Sander Suggestions

[David Kumm]

I'm probably way in the minority here but I love my Dynabrades. I need a large compressor because of the machine rehabbing I do so not an issue. The air sanders are light, pretty cheap, and last forever. Dave

[Mark Carlson]

My favorite sander is the festool 2e half sheet sander. Great for large projects. I often mount it in my vice and bring smaller parts like boxes to it. Love that sander.

[Martin Wasner]

I'm probably way in the minority here but I love my Dynabrades. I need a large compressor because of the machine rehabbing I do so not an issue. The air sanders are light, pretty cheap, and last forever. Dave

Most of the time I'll take a ceros over the dynabrade. I have both and plenty of air. There's applications where the dynabrade is preferred though.

[Ben Rivel]

Ben, I did not know that. The 5" was my first choice because it's what I've been used to, and I have a whole bunch of 5" hook & loop disks on hand. However, after seeing everyone vote for the 150/3 I was thinking more about that one. But, if I can use a 6" pad on the 125/3 that would be perfect. I could use the 6" with Abra net for heavier work and switch back to the 5" and standard paper disks for the finer stuff.

Yea that was why I ended up with the 6", everyone was saying that was the one to get and I didnt find the thread talking about that advantage of the 5" until after it was too late.

[Warren Lake]

have four generations of Dynabrades they are all different. One of them is super light think composite and its great for doing bullnoses and stuff where you want to whip it around on a radius, have a 1/4 air line from the Pnumatics industry it has no weight so doesnt restrict your movement, it restricts air the little line but just use a higher pressure. the one before better for heavier work than that one. So not just brand different models. Have the Makita 6040B only ever used it as a polisher, old days Rockwell half sheet sanders. Also have a little straight line one air forgot the name its good for certain things, depends what you are sanding with all this stuff and what you use. most of the time straight line block hand stuff after any air sander.

[Stew Hagerty]

Yea that was why I ended up with the 6", everyone was saying that was the one to get and I didnt find the thread talking about that advantage of the 5" until after it was too late.

You don't happen to have a link to that thread do you?

[Bill Dindner]

I like to have a Festool Rotex 125 and ETS 150/3, so much versatility with that setup.

[Ben Abate]

My vote is the Rotex 150. I've been using the same one for 12 plus years. It's my go to sander. I do have other FESTOOL sanders but for getting the job done it's amazing. Buffing, sanding and in the rotex mode it's a beast and will take care of any thing with the correct paper on it. I've never used the 125/5" Rotex I'm sure it's a great sander also. They are a bit heavy but that has never been a problem for me. It removes stock easily. It's not a finish sander

[Alex Snyder]

My favorite sander is the festool 2e half sheet sander. Great for large projects. I often mount it in my vice and bring smaller parts like boxes to it. Love that sander.

I'll throw another vote in for the ole' RS2E too. Once I bought it I don't know how I got through life without it. And oh yeah, that 150/3 doesn't suck either

[Larry Edgerton]

If anyone is in the market for a heavier 6", I bought this Bosch after a side by side comparison with the comparable Festool. Model # ROS65VC-6 It sand faster, has less vibration, and dust pickup seems to be just as good. I have used it for a year now and shows no signs of aging. Happy at half the price.

[Bill Adamsen]

I also have a Rotex 150 ... I use it where I might have previously used a belt sander. Example might include heavy floor sanding (areas the floor sanders will not be able to reach) when installing cabinets ... and then also on boats especially plastic or heavy paint removal. I would not tend to grab the Rotex for cabinetwork or furniture - because it is heavy and also the stroke is 5mm minimum.

One thing I noticed which is really annoying is that the ETS and Rotex have different pad mounts. So you need to buy the pads required for each unit. Which brings us to the other comment about the ETS125/150 ... they have comparable specs (weight, power) but while the 150mm pads fit on the 125, the 125mm pad does not fit the 150. Both of these I would term client disatisfiers. There is actually more to that from the Festool User Group ... some questions about the brake not working or possibly working. I added the link so folks could evaluate for themselves.

The ETS EC 150 will not accept the 125 mm pad. The sanders have different shafts. The 150 sanders have a keyed shaft with wings, whereas the 125 has flats but not wings. I can send pics if needed. The soft pad for the 150 sanders is thinner than the 125 mm pad and therefore does not engage the pad brake. Also, the balance between the 5 mm stroke 150 and the 3 mm stroke 150 are not the same.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/ask-fe...ets-ec-125150/

[Sam Murdoch]

I also have a Rotex 150 ... I use it where I might have previously used a belt sander. Example might include heavy floor sanding (areas the floor sanders will not be able to reach) when installing cabinets ... and then also on boats especially plastic or heavy paint removal. I would not tend to grab the Rotex for cabinetwork or furniture - because it is heavy and also the stroke is 5mm minimum.

My assessment of the RO150 (and 125) EXACTLY. They can do the entire range of work but they are a compromise as finish sanders. The ETS 150/3 is so excellent for finish work compared to the ROs. If you can only afford one however and some of the above mentioned work is expected along with some finishing - the RO is the one. Just to be clear - I also own the ETS150/3 and since that purchase I never pick up the RO for finish work.

[Ben Rivel]

You don't happen to have a link to that thread do you?

Here ya go: LINK

[Ryan Jones]

Buy a $50 ROS and put the $450 to something more important. Festool isn't worth the price if you're on a budget. Honestly, not even tradesman get festool in the field. If you don't have anything else to spend your money on, and clean your tools with rubbing alcohol every time you use them and like to see how pretty they look on the wall, get festool. If you actually do work and have better things to spend your money on, get something else.

THAT SAID, the domino is worth the steep price if you're doing a lot of M+T joinery. This saves a shitton of time and makes up for the price. But you're going to have to do a lot of projects to validate the purchase. Even the tenons they sell are outrageously priced.

Not for the festool purchasers, might give you a heart attack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oezp-_DcUgg

[Eric Anderson]

I have the Rotex 125 and the ETS ec 125. The Rotex can take down stock faster than my PC belt sander and the dust collection is great. The Rotex 150 has a larger surface area (about 30% larger) and thus better for larger areas (or at least faster), but I find the 125 more ergonomic and lighter and easier to use and since I already have the 5" sandpaper for the Rotex, went with the ec 125 so I could use a single sand paper size for both. If you are not sanding a lot of big table tops, you may be fine with the smaller foot print of the 125's. While I have gone to 220 with the Rotex, the ETS EC is much smoother and easier to handle than the Rotex, so I do the rough sanding with the Rotex and finish with the ETS EC. Can't stay away from the green koolaid nor the yellow mustard monsters. They keep calling me back.