Festool ETS/? questions

[Darryl deHaan]

Well, I won the lottery (no, not really) and I am considering purchasing the Festool ETS/3 or 5 sander, for its dust control, comfort and quality. I have to ask a couple of questions to the knowledgable crowd here...

1) I cannot afford to get into a CT22 dust extractor at this time, and would like to use my shop vac. Has anyone hooked a festool up to a 2 1/4 shop vac hose/fitting? What adapter(s) did you use? How do you adjust the suction to prevent the sander from sticking to the work?

2) It appears that most folks here have the ETS/3. I am still not sure on which to purchase. I would say that 95% of my sanding with my current 1/4 sheet palm sander is done with 220 for final finish sanding. That said, I would like to think that I could throw a heavier disc on the ETS and get more material removal. For those with a ETS/3, are you able to get half decent material removal with heavier grits? For those with the ETS/5, are you happy with it? Do you wish you bought the ETS/3?

3) Which grits do people find they are using most often? I would like to order partial boxes of a variety of grits, but I would like to make sure that I get more of the ones that are useful.

4) For the Canadian Festoolers, where did you purchase? I havent emailed Mr. Marino yet, but I don't see mention about canadian shipping policy.

Thanks for any help that can be provided,

Darryl

[Tom Inghram]

I got one of the grey Festool vacuum hoses. It plugs right into my Ridgid shop vac and has the Festool fitting on the other end. Works great, in fact almost too great. The suction is a bit high with the fine grits. I put a "holey" hose in between to reduce the suction somewhat.

[John Lemke]

I have an ETS/3 and have been pleasantly surprised with the range of sanding tasks it can handle. In my experience, it's better than half-decent at removing material when I want it to. I helped a kid at church build a bench for the church entry way, and we were able to even up places like where the front and back rails meet the legs. (That was poplar, though.) It's a great sander that fits my needs wonderfully -- I've never wished for the /5.

And boy, does the paper ever last! Don't over-buy!

[JayStPeter]

I have the /5 and don't regret not getting the /3. If I ever get a rotex, maybe I'll want the /3, but even then I have never found the sander too aggressive.

I have a Fein vac and bought a Festool hose for @$35 or so (hooks to my Craftsman also). Easiest way to hook up all the future Festools you'll buy. IMO, variable suction isn't necessary on the 150. It might be on some of the smaller sanders, but I don't have any of those.

[jason lambert]

I have the /5 and /3 really I don't need both. I would get the /3 unless you do alot of ruff sanding with it.

I do have 2 festool vacs and a Fine. The dust collection is so good I do get suck down without varable suction and have never run the vac at full suction. You don't relise it till you slow down the suction how much it is pulling the sander down. This causes more vibration, instead of the sander floating on the the finish it causes the paper to dig in more also producing a ruffer finish. On that note it will work with any vac but you may want to look for a cheap device to reduce the suction. This can be as simple as a coller with a hole in it.

[Jim Becker]

The 150/3 is my go-to sander 95% of the time. I sand through 180 and rarely above that unless I'm only doing an oil and wax finish. I hand sand with 220 to finish sand in that case after using the Festool up through 180. It's plenty aggressive enough with the 3mm orbit and in some cases, that might be an advantage...it's so easy to take off too much with a really aggressive sander. (I own the Rotex for really heavy work and it has the 5mm orbit)

[Steve Roxberg]

I own a 150/5 and wished that I had the 150/3. The reason, someday I want to purchase the Rotex 150, best to keep the same paper size, and it will also do a 150/5 orbit. So it duplicates to a degree what I already have but I really want the highly aggresive mode of the Rotex.

So I'll probably end up buying a 150/3 or a 125 someday.

I would start with the 150/3 if it were me.

[Dave Falkenstein]

You have answers to most of your questions. From what you described as your ROS use, I'd go with the /3. You can buy Festool in Canada from these folks:

http://www.festoolusa.com/find_dealer_detail.aspx?state=CANADA

[Peter Quinn]

I have the 150/3 and the 125, both used with a porter cable vac and hose with a PC flexible adaptor, works fine. Also works fine with a rigid shop vac.

I actually use the 125 more than the 150. Bought the 150 1st, found it a bit large for much of what I sand. Haven't felt the need for a more agressive stroke in my work.

[Greg Funk]

4) For the Canadian Festoolers, where did you purchase? I havent emailed Mr. Marino yet, but I don't see mention about canadian shipping policy.
If you live reasonably close to the border the least expensive way is to order from any US dealer and have it shipped to the border and import it yourself. For some reason the Cdn dealer is significantly more expensive.

Greg

[Gordy Anderson]

I have the 150/3 and the 125, both used with a porter cable vac and hose with a PC flexible adaptor, works fine. Also works fine with a rigid shop vac.

I actually use the 125 more than the 150. Bought the 150 1st, found it a bit large for much of what I sand. Haven't felt the need for a more agressive stroke in my work.

OK, I bought the ETS 125 based on suggestions in a different thread, but now I'm having some buyers remorse. I don't see any adapters to connect it to my shop vac. It looks like the vacuum port OD is 1 1/8, although I think they call it 1". How do I get from 1" OD on the sander to 1 1/2 ID on my hose? The Festool hoses (452 877) are $54.00. That's a bit high when I only need a $3 adapter. Thanks Gordy

[Thad McCulloch]

1/4" thick piece of rubber wrapped around the sander's port and a hose clamp?

[Darryl deHaan]

Thanks to all for your replies! I am leaning towards the 150/3 right now, but that will probably change tomorrow, and then the next day I will change it back again :rolleyes:

Regarding the discs, I assume that most folks get the rubin for up to 180 grit and then go to the brilliant for higher?


I got one of the grey Festool vacuum hoses. It plugs right into my Ridgid shop vac and has the Festool fitting on the other end. Works great, in fact almost too great.

Tom, do you know the model number of the hose you got?

[JayStPeter]

Darryl,

Don't bother to get the anti-static version of the hose. Your vac doesn't have the built-in grounding to make it work as anti-static. Otherwise, look at what comes with the CT vacs and order the non-anti-static version of that. You actually don't want the larger diameter hose.

[Bob Marino]

Thanks to all for your replies! I am leaning towards the 150/3 right now, but that will probably change tomorrow, and then the next day I will change it back again :rolleyes:

Regarding the discs, I assume that most folks get the rubin for up to 180 grit and then go to the brilliant for higher?



Tom, do you know the model number of the hose you got?

If you are going to get the Festool hose, this is the one to order - 452-877.

Bob

[Matt Meiser]

Gordy, try one of the rubber step adapters from Lowes. There was a size on there that fit my PC tools perfectly. My Festool hose fit my PC tools perfectly, so I'd infer that that would fit my Festool tools perfectly. Back then, I had a small diameter Shop Vac hose with the long tube cut off short. The step adapter was glued on the stub of the tube. Worked great for many years. However, there's no comparing those hard plastic shop vac hoses to the Festool hose. They might be expensive, but the flexibility is great.