Festool Orbital Sander

[Mark Flippin]

Thinking on buying a Festool ETS EC 125/3 orbital sander the next time I need to use an orbital sander.

Do I need to have a Festool dust extractor also? I'm not up for paying for one of those.

I'm hoping to just use one of my shop vacs with an adapter.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have that sander, along with a couple of other Festool cordless ones.

That particular sander can remove a lot of material, so it does need to be used with a vacuum, but doesn't have to be a Festool.

[Jeff Monson]

The ETS125 is a great sander, no regrets on owning one. No you can use any shop vac, Festool just makes it "convenient" for their systems to work together is all.

[Jamie Buxton]

You can use other vacuums. Here's some things you get with the Festool one. When you collect other solutions, they're good to have.

* The hose is a smallish diameter, which means it is flexible, which means it doesn't steer the sander, you do.
* The hose fits the sander, without duct tape or the like.
* The vacuum is tool triggered. That is, when you turn on the sander, the vacuum comes on automatically. You can buy aftermarket tool-trigger modules to add this function to any vacuum.
* Low noise. It doesn't scream at you like cheap shop vacs do.

[Ben Helmich]

Have a Festool 125 also. If I had to replace it I would look at the 150’s. Seems like it would cover more ground with similar effort.

[Patrick Kane]

The festool vacs are semi-critical to properly using the sander. Without turning down the suction 50%+, you are going to prematurely wear out your pads. Those are $50+ for the 150mm. Before I purchased a ct26, I burned one or two pads in a year and a half.

[Phillip Mitchell]

No one has mentioned the difference in small particle filtration between a Festool vac and shop vac...unless your shop vac has an aftermarket filtration system that is comparable in terms of particulate filtration.

Before I had a Festool Midi vac, I used a older Fein turbo dust extractor with aftermarket HEPA filter for sanding with a 125 sander and it did just fine. The main complaint is my Fein hose isn’t anti static, which can be annoying if you’re doing a lot of sanding and moving around with it repeatedly. They maybe make an anti static hose you can buy? There was no suction adjustment, but I didn’t find myself prematurely wearing out pads. The Festool vac is barely a tick nicer overall in use for more nuanced tasks like sanding, but the older Fein vacs are a close second with aftermarket filtration (~$35)

I found a barely used Turbo (R2D2) model for around $150 several years ago.

[Adam Finn]

Several years ago I went down the path of looking for a small form factor HEPA vac for using inside my 1940's home. At the time I did not know anything about Festool, but once I saw the prices I said never in my life..! Fast forward six months or so and I bought a CT Mini and swore that was the only Festool product I'd ever buy. A couple months later I purchased an ETS EC 125/3 sander. It was so life changing I purchased the RO90 the next weekend. I can't say enough about the Festool sander/dust extractor combo. If I could change one thing I might have purchased the ETS EC 150/3 instead...but I have no regrets. I'm trying really hard to resist a CT26 or the new Midi. Buy both while you can still get a package discount...I missed out by buying separately.

[Mark Flippin]

My concern was that the two were integrated to the extent that using the sander only would be problematic. Seems not.

But there are several important points raised:
- Both my shop vacs are incredibly loud
- Small diameter hose makes steering the sander easier (very important, this causes the most fatigue during long sanding sessions)
- Vac comes on when the sander does (I've had plenty of those duh moments)
- HEPA level filtration
- Discount when buying the two together

I went for years without PPE, but as an old man, I have a multitude of respirators, safety glasses, hearing protection, dust collection systems, face shields, etc. (wish I had started earlier)

There are several vac options. Do you have any criteria for choosing one? I don't sand a lot, but the projects that need sanding tend to have long sessions using multiple discs for each grit

[Gustav Gabor]

Have a Festool 125 also. If I had to replace it I would look at the 150’s. Seems like it would cover more ground with similar effort.

Perhaps just replace the 125 pad with a 150 pad. They're exactly the same sanders otherwise. The 150 pad fits the 125 perfectly.
That's what I did, and it works great.

