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  1. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ratbag View Post
    I must disagree with your evaluation of Festool's sander range, however. I've found some of their product to be intensely vibratory in comparison to the best of the rest. Even Festool's new EC sanders can't compare with the Mirka family & their clones. They vibrate more, are bigger & heavier than the Finnish machines.
    +1 for Mirka any day. I could (and did) use my CEROS all day sanding radiused edges and all sorts of funky curvy stuff and it was a joy to use.

    It's lighter, cheaper and more comfortable than any Festool, even the fancy ETS EC.

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  3. #17
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    Quite frankly, I would have loved to have joined the Mirka band wagon. Before i picked up my Festool sander i was seriously looking for a Mirka. The local distributor (local tool shop not the main distributor in Perth) I was talking to at the time was no longer distributing the product. I quizzed him why and he simply said too many dissatisfied customers having issues with the power unit.

    So long story short, didn't want to invest in a sander that didn't have a solid track record/ease of servicing especially given the price.

  4. #18
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    That was definitely not my experience.

    In 8ish years I had zero power unit issues, and it would have seen thousands of hours of use. In fact the only issue I ever had was a broken wire that developed in the power cord and they replaced the entire circuit board and cord for free under warranty.

    The only thing I'd call an issue with power supply was that if you were doing a lot of quick start/stop work (probably close to 10 on/off cycles per minute) it would cut out after a while; I suspect whatever bits in the transformer that dealt with startup would get too hot because it'd fire right back up after about 10 seconds. It certainly didn't happen often.

  5. #19
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    Are makita tools and sanders good?

  6. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by JulianMcGrath View Post
    Are makita tools and sanders good?
    it depends on what you are wanting from a sander
    I have a 18v Makita ROS and it is a very handy unit and gets used a lot but if I am sanding hardwood the Festool makes short work of it and would be a tedious process with the Makita or any similar others by comparison

  7. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Beardy View Post
    it depends on what you are wanting from a sander
    I have a 18v Makita ROS and it is a very handy unit and gets used a lot but if I am sanding hardwood the Festool makes short work of it and would be a tedious process with the Makita or any similar others by comparison
    Which Festool sander are you comparing a cordless tool to?

    I have a BO6050J and that is a beast. In the coarse mode it is very rapid at removing material. The finish in fine mode is, well, fine.

    In short, Makita sanders are just fine. You really really do not need to spend $1500 on a sander.

    If your sanding time is measured in shifts, maybe then consider a Festool.

    I hate how these threads ALWAYS devolve into "just buy a Festool". I can afford a Festool but jeez; not everyone can.

    Even though I can afford a Festool sander, I still didn't buy one. For the amount of use I (and most people here) get from a sander; the money can be better spent.

    I used the $1000+ change towards buying an air conditioner for my workshop. A far better use of money!

  8. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by markharrison View Post
    I hate how these threads ALWAYS devolve into "just buy a Festool". I can afford a Festool but jeez; not everyone can.
    I suggest you have a read of the thread again, there are recommendations for Mirka, Metabo and Bosch as well as Festool.

    In fact there's are several of us who do our level best to turn these threads into "DON'T buy Festool because there's better stuff for less money", myself included.

  9. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by elanjacobs View Post
    I suggest you have a read of the thread again, there are recommendations for Mirka, Metabo and Bosch as well as Festool.

    In fact there's are several of us who do our level best to turn these threads into "DON'T buy Festool because there's better stuff for less money", myself included.
    Quote Originally Posted by Beardy View Post
    it depends on what you are wanting from a sander
    I have a 18v Makita ROS and it is a very handy unit and gets used a lot but if I am sanding hardwood the Festool makes short work of it and would be a tedious process with the Makita or any similar others by comparison
    "Just buy a Festool" was in quotes for a reason. It's paraphrasing the vibe (geddit? Boom, Tish... I'm here all week. Try the veal.). It most certainly was not directed at you. Moreover, I joined this thread somewhere near the beginning.

