Festool Vac & Sander Question

[Kim Spence]

OK, so I'm trying hard to justify another Festool purchase, it goes something like this.

My first and only Festool purchase so far has been the Domino which I got in April and absolutely love. But I understand that Festool advises against running the Domino without a vac attached, so I thought I'd pick up the Festool hose and somehow adapt to my old Rigid shop vac....until I realized the hose would cost more than my old vac did when it was new...and now this old vac has really been around the block a time or two and in fact I managed to start it on fire at one point (cockpit trouble, not the vac's fault)...so needless to say I don't really want to continue to use it...so time for a new Festool vac, either the CT 22 or CT 33. A justifiable purchase in my mind :)

And so I'm thinking, why not take advantage of one of Festools package deals and come home with a new sander while I'm at it, since my old PC ROS has already been rebuilt once and may not have much time left before permanently "expiring".

So my question to Festool sander owners.....

I'm considering either the RO 150 FEQ or the RO 125 FEQ. Wondering what owners of either of these think of them? Do both modes work as advertised? So often tools that are "two in one" like this don't do the job as well as separate, dedicated tools. Is that the case with these?

I'm just a hobbiest who builds furniture for my home...end/coffee tables, book cases, casework, etc. Planning to get into some slightly larger pieces - grandfather clock, china cabinet/hutch, perhaps a dining room table, office furniture, etc. Am I better off with the 5" 125 or the 6" 150? My old PC is a 5" and I've always thought the size was sufficient...but I've never owned a 6" so maybe I'm really missing out on something?

Apologies for being so long winded. Thanks in advance for any advice the Creek may be able to provide!

[Gary Keedwell]

When I was interested in a Festool sander combo, I decided to go where you can get all the information you can handle. Festool has an owners forum site that I'm not sure I can give you a link to because I don;t want to violate any SMC rules. Give me a PM and I'll give you a link to the site.

Gary K.

[Bob Childress]

Gary will set you on the right track. One thing to keep in mind is whichever sander you choose, think about standardizing on either 150mm or 125mm for your shop, so you won't have to buy two different sizes of abrasives. :)

[Steven Wilson]

I standardized on the larger size and am glad I did. Festool sanders are like rabbits.

[Mike Stocknoff]

Kim,
In my shop I have 6 - ES125 's . 3 get daily use, somewhere from 4-6 hrs of use a day. ( 3 are for back up when the others are out for service)
I also have 2 CT-22E 's . I've had them for about 3 years ( Warranty is 3 years) . Both Vac units died within days of each other about a month ago, of course just passed the 3 year warranty . It cost me about $100 total to fix the two units.
As for the sanders, we USE them and we USE them hard. We've had minor issues with the sanders. In need of basic care, nothing major. Never an issue. I send them off and they are back ASAP.
MY biggest gripe is that the 4 screws that hold the sanding pad in place tend to strip themselves out .I'm sure it's the vibration that does it.
I have tapped a new set of threads in a pinch. We also go thru alot of sanding pads. ( we're a funrniture refinshing shop).
On the plus side, the sanders connceted to the Vac system have cut down on the dust on my shop tremendously.

I use to use good old Porter Cable 5" sanders. Such CRAP I can't begin to tell ya. At one point I had sent back 17 broken or defective sanders to have replaced for new ones. They sent me refurbished units, I told them that the new units couldn't stand up in my shop how could used/refurbished units last longer.
I eventually spoke directly with some big honcho who replaced all of my units with new ones .

As soon as I found Festool, we tried them out ( salesman lives a few minutes away) and have not looked back !

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Honestly unless you want the best dust control going I don't see the need. There are other tools that are every bit as good but lack the integral DC features. the PC sander is flawless I prefer the speed Blok.
The Bosch jig saw is the equal of Festool's (maybe better 'cause you can see the work better) sans the DC of course.
Their routers too have rivals elsewhere.

If I earned my living in other people's homes making dust and chips I'd go with Festool for sure - 'cause I hate cleaning up after myself and Festool does a lot of that for you. Otherwise ~ ~ ~ ~

[James Phillips]

I have the 125 and love it. Here is my take

Will a festool sander give you a finer surface? No

Will it give a finer surface with less work and more comfort? Yes IMO

Is the dust control worth it? The fines created by sanding are the biggest health risk in the shop. Large dust never gets to your lungs anyway. So you decide what the lungs are worth.

I recommend teh 125 because I think it is ergonomically better designed (big words meaning more confortable to hold). The 150 is large and cumbersome in my opinion.

Be prepared for a ridiculously powerful sander in either case. These babies are designed to be held with two hands for a reason

[Jason White]

I have the RO150 and recommend it without hesitation. I can't quite justify big $$ for the RO125 because it's 5" instead of 6". I already have a 5" palm sander, so the ROTEX 150 was the right choice for me.

