Thread: Festo???

Hi mick,
I think Festool started out as Festo. So Festo is/was the parent company.
Regards,
Ross

Prior to about 2000, Festools sold in Australia were branded Festo. (I'm not sure about elsewhere in the world.)

Festo is Festool; same brand, but before the name change. They now reserve the Festo brand for their industrial automation business

If I recall correctly the early Festo tool systainers had a blue locking clip then they moved up to the green on the systainer.

Around the start of this century the Festo family business was split between two of the kids.

One got the automation/air wing and remained Festo, the other got the woodworking tools division and renamed it as Festool.

I still use a Festo ET2E ROS, which is the forerunner of the ETS150. It is still going strong (OK, I use it about twice a year). Wikapaedia writes: Festo was founded in 1925 by Albert Fezer and Gottlieb Stoll. Initially, the company manufactured wood cutting tools and later diversified into the automation industry. A noteworthy early product was the first portable, gasoline-powered chainsaw. In 2000, its portable power tool activities were spun off into an independent company, Festool.

I was thinking of an upgrade. Any suggestions in the Festool range?

Regards from Perth

Derek

Originally Posted by derekcohen

I was thinking of an upgrade. Any suggestions in the Festool range?

Well, if you want to stick with Festool, it's either the ETS150 or the ETS150 EC. The EC is more compact, but also more expensive; if you don't use it much, it's hard to justify the price.

If you aren't dead-set on Festool, look at the Mirka CEROS. I used one for many years and firmly believe it is the best electric ROS available. Again, it is expensive and hard to justify the cost for occasional use.

I like the size of the Ceros, but I think that it has been replaced completely by the Deros, and now unavailable. The Deros (and Ceros?) have come in for a great deal of complaints about reliability in the USA. Is this the situation in Oz?

Regards from Perth

Derek

AFAIK the ceros and deros are both still available, they're both still listed on the Mirka site and with local distributors.

The only reliability issue I had was one of the copper wires in the cord broke from metal fatigue after a few years (I did a LOT of sanding on radiused edges and the repeated flexing finally took its toll), but it was replaced under warranty along with the control circuit board. Other than that, I never had a problem in the 6-7 years I had it and it survived all the drops and knocks you'd expect in a production environment.

Where do you see the Ceros for sale? Who are distributors in Oz?

I am a big fan of the Abranet mesh, and have used in from 80 through 400 grit in both hand sander holders (by Mirka) and my old Festo (the downside of which is that it is big and heavy).

Regards from Perth

Derek

https://www.malleeagencies.com.au/pr...um-5-0mm-orbit
Mirka Ceros 650CV Electrical Sander
https://www.bestabrasives.com.au/pro...m-orbit-5-0-an (sold out, but they might be able to get one in)
PPG Refinish are distributors as well Australia

Thanks for the links. The Ceros from BC Coatings is a 2012 advert. Are you aware if they have these for sale still? (I tried to email, but the on-line messager does not appear to work).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Dunno. I'm sure there's a phone number on their site

I've been using a DEROS 5mm & DEOS pair for some time. These things are just so far superior to the Festo/ols I was once using (RS3, RS 400, Duplex, Rotexes) that it's literally cheese & chalk. I'm considering another DEROS 8mm too for the rough stuff. Nary a spot of bother with either yet!

Their 2 great advantages are weight (<1 kg) & the fact that they're purpose-built to use those fantastic mesh abrasives.

My own Festo/ol arsenal has been progressively reduced from around 20 odd tools to only 3 now. I find that other makers are now offering better quality, performance, innovation & value for money these days.