Festool Pro-5 Sander

[Mike Henderson]

I ordered a $99 Festool Pro-5 sander and recently got a delivery date - March 9, 2017. I kid you not. That's the delivery date they gave me. Good thing I don't need it right away.

Mike

[Bruce Page]

And here I thought you were going to post pictures of it in your shop!

[Van Huskey]

And here I thought you were going to post pictures of it in your shop!

I could post a picture of 4 of them in a stack... but that would just be mean. :o

[Rich Riddle]

Mine wasn't as bad, Feb. 25, 2017.....how many of these sanders sold?

[Van Huskey]

Mine wasn't as bad, Feb. 25, 2017.....how many of these sanders sold?

I have seen several numbers but nothing definative but I think it is safe to bet it was more than 10,000 (probably significantly more). This hit slick deals very early on and there are a lot of flippers that make a living buying deals like these and reselling them.

[Mike Henderson]

At my age, I don't buy green bananas. So by the time this thing shows up, I won't remember how to use it:)

Mike

[Andrew Hughes]

At my age, I don't buy green bananas. So by the time this thing shows up, I won't remember how to use it:)

Good one Mike. :D

[Victor Robinson]

I got mine today. Haven't had a chance to run it yet though.

As Van said, the deal was posted on slickdeals very quickly and I imagine a significant number of these are merely going to be flipped. It was such a good deal that there was no way flippers were going to ignore it.

[Andrew Howe]

I walked into my local woodcraft and inquired about availability. To my surprise, they had 3 in stock and I got mine. Now I am going to pick out a track saw

[Joe Spear]

I picked up mine a few days ago and used it for the first time yesterday on a bread board I made for my sister. Incredibly smooth action.

[Ben Rivel]

Ah well. At least youll get one. Just pretend it was like a Woodpeckers One Time Tool and you have to wait six months AFTER pre-paying to get it. At least most of the resellers for the Pro 5 LTD dont charge you until it ships. Guess thats good for something.

[Jim Becker]

I picked up mine a few days ago and used it for the first time yesterday on a bread board I made for my sister. Incredibly smooth action.
I'm glad to hear this...clearly, they are both "testing the waters" to see how the market responds to a lower price point tool with their name on it as well as using this as an "entry drug" for the rest of their line. :)

[Chris Padilla]

Ah well. At least youll get one. Just pretend it was like a Woodpeckers One Time Tool and you have to wait six months AFTER pre-paying to get it. At least most of the resellers for the Pro 5 LTD dont charge you until it ships. Guess thats good for something.

I don't think Woodpeckers charges until they ship...last I recall and I have picked up a few One Time Tools.

[Roy Wurgley]

Can you still order it, thx RJ

[Van Huskey]

Can you still order it, thx RJ

LOL

They stopped pre orders over a month ago after just 3 days and WAY oversold. Your options now are to find a a local dealer with one in stock or hit eBay or some of the forum classifieds but the latter options will cost more than $99.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

LOL

They stopped pre orders over a month ago after just 3 days and WAY oversold. Your options now are to find a a local dealer with one in stock or hit eBay or some of the forum classifieds but the latter options will cost more than $99.

I saw one a few days ago on another forum, $300.... Made me sick.

[John C Bush]

i"ii pay $300 if they throw in an Epipen!

[Dave Zellers]

March 23rd.

Based on the schedule provided by Festool, we anticipate that your sander will ship on or around Thursday, March 23rd. Note that this is an estimated ship date and is subject to change.

[Malcolm McLeod]

March 23rd.

Based on the schedule provided by Festool, we anticipate that your sander will ship on or around Thursday, March 23rd. Note that this is an estimated ship date and is subject to change.

Same date for me. Can't wait for their next sale.:confused:

[Greg R Bradley]

I can't believe the insanity over this. It is a sander with a $195 list price that is one of the least impressive sanders in the line. The main thing that makes it a great 5" RO is that Bosch completely screwed up their competing sander that used to be just as good as the Festool ETS125.
Like others, I ordered one when notified and they shipped the next day. With the $50 voucher and coming in a systainer that is worth $50, it was a no-brainer at $99.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I can't believe the insanity over this... Ever the optimist, I am just buttery-glad that Bernie Madoff has gotten paroled and found gainful employment in Festool's marketing department.

