I Need a New ROS

[John Kananis]

My favorite random orbit sander just reached eol... and I'm sad. So, to cheer myself (and have the proper tool to get my work done) I'm looking for a replacement. Both the Rotex RO 125 FEQ-Plus and the ETS 125 REQ seem like good products but the cost difference is considerable. Am I missing something outside of the larger motor? Why such a difference and which direction should I be looking at? Thank you.

Edit: I'm open to suggestions...

[Justin Rapp]

My favorite random orbit sander just reached eol... and I'm sad. So, to cheer myself (and have the proper tool to get my work done) I'm looking for a replacement. Both the Rotex RO 125 FEQ-Plus and the ETS 125 REQ seem like good products but the cost difference is considerable. Am I missing something outside of the larger motor? Why such a difference and which direction should I be looking at? Thank you.

Edit: I'm open to suggestions...

What do you use the sander for? That will help with suggestions.

[Jeff Roltgen]

Big fan of Metabo SXE 450 turbo tech (6" r/o). Switched to these from Bosch 1295DVS (5"), which was very good at leaving a swirl-free finish, using the 1" per second method of sander movement. The Metabo leaves a swirl-free finish as well. Tried the 5 &6" Festools, returned both due to swirling issues they suffer from, and have been running the Metabo's for probably about a decade now. Ironically, I use a Festool extractor, which I was told by Festool, was so outrageously powerful, it was sucking their own sanders down, causing the swirl marks. :rolleyes: No, reducing the vacuum speed did not fix said issue, but by golly, the little Bosch and bigger Metabo are great companions to the CT-22 E!

Even though I was happy with the 5" Bosch, I switched to 6" for time savings. As a full timer, I need the efficiency, and regular use has me quite used to the added bulk, which many have comfort/fatigue issues with, so be advised, it may take a little getting used to.

I see since my last purchase of one in 2019 they've gone from $173 to $279. For a high-quality machine, producing high-quality surfaces ready for staining, still seems to be a very good value, if you are up for the larger format. You may indeed find this a good time to up-size as well. (unless, of course, you have hundreds of 5" discs on hand!)


​Jeff

[John Kananis]

Justin, just small work. I have other sanders for heavier stuff. I "think" the smaller one would suffice but my hesitation is the 240 watt motor. That only translates to 2 amps and even the entry level stuff is 3 amps. That said, I understand the difference between real-world and on-paper performance and that's why I ask.

Jeff, I do indeed have quite a few boxes of discs but that's OK, there are other sanders on the shelf that also fit. I appreciate the info on the Metabo.

[Jim Becker]

Unless you have an application for the rotary mode that the Rotex and similar Bosch provide, there's little reason to pay more and deal with more weight. The Rotex, even in its current, more ergonomic form, is still best used as a two-handed tool...it's a balance thing. The regular 125 is a great tool and if you pick one specific model, it's also compatible with the 150mm pad and abrasives if you need/want a larger format for certain projects.

[Justin Rapp]

Unless you have an application for the rotary mode that the Rotex and similar Bosch provide, there's little reason to pay more and deal with more weight. The Rotex, even in its current, more ergonomic form, is still best used as a two-handed tool...it's a balance thing. The regular 125 is a great tool and if you pick one specific model, it's also compatible with the 150mm pad and abrasives if you need/want a larger format for certain projects.

John - I agree with this from Jim. I have the ETS125 REQ, and it does pretty much everything I could want it to do. The Rotex is great for really heavy sanding, say trying to get through 10 layers of paint 100 year old wood in a restoration project. If you are building small stuff and good at your joinery and glue ups, and have all the sandpaper to work through the grits, you will be just fine and it's just over $200 or so. I also have the Festool 400 REQ since a round pad sander doesn't get into all the places you always need to sand. Between the 2 sanders you are at the same price as just the Rotex.

By the way, I dreaded sanding, absolutely hated it using my mid-grade sanders (Milwaukee and before that Dewalt). Now, sanding has becoming an enjoyable part of my woodworking. I can also tell you that the sawdust from my prior sanders hooked up to a shop vac with a fine dust filter (actually a hepa rated filter) to the Festool sanders hooked up to a Festool dust extractor is like night and day.

[keith wootton]

mirka deros with 2.5mm orbit for finish sanding. i have the 6 inch pad, and it gets the job done quickly, w/o dust.

[John Kananis]

Thanks to all for the recommendations...I think I'm going to go with the little guy - I'm more apt to grab a hand plane or a scrubber for the heavy stuff.

[Michael Burnside]

Hands down the ETS 125/3 or 150/5. I prefer the latter but the 125 is equally good. I just didn’t like the rotex myself.

[Randy Heinemann]

I have used my RO125 for taking the high spots off a live edge slab, some "carving", and recently to put a large rounded edge around a charcuterie board, amount a few other jobs. In general, the RO sanders haven't been as useful to me as my random orbits. If you just do normal sanding prior to finishing, the ETS125 is a great sander. It gives a great finish regardless of what the grit endpoint is. You can also buy an edge sanding attachment for the ETS125 (be sure it's a compatible model) that I think is one of the great innovations in the sanding world. It allows you to edge sand and not round over or angle the edge inadvertently. Just for that alone, I'd say that, unless you need to take off a lot of wood on a regular basis, the ETS125 is a much better purchase for you.

