Thread: Round or Rectangular format sander?

hi oddy, and welcome to the forum.

your question is certainly not a naive one mate.
when i ask my carpenters to get a sander from the trailer, i usually ask for the rectangular, square or round one!

i use a rectangular or square sander for very fine finishing, especially if the area has been painted or varnished already or i am fine finishing veneers. the sanding stroke on these type of sander 1mm - 2mm.

to be honest i have not used them for a very long time!
since i bought the festool ets 150/3,i dont use the others very much at all. the 150 stands for the disc size which is 150mm and the 3 stands for 3mm stroke, so it is now my finishing sander.

i also use the festool ets 150/5, and yes, you guessed it, the 5 stands for 5mm stroke, it is a little more aggressive and i use it for grits up to 240 grit, and then i use the ets 150/3 for that beautiful fine finish.

if you were looking to buy one great sander to do all jobs, i would recommend the festool ets 150/5. it is great for fast removal using 40 and 80 grit sanding discs. you can then use the variable speed and slow it down to get a beautiful finish with the higher grits.

i have used this sander for 10 years and it works flawlessly, no vibration from the motor, which is important. with other brands i have used in the past, my hands would be numb after sanding 10 hours straight. not so with the festool, the motors are so well balanced, they are a pleasure to use.
people think the initial cost of festool is expensive, sometimes it is, but when you use the tools, you know exactly why you paid that extra money.

only lately have i added to my collection and bought the 3mm stroke model, festool ets 150/3.

to give you an idea how i use my sanders and grits, here is the list as i start to sand a piece of timber/ furniture/ project.

for rough sawn timber such as timber slabs which have been cut from a log with a mill, i will use a belt sander with 40 grit, then 80 grit and then 120 grit.

i then start with ets 150/5 with 80 grit, 120 grit, 240 grit.
i then use ets 150/3 with 320 grit, 400 grit, 800 grit, 1000 grit, 2000 grit and finally 4000 grit.

you could get just as good a finish with the ets 150/5 by itself, i try to save as much time as possible, thats why i have the 2 sanders.

i only finish with 800 grits and above if i am using bees wax as a finish, otherwise 400 grit is a beautiful finish with stain/ varnish.
obviously i sand with 320 in between coats.

i have tried to keep this info as basic as possible, no point bogging you down with technical jargon at this stage, hope this helps.

regards, justin.

I had a Festool 1/3 sheet rectangular format sander which I sold. I purchased the 150/3 to go with my Rotex. They take the same kind of paper which simplifies things.

I find the 150/3 better balanced and easier to operate, and also like the dust collection better than the bigger rectangle sander.

Whichever you choose plan to get the Festool vacuum, or one like it. It really is the heart of the system and makes sanding, sawing and routing a pleasure. I don't even wear a mask anymore when I use those tools together.

Thanks for the replies Jason and Gregory - very informative.
Out of the circular sanders I was leaning toward the ETS 150/5 and I think your comments reinforce that opinion. Seems like it may be the more versatile tool for my needs and maybe when I can afford a second sander I would add one with a finer stroke. The Rotex might be nice for some renovation projects I have on the horizon, but probably not the best tool for achieving a fine finish on my woodwork projects (usually I find multi purpose tools and sporting equipment may do a good job of a lot of things but not a great job of any). That being said the Metabo duo is of some interest.
Justin, I am curious why you prefer the 150/3 over your fine stroke rectangular sanders. I expect the rectangular sanders give you a lot more surface area to work with and are probably faster to acheive the fine finish?

Just to comment on the Rotex: It's the last sander I'd give up. It is just a heavier machine than the 150/5 but works the same way, plus it has the more aggressive mode for roughing out. That the Rotex can also be used as a polisher is a real bonus...I use it on my cars every year with great results.

On the other hand, it is heavier. If you don't need the other features then the 150/5 would be an excellent choice.

WRT to speed, I didn't notice any difference between the two. I had the impression that the round paper lasts longer because of the different dust collection design, so fewer paper changes would be another benefit. (round has a center hole that is pressurized, sending the dust outboard to be picked up by the perimeter holes, hence the longer life)

Greg

Thanks again Greg. BTW I do own a Festo CT33 dust extractor (and the 1400 router). I'm really looking forward to owning a sander now with dust extraction. Will be a huge improvement over my old Makita which had none!
Weight aside, in your opinion can you achieve identical results with the Rotex as with the 150/5 for fine surface finishing?

You will certainly get a great finish with the RO150 and it would be hard to give up the orbital mode for quick stock removal
I have one and use it in conjunction with an ETS150/3, which IMHO gives the best finish available. For getting into corners and for other intricate work, I'd recommend the DTS400 either rectangular or delta shape. Only goes to 320 grit, but the 2mm stroke gives a great finish also.
I doubt that I would give up the RO150 for an ETS150/5.

