Thread: RO 125 sander

The date of manufacture should be near the serial number. It will be something like M.Mr.095645/ 2004. I guess any tool can be mistreated, dropped or used for things it shouldn't. Saying that a festool would hold up a lot better than other cheaper brands. $250 sounds like a good buy, New one would probably set you back 3 times that.

If the pad looks battered on the edge & the machine is full of timber dust I would guess that it was a flooring guys old tool. They usually hammer them against the step rises. That series of machine is pretty robust & we rarely see them come in for repair.

Points to check:
- make sure when turned on the spark is not to excessive there should only be spark where the brushes touch the armature commutator
- remove the pad & make sure the rubber underneath is not damaged
- put it in random orbit mode & turn the pad, if it feels rough it might need bearings
- when on make sure it revs consistently & doesn't go up and down, also adjust speed notch by notch & make sure it changes coconsistently

hope that helps

Thanks for the info VEK. It is greatly appreciated.

Another quick question how does the Metabo SXE450 Duo turbo stack up against the Rotex 150. It has some good reviews and as you guys retail both units would have a good idea.

They are 2 completely different tools. The festool rotex sander range is a dual mode -random orbital & gear drive sander. The fear drive action is exceptional for getting a really flat cut as its not hovering over the high spots its cutting them flat, in the gear drive motion you can also use it as a polisher which provides a superior shine & no swirl marks due to to action. The metabo duo is 2 orbit actions in one machine, this gives you a fine 3mm action for finishing & a 6mm action for aggressive sanding & quick results. At last years 3 wood shows the metabo duo was our highest selling tool with over 30 units sold per show

All my festdrool gear is second hand - mainly from a furniture factory. Never have had a problem and all parts still available . Better than anything else I've ever used!

I decided to go and have a look at the Festool RO 125 sander that was listed on the Cash Converters web site. It was in the Ringwood store for $395.00 with no accessories except a couple of spare sanding discs.

I tested it as described in an earlier post. All seemed OK. The speed didn't seem to change much between setting 1 and 2 but stepped up evenly both going up and down the adjustment scale from #2 onwards. The ROTARY/ROS change over switch was firm and positive and the clutch for the head removal was a bit stiff which made the head removal difficult. In fact the head was really stuck so it may not have been off for a while, if ever. When removed the area under the head was quite clean. The soft pad looks a bit bashed about on the edges but it is still useable, original cord which is OK. The edge protector guard is missing. It's in a double decker sustainer which is not broken.

I offered them $180 sight unseen and we settled on $250.00.
He did I go for price? Is that a fair price. I thought that I did OK

I will go and buy the hard removable head and just use the soft head that is on it for a while? I'll also buy a box of discs and give it a go on the deck of the boat. Hoping that I can get a box of assorted grades of discs.
I will give it a clean and wipe the whole sander and the cord a wipe down and see how it looks.
Thanks for everyone's assistance

Originally Posted by piquet

I decided to go and have a look at the Festool RO 125 sander that was listed on the Cash Converters web site. It was in the Ringwood store for $395.00 with no accessories except a couple of spare sanding discs.

I tested it as described in an earlier post. All seemed OK. Thevspeed didnt seem to change much between setting 1 and 2 but stepped up evenly both going up and down the adjustment scale. The ROTARY/ROS change over switch was firm and positive and the clutch for the head removal was a bit stiff which made the head removal difficult. In fact the head was really stuck so it may not have been off for a while, if ever. When removed the rea under the head was quite clean. The soft pad looks a bit bashed about on the edges but it is still useable, original cord which is OK. The edge protector guard is missing. It's in a double decker sustainer which is not broken.

I offered them $180 sight unseen and we settled on $250.00.
He did I go for price? Is that a fair price. I thought that I did OK

I will go and buy the hard removable head and just use the soft head that is on it for a while? I'll also buy a box of discs and give it a go on the deck of the boat. Hoping that I can get a box of assorted grades of discs.
I will give it a clean and wipe the whole sander and the cord a wipe down and see how it looks.
Thanks for everyone's assistance

Well you've gone into it thoroughly and really examined the tool before getting it, and at $250 it sounds like a good buy. Just get the few bits and pieces you need to bring it up to full spec and it sounds great. Congrats!