I'm finally buying my first Festool

[Tim Malyszko]

With the April 1, 2008 Festool price increases fast approaching, I've decided to finally jump onto the Festool bandwagon since it was inevitable. I might as well take advantage of current pricing now.

Anyway, I've been looking to replace my current Dewalt 5" ROS for some time and I've decided to to replace it with the Festool 150/3 and CT-22 package (current price $642.50, April 1 price $716.00). I have a few questions:

There are a number of places I can buy it locally, but I was planning on buying it on-line to save on sales tax. Outside of the supporting the local guys arguement, would you have any other reason as to why I should not buy on-line? If I bought locally, it would either be from Woodcraft, Rockler or Hydra-flow Equipment Company.
Since Sawmill Creek introduced me to the benefits of Festool, I would love to be able to buy from a SMC sponsor, if one exists. Are there any advertisers/affiliates I should use that would benefit SMC? If not, I was thinking of using Bob Marino.
Sandpaper??? What should I buy? I currently use 100, 120, 150, 180, 220 and 320 with my ROS.I think that's it. Thanks in advance for the information.

[Jim Becker]

Bob Marino is and will forever be my Festool source.

Good choice on the CT-22-150/3 combo. When I bought my 150/3, I bought boxes of 80, 120, 150 and 180 grit abrasive media (Rubin) and that's served my needs very well. I have a few odd disks of higher grit, but almost never use them. The Festool abrasives last a LONG time, BTW.

[Don Bullock]

congratulations. You're going to like your Festool sander. I finally broke down and bought a RO125 in January. It was a great move.

Answers:
I bought my sander online through Bob Marino. Bob is a member of Sawmill Creek and was a great resource when I had questions regarding the different sanders. His website is http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/

2. See answer one

3. While other brands of six inch sand paper will fit, the holes won't line up. Festool makes very good sandpaper for their sanders at a fairly reasonable price. My sander came with a sample package of sandpaper and I'm still using that. It will help me decide which paper to buy from Bob later this year. Due to the vacuum getting rid of the vast majority of the dust, the paper lasts longer than on most sanders. There are some resources that can help you select the right paper:

Getting the Most from Festool Sanders --
http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/docs/Getting_the_most_from_Festool_sanders.pdf

Festool Abrasives Brochure
http://www.festoolusa.com/Web_files/Abrasives_brochure.pdf

[Larry Fox]

I agree with Jim - I (just last week) slipped down the slope and ordered through Bob. He helped out prior to the purchase and when I did order the rocess was seemless. Three VERY well packaged boxes arrived three days later. Other than my needing some paper or something in a hurry where I would need to use Woodcraft, all my future Festool purchases will be through Bob.

The fact that he posts here and participates in discussions is very nice. He is very objective also - I recall seeing a post the other day where a guy was contemplating a jointer or Domino and Bob recommended the jointer.

[Matt Meiser]

Jim's list looks like mine. I have 100 too. I usually only use 80 for sanding after panel glue-ups or leveling bad rail and stile matchups. I don't think I've used any of the 220 amd 320 I bought.

Bob Marino ships very quick so other than the supporting the local guys argument I can't think of anything. I just plain haven't needed after-sales support with my Festool stuff--everything is well made and the documentation in the box is clear, or where it isn't there's some excellent supplemental material, which Bob has linked on his web site.

[Jesse Cloud]

Ditto on the advice above. The local Woodcraft folk are great people, but they just don't know much about the Festool line and they stock very little of the product line. Bob M has always came through.

By the way, with Bob, you don't have to buy the big 50 or 100 discs boxes of paper. He will sell in smaller quantities. As said above, the paper lasts a lot longer than regular paper does. I think I already have a lifetime supply (50 discs) of most grits.:rolleyes:

Same experience with the vacuum bags. They hold an amazing amount of dust, so don't rush right out and buy a hole bunch. There's also a rumor of a cheaper line of bags in the works...

[Dave Falkenstein]

...By the way, with Bob, you don't have to buy the big 50 or 100 discs boxes of paper. He will sell in smaller quantities. As said above, the paper lasts a lot longer than regular paper does. I think I already have a lifetime supply (50 discs) of most grits.:rolleyes:

Same experience with the vacuum bags. They hold an amazing amount of dust, so don't rush right out and buy a hole bunch. There's also a rumor of a cheaper line of bags in the works...

My experience with Bob is great. As Jesse said, ask about broken packs of sandpaper. Bob is very accomodating in this regard. A few of the other dealers will sell broken packs as well - ask before buying more than you need.
I keep a small supply of all the grits from 60 to 320, with a larger number in my stock of the grits I use most. Don't over-buy at first, since the paper lasts a lot longer than you probably experienced in the past.