The Festool ETS EC 125/150 is an excellent sander.
I would recommend one of the their dust extractors (one of their small ones would be just fine for sanding) or rig something up with a shop vac as others have mentioned, but it should be used with some form of dust extraction to get the most out of it.

[Bohdan Drozdowskyj]

Thinking on buying a Festool ETS EC 125/3 orbital sander the next time I need to use an orbital sander.

Do I need to have a Festool dust extractor also? I'm not up for paying for one of those.

I'm hoping to just use one of my shop vacs with an adapter.

When I started I used an RO150 with a cheap all plastic shopvac. One day while I was sanding the shop vac burst into flames. The fine dust had blocked the filter and, as the air thru the vac also cooled the motor, it erupted in flames. You can appreciate my reaction to having a pile of plastic on fire under my workbench. Luckily I was able to kick it outside and went out and bought a Festool vac.

[Zac wingert]

Festool is the cream of the crop. But the idea that you need to spend close to $1000 on a sander and a vacuum to turn out good work is crazy. You will not burst into flames and crash and die if you don’t have festool. Is that the best choice generally? probably. But you will surely survive with far less.

I just dont get it. Maybe because I could never afford it. What do you guys do for a living.

[Warren Lake]

stroke sander, 3 generations of dynbrades. Maybe one day a sander with dust collection, meantime dust is just part of the deal.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Mark, buy a small Festool vac if you're using for household vacuuming, sanding etc. I have a CT26 and a Midi, love the Midi, the CT26 is bigger and much heavier to carry up stairs. Both have the same performance, the larger vacs have a larger bag capacity.

Don't worry about the bag cost, they seem to fill them like a bag of concrete so you rarely change them, I change mine once per year. The vacs are great, quiet, true HEPA filtration and an anti-static grounded hose, really important when sanding.

Regards, Rod.

[Jim Becker]

There are several vac options. Do you have any criteria for choosing one? I don't sand a lot, but the projects that need sanding tend to have long sessions using multiple discs for each grit
Most folks are well served by the smaller vacs...assuming they are dedicating them to tool extraction and keeping the shop cleanup to the big old, noisy shop vacs that excel at that kind of work. The only tools that generates larger amounts of debris for extraction are the Domino joiners; sanders don't generate huge quantities of dust, but it's essential to remove it for both personal health and because it makes the abrasive last longer and work better. That center hole in the base of the sander is part of that "secret sauce", too. I see that Festool is now offering a CTS-15 small extractor which might be just the ticket for the specific kind of application you have.

[Robert Engel]

I have the sander while I'm not a Festool fanatic, it is much better than a standard ROS.

I sprung for the dust extractor & it was worth the money IMO.

I use my noisy shop vac for cleaning the shop

[Matt Day]

Perhaps just replace the 125 pad with a 150 pad. They're exactly the same sanders otherwise. The 150 pad fits the 125 perfectly.
That's what I did, and it works great.

Thanks for mentioning that. I have the 125 and 90, and wished I got the 150 and 90. Seeing that I can just change the pad will save me a lot of money!

[Mark Flippin]

I've been surviving on far less for a long time. Now, I'm at a point in my life (kids gone, house paid off) where I can dabble in getting some higher end tools. I hate sanding and my current sander is on it's last legs. Hoping that the Festool will make me hate sanding less.

[Mark Flippin]

It makes sense to get the smaller vac; the main use would be for tool extraction. The price point of the CT 15 makes the buying the combo (sander and vac) doable. Getting to the point where I'll be able to spend much more time in the shop, making it more important to me to make sanding less onerous

[Gustav Gabor]

I've been surviving on far less for a long time. Now, I'm at a point in my life (kids gone, house paid off) where I can dabble in getting some higher end tools. I hate sanding and my current sander is on it's last legs. Hoping that the Festool will make me hate sanding less.

Sanding is unfortunately a necessary evil in most woodworking operations. The only method I know of that makes me hate sanding less ......... is having someone else do it!!
Sadly that never happens, so I just deal with it.
What I like about the ETS EC 125/150, is low vibration, low center of gravity, adjustable speed, and it stops rotating very quickly. Sands pretty good too....

