Bosch 125 AVE ROS

[Chris Parks]

I bought one of these today and was pleasantly surprised to find it was made in Switzerland which is a change from the usual PRC tag usually found on this type of tool.

[NCArcher]

A nice surprise. I've got one of these
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which I really like. I plan on supplementing it with a 125AVE at some point. Let me know what you think of it once you've given it a workout.

[DomAU]

I have both of the above Bosch Sanders and rate them both extremely highly. The 125-150ave has very low levels of vibration and just glides over timber. With a shop vac (fein dustex) both Sanders produce almost zero dust. The 150 turbo is a monster, made in Germany, and feels very well put together. I bought it to sand about 260lm of 260mm wide glue laminated pine which was delivered with a rough, very scalloped finish and needed serious sanding. The 150 did a great job in forced rotation mode and sanded quicker than my bosch belt sander. The vibration levels in forced rotation mode are fairly severe and fatigueing and I couldn't do more than about 2 hours at a time / per day (going flat out non stop) but I didn't expect anything else. Top Sanders both of them! Enjoy!

[Chris Parks]

I used it today, it removes material well, bugger all dust escapes the filter and the vibration levels are pleasantly less than the Triton which has been dispatched to the bin after the smoke escaped from the wires. Mine is the 125 with the 150 pad as a bonus and not the 125-150. What the difference is between the two kits I don't know but I think the 125-150 can change the orbit size?? The store did not have a 125-150 and production was being held up and as it would have entailed another one hour drive I settled for the 125. They did offer me a Festool but I politely declined when I saw the price. I love my Festool drills (two) but if I was going to spend that much I would be buying a Mirka if I wasn't so pressed for time with this job or preferably imported a Dynabrade pneumatic sander from the US which are bloody cheap and have an excellent reputation from the professionals who use them. The Bosch certainly does the job and I think it is definitely good value for money. The pad size is changed by undoing one centre bolt which is simple enough but I am still a bit puzzled as the size change would not seem to give that much advantage in area covered but I could be wrong.

[aldav]

I've been looking at these and this thread is very timely. Thanks guys. Bloody smoke! Once it comes out there is simply no way to get it back in again!

[mauricem]

Mine is the 125 with the 150 pad as a bonus and not the 125-150. What the difference is between the two kits I don't know but I think the 125-150 can change the orbit size?? The store did not have a 125-150 and production was being held up and as it would have entailed another one hour drive I settled for the 125.

Looking for a new ROS so interested in this. Chris, is your unit the 400w one with front handle and tube filter?. AFAIK there is only one version of this and it comes with both pads as standard. Do you mind saying how much you paid?

Tossing up between this and the larger GEX 150 Turbo Pro and the Metabo SXE450 turbo

[Chris Parks]

Mine is the 400W with two pads which was noted on the box as a bonus pack for $229. I would have bought either the Metabo or the Bosch 150 Pro but they had neither in stock and I am in the middle of building 32 table tops for a restaurant so I took what was available. I think both of them have the ability to change the stroke where mine only has a variable speed control.

[DomAU]

Mine is the 400W with two pads which was noted on the box as a bonus pack for $229. I would have bought either the Metabo or the Bosch 150 Pro but they had neither in stock and I am in the middle of building 32 table tops for a restaurant so I took what was available. I think both of them have the ability to change the stroke where mine only has a variable speed control.

Whilst the 150 Turbo is MUCH faster at hogging when in Rotary mode vs the 125-150 AVE, when in regular random orbital mode, the 125-150AVE is much smoother and more balanced than the GEX 150 Turbo IMHO. I am happy to have both but only bought the 150 Turbo when I needed to do a job that required a LOT of heavy sanding and the tool basically paid for itself two times over on the time that it saved for that one task.

Does the Metabo have a forced rotation mode like the Bosch 150 T and Festool Rotex, or just two different orbits?

[brendon17]

Great to hear the Bosch 150 turbo is a good sander and is good at sanding rough surfaces quickly. I also just bought the Bosch 150 turbo the other day have yet to use waiting on delivery.hopefully it does a good job of sanding fiberglass.

[pippin88]

I'm about to pull the trigger on one of the Bosch GEX 125-150, it looks like a good unit.

Can anyone confirm what size the vacuum port is? I have a Fein Dustex 25L and want to make sure it fits.

On a side note - can anyone recommend a decent respirator?

[TORB]

I have (amongst others) the Bosch 150 Turbo and gave it a real workout yesterday. Sanded nonstop for almost three hours stripping back a big table. I knew it worked really well, but this was its first extended use. At the end of it, no stiffness or soreness in arms, wrists etc.

I also used the Turbo on a few spots and that reminds me of my old Mazda MX2. Put your foot down and its a job to keep it under control.

[pippin88]

Well I bought a 125 and it appears to be a very nice unit. Only tried it briefly, but very smooth, low vibration.

Rubber nozzle from my Fein pushes over the dust port (just) and does an excellent job.

My only disappointment thus far is the lack of a case. My shed is essentially open to the sea breeze and anything left uncovered rusts very quickly - I prefer to keep my tools in their cases.

[burraboy]

I have (amongst others) the Bosch 150 Turbo and gave it a real workout yesterday. Sanded nonstop for almost three hours stripping back a big table. I knew it worked really well, but this was its first extended use. At the end of it, no stiffness or soreness in arms, wrists etc.

I use one too, the only thing that annoys me is the dust port is low and the hose keeps geting caught on the edge of the job. Do you have any techniques to avoid this?

[NCArcher]

I use one too, the only thing that annoys me is the dust port is low and the hose keeps geting caught on the edge of the job. Do you have any techniques to avoid this?

I picked up a rubber fitting from bunnings I think, in the pool section. It fits on the dust port perfectly and has a 45° bend.
http://www.bunnings.com.au/hy-clor-p...ector_p3090090

[TORB]

I use one too, the only thing that annoys me is the dust port is low and the hose keeps geting caught on the edge of the job. Do you have any techniques to avoid this?

The fitting that the Big Green Shed sells looks good but I don't find it a problem with my Karcher Shop Vac. I plug it in at angle, keep my left hand under the dust port for support (or hold the vacuum pipe,) and my right on the top of the motor.

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