Looking at random orbital sanders

[Eastie]

After 2.5 years of infrequent use I've killed my dewalt random orbital sander (the plane will be next according to the noises it now makes).

I've seen and used the rotex and despite it being great I'm not sold on parting with that much moolah for now and then use.

The only other I've looked at is the Metabo duo, which at least has the two main features of the rotex.

Are any others up there and worth a look ? (no yellow stuff thanks :mad: )

Cheers,
Eastie

[DPB]

Mark - don't do it! Don't walk away from the best rotary/orbital sander on the market.

I've used others, but compared to my Rotex, they really aren't sanders at all.

What do I appreciate about this delightful tool?
- variable speed
- excellent dust extraction
- dual setting modes

It replaces almost all of my power sanders. It works faster and better than my Bosch belt sander. It burnishes to a high gloss polish - and it does everything in between.

Put off purchasing a lesser sander - save your bickies and enter the wonderful world of the Festool Rotex!:D

[Mick4412]

Mark,
I bought a Festool Rotex about 3 months ago. I have a Makita Belt sander, Makita finishing sander, and other Bosch / Black & Decker deatil sanders.
The Festo has virtually replaced all of these.
Currently, I am making Outside tables & benches from rough sawn redgum. The Festo makes easy work of sanding the tops of the tables and benches - far more effective & quicker than the belt sander.
Tonight, I have just come in from the shed, having spent a short time sanding an old mirror frame, in preparation for French polishing. Used the Festo. The sanding discs used for this were the 500 grit, cf the 40 grit used to rip into the redgum.
I also make refectory dining tables which are French polished then waxed. The Festo is the most effective tool I have for the final polishing
It is a very, very good tool.
mick

[Eastie]

Ok - that certainly narrows the choices !

Given the absolute perfection of this sanding/polishing marvel, how available are the nine-hole abrasives (i.e. not the festool branded ones) ?

Thankyou in advance.

Mark

[DPB]

Mark, I haven't paid any attention to the brand of the sanding disks I purchase. I have only found Festo compatible sanding disks at Carba-Tech. There's no question that 9-hole disks are not easy to find anywhere else. And, there is no point in using anything else, because the excellent dust extraction is reliant on the disk's hole configuration.

[John Saxton]

Mark,the nine hole sanding disks are freely available ...I get mine for about 37 bucks for a box of 50 but of course they vary from around that price according to the grit capacity of the disk.

Would'nt do without my rotex 150 ...great tool ,probably one of Festo's best produced tools.
I also have a linisher,Makita belt sander,Bosch pex125,Ryobi detail sander,and a 1/4 sheet sander ...none of 'em come up to scratch and come within an inch of touchin' the Festo.
Expensive?yes but an investment that will actually carry out the task you want it to do.

Good Luck!
Cheers :)

[kenmil]

With all this praise for the Festo, I must ask. What, exactly, makes it worth the $750-odd price tag ? How much better than say, the Bosch, can it be ?
Are you sure you are not being overly brand infatuated ?

Don't take offense. I have never used one, in fact never seen one, but a sander is a sander as far as I am concerned.

[Dan]

How is the variable speed feature found on some sanders used ?:confused:

[John G]

I'm sort of with you Ken,
$750 for a RO sander! Geez, who they kidding/suckering?
Far from being "random" orbit, all random orbit sanders are just orbital sanders with 2 superimposed FIXED orbits. The path the sanding sheet takes is identical, whether it's a Festo/Metabo/Makita/Bosch (assuming same orbital diameter). So what makes one machine so much better than the other?
The features that can effect performance are:
- the sanding surface
- speed
- dust extraction
- machine vibration
I will concede that:
- if the dust extraction is significantly better on one machine, the sanding performance will be better
- a better balanced machine will vibrate less and produce a smoother result (and be more pleasant to use)
- a variable speed obviously impacts performance, although I'm not sure why you would need to use a slower or faster speed.
But is this worth an extra $400? No need to reply, obviously for some people it is worth it.

[Eastie]

I've the same gut feeling. Is the quality of the tool that good?

[DPB]

Obviously, I've revealed my bias, but it is based on experience with a number of sanders.

However, I ask myself the same question. Is the Festo Rotex worth $400 more than its competitors and why?

It's built with top European quality. It feels like a substantial piece of machinery in ones hands. When running, it is relatively quiet (relative to competitive sanders). The variable speed works well with differing densities of grain. (I do this on an "adjust it and see basis" - haven't developed any rules of thumb here.)

Another aspect that impresses me is the speed with which it removes wood. In fact, if one doesn't take care, it can plough through a piece of timber too quickly. Where I find this particularly useful is removing snipe marks and flattening poorly made joints. I've made a number of tabletops by biscuit joint laminating pieces of timber only to find that the surface shows the joint lines because of less than exact jointing. The Rotex quickly removes these lines.

But I think the one aspect that makes the Rotex exceptional is its dust extraction capability. Those nine holes really make a difference. So well does the extraction work that I neutralise this feature by disconnecting the vacuum hose when burnishing.

If you know someone who owns one, ask to borrow it to finish a project. I believe this will convince you that it’s worth the money.

:)

[kenmil]

OK, I'll be around to borrow yours shortly:D ;)

[3Landerblue]

I have been reading this post with interest.
The Festool rotex looks a great tool but I see from the MIK website that it is $479 not $750 am I looking at the right model?

cheers 3Landerblue

[3Landerblue]

Sorry guys my mistake,
The Carabec catalogue shows two models

FE-ES150 $475 and FE R0150ES plus $765

I guess you guys were talking about the dearer one

[derekcohen]

You can have the best of both worlds.

I have an earlier version of the FE-ES150, the ET2E (actually I have two of these, one for sale). I think that they are identical (both come in two versions, either a 3mm or 5mm orbit, both have the same variable speed range) . Anyway, after about a year or so of use (for me), the rubber base pads need to be replaced (the fine edges get rounded over). At that point (or earlier if you so wish) you have the option of doing so with a 6-hole rubber base. This accepts the Bosch sanding pads, which are significantly cheaper. These pads are also available in generic form (for generic read cheap) from most places (Timbercon, Carba-tec).

The ES150/ET2E is a super sander. It only differs from the R0150ES in the the latter's ability to get really aggressive. It is much better value as a dedicated finish sander. But if you want the ultimate one-does-all then the R0150ES is IT.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[TOMARTOM]

I have the 150, 3mm orbit ROS Festool, and while it does not perform the amount of functions as the Rotex, it does although perform very well as a finishing/polishing tool, and also occassionally can be used for more aggressive work, if fitted with a 50 grit pad.

So if you are concerned about the price of the rotex and require a finishing sander 90% of the time then the 150mm 3mm orbit tool may fill the gap.

regards

Tony