Festool Buyers remorse??

[Harley Lewis]

My wife, bless her heart, has purchased a Festool 150FEQ Rotex sander for me for Christmas. Is this really worth nearly $200 more than the Festool 150/3EQ sander? I told her I thought a new sander would be nice for Christmas, but goodness -- $440 is a lot of money!

[Todd Bin]

I would say don't discourage the wife when she wants to buy you a really nice tool. Just say Wow. Thanks, this is really going to help when I make that dining room table for you.

[keith ouellette]

looks like she wanted to buy you the best.

[jason lambert]

Depends, the Rotex has two modes which really makes it two sanders. The rotex mode and the ros mode. If you are going to use it to buff, strip, aggrisive sanding you will be happy you have the rotex mode a 150/5 doesn't really cut it. I would say if the form factor doesn't matter to you it is worth the extra money because it is so much more versitile.

Sound like you have a great wife who did some research, thoes are had to come by.

[Matt Meiser]

Touchy subject. If you want a finish sander, the 150/3EQ is probably better for you. I love mine. But you'll never get another tool from her again if she thinks she screwed up. Only you know how she'll take it if you want to exchange it.

[Mark Singer]

I have really used it! Its great!

[Thomas Knighton]

I'd be happy if my wife bought me a Festool t-shirt...much less any form of tool. Either way, you're a lucky man :)

Tom

[Chris Rosenberger]

In my opinion, yes it is worth the extra money. You are getting 2 sanders in one.

[Brad Sperr]

Does she have any sisters? Just kidding...sounds like a great gift.

[Steven Wilson]

Harley I have them both and they are different tools for different uses. The Rotex is great for buffing, rough work, heavy sanding, solid surface, and initial fine sanding. It can do fine work but the ergonomics aren't optimal for a light touch. The 150/3 is a great fine sander. It can be used to hog off material but it is slow. The best setup is to have both and a CT22 to collect the dust.

[John Stevens]

My wife, bless her heart, has purchased a Festool 150FEQ Rotex sander for me for Christmas. Is this really worth nearly $200 more than the Festool 150/3EQ sander? I told her I thought a new sander would be nice for Christmas, but goodness -- $440 is a lot of money!

The nice thing about buying Festool in the US is that you may take up to 30 days to use the tool to see whether you like it. If you don't, then return it. (If you do, I hope your wife's feelings won't be hurt.) I haven't tried the new Rotex, but I own the 150/3 and couldn't be happier with the way it handles boards from the planer to finishing. Best of luck to you, and merry Christmas.

Regards,

John

[Jesse Cloud]

Keep it! And start hinting that a 150/3 would be a great present next Christmas...:rolleyes:

I have both. Use the Rotex for initial aggressive stock removal and at the other end of the process for buffing. The 150 is great for intermediate work. The Rotex needs your undivided attention, but the 150 is so smooth you forget its there.

[john tomljenovic]

the Rotex is my goto sander of choice. I do work with a lot of sheet goods and it excels at that. although I was refinishing a douglas fir beam in the basement not to long ago, and it excels at that too; using both sanding modes made quick work with only one machine.

The rotex and vacuum were my first introduction to festool and it has been downhill since (5 festools later) but I have yet to regret any of them. I took some of my festool stack to a side project at a friends house and only half joked that the small stack was worth way more $$$ than my truck.

Harley, you are doomed....so doomed.

[Bill Wyko]

She gotta sister?:DJK

[Harley Lewis]

Thanks guys. I am not going to return the sander, but I guess I needed confirmation that it is worth the money for a hobbiest. I am going to use a shop vac for dust collection with it for now, I may buy the festool system later on. And by the way, I did marry up a bunch, but she is stuck with me. She does have sisters but not the same quality!:)

Harley

[Jason White]

I have one. Pricey, but worth it! (although $440 sounds high, don't remember what I paid a couple of years ago -- I have the newer model).

Just wait until you need to do some really aggressive sanding like removing paint or refinishing floors or stair treads. Hook that baby up to a vac and you'll think you're in heaven!

Jason



My wife, bless her heart, has purchased a Festool 150FEQ Rotex sander for me for Christmas. Is this really worth nearly $200 more than the Festool 150/3EQ sander? I told her I thought a new sander would be nice for Christmas, but goodness -- $440 is a lot of money!