Festool sanders and the CT26 extractor (it's a friggin' vacuum, get over yourself Festool!) are the only "green" tools I own, but I've found those are actually worth it.
So much nicer not having dust flying all over when sanding for hours at a time. Much easier to clean the shop, and my lungs are very appreciative of it.

The nice thing about getting the 125 and adding the 150 pad, or pads for it is you can buy a super soft, soft (standard) or a hard pad for it. You can buy a couple of pads plus the 125 sander for less than the cost of just the 150, and still have the option of using the 125 pad.

[Warren Lake]

when I learned this 40 years ago a teacher told me you will see you will hate sanding. I later asked a question as something didnt feel right on a first time thing for me, got an answer, I didnt know was wrong and a nice kick back. Teacher was an idiot. The positive was next day another teacher asked me about the kick back, he turned red and shook his head. I changed classes and had him for the rest of the year. Later he tracked me down and that was another 35 years.

Most people are 2/3 water, im 1/3 sawdust. I dont hate anything about this trade and never have.

[Randy Heinemann]

If you are going to buy the ETS125, I would recommend buying a vac that has the capability to dial down the suction. The pads on the Festool sanders are efficient enough for dust collection that a significant amount of suction is created and this tends to suck the sander down tighter to the surface than it should. I own a couple of Festool sanders and have found the ETS 125 is more sensitive to this than the others; maybe because it's a little lighter, possibly a little more top heavy than some of the others.

You certainly don't have to buy a Festool CT, mini, or midi, but they are great vacs and help keep sanding as dust free as possible when combined with one of the Festool sanders. It may just be a vac but it's a great one (any of their vacs). Maybe just a small one like the Mini or Midi would work for you if you are just using the vac for sanding and around the house.

[Jim Dwight]

I do not have a festool sander but I have a domino and it works very well with my rigid shop vac which pulls through a dust deputy and a bosch 35mm hose and discharges through a quasi hepa filter. I also use the same setup on a bosch devs 1250 sander. I have an aftermarket auto on switch and I could slow it down with a soeed controller if I wanted to. I would not claim this is equivalent to a festool dust extractor in any way other than performance. I've never used a festool vac but my setup works fine. It is not at all impressive in appearance and is not so easy to transport, however.

[Jim Becker]

I've been surviving on far less for a long time. Now, I'm at a point in my life (kids gone, house paid off) where I can dabble in getting some higher end tools. I hate sanding and my current sander is on it's last legs. Hoping that the Festool will make me hate sanding less.
One of the primary reasons I moved to the Festool sanders, aside from the excellent dust extraction, was to get rid of the vibration I had been experiencing with common, lower end sanders...my hands were constantly going numb which meant I had to stop sanding with frequency. I can sand for an hour with my 150/3 with barely a tingle, if that. There are a few other high end sanders that are smoother like that, of course, but I embraced "the system" long ago and have been very happy.

[Dave Sabo]

Thanks for mentioning that. I have the 125 and 90, and wished I got the 150 and 90. Seeing that I can just change the pad will save me a lot of money!


Just to clarify - the 150mm pad swap only works with the ETS 125 EC. You will not be able to accomplish this with any ROTEX sanders.



If you are going to buy the ETS125, I would recommend buying a vac that has the capability to dial down the suction.

While I agree with this , it is not absolutely necessary. The same thing can be accomplished with a bleed port on some hoses. Bosch has a couple and I think Fein has one too. This is the best value in my opinion:

https://www.amazon.com/Cen-Tec-Systems-94192-Universal-Collection/dp/B07NZZZ5ZL/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=centec+vac+hose&qid=1588885972&s=hi&sr=1-3

antistatic version:

https://www.amazon.com/Cen-Tec-Systems-94434-Antistatic-Universal/dp/B07Q7SSTPX/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=centec+vac+hose&qid=1588885997&s=hi&sr=1-9

[Ben Helmich]