The change I have seen talked about in the vaccum bags is a larger package - I think it is 20 bags for a little less per bag than the 5 pack price. In my home-based, semi pro shop, I use one or two bags a YEAR.

[Alan Trout]

My lovely wife for Christmas purchased a 150/3 and a CT22 combo as well from Bob. My wife said he treated her very well. The first time I used the sander I noticed I did had a cut coupling at the hose end where it attaches to the tool. It looked like it was cut with a razor knife before it was packaged. I gave a call to bob he called me back and had the replacement part to me that week. Of course free of charge. He is a great guy.

Good Luck

Alan

[John Browne]

Excellent decision, you won't regret it. Soon in spite of any counter measures, your shop will sport an increasingly growing stack of beige and green plastic boxes:D

The only change I'd make to the sandpaper recommendations is to skip the 80 grit. The ETS 150/3 was my first Festool sander, and it's amazing, but it's a FINISHING sander, and I mean literally. that 3mm stroke just won't remove much material, regardless of how aggressive the paper is. I wound up buying the Rotex 150 as a rough sander, but realistically it can sand down to very fine finishes in the orbital mode.

Also, the Viles in grits from 800 to 2000 can produce quite striking finishes with the 150/3--unfortunately you don't get any samples with the 150/3 the way you do with the Rotex 150 (it comes with a small assortment of different papers--nice way to try them out). But you can buy the 800 in a 5 pack for a few dollars and try it out. The 150/3 is so light and nimble that it can replace a lot of what might otherwise be hand sanding of finishes.

Have fun.

[Tim Malyszko]

Thanks for all the quick feedback. I left an email message with Bob in regards to the "broken packs" of sandpaper.

Hopefully, I'll have it ordered by Monday and on my doorstep by the end of the week. Fortunately, I have a project sitting in the shop just waiting to be sanded, so I will be able to put my new tools to use right away. It will be so nice not having to sand with my 5" Dewalt ROS.

Thanks again for the help.

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I too am going to take the Festool plunge this month. I'm going to get the RO 150. Question to Jim and Matt RE the grits. I normally sand up to 220 before first coat of finish. but you guys both say you don't use much over 180. In fact 180 is the finest grit available in the Rubin class. Can you share why?
I was in my local Rockler store recently and the manager was happy to let me demo the sander. He had me sand some rough sawn tiger maple from 120 grit to a 320 grit* then put on 1000 and 2000 grit polishers (Vlies?). It left a mirror reflection within minutes and I've never felt anything smoother!
*I'm not sure what classes the 220 and 320 grits were but they were white. Could these be Cristal?
PS On the Festool USA site, the video show the guy finishing rough sanding with a lambs wool pad, does anyone else use it? ( Click here (http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=7&prodid=571594)and look for demo video link)
PPS, I'm also going to buy from Rob Marino. Spoke to him on the phone RE: advice on a used purchase here and he was very helpful.

[Michael Lutz]

Jim,

Brilliant was the name of the paper.

I am still using the assortment of papers I received with the 150/3. The rubin is a sturdier paper. I managed to rip the brilliant paper I had.

Mike

[Tim Malyszko]

The order was placed this morning with Bob for the 150-3/CT-22 package.

Now that I have done, I see a new Jig Saw and Circular Plunge Saw in the future!!!:D

Thanks again for the help.

[Jason Scott]

Dang, almost 700.00 for a ROS :eek: Festool must be spectacular...

[Larry Fox]

The order was placed this morning with Bob for the 150-3/CT-22 package.

Tim, I got the same package last week. If this is your first experience with them (it was for me) you will be simply blown away by the feel and apparent quality of the units. To me, the CT-22 looks like a little shoebox sized thing in the pictures but it is a very nice size and substantial unit.

[James Hart]

Dang, almost 700.00 for a ROS :eek: Festool must be spectacular...

Jason,

2 weeks ago my thoughts were exactly the same. Then some guy posted this exact same set up on Craigslist (including a Festool Jigsaw for $425).

I was headed out the door in my swimsuit until my wife convinced me to put on a pair of long pants.

Yesterday I sanded a maple butcher block tabletop mirror smooth. Not a spec of sawdust in the air, on my clothes, probably not much in my lungs, etc. There was a very light amount on the table when I ran my hand across it. The biggest shocker to me was that the sandpaper didn't look like it was used at all. The dust collection is so aggressive it removes the sawdust before it has a chance to cake on the paper. This has to contribute to the speed and quality of the sanded finish, it's not solely about dust collection.

Of the $700, roughly $250 is the sander, $450 is the dust extractor. The extractor attaches to everything else Festool makes.

If you aren't afraid to get immediately hooked, go to Woodcraft or Rockler on a demo day.

Jim