Hi all,
Asking this question for a mate of mine.
We're just DIY guys.
I've got a Rotex 150 teamed with a Protool vac and it's a great combination. But it cost about $1,800 all up.
Then right down the other end of the scale is the stuff at Bunnings.
What would be a good compromise for him to get? An all round sander with dust exctraction for the typical DIY jobs around the house and shed.

Thanks,

Scott

Whatever you do make sure the unit vents outside the shed. If you don't do this your shed will fill up with the very fine invisible dust that passes straight through most vacuum cleaners and DC filters. Remember it's the very fine dust that does the damage, anything you can see is just nuisance value.

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Check out my blog entries for forum links to most of my 2006 - 2011 projects.

When researching this myself in recent months, I found the Makita BO6040 to be the closest thing I know of to a RO150; last I looked it sold for around $600, the Rotex about $940. $600 is still a lot of money but that can be absorbed a little easier over a number of jobs it's assigned to do.

http://www.makita.com.au/products/po...der?Prodid=166

The CT36 was recommend to me to use when I was considering a Rotex; it was quoted at around $1100. It's absurd to pay this amount of money for a vacuum cleaner (for that is largely what it is) that is not really suitable for use outdoors. It has limited hose length like all others, it's not designed to drag over rough ground, you can't conveniently take it up a ladder or scaffolding typically when sanding weatherboards. The rotex works best WITH one. Kind of an absurd situation isn't it?. Fellow forumites have responded to me by saying get the rotex and get a cheap second-hand dusty to go with it. Probably good advice.

As far as going down the the other end of the scale, forget it! You will waste your money. Buy something fit for purpose. Some professional powertool sales people have tried to steer me toward one particular model of Metabo, I forget which one. It did not have forced rotation, it sat quite high above the work surface therefore was not suitable for prolonged vertical work, and each of these sales people had pale hands, long fingernails and had never used one. There's a message in there somewhere.

Thanks for that.

I'll pass that Makita reference on to my mate.

I teamed my Rotex with a Protool vac. The vac was about $550 from memory, but it has a breathtakingly expensive reusable bag - about $300.

Gee, it's a powerful vac, though. Much better than the one we have in the house.

Re: the salespeople with pale hands and long fingers nails...

I was at the Timber and WWW Show last year in Sydney and walked past the Festool stand.They had a display with a piece of timber that was rough down one end and polished at the other end. Sitting on the piece was a Rotex 150.

I ran my hand over the timber and a pretty young blonde girl in a Festool shirt wandered over. She told me she was still working on that piece and hadn't finished polishing it. Then she did a product demo whipping various grades of pads off etc etc. I could tell she loved that tool and knew how to use it. She was very comfortable with it in her hand. I wasn't even really looking for a sander, but I bought one the next day, Now I sand anything that doesn't move. When I go to the Show this year, I'd best avoid the Festool stand.

Ah, the old piece of hardwood on the benchtop with rotex & blonde. Bewdy. Those unexposed to such things will no doubt learn a few sanding tips; I did and was grateful to be shown but that's where the practical lesson ends, on the benchtop. Sanding a small flat surface on a horizontal benchtop is all velly well and nice and the blonde puts the icing on the cake for some. But work high up ladders, on vertical surfaces in restricted areas and moving constantly, having to step around and over obstacles.

The real world; that's the point I'm trying to make.

Ah, but you see in my DIY world (which is real to me) most of the stuff I do is horizontal with plenty of space around it to work. I'm not going to go climbing up ladders to sand vertical stuff or anything like that. I'll pay someone to that.

My mate, however, wants to do the weatherboards on his house. I told him what I have would be too unwieldy. He's going to have a look at that Makita you recommended, but I'd say he'll go cheaper (and he'll understand that the cheap ones won't be great). But after this use, he probably won't use it much ever again.