Less $ Alternative Discs For Festool...

[Derek Arita]

I will soon be receiving my Festool RO 150 FEQ and have been looking at Festool's abrasives lineup. There are many great choices, but all are pretty pricey. I'm wondering if anyone has experience using any good alternative sanding discs for this sander, that maybe costs less?

[peter gagliardi]

We have been using the Klingspor discs for about 3-4 years now from Select Machinery. They last better, and are about 30% less than the Festool discs. We use a couple thousand discs per year.
Peter

[Derek Arita]

We have been using the Klingspor discs for about 3-4 years now from Select Machinery. They last better, and are about 30% less than the Festool discs. We use a couple thousand discs per year.
Peter
Peter, do the holes line up and is dust collection the same with Klingspor, for my sander?

[Derek Arita]

Also, anyone use Rhynogrip?

[peter gagliardi]

Derek,
Yes, they have the correct hole pattern.

[Derek Arita]

Derek,
Yes, they have the correct hole pattern.

Peter,
Are these what you're talking about...
http://www.woodworkingshop.com/search.aspx?q=6%22+9+hole+

[peter gagliardi]

That looks like them- the tan colored ones. But I'm getting them in boxes of 100 thru Select for $30-35.

[Derek Arita]

That looks like them- the tan colored ones. But I'm getting them in boxes of 100 thru Select for $30-35.
Peter, sorry for all the questions...I'm having trouble finding the 6" 9 hole discs on the Select site. Where do you find them?

[Eric DeSilva]

Click on the "all departments"/"Abrasive Disks" on the left hand side of the window. Once the disks come up, under the "narrow your search results" in the same box, go to "Disc sizes and hole patterns" and select 6 x 9 hole.

[John Piwaron]

I've also used Abranet disks. They don't have a hole pattern, they're a screen. They seem to work just fine.

[Don Selke]

I buy mine from Industrial Abrasives, excellent quality and good price

[Sam Murdoch]

My favorite is the Abranet mesh - lots more options available from this good company:http://www.2sand.com/

The Abranet mesh is especially good for sanding finishes - last about 5 times longer (that is to say no clogging) than Brilliant and I like it much better than Festool Rubin for unfinished wood though for unfinished wood Brilliant is a good product.

[Derek Arita]

Click on the "all departments"/"Abrasive Disks" on the left hand side of the window. Once the disks come up, under the "narrow your search results" in the same box, go to "Disc sizes and hole patterns" and select 6 x 9 hole.

OK...I must be really dense...here's the site I'm on and can't find it...
http://www.selectmachineryinc.com/

[peter gagliardi]

It's real easy, I use the phone.

[Jason Roehl]

My favorite is the Abranet mesh - lots more options available from this good company:http://www.2sand.com/

The Abranet mesh is especially good for sanding finishes - last about 5 times longer (that is to say no clogging) than Brilliant and I like it much better than Festool Rubin for unfinished wood though for unfinished wood Brilliant is a good product.

I find this strange. I've used a Rotex for about 9-10 years to do minor mark/scratch cleanup when we refinish floors. The Brilliant paper doesn't hold a candle to the Rubin for longevity on bare wood I've found. It's not even close in my experience.

[peter gagliardi]

Jason, its not just you, I agree the rubin is much much better than the brilliant. Problem is, they only offer the rubin in the coarser grits - we usually go up to 320-400, so we didn't have any options, so we went elsewhere.

[Greg R Bradley]

I find this strange. I've used a Rotex for about 9-10 years to do minor mark/scratch cleanup when we refinish floors. The Brilliant paper doesn't hold a candle to the Rubin for longevity on bare wood I've found. It's not even close in my experience.

The last sentence is "though for unfinished wood Brilliant is a good product." Think he meant to say "though for FINISHED wood Brilliant is a good product."

Brilliant is great for finished, painted, etc.

[Myk Rian]

I believe this company also carries abrasives for the Festool.
http://www.performancetoolcenter.com/

[Sam Murdoch]

The last sentence is "though for unfinished wood Brilliant is a good product." Think he meant to say "though for FINISHED wood Brilliant is a good product."

Brilliant is great for finished, painted, etc.


No - I did mean that for unfinished wood in the 150 + grits, Brilliant is better than Rubin. I'm not a big fan of Rubin past 120 grit. I defer to Brilliant as the option before I use Rubin in that range - especially for soft woods. For finished wood , i.e., wood with paint - shellac - varnish etc. for sanding between coats - I use the Abranet mesh from 120 grit on up - mostly. Using the Festool abrasives, it does make a difference if I am using the RO125 or the ETS 150/3 - 2 different objectives with those tools. Rubin to the RO, Brilliant to the ETS. My experience only... ain't sayin' I'm the final word on the subject :rolleyes:. I just prefer the finish quality of Brilliant - I'm not comparing its durability. Again, for durability, I prefer the Mesh.

[Jim Tobias]

Another Abranet fan here. It last better, I get better dust collection and it doesn't clog. I use it almost exclusively for sanding except for the Festool sanding discs that I bought (got to use them up) when I bought the Festool sanders.

Jim

[tim walker]

No such click on on the Select Machinery website


Click on the "all departments"/"Abrasive Disks" on the left hand side of the window. Once the disks come up, under the "narrow your search results" in the same box, go to "Disc sizes and hole patterns" and select 6 x 9 hole.

[Matt Meiser]

I've only ever used Rubin up to 180. Over that I (rarely) use Brilliant. When I first bought my Festool sander I found I was getting a lot better life with Rubin than the Mirka Gold I previous bought and was only paying slightly more per box, not that there were other options available at the time. Lately I've been reading and hearing a lot of recommendations for the Granat papers having even better life. I've only tried a roll of the foam backed pads for between-coat sanding which have been great so next time I need discs, that's what I'll buy. Granat is slightly cheaper as well ($62/100 vs $34/50---why'd they switch the pack size?)

[Jim Becker]

If you choose to use alternative abrasive disks for Festool sanders, remember that you not only need the correct hole pattern, but also need the center hole which is critical to proper dust extraction.

I find that the Festool Rubin disks are very long lasting for me and haven't felt a need to explore alternatives to-date.

[mreza Salav]

I felt Festool discs were very low quality. Had bought boxes with my sander and after using what was included with my sander returned them all.
Abranet are good, and also if you can find a supplier of 3M that will punch the holes for the Festool pattern they are good too and lower price vs Abranet.

[fred woltersdorf]

I found these on the Bay, similar price as 2sand.com but free shipping which saves me $10.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mirka-Abranet-9A-241-AP-6-Mesh-Grip-Discs-Variety-Pack-/271120767731?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f200e9af3

[guy knight]

i have just used the last of my kilingspores disc and that god what junk they where from being to large for the pad causing them to catch on face frames sides to not lasting very long about half of what festool or rhino last and my biggest peeve is the Velcro backing coming off when changing out grits
try these they work great last as long as festool ones
http://www.industrialabrasives.com/hook-loop-discs-sheets-69-hole-rhynogrip-hook-loop-discs-for-festool-c-201_189.html