ROS Recommendations

[ryan feasel]

Good afternoon,

Looking for some input and recommendations on ROS's. I currently have a Bosch 1295DVS that I bought at Lowes a few years ago for like $60. Decent sander, but lots of vibration. I'd like to step-up to something a little nicer. I really don't want to spend more than $150. I have looked into models by Rigid, Porter Cable, Bosch, Makita, and DeWalt. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Van Huskey]

IMO $100-200 is sorta a no-mans land for ROSs. The $70 to $100 all perform fairly well but have a decent amount of vibration, what you tend to get in the $100 to $150 range is 6" sanders vs 5" sanders and very similar vibrations. The lowest priced ROS that makes a significant leap in vibration reduction is the Bosch ROS65VC but it runs over $200 and the next jump up is about $400 and it keeps going up.

If you are happy with the sander otherwise you might try some fingerless anti-vibration gloves if you don't want to increase your budget.

[ryan feasel]

Any idea what the vibration is like with the Festool ETS 125 EQ? I know it's $195, but I may stretch my budget if it's really worth it. Thanks.

[Van Huskey]

I have more than one of them and the vibration definitely lower than what you have BUT the ETS 125 is a small orbit finish sander and not what I would consider for a general purpose ROS.

BTW you are going to get other recommendations and likely a large portion will disagree with me as ROS tend to be a tool here opinions vary a lot and almost everyone has their favorite.

[Darcy Warner]

Love my ets125's, but they are used as finish sanders ( what they were designed for) not an aggressive sander

[Tom Ewell]

Many of the 'usual suspects' are mentioned in this thread, as you'll see the price points are all over the place.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?250581-Would-I-really-notice-a-difference-with-a-quot-better-quot-RO-Sander

There is also the chance that some models within brands vary widely on opinion.

At one time I had a Ridgid 6" dual that apparently was a rebranded Metabo that handled quite nicely but it was replaced by assorted Festools and Mirka.

As Van mentions, the Festool ETS 125 is nice but a little light for general purpose sanding but the new Pro 5 (or whatever it'll be named) may take the ETS slot and priced similarly (don't really know)... it's touted as being a little bigger and has added oomph over the ETS.

[Van Huskey]

As Van mentions, the Festool ETS 125 is nice but a little light for general purpose sanding but the new Pro 5 (or whatever it'll be named) may take the ETS slot and priced similarly (don't really know)... it's touted as being a little bigger and has added oomph over the ETS.

The Pro 5 will indeed replace the ETS 125 (Festool has been quiet on whether they will hold the Pro 5 name in the US or not). The updated 125 is already on sale in Europe along with the updated DTS and RTS). While the Pro 5 has a stronger motor it still has the same orbit and I haven't felt any real difference in use but I don;t try to stop the pad. Plus you will have a wait for the upgraded ETS 125 here since they still have to fill all the Pro 5 orders, my guess is they won't be here for 4 months or so.

[ryan feasel]

Thanks to all. I have a PC belt sander if I have to get really aggressive. I'm looking mainly to use 120 and up paper on the ROS. Thanks again.

[mark mcfarlane]

FWIW, I have an ETS 125 EQ (maybe 4 tear old version) and can attest to 4-5 hour long sanding sessions with no evidence of vibration fatigue, and hooked to a FEstool vac, basically no sanding dust anywhere. I sanded once all day in a closed garage and their was no dust on horizontal surfaces. I also have a Rotex and a DTS 400 but the ETS is the one I use the most. Nice sander for me.