Was it Bourbon or Kool-Aide

[Darrell Bade]

Thought I was drinking Bourbon the other night when I ordered a Festool ROS that got delivered today but maybe it was the Festool Kool-Aid.

Replacing my old (actually new about 4 years ago but gave me problems so I went back to the old one) 80 dollar Bosch. We'll see if it lives up to the praise most of ya give.

Which model you ask ........... the cheapest one, would have had to drink way more Bourbon or Kool- Aid to go all in for one of the big boys.

[Paul F Franklin]

I think you'll like it. I've been a bosch user and fan for ages, but picked up the 125 a year or two ago and like it more. A lot more. Enough that I'll probably be willing to shell out for one of its big brothers next time I'm faced with lots of sanding.

[al ladd]

I think you'll like it. I've been a bosch user and fan for ages, but picked up the 125 a year or two ago and like it more. A lot more. Enough that I'll probably be willing to shell out for one of its big brothers next time I'm faced with lots of sanding.

me too!, after another compressor failure (check valve, I hope) left my (2) 20 year old Dynabrades stranded I have the $210 German coming tomorrow!

[Dave Sabo]

I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised how good it is.

Even if you’re not, it came with a “do over” card that allows you to send it back within 30days for a complete refund.

if you keep it , there’s a market for the systainer it came in. You could sell it on and make the sander cost even less.

[Darrell Bade]

I thought about selling the Systainer because there seems to be a market. I keep the Domino in its systainer but the sander will live its life sitting out.

[Andrew Seemann]

I've avoided the Green Plague so far. . . until last weekend when the aftermarket HEPA filter fell off my Rigid vac for what turned out to be the last time my patience level would accept. I zipped off to Acme Saturday afternoon and picked up a CT 26, mostly because the Makita vac I actually wanted was out of stock and for $100 more I figured I might as well get the best. While it isn't the 7 times by cost better than the Rigid, it is definitely 2 or 3 times better.

I hate to say it, but I am now wondering how much better the ETS 125 is than my 5" Makita ROS. I know it won't be twice as better, but I am wondering if the extra $100 makes it 50% better. What is holding me back is I have a couple years worth of standard 8 hole paper and I don't really want to add another full set of grits worth of 9 hole paper.

Also, I'm starting to wonder, if I am going to overpay for a sander, why not just go all out and overpay for a Deros, at least it looks like they use standard paper and I kind of like the paddle switch idea.

[Darrell Bade]

I had more 8 hole paper left over than I wanted, I was gonna switch when the paper ran out till the sander took a dump. Luckily my brother has the same Bosch Sander, sold my paper to him.

Still haven't tried this green thing out thoughly, Klingspor sent my sandpaper by the slow boat. Have 2 endtables sitting here in pieces waiting to be sanded and assembled.

[Paul F Franklin]

I'll bet if you use the porous backing pad they sell for use with mesh type sandpaper (which is pretty much all I use now) the dust collection would work ok with 8 hole paper. Haven't tried it though....

[Dave Sabo]

I'll bet if you use the porous backing pad they sell for use with mesh type sandpaper (which is pretty much all I use now) the dust collection would work ok with 8 hole paper. Haven't tried it though....


………….huh ?

[John Goodin]

The ROS is the gateway to a lime-green tooled shop. Next you will feel the urge to have a dust extractor hooked up to the sander. After seeing how good the dust collection works you will spend time convincing yourself you need a Festool domino, track saw or router.

[Greg Quenneville]

How much convincing would it take? You do need all of those things. (Said with a grin)

I bought my first sander in 2001 and now find myself astonished to have 15 systainers and the Kapex and MFT. But they all get used often. Some of them have no equivalent in other brands.

[Monte Milanuk]

I went about it slightly differently... got a TS55, after futzing around with an 'E-Z Smart' track and a Porter-Cable circ saw for years. Holy cow, night and day difference - and not just the dust collection, but that too. Then got a CT26 dust extractor - nice upgrade from a shop vac. My old Bosch 1295DVS 5" ROS has been kind of giving me fits, needed a new pad, the dust port doesn't seem to connect to *anything* without a lot of fuss (and usually some duct tape). I was really wanting an ETS 125/3 EC for an upcoming project, but they seemed pretty hard to find, with lead times projected in the double-digit months. Local hardwood dealer had an ETS 150/5 EC, and I had some extra OT money burning a hole in my pocket... ;) I've *almost* got myself talked into a Domino... almost.