[Rob Blaustein]

She does have sisters but not the same quality!:)

Harley

And I hope for your sake they don't read ww'ing sites...:D

Enjoy your new present. Depending on your vac, you might have to cobble together a way to attach it to the sander, a topic that has been discussed a lot previously. It can be a little tricky.

[Bill Arnold]

...never bought any Festool stuff and don't intend to waste my money on it.

'Nuf sed!!!

:)

[Bill Wyko]

You know the old saying..."The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the cheap price is forgotten." You done good. .....And not a bad deal on the Festool either:DJK again.

[Dave Falkenstein]

...never bought any Festool stuff and don't intend to waste my money on it.

'Nuf sed!!!

:)

My Mother once told me, "If you don't have something good to say, then don't say it".

[Jared Cuneo]

Yea, its hard to say that if you have never used one. I don't have money to go spending on high end tooling (well, cept chisels and a couple planes), but just like people that say a Ferrari is not worth the money, some seat time will convince you otherwise.

Now, again, I don't have Ferrari or Festool money of my own, but after experience with both of these 'ultrapremium' brands, I can say that if you have the means or, as in this case, given to you by some kind soul, keep the old trap shut and know when you have been blessed :)

JC

[Joe Mioux]

You have a dear wife who loves you. Apparently, she wanted the best for you.

nuf sed.

[Gary Keedwell]

My Mother once told me, "If you don't have something good to say, then don't say it".
Well, as Dave can verify, I'm a rather recent (around 2 years?) convert. As a machinist in my other life, buying expensive tools is nothing new to me. But for some reason I couldn't get it through to my senses that woodworking tools can be engineered at any level worth alot of money. I decided to take the plunge and bought one of their cordless drills with all the chucks. Man, I love that drill. Every time I change chucks and feel the tolerances that go into it , I feel the "wow factor" :eek::p
Since then I got the 150/3 ROS and the C22 Vacuum ( I know Dave, dust extractor ;) ) There is going to be at least one more sander before I'm done.:)
Gary

[Phil Thien]

At $440 it would be the most expensive non-CNC tool in my shop.

It would be cherished, as would the wife.

[Tim Sproul]

I am going to use a shop vac for dust collection with it for now,

2 things. Someone already mentioned the possible issue with connecting the hose to the sander. The other is controlling the amount of suction. I'd get a blast gate to fit your hose....close off the gate to reduce the amount of suction at the sander.

[Rod Wolfy]

Wow, what a great wife! And as mentioned, if you want her to keep doing this for you, tell her this over and over! She's not questioning your tool purchase, because she's doing it. That will make it easier when you want to get another Festool (which you will, when you learn more about them). I made the mistake years ago of telling my wife that she got the wrong flyrod for Christmas. It caused a lot of angst that year. And, it took years and years before she went out and bought me anything like that again.

I have the RO150 and as stated, it has two modes. It's arguably the best 6" all-in-one sander out there. Hogs off material with say 100 grit in rotation mode, then it's a great 6" ROS in that mode. However, it was designed to work best with their vacuum. (All Festools are designed to work as a 'system'. Like the guide rail supports the pluge saw, router, etc... Join the Festool Owners Group if you haven't already and you can get more info. http://festoolownersgroup.com/)

The RO150FEQ was rediculosly priced and my first and only Festool. Or, so I thought at the time. Now I have 5. The vacuums are designed with variable suction power, so that you can adjust them. If you have say a Fein, the RO150 can be sucked down too hard, which makes it less aggressive and less controllable. One thing that Festool does and no other sanders do - the center hole blows air out, while the outer holes suck the dust up (with the vac attached. Patented idea). This means that you're not sanding sawdust. Frest sandpaper on fresh wood. You'll be very happy with the RO150.

If and when you're ready for another one, say the 150/3, you can buy it with a vacuum and get a discount off the vacuum. It makes the vacuum price about the same as a Fein II with HEPA (and by the way, get a HEPA vacuum like the Festool CT22 or CT33. MUCH better for your lungs).

