Festool ETS 125 sander issues

[Mac McQuinn]

I purchased a Festool ETS 125 sander used off C/L a while back and have had a couple issues with it when using. The 1st issue involved the on/off Switch which was very hard to depress to turn off the sander. I contacted Festool about this who returned my message quickly with a fix for the problem which worked well.

The next issue came about in finishing off a recent project in which I needed to sand all surfaces for a finish. I moved my Saw horses, Vac/Dust Deputy and project outside. I was working with 100 grit Festool paper and upon completing the job, I started cleaning up. When I grabbed the sander to pull the disc and disconnect the electrical plug, I noticed the sanding disc had rotated enough to completely shut off the outside perimeter holes, leaving only the center hole exposed. The pad looks OK although I'm not sure how many miles are on it. I've owned Makita sanders in the past and even with a 10 year old pad in place, the sanding disc never moved. The edges might get pretty rounded although nothing moved to block the intake holes.

Thank god I had my P100 mask on....as the project was finished although I'm not sure when the sanding disc rotated enough to block off the holes, minimizing the effects of my Vac/Dust Deputy. Is this a problem with this model sander? Are they tough on pads? Is there a issue with Festool brand sanding disc in relation to adhesion to this model's pad?

I appreciate any suggestions, insight, etc.
Thanks,
Mac

[Victor Robinson]

Festool pads are designed to be a replaceable item, and my impression is they may need to be replaced a little more often than some other brands' pads.

If the disc isn't gripping the pad well, it might be time for a new pad. Sometimes the pads can wear prematurely from overheating.

[Tom Ewell]

Hook and loop with deteriorate with use, usually from excess heat generated by too much pressure applied.

One old Makita I had was loaned out, came back with a useless pad, the "I don't know what happened" excuse shortly followed and I had to special order a new pad.

I've ground down a lot of stuff with the Rotex sanders and don't see any more wear and tear on the pads than expected and if needed the pads are easy to get 'cause Festool backs up the product.

The little ETS 125 is fine finish sander, all it would take is for someone to bear down with impatience expecting it to do more than designed to burn the pad.

Sounds like to me that your Craig find might have had a little abuse or a lot of miles on it.

[Mac McQuinn]

Thanks for the input.
In order to finish my project, I picked up a new pad today for the sander. That said I feel my best option would be to replace the Festool with another product which I feel will satisfy my needs better. I'll be putting the Festool in the classifieds probably by the weekend if anyone if interested.
Mac