's such an amazing sander. I do a lot of sanding in machined pockets on my charcuterie boards which takes me a tremendous amount of time, and have lately been using Mirka's micro sanders which have been a godsend and save me an inordinate amount of time. But I'm going to machine one of my spare bases for the LS130 so I can do the long pockets running down either side of the boards.

I can't even begin to imagine how much effort and time this will save me. If you ever get the opportunity to buy either sander, I couldn't recommend them high enough. I might add the RS2E was the very first good quality sander I ever bought many decades ago, and in 40 years or so the only issue is I had to have the electronic controller replaced when it blew one day, that was some 25 years ago. I still use it to this day with no issues.

 

[peter halle]

The LS130 is a linear sander - forward and backward stroke - fairly unique in the woodworking world.

Peter

 

[luvmytoolz]

The 18 minute mark to the 23rd minute in this video with Sedge, show the really exciting and utterly unique aspect of the LS130, making your own custom sanding bases to conform to any profile:



Words just don't express how useful this is for frequent repetitive tasks in sanding!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

With the proper shaped pad, the LS130 is great for things like handrails, bull-nose edges, and coved backsplashes (Corian countertops) It can remove machining marks, without changing the shape of the item. Other ways may cause issues with flat spots.

 

[Vondawg]

Is it the thickness of the pads that contribute to them breaking down? A painter friend talks about having to replace them quietly often or maybe that’s been improved on ?

 

[Cheese]

An interesting nuance to this question may be answered by resources other than our own. For the last few years I've kept my nose in the wooden boat area having always wanted to own one but not having a lake on which to park it.
Snake Mountain Boatworks in Vermont refinishes old, classic wooden boats, Chris Craft, Hacker Craft, Riva...et al. Some of these change hands for well over $125,000. They use the Festool LS 130 to initially sand & flatten the bottom, top & sides of the boats. They will NOT use their Festool RO sander until they are in the later stages of applying varnish. According to the owner, using any RO sander on bare wood will leave craters & divots that will never be completely removed, he refers to it as a moonscape.
They sand with the grain using the LS 130, a Hutchins 16" long board sander or by hand sanding and only employ the RO sander after at least 12 coats of varnish have been applied. They recommend a properly restored boat will have at least 20 coats of varnish and then it will be hand sanded with 1200 grit and then polished with a buffer.

Snake Mountain Boatworks - Snake Mountain Boatworks

Vintage Boat Preservation We are laser focused on saving old wood boats and reversing the ravages of time through preservation, not “restoration”. I cringe every time I see a boat for sale ad exclaiming that you should buy her because her transom, bottom, topside and deck planking is new. Such a...

snakemountainboatworks.com

 

[zachjowi]

If you're talking the RS2E, that is an absolute beast of a sander with heaps of grunt and can reduce a tree to dust in short order, yet it's extremely capable as a fine finish sander for projects.

And due to the 1/2 sheet pad, it's fantastic for large flat work on panels, doors, etc.

The LS130 I love, it's a very niche machine that's superb for sanding any profile, as well as lining boards, panels inset in doors, etc, etc. It's such an amazing sander. I do a lot of sanding in machined pockets on my charcuterie boards which takes me a tremendous amount of time, and have lately been using Mirka's micro sanders which have been a godsend and save me an inordinate amount of time. But I'm going to machine one of my spare bases for the LS130 so I can do the long pockets running down either side of the boards.

I can't even begin to imagine how much effort and time this will save me. If you ever get the opportunity to buy either sander, I couldn't recommend them high enough. I might add the RS2E was the very first good quality sander I ever bought many decades ago, and in 40 years or so the only issue is I had to have the electronic controller replaced when it blew one day, that was some 25 years ago. I still use it to this day with no issues.

@luvmytoolz do you have more info and pics of those somewhere? Looks like pinecones were caster and cut cross ways?

 

[luvmytoolz]

@zachjowi The pics below show how I do the cones. With the Banksia Pod boards I slice them up on the bandsaw as they're pretty big, some I have are 300mm or so long.

As you can imagine, there's a massive amount of sanding required for these. The Mirka micro sanders make a huge difference, but the LS130 is perfect for the long pockets.

I'll try and get some pics of my LS130 and base tonight and add them.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

@Cheese while I 100% agree with the assessment of the Hitchens long board, they are quite the air hog. They use way more CFM than the typical homeowner compressor can produce.

@luvmytoolz those are fantastic. Is that something you do often?

 

[luvmytoolz]

@luvmytoolz those are fantastic. Is that something you do often?

Thanks very much CRG! Yes I'm ramping up doing these in various sizes and types, I also make the silicone molds for the boards and coasters to sell.

I love mixing timber and resin with cones and Banksia Pods, you can get some really stunning results. I've a commission for a large Rosewood and black resin one atm that should be pretty nice.

The pockets are a killer though, I'm always looking for ways to reduce the labour there. Hence the LS130.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Thanks very much CRG! Yes I'm ramping up doing these in various sizes and types, I also make the silicone molds for the boards and coasters to sell.

