What about this sander instead of the Festool?

[Bob Aquino]

I already have one festool tool, the atf55 and I love it. But they are expensive tools. I have a Metabo jigsaw and I think it is a excellent tool. Metabo makes several of the rigid tools for HD, and I am curious if anybody here is using the 6" sander R2610.
http://www.homedepot.com/cmc_upload/HDUS/EN_US/asset/images/eplus/163966_4.jpg

I can pick this sander up for 119 online and maybe get the store to honor that price as well. I have a Fein mini turbo that I would like to hook up to the sander for dustless sanding. My current random orbital is a Makita 5" that vibrates my hands as much as it does the discs. If you have used this or its green metabo cousin, tell me how you like it.

BTW, HD has the RIGID (Metabo made) jigsaw for 99 bucks right now if anybody is interested.

[Jim W. White]

I've had this sander for about 2 years now and have been very happy with it.

very LOW vibration (even in the most aggressive mode)
very well balanced
excellent dust control (even without hooking it up to the vac)
very good stock removal and surface finish

[Bart Leetch]

Do you have the palm Makita or the one with the handle & dust bag underneath?
I have the one with the handle & have very little vibration at least not enough to be a bother & good dust collection.

[Bob Aquino]

Do you have the palm Makita or the one with the handle & dust bag underneath?
I have the one with the handle & have very little vibration at least not enough to be a bother & good dust collection.

The model I have is the 5" BO5010 and it is the palm version with a small dustbag that seems to spew more dust than it holds. It removes material a bit more quickly than my dewalt 1/4 sheet sander, but not much more quickly. Retrofitting a vac hose to it probably wont help much since the port on the back is very small. That and it numbs your hand after 10 mins of use. It was a present from my wife so I use it, but it wouldnt have been my choice. If I can sneak in another one without her knowing it, then that will work for me :rolleyes:

[Scott Coffelt]

I had that one but returned it, I had bought it for $99. After I bought it, I got the Festool 150/3. The Festool works great, though I do wish I had kept the Ridgid for aggressive work. It was well built, pretty dang smooth and had good DC, it does load up in the middle like all non-Festool sanders, but then again for the price it is one fine unit. I can't see you being disappointed with it.

[Bob Aquino]

I had that one but returned it, I had bought it for $99. After I bought it, I got the Festool 150/3. The Festool works great, though I do wish I had kept the Ridgid for aggressive work. It was well built, pretty dang smooth and had good DC, it does load up in the middle like all non-Festool sanders, but then again for the price it is one fine unit. I can't see you being disappointed with it.

Thanks Scott, thats the sort of information I was looking for. Since you own the festool, do you think its head and shoulders above this sander considering it costs about 3x as much?

[Scott Coffelt]

It's hard to say, I was lucky and got mine on a super special intro offer for $60, so that's how i got into this slipery slope that I am on. The 150/3 is one fine sander and from what I can tell nothing else is close. That said, the 6" Ridgid is a really good machine. I do think the fact the paper does not load up in the middle is worth the price as it provides for a better sanding experience and the paper lasts longer. My concern with Ridgid is they always seem to bouce around mfrs for their stuff, though they have stayed consistent for a few years now. Festool does offer new models, but still supports the product for the most part (I mean this by saying you can replacement parts, in some cases the accessories may not be available down the road). One thing I can tell you is you can try the Festool out for 30 day and if you do not like it or do not think it is worth the dollars return it. But if I only had $100 or so to spend, the Ridgid is the one I would get. that's my 2 cents.

[Ian Barley]

I have both the Festool 150/5 and this model as the Metabo SXE450. I use the Festool all the time and have said before that I will walk across the room to get the Festool in preference to picking up the Metabo from the bench next to me.

That does NOT mean that the Metabo (Ridgid) is a poor sander. It is a very good tool and if I wasn't picking the sander up and putting it down all day every day I suspect that I would be very happy with the Metabo. For me the difference is in the weight and balance , aspects where the Festool is head and shoulders above all the competition.

If you use the sander for 10+ hours a week get the Festool - if less get the Ridgid

[Jeff A. Smith]

After I bought it, I got the Festool 150/3. The Festool works great, though I do wish I had kept the Ridgid for aggressive work.

The cure for that is more Festool... e.g., the 150/5, Rotex, et al.

:)

Right?

[Bob Aquino]

I have both the Festool 150/5 and this model as the Metabo SXE450. I use the Festool all the time and have said before that I will walk across the room to get the Festool in preference to picking up the Metabo from the bench next to me.

That does NOT mean that the Metabo (Ridgid) is a poor sander. It is a very good tool and if I wasn't picking the sander up and putting it down all day every day I suspect that I would be very happy with the Metabo. For me the difference is in the weight and balance , aspects where the Festool is head and shoulders above all the competition.

If you use the sander for 10+ hours a week get the Festool - if less get the Ridgid

Honestly, I wish I had the time to pick up any tool 10+ hours per week. I think I have got my answer from this thread. Thanks to all.

[Pete Harbin]

Bob,

This baby is my favorite sander of all that I've owned. Like it's been said, very smooth, very low vibration, works like a champ. I've had mine for about two years now. I don't log 10 hours a week, but I sure do enjoy using it when I do.

Pete

[Vaughn McMillan]

Late chiming in, but Bob, where did you find it online for that price?

- Vaughn

[Bob Aquino]

Late chiming in, but Bob, where did you find it online for that price?

- Vaughn
I did a google search on "Ridgid R2610 6 Inch Sander" and it returned the following:
Product search results for Ridgid R2610 6 Inch Sander

Ridgid R2610 6" Random Orbit Sander - $119.99 - SmartBargains
Ridgid R2610 6" Random Orbit Sander - $119.99 - SHOP.COM Outlet
Ridgid R2610 6" Random Orbit Sander - $119.99 - Deal Gap

Wonder whether HD would honor the price locally? Never know till you try.

[Michael Gabbay]

Bob - look at the fine print at SHOP.com and the others. The $119 is for reconditioned units. I'm not sure if that matters to you.

Mike

[Bob Aquino]

Yep, you're right, and they are all pointing to the same unit at the same site. I think I will keep my eyes open for a sale in the next couple of months.

[Mike Wenzloff]

Hi Bob,

I'm coming in a little late to this. I have the HD model in your first post. I consider it a poor man's Festool. I do like the sander for a large sander. It is low vibration, made pretty darn well. I use it in conjunction with my Fein vacuum and it works great.

I have used Festool sanders on jobs, though, and they are better. Both in performance and even less vibration.

For large work I wouldn't hesitate to purchase the Rigid again if I didn't want to/couldn't spring for a Festool.

Take care, Mike

[Joe Unni]

Bob,

I just purchased this sander the other day (was looking at Festool, but couldn't justify the cost) and used it for the first time today. Coupled with my Rigid vacuum - it's fantastic! Though I only have the PC 333 to compare it to, it seems to pull all the dust with very low vibration. Now I have $300-$400 dollars to get something else with.

Good luck,
-joe

[Bob Aquino]

Thanks for the input Mike and Joe. I am going to hold off a bit till I can either get the Rigid or the Metabo for something close to 100. Will just wait till a sale or coupon pops up. Really cant do it till next month anyway, but I really appreciate the feedback.

[Matt Meiser]

I had that sander and the PC333. I replaced both with a Festool 150/3. Both the Ridgid and PC are good sanders, but the Festool is that much better. With the Ridgid, I had to work to control it, even on the smaller orbit. The Festool I can run one handed.