[Dave Zellers]

What insanity? Most are just reporting their ship dates. I have no problem waiting.

[Rich Riddle]

The way I look at it is that the holidays will keep us entertained until the beginning of the year. February gets depressing....and then arrives this sander we forgot. A good day in a dreary month.

[Malcolm McLeod]

What insanity? Most are just reporting their ship dates. I have no problem waiting.


The way I look at it is that the holidays will keep us entertained until the beginning of the year. February gets depressing....and then arrives this sander we forgot. A good day in a dreary month.

When it finally arrives, not only will it be a good day, it will be a pleasant surprise ('cuz I forget things:confused:), and even better, inflation will mean I got a great deal on a $537 sander!:D

[Alan Trout]

I ordered mine from Hartville Tool on pre-order and got it about a week ago. Its a nice little sander.

[Rick Alexander]

Feb 9th for mine. No biggie for me - didn't need it in the first place but just wanted to get my feet wet in Festool. I know it's a marketing ploy but it's probably going to work perfectly for me as I've been considering the track saw and Dust Extractor for a few years now. Heck I got a Worksharp years ago for 50 bucks from Home Depot in a sort of misprint Amazon deal that I thought I'd never get. Ended up getting it about 8 months later but I did get a $170 tool for 50 bucks. Also a no brainer. Absolutely love the tool too.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Just got a shipping update for the Pro-5 I ordered. It's now estimated for April 21.

Good thing Festool was prepared for this sale, otherwise delivery could be impaired.

[terry mccammon]

Likewise. I find the whole thing funny.

[Mike Henderson]

I did receive mine about when they said I would. I looked at it and sanded a piece of scrap and then decided that I didn't want to have to stock two types of sandpaper - 8 hole for my other sanders and 9 hole for the Festool.

I put it up for sale on eBay as "Buy it Now" for $250 and it sold in 50 minutes from posting. When it does that you always think, "I priced it too low.":)

I'm very happy with the sanders I have now.

Mike

[eugene thomas]

Got email from tool nut today and my ship date moved back till the 31 march. BUT sure someday will see a package with sander in....

[Malcolm McLeod]

Got email from tool nut today and my ship date moved back till the 31 march. BUT sure someday will see a package with sander in....

I too, am certain that I or my heirs will in fact receive either a sander, or at least a holographic sens-o-gram message informing them that shipping has been "time enhanced"..... but maybe I or my heirs will get upgraded to the tritium fusion powered model??

[Malcolm McLeod]

Likewise. I find the whole thing funny.

And I am amused also. Will not get bitter. will NOT get bitter. will NOT GET BITTER!

Ponder this while muttering under your breath: What was Festool + distributor inventory at opening bell? How many cuckhol, er, I mean customers do you suppose ordered this? How long to get the Pro-5 back on the production schedule? Once production is resumed, what is their daily production rate?

...Seems like they must have sold 117ea. to every shop on 4 continents, and we were the last two. I don't ever recall a company missing the mark quite so badly and not going belly up.

And the Festool Bureau of Investigation IS monitoring this thread and adding 1 week to my delivery for every one of my posts. (Life is SOOOoooo much easier to comprehend when you embrace conspiracy theory.) ;):D

[chase standifer]

I received my sander from Tool Nut about two weeks so they are shipping them as they get them from Festool.

[Dave Zellers]

Yes it's a long frustrating wait. But the communication has been good and in the end I will have a great (I know because I already have one ) 5" sander at half price.

I think the whole promotion was intended to introduce Festool to people who had no previous exposure to them. Leveraging eBay to their benefit is part of the plan. They don't care that people who bought the promotion sold it on eBay. It increases their exposure.
They are exploiting the "nobody makes quality tools anymore meme. "
"Yes we do, and here we are."