Mark, I bought the Festool sander and vac because I hate sanding. I still hate sanding. But it is the most comfortable sander I have used, and the vac is much queiter than a typical shop vac. I still wear hearing protection with it, but some might not. And, of course, there's virtually no sawdust. You definately don't need Festool for what you're trying to do, but I don't think you'll regret it. If mine disappeared I would replace it.
-Ben

[Alan Lightstone]

One of the primary reasons I moved to the Festool sanders, aside from the excellent dust extraction, was to get rid of the vibration I had been experiencing with common, lower end sanders...my hands were constantly going numb which meant I had to stop sanding with frequency. I can sand for an hour with my 150/3 with barely a tingle, if that. There are a few other high end sanders that are smoother like that, of course, but I embraced "the system" long ago and have been very happy.

This is exactly what I did a number of years ago, for the exact same reasons as Jim, and am still very happy with my 150/3. The vibration on my Rotex is so great that I hate using it, and rarely do.

[Jim Becker]

The vibration on my Rotex is so great that I hate using it, and rarely do.

The Rotex in rotary mode is very apt to chatter due to the aggressiveness of the abrasive action...which is one of the reasons it's a two-handed tool. Fortunately, it's also a tool that I only pull out when it's additional capability to remove material is what is needed. 95%+ of the time, my 150/3 gets the work.

[Randy Heinemann]

Just to clarify - the 150mm pad swap only works with the ETS 125 EC. You will not be able to accomplish this with any ROTEX sanders.




While I agree with this , it is not absolutely necessary. The same thing can be accomplished with a bleed port on some hoses. Bosch has a couple and I think Fein has one too. This is the best value in my opinion:

https://www.amazon.com/Cen-Tec-Systems-94192-Universal-Collection/dp/B07NZZZ5ZL/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=centec+vac+hose&qid=1588885972&s=hi&sr=1-3

antistatic version:

https://www.amazon.com/Cen-Tec-Systems-94434-Antistatic-Universal/dp/B07Q7SSTPX/ref=sr_1_9?dchild=1&keywords=centec+vac+hose&qid=1588885997&s=hi&sr=1-9

Based on feedback from others, this may work. However, it appears that, with some vacs, it might not be an adequate solution. the ETS125 is a much touchier sander with regard to this. I own several Festool sanders and the others aren't very sensitive to this suction issue. The ETS125 is. It's certainly worth a try rather than spending the amount of money a Festool CT, Mini, or Midi will cost. If it doesn't work, you're not out much money.

[Jim Becker]

The draw from the extractor should ideally be reduced as you move up to finer and finer abrasives to prevent "sticking", etc. It's amazing how well the extractor can hold the tool down when the air space between the "grit" gets diminished!

[Gabriel Marusic]

It makes sense to get the smaller vac; the main use would be for tool extraction. The price point of the CT 15 makes the buying the combo (sander and vac) doable. Getting to the point where I'll be able to spend much more time in the shop, making it more important to me to make sanding less onerous

Where are you seeing the combo of the sander and vac together? That's something I'd be interested in as well.

[Mark Flippin]

Jumped in today

Bought the ETS EC 125/3 EQ sander (I like the 5" pads) and the CT MIDI HEPA vac. Looked at the CT 15 vac, but I really wanted the anti-static hose. The MINI had a smaller dust bag and the MIDI was only a little more.

Which I thought would be offset by the Festool bundle deal. Well, that bundle deal ended last year...Oh well

I have several tools which will benefit from the MIDI vac (router, track saw, etc.) and I am looking for a cleaner workshop. Dust collection has become more of a priority for me.

Carl from Woodcraft advised me to turn the vac down to 2 for sanding; probably for the reasons listed above

Now I have to find something to sand.

[Jim Becker]

Congrats, Mark! I think you'll enjoy this new setup and good call on the anti-static hose. You'll find that the extractor will be useful for many other small hand-held electrics, too, both what you have now that takes dust collection and others that might find their way into your shop. It's the right tool for the job!

[Phillip Mitchell]

Awesome! I have a MIDI as well and it’s perfect for my needs. Enjoy the dust free sanding!