By the way -- you can get a relatively cheap Festool hose for your RIDGID vac. Just get the non-"antistatic" version, which is grey in color. I think I got mine for about $30-ish. But you can't go wrong with the Festool vac, either. I'm amazed at how well it works and love being able to snap toolboxes on top of it.

JW



OK, so I'm trying hard to justify another Festool purchase, it goes something like this.

My first and only Festool purchase so far has been the Domino which I got in April and absolutely love. But I understand that Festool advises against running the Domino without a vac attached, so I thought I'd pick up the Festool hose and somehow adapt to my old Rigid shop vac....until I realized the hose would cost more than my old vac did when it was new...and now this old vac has really been around the block a time or two and in fact I managed to start it on fire at one point (cockpit trouble, not the vac's fault)...so needless to say I don't really want to continue to use it...so time for a new Festool vac, either the CT 22 or CT 33. A justifiable purchase in my mind :)

And so I'm thinking, why not take advantage of one of Festools package deals and come home with a new sander while I'm at it, since my old PC ROS has already been rebuilt once and may not have much time left before permanently "expiring".

So my question to Festool sander owners.....

I'm considering either the RO 150 FEQ or the RO 125 FEQ. Wondering what owners of either of these think of them? Do both modes work as advertised? So often tools that are "two in one" like this don't do the job as well as separate, dedicated tools. Is that the case with these?

I'm just a hobbiest who builds furniture for my home...end/coffee tables, book cases, casework, etc. Planning to get into some slightly larger pieces - grandfather clock, china cabinet/hutch, perhaps a dining room table, office furniture, etc. Am I better off with the 5" 125 or the 6" 150? My old PC is a 5" and I've always thought the size was sufficient...but I've never owned a 6" so maybe I'm really missing out on something?

Apologies for being so long winded. Thanks in advance for any advice the Creek may be able to provide!

[Joe Jensen]

I have both the RO150, and the 150/3. The RO150 is a brute. It's powerful and a little difficult to control, and definitely a two hand tool. In rotary mode it removed stock as fast as a belt sander, and you can quickly flip to orbital mode. I bought this sander before I bought the 150/3. The 150/3 uses the same paper, but it is much smoother to use and one can pretty easily use it one handed. In my shop, the 150/3 will get the lion's share of usage. In fact, I'm not sure I have used the RO150 since I got the 150/3 last winter. In hindsight that's a little surprising since the RO150 replaced my old 6" Porter Cable which was also a right angle style sander.

On 5" or 6", I prefer the 6" as I get flatter results. I use the small RTS400 rectangular sander for the edges and small stuff. Do the math, and the area of 6" is 43% more than the area of 5".

[Michael Van Voorhis]

I also wanted a sander to do everything. I bought the RO125. Both modes work very well for me. I took off some major material and then used it to mirror finish some speakers I made. I love the dual mode.

I wish the RO150 was in the RO125 body. I have smaller hands and the 150 was a little big for me when I tried it out. I like how the 125 is lighter and therefore more controllable for me. If you are a "manly man" with mitts for hands then the 150 may be the better choice.

Either one will work very well. For me, the two modes work as advertised. It saved me money from buying two different sanders to do multiple jobs. YMMV

[Dan Clark]

Kim,

I have the new RO150 FEQ. It's a great sander. That said, I'm not sure if it's the right sander for you.

For furniture and case work, Festool makes other sanders that might be better. Suggestion: go to the Festool Owners Group (delete the spaces) forum and scroll down to the "Festool Quick Links" section. Go into that section and check out the Festool Sanders Guide by Jerry Work.

Jerry is a furniture maker par excellance. He probably knows more about festool sanders than anybody going. What is great about his 33 page guide is that it covers what each sanders is best at and not just what they are.

Please check out his guide. If you need a direct link, please give me a PM.

One thing about Festool sanders, I won't argue much if someone want to say that other circular saws, jigsaws, routers, etc are as good as Festool. There are other good tools out there. Festool sanders? They are the best!

Regards,

Dan.

p.s., I'd post the link here, but this forum doesn't allow that sort of thing.

[Kim Spence]

Thanks to everyone for all the helpful info!

[Kim Spence]

Thanks Dan. I'll go check out Jerry's guide.

[Dan Clark]

I hesitate to give you an opinion, but given what you want to do, I'll give you a hint. Here's what Jerry has to say about the RS 2E:




The other pure rotary sander, the RS 2 E
(pictured below) is another story. It is a

big, powerful work horse that is in my
hands virtually every day. It has a bit
larger orbit (2.5mm), has a much larger
pad (115mm x 228mm or 4 1/2” x 9”), and
at 5.5 pounds is twice as heavy as the
DS and RS 400 sanders.


That big flat sanding pad (the right most
media pictured above) simply cannot be
beat for smoothing out large surfaces.

surfaces.