Regards,

Rob

As LGS said, a great finish is possible with the Rotex RO150. I haven't run a 150/5 but did buy a 150/3 to compliment the Rotex. The purchase was more of an impulse than addressing a definite need, that's how good the Rotex is. In theory I guess the RO150 should give the same finish as the 150/5.

I'd like to get the deltex sander too, but hear that the Fein is maybe better in that application.

Greg

Originally Posted by LGS

You will certainly get a great finish with the RO150 and it would be hard to give up the orbital mode for quick stock removal
I have one and use it in conjunction with an ETS150/3, which IMHO gives the best finish available. For getting into corners and for other intricate work, I'd recommend the DTS400 either rectangular or delta shape. Only goes to 320 grit, but the 2mm stroke gives a great finish also.
I doubt that I would give up the RO150 for an ETS150/5.

I think Rob is spot on. The RO150 will keep the majority of people happy as far as fine finishing quality goes. And it has the added benefits of course sanding and polishing. But when you want to go the little bit further the ETS150/3 is a good partner. And the DTS400 is a good partner to the RO150 or ETS150 for corner and edge work. The nice thing about the DTS400 over dedicated delta sanders like the Festool DX93 or the Fein MultiMaster is that it has as large a surface area as the RTS400 rectangular sander, so it is an excellent finishing sander in its own right - not just for detail/corner work.

Justin, I am curious why you prefer the 150/3 over your fine stroke rectangular sanders. I expect the rectangular sanders give you a lot more surface area to work with and are probably faster to acheive the fine finish?[/QUOTE]

on the contrary, i find with the 150/3, i can cover a lot more square metres compared to the rectangular sanders. the ets models are very smooth and easily glide over 1 square metre in a matter of seconds.

i dont do much veneer work these days, therefor my other sanders have been semi retired!
dont under estimate how good a quality finish you can achieve with a circular, random orbital sander. i can go right through all the grits as i explained in my previous post and when you hold the piece up to the light, you will see your reflection in it. it is amazing the first time you do this.
it blew me away to see how fine a finish is possible with the ets 150/5.

in regards to the other posts about rotex versus ets 150/5. all of the advice so far is spot on.
if you can afford the rotex, i would recommend it over the 150/5. you will get that mirror finish with either model. but you also have the advantage of rough sanding with the rotex.
my best advice is to check out youtube, search for festool rotex and festool ets 150. then go to your local festool dealer and have a play with both, if SWMBO gives the stamp of approval, go for the more expensive toy!

btw, i recently paid $451.00 for the ets 150/3. make sure and give us a small review after you have acquired the new toys.

good luck, justin.

my 2 cents

it's horses for courses

In my experiece the Makita 1/3 sheet sander can do things the Festo DTS400 can't and the ETS150/3 can do things the Makita can't.
I own all three plus a Rotex.

I find the 150/3 gets the most use, followed roughly equally by the Makita and DTS400.
The Rotex is used less often as I have other ways of removing lots of stock quickly.
I'd like to replace the Makita with an RTS400, but can't really justify the switch.

Where the Makita excells is sanding round edges — it's easy to sweep one handed over the surface. The ETS400 is just that little bit too big.



ian

I bought the 150/3 first and the RTS200 half sheet sander a couple of weeks
later. The 150/3 is going to be used more. It gives a very nice finish. RTS200 is good too mind you but the 150/3 pips it IMHO. The RTS 200 is good in one respect in that you can buy off the shelf sanding paper but you have to buy the sanding pad that allows you to clamp the generic paper to the unit.
Either way you're choosing between good products.

Well I ended up going with the Rotex 150 and have had about a month of use on it now. On first use I found it very aggressive and a little difficult to handle. I had some second thoughts on whether this tool was going to be suitable for some of the fine finishing work I wanted to be able to do with it.
With a little practice however I quickly got the hang of it and now really love the tool. What an unbelievable difference after coming from the 1/3 sheet sander with no dust extraction- I've gone from minutes to change sheets (clamp system) to seconds with the velcro stick pads and with the dust extraction they seem to last forever in comparison.
Its fantastic to be able to remove material as quickly as this tool is capable, but then be able to still achieve very fine finishes. It really makes short work of those sanding jobs you hate.
I find the RO150 a little heavy and bulky for some of the things I do with it, but as a hobbiest it is good to have such versatility in a single tool as it will be a while before I am ready to spend on a second complementary sander (small finishing one).
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I am very happy with my final choice.

Good for you on the purchase. I agree that the machine would be lighter ideally, but then again it chews through most jobs quicker than fatigue sets in. I just used mine to sand rough cast iron down to gloss paint quality...discs were lasting longer than I'd have though possible. I'll probably finish this metal lathe restoration having used maybe ten sheets total.

Here's another tip: If you have a large dust extractor also you can use it to suck a CT-22 or -33 bag empty. I have had my CT-22 for four years and I'm still on the first bag. Its tough being a tool snob and a cheapskate at the same time

good choice oddy, glad to hear you like the new toy.

do you use the paper disposable bags for your ct-33 or did you buy the long life bag?