If you are doing large flat surfaces, the ETS150 with a hard pad is also great. It really keeps the surface as flat as possible. The problem is that the 150 is a little large for smaller jobs. For those, the ETS125 is better.

[Dave Sabo]

I think A LOT of you fellas are mixing up / confusing / interchanging festool ETS125 and their ETS125 EC.

Assuming you guys glossed over JK’s REQ tag, y’all still shoulda picked up on his 240 watt query.

JK - for small, lightweight sanding duty the ETS125 REQ will be just fine.

[John Kananis]

I did go with the ets125req and I'm quite happy with it. Thanks again to all who contributed.

[Justin Rapp]

I did go with the ets125req and I'm quite happy with it. Thanks again to all who contributed.

If you want to protect the primary pad (which cost about $40ish), get the protection pad, it's a 2 pack for about $14. (Festool 203344 protection pad). I have not worn out my first 1 yet after what feels like countless hours of sanding.

[John Kananis]

I purchased an spare (soft) primary pad thinking it would be softer then the one included on the sander but it's the same pad really. I can't imagine actually wearing one of these down any time soon. I'll be returning the extra. I see they have an extra soft pad available also but I think I'll wait until I can hands on one.


If you want to protect the primary pad (which cost about $40ish), get the protection pad, it's a 2 pack for about $14. (Festool 203344 protection pad). I have not worn out my first 1 yet after what feels like countless hours of sanding.

[Dave Sabo]

I purchased an spare (soft) primary pad thinking it would be softer then the one included on the sander but it's the same pad really. I can't imagine actually wearing one of these down any time soon. I'll be returning the extra. I see they have an extra soft pad available also but I think I'll wait until I can hands on one.

If you want to use mesh abrasives, the $7 "protection" pad is practically mandatory. If you don't you will wear out the velcro on your pad in a matter of minutes - seconds in the right conditions.

[Justin Rapp]

If you want to use mesh abrasives, the $7 "protection" pad is practically mandatory. If you don't you will wear out the velcro on your pad in a matter of minutes - seconds in the right conditions.

I agree - for a $7.00 per pad cost, it's worth it 100%. Otherwise you should hang onto the standard replacement pad as you will need it pretty soon.

[John Kananis]

Ok, fair enough, I just put a pair in the cart. Thanks.

[Jim Becker]

I purchased an spare (soft) primary pad thinking it would be softer then the one included on the sander but it's the same pad really. I can't imagine actually wearing one of these down any time soon. I'll be returning the extra. I see they have an extra soft pad available also but I think I'll wait until I can hands on one.
John, the pads actually do wear out from the heat of friction. At some point, the hook and loop abrasives start to not "stick" as well and at that point, it's time to replace the pad. I'm not a heavy user, but have replaced the pad on my 150/3 four times since the mid-2000s and my Rotex 150 twice. (I don't use the latter much)

[John Kananis]

John, the pads actually do wear out from the heat of friction. At some point, the hook and loop abrasives start to not "stick" as well and at that point, it's time to replace the pad. I'm not a heavy user, but have replaced the pad on my 150/3 four times since the mid-2000s and my Rotex 150 twice. (I don't use the latter much)

I've gone through a few ros' - by the time the pad wears, the sander is usually getting tired anyway but I've not owned a festool sander before (I've had, rigid, pc, dewalt, etc) so now I suppose I have to look a little more forward. Thanks for the info.

[jerry pepper]

thanks Justin, just ordered the protection pad for mine

[Jim Becker]

I've gone through a few ros' - by the time the pad wears, the sander is usually getting tired anyway but I've not owned a festool sander before (I've had, rigid, pc, dewalt, etc) so now I suppose I have to look a little more forward. Thanks for the info.
Yea, that's how it was for me back in my PC333 days...wear one out and just replace the whole thing. When you get into Festool, Mirka and the higher end Bosch sanders, for example, they tend to last a very long time mechanically, so you can, in fact, get to the end of life for a pad multiple/many times over the lifetime of the tool. I certainly cannot complain about replacing a few pads like I mentioned because the "expensive" tool has been in service for not quite two decades and performs like new. So it's actually "cheap" to own in that respect. And my hands don't get numb, either, which is why I made the "expensive" purchase so long ago to begin with. :)

[Dave Sabo]

I've gone through a few ros' - by the time the pad wears, the sander is usually getting tired anyway but I've not owned a festool sander before (I've had, rigid, pc, dewalt, etc) so now I suppose I have to look a little more forward. Thanks for the info.

Not necessarily.

The pads can and do dryrot. I've had to replace several with little to no mileage on them just because they were old. PC ones seem to be the most offensive but had a Festool 130 that needed one too.

p.s. _ i don't advise using the protection pad with regular fabric or film backed discs.

[Jim Becker]

Dave, that's what happened to the first/original pad on my Rotex 150. I hadn't pulled it out for a few years, believe it or not, but when I did for a project that actually needed that tool, I found that the pad had begun to disintegrate from dry rot. It's the nature of the kind of materials these things are made from.

[Gordon Stump]

I bought the 5" Bosch when my old PC died. I use the stroke sander for heavy flattening and planer marks. I like the Bosch dust control.