It is not an overly aggressive sander compared
to the RAS 115 we discussed earlier
or the RO 150 we will be discussing
shortly, but you can use it all day long
with no tingling of the hands. Since it
produces a really flat surface, there is no
worry about dips or gouges showing up
after the final finish is applied.



OK, it was a big hint. :D


Regards,


Dan.

[Joe Jensen]

I hesitate to give you an opinion, but given what you want to do, I'll give you a hint. Here's what Jerry has to say about the RS 2E:




OK, it was a big hint. :D


Regards,



Dan.


The RS2-E is my FAVORITE sander. Maybe the best hand held power tool I've ever used.

[Dave Falkenstein]

I used PC and Dewalt 5" ROS's for a number of years. I moved up to a Festool 150/3. As a home shop and semi-pro (I get paid for some of my work) I find the 150/3 perfect for most applications. The sanding goes much faster, since a 6" sander covers 40% more area than a 5" sander. I have two other Festool sanders, the RO150 Rotex and the DS400 detail sander. I find I use the 150/3 most of the time.

Using Festool's tools gives me a lot of pleasure, and I don't mind paying the premium price one bit. The dust collection with the sanders is exceptional.

The CT22 was my choice several years ago, and I'd buy it again. I seldom fill up the bag, so the larger size of the CT33 is insignificant for me.

[Art Allen]

time for a new Festool vac, either the CT 22 or CT 33. A justifiable purchase in my mind :) I'm considering either the RO 150 FEQ or the RO 125 FEQ.




I love my Festool CT 33. I just posted a positive review on another forum. Of course, a cheaper solution would be a new hose. Unless you have need for an anti-static hose, in my opinion, the Fein hose is better than the Festools.

I have the Festool FEQ 150. I find it to be large and hard to control to the point where I am getting ready to sell mine. Unless you are specifically looking for a sander that removes a LOT of material quickly, I recommend a smaller ROS like the Festool RO 125 or a different brand like a Bosch. Best of luck.

[Dan Clark]

I love my Festool CT 33. I just posted a positive review on another forum. Of course, a cheaper solution would be a new hose. Unless you have need for an anti-static hose, in my opinion, the Fein hose is better than the Festools.

I have the Festool FEQ 150. I find it to be large and hard to control to the point where I am getting ready to sell mine. Unless you are specifically looking for a sander that removes a LOT of material quickly, I recommend a smaller ROS like the Festool RO 125 or a different brand like a Bosch. Best of luck.
Art,

On the RO 150, have you reduced the vac suction? Some people report that their sanders will hop and be difficult to control when the suction is at full power. Might help.

My apologies for taking the thread off topic.

Dan.

[Matt Meiser]

I've always thought of the Rotex sanders (RO 150, RO 125) as being the agressive rough sanders while the ETS series as being finish sanders. I have the ETS 150/3 and love it. Before that I had a Porter Cable VS 333 which was a good sander and a Ridgid 6" sander which was hard to control. I replaced both with the single Festool. Eventually I'd like to get the one with the iron-shaped pad for getting into corners, but other than that need, the ETS 150/3 does virtually everything I need. I rarely haul out my belt sander and have used my Porter Cable 1/4 sheet sander exactly 1 time. Luckily it was free after rebate. I also have a Mouse which I never use because of the dust and vibration.

[Michael Lutz]

My local woodcraft has a RO150 set up. I played with it a bit and thought that ergonomically for me it was too large and bulky; hence would not be easy to control. The ETS 150/3 felt better in my hands. Now I just have to wait until my PC 333VS dies before I get it.

Mike

[Gary Curtis]

What - exactly - do I have??? It is the Festool RO 150 E-plus. Haven't used it yet. (an eBay wonder)

Gary Curtis

[Paul Dwight]

I have the 150/5 and the RO150. I agree with others who have noted the RO150 in rotary mode is a handful and definitely requires both hands to control. In random orbit mode, though, I find the RO150 to be about as smooth or smoother than any non-Festool sander I have used. The 150/5 is smoother still -- I use mine one-handed all the time.

I use both sanders on nearly every project, but the 150/5 sees more use than the RO150. I generally use the RO150 with an 80 grit disc in rotary mode to quickly remove planer ripple, swith the RO150 to orbital mode to even out the scratches a little, and then move up through the grits with the 150/5.

I love both sanders, but if I could only have one, it would be the 150/5. If I had to, I would give up the RO150's ability to hog off wood quickly in exchange for the 150/5's smooth operation, ease of control and comfort.

Incidentally, I use all my Festool stuff with a Porter Cable vacuum and a Festool hose. The PC works fine and has a tool-activated switch which is very convenient. The PC was less expensive -- I think about 1/3 less -- than the Festool vac when I purchased a couple of years ago.

[Matt Meiser]

Paul, like I said above, I have the 150/3, but I agree on the stability. I sand 3/4" edges no problem. No way I could do that with my previous 6" sander. I can easily control it holding either at the top of the motor or by the back handle.