Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 24

Thread: Festool Sander Rant

  1. #1

    Festool Sander Rant

    In july of 2006 I purchased a ES125 sander from a Festool dealer. Loved the sander, I used it mainly for finish sanding with 180, 220, 320 grit sandpaper.
    This sander was my first Festool purchase, and led me to buying a T55 saw, a 1400 router and Midi vacuum.

    Yesterday I was sanding some primer on some cabinet face frames with 220 grit, when the sander started to wobble real bad. After shutting it off I noticed the pad had split, causing part of it to seperate from the mounting screws. Of course this had to happen just two months out of warranty.

    I contacted the Festool dealer from whom I purchased it and was told that the plastic probally deteriorated over time.
    And a new pad will be $30.00.
    Now I have two Dewalts that are almost 8 years old, they get all the hard sanding jobs, never had a problem with the pads. I have burnt up motors on PC333 before a pad failure.
    This makes me wonder as to the quality of materials Festool is using.

    Thanks for letting me rant.
    Mission Furniture- My mission is to build more furniture !

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    It is a given that at the price, pad replacements for the first decade seem in order . . . OK, just kidding. All you Festoolians put down the pitchforks and torches . . .

    I imagine a lot of factors go into the wear cycle on various parts. I have a couple Bosch ROS that I have used several times a week for years and have yet to even wear out the hook pad on one. Others have reported burning out the brushes on these same model sanders in a matter of months.

    Weather, storage methods, technique and all sorts of difficult-to-quantify stuff probably comes into play but I feel your rant is justified after only a 3 years or so of use. The replacement cost doesn't seem bad though for a Festool.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  3. #3
    I seem to wear out the hook and loop on sanding pads about every two years and have to replace the pad. It gets so the sandpaper just won't stick any more.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  4. #4
    When you buy a festool you are paying for the german female factory workers to hand assemble your tool in a plant worthy of mercedes/bmw quality.

    Now even Mercedes and BMW's have their issues, but they are considered "high end".

    (BTW, i'm not joking about the female workers because Festool states that women have smaller hands than males and can assemble small parts better...)

  5. #5
    Festool 150/3


    Pad fell apart after about 3 years.

    It was well used though.

    Only problem I had with it though, it was a PSA pad which I ordered for it.

    Then they discontinued the PSA pads.


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Trussville, AL
    Posts
    3,589

    Minor hijaak alert

    My daughter is currently stationed in Germany, would the difference in prices be worth having her do some shopping for me? Looks like the voltage supply would be 240, not a problem if it's not switchable. If it's built strictly for 50 Hz wonder if 60 Hz would be damaging. Wonder if the VAT and whatever other markups would make it more expensive than it is in the USA?

  7. #7
    They build festools in different sets at the factory to not crossover parts. Example, one set of 10 will be built to euro spec, and the other USA.

    So I would be very careful before I bought a euro spec one because it's not like it can convert to 120v with the flip of a switch.

    But parts and accessories should be fine, though I'd check the currency exchange to see if you actually save money.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    Summit, NJ
    Posts
    997
    Wow what dealer. The dealer I used has pretty much warnteed everything for me but I didn't have a ps go bad yet. Although I actually wore out my vacuum end and he gave me a new one. I would call festool direct might not be festool's fault I have never herd of that issue.
    -=Jason=-

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Location
    Cincinnati Ohio
    Posts
    4,731
    I had thought about buying a Festool sander as my 15-20 year old Ryobi sander is about at the end.
    I started reading about Festool in general. I know any and all brands has problems but IMHO ,from what I have been reading ,may not be much better than other top brands.
    The Festool Kapex had a problem with the table rubbing. You would think at double the price of others there would be no problems at all from the factory.
    Festool sander seems to be the most liked of the bunch but also have read of problems like the post above.
    Festool offers a 5 year warranty. Thats very good but Ridgid has a lifetime at half the price and does seem to get favorable reviews.

    Just some random thoughts.
    "Remember back in the day, when things were made by hand, and people took pride in their work?"
    - Rick Dale

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Northfield, Mn
    Posts
    1,227
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Clardy View Post
    Then they discontinued the PSA pads.

    That rules that model out for me than. I'm not paying for the hook + loop stuff. eeek!

  11. #11
    To be quite honest I am 100% satisfied with my Porter Cable ROS 333. I even hook it up to a festool shop vac and it does a great job.

    I've had it for maybe 5 or more years and it makes some different noises now but it still works the same so I will run that thing to the ground before I buy a replacement model.

    I remember paying $55 for the sander.

    Now if I had to use a sander every day for hours like the "new guy" at a cabinet shop, then I would get the festool because it's supposed to be very comfortable to use.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Tsutsui View Post
    (BTW, i'm not joking about the female workers because Festool states that women have smaller hands than males and can assemble small parts better...)
    Thank goodness we're more careful about offending any potential male factory workers over here. I guess the guys over there just have to take the open positions at Hooters.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    SoCal
    Posts
    22,492
    Blog Entries
    1
    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Tsutsui View Post
    (BTW, i'm not joking about the female workers because Festool states that women have smaller hands than males and can assemble small parts better...)
    Thank goodness we're more careful about offending any potential male factory workers over here. I guess the guys over there just have to take the open positions at Hooters.

    Hmmmm, mods remove this if it is offensive instead of funny as intended.
    "A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".


    – Samuel Butler

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Karl Brogger View Post
    That rules that model out for me than. I'm not paying for the hook + loop stuff. eeek!
    Same here. I use psa.
    I took a 6' PC pad and got it modified to fit the festool, with some help from a friend of mine. Larry Merlau was down and we got it figured out so I could use the many boxes of psa paper I have.

    Quote Originally Posted by glenn bradley View Post
    I guess the guys over there just have to take the open positions at Hooters.

    Work get any slower, and I may have to take one of those jobs.


  15. #15
    I am the dealer in question. I take full responsibility. Without getting into it too much, I emailed a response (at 6:30 AM) and said it sounded like a pad problem, rather than a sander problem. I was then asked the price of a new pad, which I emailed. (I did not forward the initial PM from Dave to Festool - I merely answered Dave's question).
    I understand how frustrating things can get when an item doesn't meet expectaions 100%. Pads are not covered under Festool's 3 year warranty and can wear (as noted in above post) differently depending on a number of things. I guess we can differ if 3 years is a reasonable time for a pad to last. I did email Dave again though.
    If there is an issue, it is with me, not Festool.

    Bob
    bob m

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •