Festool sander dust extraction

[Jerry Spitz]

great forum, it's always great information, I have two questions-
1-I'm going to buy a Festool sander, been looking at ets150/5 & 150/3, and wonder if one model would be the " do it all sander" for general wood working and cabinets. Fairly new to wood working, but have made a lot dust and scraps in learning process.
2-Can a Festool sander be used with a shop dust extraction unit or do I need the dedicated Festool dust extractor, they're kind of $$$. Thanks:confused:

[Joe Leigh]

Not sure how well they would work with a standard shop vac and you'd have to rig some sort of adapter. The Festools use a small dust collection port.

I just bought the ETS 125 sander and Mini dust collection unit for my basement shop. I spent about an hour finish sanding some pieces and the dust collection was amazing. And the sander is smooth as silk.
$480 for the pair was NOT cheap but I spend a lot of time sanding so it becomes a real safety/health issue.
Spend wisely.

[Rick Fisher]

The Festool sander will work with any shop Vac .. I started using mine that way.. The problem is adapting it ..

I use a Fein Vac with a Festool hose.. After a month or so, I got tired of the Shop Vac set up..

The beauty of the Fein or Festool Vac is the automatic on/ off.. You can buy an adapter for the shop Vac..

You turn on your Festool and the Vaccum comes on automatically.. when you turn it off, the Vaccum run's for 3 seconds and shuts off..

I have the ETS 150/5.. love it .. its a good sander.. The ETS 150/3 is supposed to be finer.. I have not felt that I needed finer.. Who knows, maybe if I had it, I would .. lol.

[Joe Scharle]

I have the big Fein and didn't want to replace it with the louder Festool. So I adapted a $15 Rigid soft hose and some blue tape on my Rotex as shown. The smaller soft hose reduces the vacuum as well.

http://www.ncwoodworker.net/pp/data/970/Festool_Vac_Hose.JPG

[dale rex]

I just bought the ETS 150/5 along witht the mini dust extractor. Around $600 for the pair. I have to say that I am so very pleased with the results that no other sander that I have owner so far has even come close to performing like this one.!!!:) I chose the ETS 150/5 over the smaller 125 model. I went to Woodcraft and took them all for a test drive, and that really gave me a feel for the different models and how they performed. The smaller 125 bogged down a bit when pushed on, but the ETS 150/5 has enough power to withstand more pressure and aggressive sanding, yet can sand to a silky smooth finish with the finer grit sandpaper. I still cant believe how smoooooooooth the sander runs also. I can almost use it with one finger under the handle and it wont run away or vibrate off the board. Next to my Bosch 5" random orbit sander(which I thought was top of the line at the time), its like comparing a Ford Pinto to a Mercedes Benz. LOL

As for the dust exractor, not sure if you can adapt to a shop vac or not. I would assume with the proper reducers or fittings you could. But there again, the Festool Mini is sooooooooo quiet and smooth running it is amazing. The best part is the tool actuates the dust extractor when it turned on. There is almost no dust left on the surface of tyhe wood being sanded, and no visible dust escaping into the shop air. I am truly amazed at the efficiency of the Festool products. Aside from the price, there is no other tool company that even comes close to performing like Festool. OMG I THINK I AM NOW A FESTOOL ADDICT.........:eek: all kidding aside, I cant say anything bad about the sander and dust extractor. They are definitely worth having if can afford them. If you cant afford them start saving, it will be worth the wait.

[Russ Massery]

As a side note when I bought my 150/3. I had asked Bob Marino which one to get the 150/5 or the 150/5. He said if your just buying one 150/5 would the way to go. I bought the 150/3 because I already had a Rotex which has 5mm orbit. In the random mode.

[Jamie Buxton]

Here's some features you get with a Festool (or Fein) dust extractor, compared to a standard shop vac...

* Tool triggering. Turning on the sander (or router or biscuit joiner or whatever) turns on the vacuum. If you're doing a lot of sanding, this is a great feature. You can kludge this on to a standard shop vac with external switches from Craftsman or Woodcraft.

* Small-diameter hose. The small diameter makes it flexible, so the hose doesn't steer the sander, you do. You can probably kludge a small diameter hose on to a shop vac. (The shop vac has a larger hose so that it can inhale housebuilding debris that might choke a Festool. Trade-offs.)

* Quiet. Standard shop vacs are insanely noisy.

* Better filtering. Breathing fine dust is not good for your lungs. You can sometimes upgrade shop vacs with finer filters.

[Rick Fisher]

I should add that my buddy has the Festool Vac and I have the Fein.. I prefer the Fein.. Mine is the older style..

In a shop with more space, I could see myself getting the bigger Fein as well.. I find the Fein quieter.. or at least the sound it makes is easier to listen to..

Nothing against the Festool Vac.. its a heck of a Vacuum as well..

[Steve Jenkins]

i just spent the better part of the day sanding walnut with the 150/3 hooked up to the festool vac. I couldn't smell any dust.

[Steve Walls]

You may want to check out, http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php for some Festool info.

[Philip Johnson]

When I bought my 150/3 I hated to spend the extra for the vac, but they wanted 90 bucks for the hose that fit it and some more for an adapter to fit a shop vac. They have a small discount if bought together so I just bit the bullet and bought the vac,,,no regrets works great was cheaper then messing with adapters and buying it later.

Phil

[Erik Frederiksen]

I . . . wonder if one model would be the " do it all sander" for general wood working and cabinets. Thanks:confused:

For a do-it-all sander, the Rotex is the one, a switch on it allows you to move between finish and aggressive sanding. It is one hell of a sander.

I got the smaller one and for the first time in my life I actually enjoy sanding.

Erik

[Brad Noble]

My Rotex 125 works fine with my wall mounted Shop-Vac (5 gal) and the hose fits the Rotex just fine! But just for kicks, I am waiting delivery of a new 9 gal Fein model 9-20-25. Should be fun!

Brad

[Bob Marino]

Jerry,

You have been given good advice here. Between the 2 you mentioned, for an "all around" sander, as mentioned, my choice would be the 150/5. That extra 2 mm orbit makes sanding in grits below 120 more efficient than the 150/3. Most any shop vac would work, perhaps not as well as the Festool because of/with adjustable suction, but some folks have managed to create a sleeve for the Fein vac that allows the suction to be adjusted. The Fin vacs, BTW are excellents vacs.
There is a 10% discount on the price of the vac when bought together with the sander - that may or may not be enough for you to get that "package". But any vac you do get; I would make sure it had good filtration and tool actuation.

Bob

[Brice Burrell]

I've got a few things to add that haven't yet been mentioned. The first is about your question on the 3 or 5 mm stroke sanders. For a general woodworking sander the 5 mm model is the only way to go. The 3 mm model will sand somewhat slower and it won't produce a finer finish in any normal woodworking application. You won't start to see much of a difference until you get into 1000+ grit sanding applications.

Now, the important thing that the Festool and new model of Fein vacs offer are variable speed (read: suction) control. Festool sander preform better with less than full suction of the larger vacs. I've found most Festool sanders work best when the suction turned down between 1/3 to 1/2 power. Full suction from a larger (powerful) vac can cause the sander to be sucked down to the surface of the material. This can increase the likelihood of swirls in the finish.

Good luck.

Edit: I see Bob beat me to it.

[Tom Henderson2]

Here's some features you get with a Festool (or Fein) dust extractor, compared to a standard shop vac...

* Tool triggering. Turning on the sander (or router or biscuit joiner or whatever) turns on the vacuum. If you're doing a lot of sanding, this is a great feature. You can kludge this on to a standard shop vac with external switches from Craftsman or Woodcraft.

* Small-diameter hose. The small diameter makes it flexible, so the hose doesn't steer the sander, you do. You can probably kludge a small diameter hose on to a shop vac. (The shop vac has a larger hose so that it can inhale housebuilding debris that might choke a Festool. Trade-offs.)

* Quiet. Standard shop vacs are insanely noisy.

* Better filtering. Breathing fine dust is not good for your lungs. You can sometimes upgrade shop vacs with finer filters.

Outstanding post; you summarize the situation fairly and succintly. Nice job.

To the OP:

Don't underestimate the benefit of having a quiet vacuum -- it makes a HUGE difference in how you feel when you are using the vac, and more importantly you will use the vac much more often if it is quiet and a pleasure to use.

Fein or Festool; take your pick as both are outstanding.

I bought a Festool CT22 a year or so ago; it is outstanding and I would buy another in a heartbeat if something happened to this one. I choked on the cost, but to me it has turned out to be well worth it.

As my dad used to say, "Pay our money and take your choice!"

-TH

[Matt Meiser]

Full suction from a larger (powerful) vac can cause the sander to be sucked down to the surface of the material. This can increase the likelihood of swirls in the finish.

Yep, these are powerful vacs. Sucked a mouse right out from under my TS today. :D Which I realized after was a bad move since now I've got to throw the bag away outside where its freezing so he doesn't start stinking. :eek:

[Jim Becker]

The 150/3 is my go-to sander 95%+ of the time. Outstanding in every way.