If your wife bought within the last couple of weeks, I suspect that she has also gotten you the Anniversary Watch (which I have). It's worth another $75... http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/product_detail.html?sid=8223da9670ca1be3f536662058 0018a6&pid=571629

If no one's spoken to you about sandpaper, check out Festools first. Their hole pattern is necessary to work with the suction mentioned. They have a new one that's supposed to last 3 times as long as normal, Cristal. I've bought a box of 100 sheets of 120...

Here's a linky for more info: http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/docs/abrasives.pdf

Rod

[Bill Arnold]

My Mother once told me, "If you don't have something good to say, then don't say it".
Didn't say anything bad -- just said I'm not spending my money to impress others with the color of my tools. If someone can afford the most expensive tools on the planet, so be it. Bet they can't build any better projects with them.

:)

[Richard Niemiec]

If someone can afford the most expensive tools on the planet, so be it. Bet they can't build any better projects with them.

:)


Bill has a point. For me, slowly turning neander, I can't get excited about sanders when a well tuned smoother and scraper produces a surface that sanding can't touch. I also own two sanding blocks and tend to do a large part of whatever sanding I still do by hand. On the other hand, I also spent $150 on a LN 60 1/2, so I guess we splurge on what's important to us. RN

[frank shic]

WO-HOAH! what a great wife you've got there, harley! maybe you should tell her that a biscuit jointer would be a great addition to your workshop and see if she gets you a festool domino next year. ;)

[Bill Wyko]

All I can say is my Porter Cable sander shakes and rattles so bad in my hands that it makes my hands feel like silicone after just a few minutes. My Festool has a counterbalance in it which makes it so smooth that I could sand all day. I don't know about anyone else, but I need sanding to be as easy and enjoyable as possible. That's the part I want to be done with the most.:D

[JayStPeter]

The easiest way to connect it to your shop vac is to get a Festool hose. It would be worthwhile in the long run if you get other Festools. I found it fits my PC and DW tools better than any other adapter I have also. Plugs right into my Fein and Craftsman vacs. I think I paid under thirty bucks for it. I don't think variable suction is necessary for the bigger 150 series Festool sanders, so just plug it in and enjoy.

[Brad Olson]

The easiest way to connect it to your shop vac is to get a Festool hose. It would be worthwhile in the long run if you get other Festools. I found it fits my PC and DW tools better than any other adapter I have also. Plugs right into my Fein and Craftsman vacs. I think I paid under thirty bucks for it. I don't think variable suction is necessary for the bigger 150 series Festool sanders, so just plug it in and enjoy.

Agree on the hose.

Get an antistatic hose if you are planning to buy a Festool vac in the future (more expensive) or get a non-antistatic one if you don't plan to get a festool vac.

I also treated myself to a 20 m long hose which is fantastic in the shop as you aren't fighting dragging the shop vac around the shop. I highly recommend paying extra for the long hose.

[Chris Padilla]

The easiest way to connect it to your shop vac is to get a Festool hose. It would be worthwhile in the long run if you get other Festools. I found it fits my PC and DW tools better than any other adapter I have also. Plugs right into my Fein and Craftsman vacs. I think I paid under thirty bucks for it. I don't think variable suction is necessary for the bigger 150 series Festool sanders, so just plug it in and enjoy.

I never had a problem with "suck down" on my F sanders/vac and have never adjusted from the max "rabbit" setting on the vac. Getting a hose to facilitate connections would help a lot, however.

Harely, about the only remorse I can think of is that you will want more Festool and the cost can be tough to digest. Look at it already, we are telling you to now get a F hose...soon an F vac will be on its way...then a drill...then another sander...it is like a virus...watch out! :eek:

[John Stevens]

I never had a problem with "suck down" on my F sanders/vac and have never adjusted from the max "rabbit" setting on the vac.

I haven't had the problem with my 150/3 or my old Rotex, but have had it with my DT400. IIRC, I heard someone say the same about the LS130 linear sander, so maybe it's a problem with the smaller sanders. Just something for Harley to keep in mind when deciding what else to buy, and when.

Regards,

John

[Jim Becker]

I have had the "stickies" with the very fine abrasive pads on my 150/3 but rarely sand above 180-220 so my CT22 is pretty much pegged at "rabbit fast" most of the time...unless I remember I don't need that much and move it down for a lower noise level. ;) Outside of edge sanding, about 1/2 speed is quite effective in total dust control with the 150/3 in my experience.