Stepping off on a slippery slope

[keith denbesten]

Stepping off on a slippery slope with a glass of kool-aid in my hand. I just took a big gulp, and yes, you guessed it I ordered a Festool ETS 150/3 T-Loc + CT 36 combo. Now the wait begins. Should be here Thur. or Friday next week. What have I done?

[Bruce Page]

What have I done?

You bought yourself an awesome sander! I love my ETS and would buy it again in a NY minute.
So far I’ve been able to resist any new green.....

[Larry Frank]

I have a Festool sander and the CT26. I just used it to sand red oak. It seemed to collect almost 100% of the dust. Yes, it was expensive but collecting the small sized dust particles makes it worth it. You made a good choice.

I see a lot of comments about dust collection systems and large collectors for table saws and planers. However, the larger sized dust from these are a lot less of a hazard than the very small particles from a sander.

[keith denbesten]

That's great to hear Larry. I've got a lot of Mahogany to sand. I'll be starting with a 22-44 performax and finishing with the ETS. After going through all the time and $'s with a cyclone for the big tools, it didn't make a lot of sense breathing fine dust. After reading all the great info here... well, it was a pretty safe bet this was the way to go. I was sanding with my old pc333 ROS and palm sander and the Dylos was not making me feel smart.

[Peter Quinn]

I've owned the 150/3 for years, and the 125EQ too, and I've never bought anything else. THey are great sanders that really perform, well worth the money, and durable too. You have done a good thing. If I had the resources I'd own a domino, a router or two, the drill is great, and the track saw is fantastic. The Kapex has some nice features, but is frankly a bit disappointing in terms of actual performance IME. I expect more for that kind of money. I've managed to avoid sliding down the Festool grease poll by using the tools at work! Enjoy that sander.

Oh, and the festal sandpaper is pretty great stuff too.

[Will Blick]

I too own several Green sanders, with an array of papers and their Vacs...yep, plain and simple, incredible..... specially if dust control is an issue. the Green Koolaid is addictive, I suggest you lower the limit on your credit cards for your own personal protection.

[Van Huskey]

It has started...

BTW I am including this in all my posts this evening, I am more than one sheet to the wind, so if the question deals with anything to do with safety do NOT follow any advise I give, right now I would shove a hotdog into a Unisaw and expect it to stop...

[Chris Hedges]

Is there any particular reason you chose the 36?

Chris

[trevor adair]

Welcome to the slippery slope.. I started a year ago with the RO 125 FEQ and CT26.. love the 125 and have bought the RO 90 DX since... The dust collection is fantastic and with the 22-44 I have all my sanding needs covered..

Congrats, remember with Festool you only cry once :)

[michael case]

I've got the 150/5 and it IS the best sander I've ever owned by a big margin.

[Brian Kent]

It has started...

BTW I am including this in all my posts this evening, I am more than one sheet to the wind, so if the question deals with anything to do with safety do NOT follow any advise I give, right now I would shove a hotdog into a Unisaw and expect it to stop...

And tonight don't do anything that begins with the words, "Hey watch this" or "I wonder what happens when I". :D

[Bob Reda]

I was buying sanders about every 2 years. I got the festool 150 and that was the last sander I bought. (about 12 years ago) so if you look at it that way it is a cheap sander.

Bob

[Alan Lightstone]

I love my ETS 150/3 Festool Vac combo. Use them both constantly.

As you plummet down the slippery slope and off the Festool cliff into other Festool purchases, don't forget that gravity isn't just a good idea. It's the law.

Enjoy the equipment.

[Gary Redden]

Keith,
All I can say is that you might as well start saving for more tools. I bought the same combo last Sept or Aug and I now also have the TS55 and the 1400 router. They are all great tools and do not ever regret the purchase.

Gary

[keith denbesten]

Thanks for all the great advice. Particularly lowering the limit on my CC. Chris the reason I went with the 36... Well I thought a bit more bag capacity. The extra hight isn't a problem for me. I'll try to stay aware of the pull of gravity...

[Chris Hedges]

I was just curious becuase it will take you a long time to fill that bag up with just a sander! Might have gone with the midi, a sander, and a jig saw!

Chris

[keith denbesten]

Chris
I thought, it will be around long after this big sanding project is over. I've got a small fein that I'll use till it gives up (it's had a lot of sheetrock and demo cleanup run through it.) After the fein gives up the 36 will get used for more than sanding.
Altho, a jigsaw, a Rotex. No, wait, wow, that was close...Gravity almost pulled me down the slope.