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Thread: Best Random Orbit Sander?
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17th January 2014, 05:22 PM #16Woodworker
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Back in 1993 I purchased a Rotex 150. Festool was called "Festo" then. I have used this machine a very great deal. It does not stall, overheat, or vibrate; in short, it seems indestructible to me. If it broke tomorrow, I would buy another Rotex tomorrow.
Yes it costs a lot; but my Rotex has lasted 20 years, and is as good as ever. I am even more impressed by the fact that the current sanding pads for the new Rotex fit on my 20 year old machine. Wow!
I just picked up a used ETS 150/3 and love it too. Very light and versatile. I love the fact that the pads and discs are interchangeable with my Rotex. This seems the perfect combination for me.
I used to balk at the extra cost of Festool. It seems just sooooo much. However, longevity, design, and virtually perfect dust extraction mean that I no longer think twice. I buy only Festool, and when I can't afford it, I wait until I can.
You will have to decide whether the extra expense is justified.
DavidWarm Regards, Luckyduck
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17th January 2014 05:22 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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5th February 2014, 08:05 PM #17Senior Member
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I have the FEIN 6" and 8" ROS. Have used the Festo and RUPES..all good.
But i guess for swinging on it all day every day the 6" Fein you can't beat.
Its made for serious hard usage and i doubt there are any that would last as long
However the Festo is much much smoother than my machine to hold.
But i just don't think it could handle heavy duty work days on end.
I own about 7 sanders of different types and most are European I day was under the pump
one day to buy a new 1/4 sheet Sander and was disappointed that the Festo i was replacing
you could only get with a Valcro base. The man in the shop told me the Bosch was just as good...
jokingly i said if its not i will bring it back...he said fine..
Anyway got it home and started sanding..and straight away you knew it wasn't a patch on
the Festo. I took my old Festo and the new Bosch back to the store for him to see first hand.
There was no argument the old Festo was a more efficient machine...so he took the Bosch back
and i bought a new Velcro Festo.
Sanders change all the time so in no way am i saying Festo is better than Bosch. I guess what i am saying
they all work very well and if u get the chance to try them side by side i think its not so hard to judge.
Dust extraction, vibration, balance, stock removal.
Sinjin
So Sander wise i own
2. Fein ROS machines.
1. Fein triangle sander..(The larger industrial version)
1. Rupes gear head 8" Disc Sander.
1. Bosch 4" wide belt sander with flattening base
1. Rupes half sheet sander
1. Festo 1/4 sheet sander.
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5th February 2014, 10:14 PM #18Woodworker
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6th February 2014, 12:38 AM #19SENIOR MEMBER
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I also admire the rotex family of sanders.
I have the RO150 & RO90DX. The former in particular is a fine tool, the latter (due to the smaller pad sizes) a little awkwardly balanced. The 150 is an extreme all rounder, probably the most versatile on the market.
What sets the Festool range apart, however, is the unprecedented range of abrasives available, from 24g right up into the 1000's. Specialist abrasives are available for all sorts: wood, paint, stone, metal, body filler etc. etc. plus there's polishing pads, polishes etc.
There may be better sanders available, but I've yet to see any that even comes close to Festool's versatile and comprehensive range of sanding solutions.Sycophant to nobody!
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6th February 2014, 07:35 AM #20Taking a break
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I've never been able to understand why people use x brand abrasives to support x brand sanders. You can have one without the other.
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6th February 2014, 01:32 PM #21SENIOR MEMBER
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Some abrasives are unique: Festool have 9 hole discs, the others don't. Mirkas use dedicated mesh abrasives, and there's specialised 80mm (Metabo), 90mm (Festool) & 200mm (Fein) sanders, with little opportunity to source alternatives.
Festool's huge advantage I reiterate, is their unique, high quality and massively versatile range of abrasives. This is why their particular range of sanding solutions are unsurpassed.
Yes there are other quality abrasive manufacturers: Mirka, Klingspor, 3M, St Gobain and others, but even collectively they still don't offer the versatility and variety of Festool's range.
