Thread: ROS vs Orbital Sander!

From what I understand ROS scratch pattern from sandpaper is not as visible. orbital sander is square so can get in corners.

Orbital sanders tend to have a smaller orbit/stroke (usually around 2mm) and the lack of spinning means that you can get the pad right up next to a vertical edge without it taking chunks out

I've had an orbital sander for decades, and a belt sander. A few years back I bought a decent ROS and could not believe how much better it is. If I was starting again I'd just buy a GOOD ros and a delta sander, maybe a multi tool with the delta head, then you could do other things with it.

As said above a ros doesn't do corners and nooks, but it is unbelievable how much better it is at open flat surfaces. Mine will remove wood almost as quick as a belt sander or do final fine sanding with minimum marks. Until I used it myself I would not have believed it would be that good.

Originally Posted by damian

I've had an orbital sander for decades, and a belt sander. A few years back I bought a decent ROS and could not believe how much better it is. If I was starting again I'd just buy a GOOD ros and a delta sander, maybe a multi tool with the delta head, then you could do other things with it.

As said above a ros doesn't do corners and nooks, but it is unbelievable how much better it is at open flat surfaces. Mine will remove wood almost as quick as a belt sander or do final fine sanding with minimum marks. Until I used it myself I would not have believed it would be that good.

Curious to know which ROS you got? From my little experience a belt sander can be scary how quickly it can remove material

Mine is a bosch blue but I would not recommend bosch anymore. 40 grit paper on the most aggressive setting really gets the material down, possibly not as fast as a belt used hard but much more controllable and still VERY fast.

G'sday,

Buy yourself a RO90 and an ETS150 from festool. All bases covered from rapid removal (RO90) to ultra fine sanding using high (2000 and 4000 grits) on the ETS and great rough work with low grits (200 - 400 grit) RO 90 "The Beast!" That's not to say that you cant get exquisite finishes with the RO90.

I will say that the RO90 is best used with both hands unless you're Charles Atlas or a glutton for punishment. Stripping stock is it's trade, with a little elegance when required.

Couldn't live without either of them OR the little delta sander as well. Cleans up tight areas really well and pretty quickly too. You can probably guess that I have all three.

Regards,

Rob

Originally Posted by damian

Mine is a bosch blue but I would not recommend bosch anymore. 40 grit paper on the most aggressive setting really gets the material down, possibly not as fast as a belt used hard but much more controllable and still VERY fast.

Which bosch - the standard ROS or the geared one?
GEX 125 AVE Professional , Random Orbit Sander | Bosch
GEX 150 Turbo Professional , Random Orbit Sander | Bosch

Can you go into a bit more detail on why you would not recommend?

Originally Posted by LGS

G'sday,

Buy yourself a RO90 and an ETS150 from festool. All bases covered from rapid removal (RO90) to ultra fine sanding using high (2000 and 4000 grits) on the ETS and great rough work with low grits (200 - 400 grit) RO 90 "The Beast!" That's not to say that you cant get exquisite finishes with the RO90.

I will say that the RO90 is best used with both hands unless you're Charles Atlas or a glutton for punishment. Stripping stock is it's trade, with a little elegance when required.

Couldn't live without either of them OR the little delta sander as well. Cleans up tight areas really well and pretty quickly too. You can probably guess that I have all three.

Regards,

Rob

Is there a reason why you wouldnt just go the RO150 and using it for finishing as well? As I understand it does everything?

Hi,

My mistake...brain fart. RO150 it is that I use. Yes you can do the whole process with a RO150 and it'll look good. The difference between the two, apart from the more aggressive nature, is that you can only get a 5mm stroke on the RO150 and 3mm on the ETS150. The two mm makes a huge difference when you are finishing. I use a burnished oil to finish my work and the ETS150 gives a better final finish then the RO150. Somewhere on here there is a discussion on the Organoil finish using the ROS v ETS 150's and how much difference you see between stopping sanding at 400 or 800 instead of 4000.

Regards,

Rob

IMG_0477 (3).jpg

I own a few of the Festool sanders including the RO150 (rotex) and ETS/3.

My favourite all purpose sander (sanding out scratches, removing paint, general sanding etc) is the rotex, but for finish sanding the ETS 150/3 is my go to sander. It’s so smooth to use to the point where you could use one finger to move it around your work piece. You could also argue that it leaves a slightly better finish due to the size of the orbit (3mm v 5mm).

In saying that, if I could only have one sander, it would be the RO150. I’m very impressed by it, such a beast!

Cheers

Thanks for sharing your experiences guys. One more question, does the rotex need to be used 2 handed?

Hi there.

The Rotex in geared mode is definitely a 2 handed machine. The ergonomics combined with the grunt of the machine precludes using it one handed.

I have the RO150 for initial sanding and then an ETS150/3 for final sanding. The Rotex in orbit mode is a 5mm orbit sander so between the two sanders I have in effect three machines.

[QUOTE=qwertyu;2085096]Which bosch - the standard ROS or the geared one?
GEX 125 AVE Professional , Random Orbit Sander | Bosch
GEX 150 Turbo Professional , Random Orbit Sander | Bosch

Can you go into a bit more detail on why you would not recommend?

Mine is an older 5" machine I think. I assume the newer ones are a different design. I had championed bosch for years but they make too many design mistakes. Annoying little things. On my ROS for example the dust box is difficult to clip and unclip. I'm not sure I can buy replacement paper filters, and the vacuum attachment is a seperate part and possibly not available. Bosch parts are not easy. Mine has a variable oscillation radius so it can be aggressive or gentle.

Makita and hitachi are unkillable and makita supply parts. Designs are usually basic but functional. Not all new makita are great but the trade duty models are still good. The people I know who did (or still do) cabinet making for a living use makita and hitachi, also plenty of carpenters. I'm a mechanic. Lots of makita in garages also.

I have not used festool stuff because it's stupidly expensive. Some people swear by it and some like me just don't see any value there. Stuff like that is a religious war and I'm too old and cranky to get into that...buy what makes you happy. $1000 for a sander though when you can buy a trade tools one for $60....how much work do you need to get out of it to justify that ?