Festool DTS 400 Req first impressions

Hi WWF,

My DTS arrived in the mail today so I thought I would test it out on the project I bought it for. I would have to say that this is my first Festool purchase that hasnt blown my socks off.

The biggest drawback for me is the balance. The tool wants to turn in your hand so it takes some force to keep it straight. The ETS I just bought is perfectly balanced so it will just sit in the one spot without touching it. I incorrectly had the same expectation of the DTS.

Other niggles, I found it harder then the ETS to use on small verticle surfaces (keeping it flush). The protective cover was awkward to fit and didnt seem to sit square to the pad, though this could be an illusion. The dust extraction on small surfaces was also a bit poor.

Being particulary picky, it felt bigger (taller) than it needed to be.

Other than that, it sanded.

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Originally Posted by Damienol

The dust extraction on small surfaces was also a bit poor.

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All sanders do that on pieces smaller than the pad. Air takes the path of least resistance, so if there are extraction holes floating over fresh air it will suck more air through them than through the holes that are on the piece where the dust is being made.

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Being particulary picky, it felt bigger (taller) than it needed to be.

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They might be sharing a motor with the ETS, which is a pretty tall unit.

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Originally Posted by Damienol

The biggest drawback for me is the balance. The tool wants to turn in your hand so it takes some force to keep it straight.

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That's really strange, I haven't noticed this on mine - but to be fair, I have yet to bite the bullet on the ETS EC 150, so I haven't got anything other than my Bosch ROS "Hog" to compare it to. And compared to that, I found the DTS appropriately... 'delicate' ;)

I will see over the coming days if I can get an excuse to sand some more stuff and see with your comment in mind.

Question - did you buy the DTS-400 or the brushless DTS 400 (whatever that model number is)?

Hi midnight man, I ended up going with the brushless version

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Originally Posted by Damienol

Hi midnight man, I ended up going with the brushless version

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In that case I retract my motor sharing comment. No reason for a brushless motor to be that big

Thanks elanjacobs, if you could test that would be great. The pull to the right is quite strong.

The dust extraction on ETS on the same small surfaces is much much better. Given the significant higher number of holes in the ETS base this probably makes sense

Sorry midnight man, got distracted by crying childeren. I got the brushed version

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Originally Posted by Damienol

Thanks elanjacobs, if you could test that would be great. The pull to the right is quite strong.

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Sorry, test what? :?

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Originally Posted by Damienol

Sorry midnight man, got distracted by crying childeren. I got the brushed version

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I re-instate my motor sharing comment lol

Arghhh! The testing comment was too Midnight man.!!!!

Will do - might need a day or so, I will try hit up a chunk of Blackbutt on the weekend and let you know :)

I've only done some fiddly little work so far with it, so I've probably not exposed it to full face sanding yet. Easily done, will post ASAP :)

DTS400 is my second sander, I endup moving to LEX3. a lot easier to handle and no motor. use a lot of air though. if you have bigger furniture to sand you need at least 5hp compressor to keep it going.

Old thread, but since I recently bought a DTS 400 for sanding windows I thought I'd throw in a comment. I don't have any experience with other Festool sanders, but I love the DTS 400. I find it easy to use, even upside down on the window heads. Dust extraction is fabulous when the sanding pad fully covers the timber. I have found a slight tendency for the sander to rotate in my hand when using course grits (40 & 60). However it's easily manageable. I use a Festool CT33 on the lowest setting.