Another new guy (currently looking for sander)

[Ed Yarmak]

Good day, everyone. I found this forum yesterday while searching for data on which sander I should buy. I think I'm going to enjoy being a member here. I'm happy to benefit from other's experience, so if you have any input on my little sanding project, please chime in.

I have an off grid cabin with a footprint of about 600 square feet. It was built in 2010 during an extremely rainy summer and the 3/4" OSB floor deck has swelled a bit at the seams. Below the floor deck are 2x12's on 16" centers. All of this is supported by beams and piling. The floor is insulated with fiberglass and the soffit is sealed with housewrap and 3/8" plywood. The insulation, housewrap and plywood were added well after the OSB dried out. I'm planning to put down a 1x6 T&G white spruce floor produced by a local mill over the OSB. I'm going to have to sand the swelled bits of OSB flat for the spruce to lay down flat.

We have road access and use the cabin whenever we can break away. So, there's a lot of stuff in there. And to perform this floor install, there's going to be a lot of moving stuff back and forth. There's a nice deck outside to set up the saw on to cut material to keep the dust outside, but I do need to keep the dust down when I do the floor sanding work. I'm really not planning to have to do much sanding to the white spruce after it's down, but I haven't gotten the material yet.

I've been looking at a Festool Rotex 150 as it has excellent dust control. I have no doubt I'd be happy with the tool for finish sanding, but will I be happy with it taking down 1/8" of OSB? I don't mind buying quality tools as long as they are the right tools. Or, should I look at a belt sander instead that can be hooked up to a dust collector?

Thank you all


What do you folks think?

[Roger Feeley]

If it were me, I would rent a real floor sander and get it over with. My second choice would be a belt sander. Those random orbital sanders aren't made for removing a lot of material. If you do get a ROS, vibration is a big deal. After a couple of hours with a sander, your hands can go numb. Years ago, I inherited my dads old Craftsman 1/2 sheet sander and hated it. then I got a Porter Cable 382 from HD. I threw away my dads sander. I didn't even give it away.

[Bill Orbine]

Your description of the work involves sounds like it's way more than the Rotex 150 machine can handle. 4x24 or 3x24 sander is better, but still might be a laborious task depending how much of the swelling needs removing. I understand you mentioned 1/8", but how wide is the flare-up? You might just be better to rent a professional floor machine. These machines are heavy weights and can remove material fast. There are drum sander and there are edge sander.

[lowell holmes]

I have pad sanders, currently a Rigid. When I need to sand something like a floor, I rent a drum sander from Lowes or Home Depot.
I also have a Rigid spindle sander that has belt or spindles. I also have a 4" belt sander.

I can't imagine getting down on my hands and knees to sand a floor.

[eugene thomas]

I would rent floor sander. It is designed for this type work.

[John TenEyck]

Welcome Ed.

Rent a floor sander.

John

[mark kosse]

Did you all read "swelled at the seams"? He's not refinishing a floor. Knocking down high spots at the seams. Ed, get you a belt sander. A good one with dust collection. And older PC can't be beat. Fairly dust free. I'd recommend a 362 vs.

[eugene thomas]

I read it, just to me seems easier to use floor sander and knock out. Now in my younger days problem would of belt sanded away.

[Jim Andrew]

I built a new house a few years ago, and we got a lot of rain before getting it dried in. The lumberyard sent a cheap osb subfloor, and it swelled like you are saying. I had to rent a floor sander to get the seams level, looked like a lawn mower, with a big disc on the bottom. It was not easy to run. But at least I was not bent over. Personally, for sanding the wood flooring, I would get a 6" ROS, if you can not rent a ROS type floor sander. The big drum sanders are just too coarse, and you can cut a real divit in the floor. Some of the ROS sanders have a vac port. My Bosch is very clean sanding with the vac attached. I used to have a Makita 4x24 belt sander and I just plugged my vac hose into the port for the dust bag. Very clean.

[Jim Dwight]

I am not a Festool guy (only one I have is the little hand sander you can hook a vacuum to, it was a present) but I believe the Rotex has a very aggressive mode, much faster than a ROS. If that is true, it would be a viable option. I have both a belt sander and 5 and 6 inch ROSs. I don't think the belt sander is faster than the 6 inch ROS. If the Festool is faster than that, the belt sander will not be an improvement.

The floor sander still may make sense, however, depending on how much material needs to be removed. But everybody needs a good sander if they want to work wood. You can at least use it instead of a floor edger. You could try it first and it it's too slow, go rent the floor sander and use the ROS around the edges.

Most sanders will hook to a vacuum and do pretty well. All mine will. My ROSs are DeWalt (not great but fine) and my belt sander is an old Ryobi (3x21) with variable speed. I think a hook and loop ROS is a basic tool if you want to work wood.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

I've done a 150 square foot area of newly installed red oak with a Rotex.
Came out perfect.

[Sam Murdoch]

The Festool RO 150 FEQ ROTEX with Granat "paper" could easily handle this job if you don't mind working on your knees.
I gave up on belt sanders after I bought my RO. This is a tool that can do the whole range of work including polishing
and is every bit as aggressive except with so much more control than belt sanders.

A pretty expensive tool but if you can swing it and justify it for later uses (as a finish sander for example) I think you would be very happy with it. A MIDI would be a good size dust collector for it.

If you didn't need to move stuff around I would be in the floor sander camp but considering what you are facing I vote the Rotex!

[marty shultz]

A floor sander would be best but I wouldn't be afraid to do it with a Rotex using 36 or 50 grit paper. It removes wood fast! I did my deck with a rotex and it worked well. This shows about 20% of the deck.

330534

[Ed Yarmak]

I appreciate all your input. I'll have to see what kind of floor sanders are available for rental. And if my generator will power them on site. It's an option. I've only been around a floor sander 30 years ago, and it was probably 30 years old and made a heck of a mess.

[Davis Young]

One more thing I can add is the Festool RAS 115. Very aggressive with a 36 grit granat disc, more so than a 6" Rotex, even though the pad is only 4-1/2". Surprisingly effective dust collection, but it'll take practice to direct the dust (its design is not unlike that of an angle grinder.) Installers use it in place of a belt sander when removing material after scribing.

[marty shultz]

I have the 115 and for the floor application i'd go with the rotex because it's hard to get a flat, wide surface with the 115. it is aggressive though! a 6" angle grinder might work though (very cheap and messy).

[Chris Hachet]

I would rent floor sander. It is designed for this type work.

Bingo!

They are not as scary as they seem.....

[Ed Yarmak]

I can borrow any size angle grinder from work and put a sanding pad on it. But controlling it would be difficult. And, there's be dust and crap all over the inside of the cabin unless I tent the area.

[Jim Dwight]

At least some of the floor sanders for rent at the Home Depots close to me have bags. They probably let fine dust out but would get most of it. A ROS with a shop vac with a HEPA filter would get nearly all the dust. So you can reduce the mess with the right floor sander but the slower woodworking sander will make less mess (but only if the shop vac has a really good filter).

[John Lankers]

If I understand this right all you want to do is knock down the seams to get a flat (level) subfloor for your 1 x 6 flooring, then there is no need to work the whole area just the seams and for that the Rotex with coarse paper would be a good tool (even though I love my Mirka Ceros).
To exhaust the airborne dust I would set up a powerful - and I mean big - fan in a doorway or window.