I love mixing timber and resin with cones and Banksia Pods, you can get some really stunning results. I've a commission for a large Rosewood and black resin one atm that should be pretty nice.

The pockets are a killer though, I'm always looking for ways to reduce the labour there. Hence the LS130.

How do you sell your wares? Local Facebook Marketplace? Etsy store? good ol' word of mouth?

 

[leakyroof]

I have, but rarely use, my RS2 sander. The LS130, which I also own, is used a bit more. Favorite usage so far was sanding hand railings. It's one Sander that takes some getting used to IMO. Can be a bit bouncy in certain jobs, especially with a narrow pad for narrow work. Doesn't remove much material even with coarse grit if you're in a hurry, but not its forte or what it was designed for anyway.
The pads DO fall apart on you, cool and dry place of storage will prolong their life.

To Cheese, interesting comments about the RO Sanders from the Boat Guys. Almost make me wonder if their pads weren't hard enough, in getting that much undulations of surface. Although, a 16" long board sander WOULD be delivering a flatter surface just by design.

 

[Cheese]

To Cheese, interesting comments about the RO Sanders from the Boat Guys. Almost make me wonder if their pads weren't hard enough, in getting that much undulations of surface. Although, a 16" long board sander WOULD be delivering a flatter surface just by design.

The many Snake Mountain Boatworks suggestions are all very interesting and promotes some serious thought on my part.
For flattening/smoothing the hull, they make a flattening pass of the planks at a 45º angle and then make another pass with the grain. That's similar to what typical floor finishers do when finishing a newly installed 3/4" thick wood floor. After that, they get out the 16" Hutchins straight-line long board sander and that would further flatten and refine the surface. That sander has a 24mm straight stroke just like the LS 130 but at only a 4mm stroke.
You never have to remove "sanding pigtails" if you never introduce them in the first place.

 

[luvmytoolz]

How do you sell your wares? Local Facebook Marketplace? Etsy store? good ol' word of mouth?

It's always mostly been word of mouth and commission, but I am trying to motivate myself to finally setup the Etsy shop. Or perhaps use something like Shopping Square as Etsy has a bad rap these days.

 

[leakyroof]

The many Snake Mountain Boatworks suggestions are all very interesting and promotes some serious thought on my part.
For flattening/smoothing the hull, they make a flattening pass of the planks at a 45º angle and then make another pass with the grain. That's similar to what typical floor finishers do when finishing a newly installed 3/4" thick wood floor. After that, they get out the 16" Hutchins straight-line long board sander and that would further flatten and refine the surface. That sander has a 24mm straight stroke just like the LS 130 but at only a 4mm stroke.
You never have to remove "sanding pigtails" if you never introduce them in the first place.

Good point about the cross angle starting for sanding. Do they hang the sander from a support cord to help take the weight off a bit for long sanding sessions, or is it operator supported the whole time?

 

[Cheese]

Good point about the cross angle starting for sanding. Do they hang the sander from a support cord to help take the weight off a bit for long sanding sessions, or is it operator supported the whole time?

Operator supported all the way. While these guys do have some nice large stationary equipment, they firmly believe in old-school elbow grease methods.

 

[mino]

...
To Cheese, interesting comments about the RO Sanders from the Boat Guys. Almost make me wonder if their pads weren't hard enough, in getting that much undulations of surface. Although, a 16" long board sander WOULD be delivering a flatter surface just by design.

Pretty sure their "problem" is sanding an inherently non-flat surface with a very mild but consistent curvature.

No matter how hard, the RO pad can never "settle" on the surrounding surface. A linear sander, be it manual or powered, can mitigate that problem by way of the sanding person moving it along the curvature. An RO sander is omni-directional by its nature .. it keeps trying to "flatten" something they need remain curved ...

As for the original topic, the RS2/RS series sanders are the gentle beasts meant for (big) surface flattening. Many people get by without them these days by using only sheet goods that are flat from factory and/or small-enough surfaces where the un-evenness an RO sander introduces is not of a concern.

For me the main use case, besides finish sanding sheet goods, is flattening glued wood boards after they are let to acclimate. These tend to be sold not fully dried and the various stripes they are formed from shrink differently after a year or so. An RO sander can smooth the undulations .. only to introduces other undulations. A traditional half-sheet like the RS 2E can actually result in an almost-flat surface. As much as talking about "flat" makes sense with wood, that is. Basically, it is a replacement for a big drum sander for a hobby/one-man band.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

The RS2 is my go-to for large, flat project - table tops, desk tops, dressers, etc... Low risk of sanding too much in an area and creating divots. The LS is a back-and forth action - like hand sanding. It works well, but is slow. You used to be able to add a scraper blade to it, making it useful for scrapping dried glue, putty or carpeting. It is loud, though.

 

[PaulMarcel]

While I definitely use the RS-2 on large flat surfaces, I also made a mount for it that fits in the vice upside-down. Very handy for small parts since you take the part to the tool.