    There are at least two or three other posts of a similar ilk in this thread.

    Offering a 26 yo just starting out the advice that they (to paraphrase) are wasting their money and should buy a FT product, is -- perhaps -- a bit misguided.

    As for better? I honestly don't know. In my [no doubt, unpopular] opinion; FT does not have a unique value proposition in the sander department.

    The only FT tool I have ever owned is a domino machine, and that's a recent acquisition. In its unique category, it is the best there is; but their patents will expire one day and then they will have to compete...

  10. #24
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    Nov 2007
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    Quote Originally Posted by markharrison View Post
    "Just buy a Festool" was in quotes for a reason.
    But the ALWAYS that preceded it indicates that you think it was more than just a ‘vibe’.

    BTW, I was 23 when I bought my Festo (before the name change) OF900 router. It’s still going strong 32 years later. It hurt at the time, but I’m glad I coughed up the money.

  11. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by jack620 View Post
    but the always that preceded it indicates that you think it was more than just a ‘vibe’.

    Btw, i was 23 when i bought my festo (before the name change) of900 router. It’s still going strong 32 years later. It hurt at the time, but i’m glad i coughed up the money.
    ymmv ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  12. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by markharrison View Post
    Which Festool sander are you comparing a cordless tool to?

    I have a BO6050J and that is a beast. In the coarse mode it is very rapid at removing material. The finish in fine mode is, well, fine.

    In short, Makita sanders are just fine. You really really do not need to spend $1500 on a sander.

    If your sanding time is measured in shifts, maybe then consider a Festool.

    I hate how these threads ALWAYS devolve into "just buy a Festool". I can afford a Festool but jeez; not everyone can.

    Even though I can afford a Festool sander, I still didn't buy one. For the amount of use I (and most people here) get from a sander; the money can be better spent.

    I used the $1000+ change towards buying an air conditioner for my workshop. A far better use of money!
    I have the Rotex 150. I was not trying to do a comparison but more pointing the suitability of one over the other depending on its use.
    As far as the “Just buy a Festool” bit goes to be honest I walked into the shop with a mindset to buy the Metabo ROS and save the coin based on what others have said about it here but I didn’t think it felt very comfortable to hold compared to the Festool and there was a comment from a member ( can’t remember who) that said they could only use it for 20 minute intervals due to fatigue, that might of just been the individual not the machine I don’t know
    Anyway I felt the Festool was a better tool and we had a lot of blackbutt slabs to sand so forked out the extra dollars and certainly glad I did as the time saved easily payed for the premium outlay in my case

  13. #27
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    Well I'll recommend just about anything other than Fest-fool personally. "Just DON'T buy a Fuss-tool". My own experience with 'em , covering some 40 odd years of use in sanders, saws & vacs has varied from satisfactory to terrible.

    In particular, their more modern iterations are in my experience ludicrously (even unconscionably) overpriced & underperforming with (of late) abysmal service, repair & consumables availability.

    The fact that I've downsized my own personal collection from some 20+ examples down to a single solitary (ex-Holz-her) belt sander should speak volumes about my own recommendation to others.
    Sycophant to nobody!

  14. #28
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    I know plenty of people don’t/won’t buy Festool because they either don’t think they are worth the money or they can’t justify the expense. I totally understand that. However, you are the only person I’m aware of who actively dislikes their tools. I love my Festool stuff. I can’t speak about their repair service as I’ve never had one fail.

  15. #29
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    Thanks for the responses guys, this is really helpful! I was asking about Makita sander because I read some article about the best orbital sanders of 2020. They had Makita winning for the 3rd year in a row. Its price was about $100 on Amazon, the model is Makita BO5030K. That is a good price in my opinion, and I am thinking about getting it.

  16. #30
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    With 4.8 Stars from 1300 reviews it must be good. I say ‘go for it’.

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