[Jon Grider]

Mine was moved out again to April 21. I'm not going to hold my breath though. My thought is that production of these sanders may be on the back burner at Festool, their focus may be on the stuff they make real profit from and that they'll get around to them eventually. I'm guessing that if they had in hand sales orders for a hundred thousand Pro 5's at full retail price last fall they would have shipped long ago. I have a Domino and CT36 and have been seriously considering a production duty sander.I like the versatility of the Rotex but after this experience, the Mirka Deros may bump out the Rotex just because of the perception I'm getting of lack of customer service at Festool. I remember the great lengths to maintain corporate integrity an American company went through a few years back when their Worksharp 3000's were mistakenly advertised at a drastically reduces price. I ordered one and received it promptly. They created brand loyalty with me, so I buy genuine Worksharp sanding discs and other accessories because their company valued their commitment and recognized the importance of customer relations. I bought the Domino because there isn't really any other tool like it. It saves time and money over traditional M&T joints and it is well built. The Domino imo is the only Festool tool that doesn't have other high quality competition from other manufacturers. Though I like Festool quality, I don't like the way they handled this and going forward I'll remember this experience before making high quality tool purchases. This "promo" sale has done nothing to promote the Festool brand with me. Rant over, thanks for listening.

[Rick Potter]

OOOPS.

Just got an e-mail from Tool Nut. Mine is now estimated to be available April 21. Didn't say what year.

Maybe when it arrives, my heirs can E-Bay it as a 'Vintage, new old stock' model.

[Bill McNiel]

I received mine, purchased thru my local Woodcraft, two weeks ago. I already had a 125 but couldn't pass on the deal.

[Michael Rector]

My experience was a lot like Bill's. I wasn't even aware of the sale until late Jan when I saw a sign at my local Woodcraft, gave them my money and got it 2-3 weeks later.

[Jon Grider]

Hooray! I just received an email stating that my sander has shipped! I was expecting 4-21-17 as the ship date. Now can anyone explain the practical difference between granat, rubin and cristal sandpapers for woodworking purposes?

[Mike Berrevoets]

I just got an email this morning saying mine shipped. An email on Saturday morning, April 1......

I think it is just another cruel joke by festool. :)

[Victor Robinson]

Hooray! I just received an email stating that my sander has shipped! I was expecting 4-21-17 as the ship date. Now can anyone explain the practical difference between granat, rubin and cristal sandpapers for woodworking purposes?

Granat is a really good paper. You'll find it works well for just about everything. Cristal has been discontinued I believe - it was used for heavy paint/finish removal applications. Granat can handle those fine. I've found Granat to last longer than Rubin for bare wood applications, though some folks like Rubin for coarse grits. Personally if stocking up today, I'd just get Granat throughout the entire grit range. Note that the price increase on April 3 does affect most Granat papers by a few bucks per box.

[Van Huskey]

RE: paper

The Festool branded paper is very good but the Klingspor paper arguably just as good for significantly less money... I personally use Mirka Abranet on all my Mirka and Festool sanders except the RO 90 which I use Klingspor since Abranet doesn't come in the 90mm or delta pad. If you use Abranet you need to use a pad protector or it will eat up the hooks on the sander pad very quickly.

[Jon Grider]

Victor and Van, thanks for the info. I'm going to be close to our Woodcraft this Thursday, so I think initially I'll buy some Granat in a couple of my most used grits. I will look into the Klingspor paper for future use, I've only heard good things about them.

[Malcolm McLeod]

Festool (via Tool Nut) delivered a Pro 5 to my doorstep last night.:)

...Fairly sure I was last. (There's a prize for that, right?)

[Van Huskey]

...Fairly sure I was last. (There's a prize for that, right?)

I bet Festool will give you $50 off your next tool purchase...

[Bruce Volden]

Well I hate to burst your bubble about being last...........
still waiting for mine!

Bruce

[Peter Kuhlman]

My fellow tool geek Mike stopped by today with his brand new Pro 5" sander to check it out. We only played a couple minutes but we both experienced it wanting to randomly scoot off in directions other than desired. Tried lowering the vac suction all the way down and tried slowing the sander way down but it still wanted to jump around. Never had a sander do that before. The ETS, EC, various Rotex, none of which had this characteristic. Will be interesting to see what causes this action as can't see anything wrong with the sander. Really curious.

Mike also brought his new 6" EC sander and I am in LOVE with that thing. So much lighter, smoother, easier to hold than my Old ETS. Can see more money disappearing soon for that!

[Mike Nguyen]

Jumpy Pro-5? Yep, same with my Pro-5. I sent to Festool twice to get it fixed. They replaced the flange on mine.

[Rick Potter]

Finally got mine too. Haven't opened it yet.