I've tried other abrasives with my rotex sander: Klingspor & St Gobain stearate coated papers, but they just don't measure up to Festool's Brilliant 2 abrasives.
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6th February 2014, 02:07 PM #22
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6th February 2014, 02:38 PM #23
That's true, but it doesn't necessarily mean that each range is the best on the market.
Mirka makes the abrasives for Festool.
I pretty much only sand bare wood, and for the past couple of years I have been using both the Festool and Jost abrasives on my ETS 150/3. The grits that I have from both brands are the same, but to achieve that with the FT range I had to change to Granat from Rubin 2 after 220g (no big deal, but I don't understand why the Rubin range doesn't go up to 400-500). After that I have Jost "SG2" in 800, 1600, 2500, and I had a few samples of 3000, 4000.
The SG2 range is like Wet & Dry, so similar to the Platin discs from Festool, and they do not have DE holes. The durability of these fine grit discs is ridiculously long, and they also do an excellent job on metals.
Where the FT discs have the 32 hole pattern, the Jost have hundreds of 2mm holes which are designed to work with any sander's DE pattern. I do not notice any discernible difference in the amount of dust left behind on the job, but there is a little more behind the disc with the Jost (who cares). I would say that the Jost discs are a little more durable in the 120-500 range. The coarsest Jost I have used is 60g, and the extraction on those is good, but perhaps in an extra coarse 24-40g disc when sanding paint these holes may not be big enough.
What I have noticed in the grits <=500, is that because of the size of the FT holes it causes the sander to jag. This does not happen with the Jost because the holes are much smaller.
On European prices, Jost are from memory about 15-20% less cost than FT.
The bottom line for me is that although my policeman urged me to "ditch those Jost abrasives - because garbage in garbage out" I find myself always going for a Jost in preference to FT. A little more durable, less cost, just as effective, and no jagging.
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6th February 2014, 03:01 PM #24Retired
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FenceFurniture, I have a Ro125 and I've always looked for alternatives. Looks you've found them...
You mentioned Mirka. Which products do you use and where do you buy? It seems endless.
I'll look at the Jost too....to google!
Thanks!
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6th February 2014, 03:17 PM #25
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6th February 2014, 03:46 PM #26Retired
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Ah! Joest. Deutche schleifmittel.
No wonder I couldn't find them. Stupid google thinks In English.
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6th February 2014, 03:54 PM #27
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6th February 2014, 04:17 PM #28The bottom line for me is that although my policeman urged me to "ditch those Jost abrasives - because garbage in garbage out" I find myself always going for a Jost in preference to FT. A little more durable, less cost, just as effective, and no jagging.
If these are the pads you had Lignum test for you, (the ones I wanted nothing to do with once he'd told me the truth about them) then they are not as good as the Festool pads in the opinion of someone whose judgment I respect a lot more than yours.
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6th February 2014, 05:25 PM #29Retired
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Far out. That's the slap down of the century. Sassy!
Obviously there's something in the past there, but damn, if the dude wants to by sanding pads made by orphans in Romanian sweatshops, and it's legal, it's fine. Importing is fine. Not supporting Australian businesses is fine.
It the wonderful freedom of capitalism. Though, I would admit that it's a bastardised version here in Australia!
I don't recall upon buying Festool that I would agree to buy their consumables....which I have, repeatedly, but somewhat....ah, reluctantly (price matters to me)
Perhaps to step it up a bit and reveal some truth, in 2012 I wrote to the ACCC about them and their abuses of trade practices in third line forcing, threats of trade restrictions and price maintenance. (I'm not a lawyer, but did law as part of degree). I was advised that they were infact fined, made an enforceable undertaking and are actively monitored. Obviously little has changed.
Back to the paper though. If he wants to buy what is perceived to be an inferior product, it's up to him. People do this every day buying from Kmart, Bunnings and Ford.
Perhaps you can tell us what this Truth is?
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6th February 2014, 05:33 PM #30
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