[Darrell Bade]

I've had a domino for a few years, that didn't take much bourbon or kool-aid. Built a bed one year that had 32 loose tenons in it, took a night after dinner with a router to cut them. Did a project the next year with 52 loose tenons, bought the domino, took a little over an hour. It is a heck of a machine.

Have a Bosch DE I use with the domino and sander, it connects to the Festool stuff better than the Bosch. Interesting comment about the E-Z Smart Track, I use one of them too.

I did use the sander some this weekend with the 125 grit disk that came with it. Dust collection was better but other than that it just seemed like my old Bosch Sander. I was thinking of Jim Becker after, he always says how much less tingling he has in his hand with it and mine was tingling pretty good. Time will tell, should get my sandpaper today and need to spend some serious time with the sander to get the end tables ready to assembly. See what my opinion is after.

[Andrew Seemann]

The ROS is the gateway to a lime-green tooled shop. Next you will feel the urge to have a dust extractor hooked up to the sander. After seeing how good the dust collection works you will spend time convincing yourself you need a Festool domino, track saw or router.

Actually the guy at Acme said the ETS 125 ROS was in the Festool line up specifically to be the "gateway drug" into the Festool ecosystem, same thing with the MIDI vacs. The idea being they are priced just competitively enough for those people on the edge of buying up. The hope is that then they will be hooked on how great Festool is and go and buy a whole bunch of other stuff.

The other tool companies do that with their cordless line ups. Run a really great promotion on an entry level drill/driver combo and hope that you get someone in your battery ecosystem and keep them for life. It worked for me with Makita (although I already had a teal bias before I got into their 18V LXT line). I'm so heavily invested in 18V LXT that I won't buy anything else. But then Milwaukee had a really good deal for a 12V drill/driver combo, and the wife has been wanting a cordless for her craft room, and Makita doesn't really have a good lightweight 18V drill, so . . .

[Jim Becker]

Darrell, I wasn't kidding about the vibration thing. But keep in mind that I'm using the 150/3 which is a different sander than I believe you have chosen based on your OP. Regardless, I think you'll enjoy it over time.

[Darrell Bade]

It's all good Jim, I wasn't picking on ya or calling you a fanboy ......... lol ........ I always respect your posts. You are correct it is a different sander, plus everyone feels effects of power tools in different ways. Lots of tools bother some people and not others. But when my hand was tingling I thought that Jim Becker .......... lol

[Jim Becker]

It was so bad for me "back in the day" I had to wear gel filled fingerless gloves when sanding... :o

[Greg Quenneville]

So here’s yet one more data point: In the 240v world there is a recall for the older Kapex saws for a bad resistor. Festool called today to bug me about getting it in. I mentioned some trouble I had with the fence going out of square. This on a 2009 saw. The rep told me that rather than going to a local electrical contractor the saw would make the 2000 mile round trip back to HQ and they would also fit a new fence. Free. Beat that with a stick.

[Dave Sabo]

So here’s yet one more data point: In the 240v world there is a recall for the older Kapex saws for a bad resistor. Festool called today to bug me about getting it in. I mentioned some trouble I had with the fence going out of square. This on a 2009 saw. The rep told me that rather than going to a local electrical contractor the saw would make the 2000 mile round trip back to HQ and they would also fit a new fence. Free. Beat that with a stick.

ok,

my 20 yr old DeWalt has never needed a recall, hasn’t burned out motors , and the fence was square and doesn’t go out. And, it wasn’t the most expensive saw on the market.

Now, if it did have an issue DeWalt would likely tell me to pound sand - so it ain’t all sunshine and roses.

[Robert Engel]

I've got the 125ETS. Going from an old PC333 well.................

The dust collection, lower vibration and instant off alone make it a far better experience.

I'm going to get a hard pad for it.

[Lisa Starr]

I've got the 125ETS and use the Mesh sanding discs and intermediate pad. I really appreciate the low vibration and great dust collection.