How much less vibration between a Festool and other cheaper sub $100 sanders?

[Robert Mayer]

I really cant decide what to do. I don't mind paying for a Festool, but I don't want to pay 3-4 times the cost without a significant vibration reduction. The vibration on my 15 year old Bosch is killing my hands.

Can someone tell a estimated % vibration reduction between the Festool and other cheaper sanders?

[Jon Grider]

Depends on which Festool sander imo. My 6" Rotex that I use for flattening is like holding on to an angry cat after a few minutes. My 5" promotional Festool that I got for $99 several years back (don't remember the model #) is a little better than my DeWalt, and quite a bit better than my Hitachi, and Bosch. Festool has different sanding orbit diameters from 3mm -5mm if I remember correctly, with the smaller orbits more suited for finishing sanding with higher grits of sandpaper. Diameter of pad also plays a part in vibration. So there are variables. Go to their website for descriptions of each sander. I do like my 5" Festool in that it seems to run cooler than the other brands and the DC is superb.

[Andrew Seemann]

I'd probably give Makita a try before I would cough up for a Festool. I have a pair of them from 20 years ago that are friendlier than my 10 year old Bosch. I gave the PC I inherited away. I'll probably replace or augment the Makitas with a couple more Makitas one of these days.

[Doug Dawson]

I'd probably give Makita a try before I would cough up for a Festool. I have a pair of them from 20 years ago that are friendlier than my 10 year old Bosch. I gave the PC I inherited away. I'll probably replace or augment the Makitas with a couple more Makitas one of these days.

I have (well, almost) all the Festools, and they all have less vibration than my 20-year-old Makita ROS, which is otherwise a fine tool. The Rotexes a bit less, and the non-Rotexes dramatically less, to the point where I can sand with them all day long. Are they worth the money to me? How much does carpal tunnel surgery cost again? :^)

[Bill McNiel]

In my world 95% reduction with the ETS 125. I can sand all day with the Festool with no vibration issues (actually had to do this for 2 days a couple of months ago). Rotex is a different story.

[Robert Mayer]

In my world 95% reduction with the ETS 125. I can sand all day with the Festool with no vibration issues (actually had to do this for 2 days a couple of months ago). Rotex is a different story.

That is pretty significant. And this one is not priced too bad.

[Richard Coers]

Bosch 3725DEVS is plenty good for me.

[Lisa Starr]

I bought a EQ125 a few months ago and it is significantly easier on my hands than the old DeWalt it replaced. I feel the improvement more than justified the cost of that model.

[roger wiegand]

Both my Festool 3mm orbit and 5 mm Mirka Deros 150 mm sanders have _way_ less vibration than my old Bosch.

I found that a pair of anti-vibration gel pad gloves I had for biking made a huge difference as well when I had the older sander. I don't need to use them with the current ones

[John TenEyck]

Try the Bosch ROS65VC. Essentially no vibration. I can use it for hours w/o an issue. Moreover, it's a great sander with terrific onboard dust collection and an adapter if you want to hook it up to a vacuum. It's in the $230 range - and worth it.

John

[Bill Dufour]

15 years ago my brother bought the biggest chainsaw made by Sthil. He bought it to use with am Alaska sawmill. It had a warming that it produces lots of vibration and maybe you would prefer a smalller saw.
Bill D

[Doug Dawson]

15 years ago my brother bought the biggest chainsaw made by Sthil. He bought it to use with am Alaska sawmill. It had a warming that it produces lots of vibration and maybe you would prefer a smalller saw.
Bill D

My father used to have one of those, I think it was powered by a Chevy small block or something. Towards the end of his life he had problems lifting it. :^)

[Frank Pratt]

The Bosch ROS65VC is not sub $100, but it's way cheaper than an equivalent Festool & it is extremely smooth. Vibration will not be an issue no matter how long you use it. Dust collection without a vacuum is quite good as long as you keep the filter empty & clean. Powerful too.

[Jim Becker]

For me the difference was "Yuge"....my hands got numb to the point I could only sand for a few minutes at a time. When I bought my Festool sanders, could could sand for sometimes hours with little discomfort.

I will note that you would likely see a difference if you opted for one of the higher end Bosch sanders or Mirka, etc. The better tools tend to be better suited. I prefer Festool's dust extraction, however, at least with standard abrasives. Abranet and similar helps with dust extraction with tools that don't have the center hole.

[Robert Mayer]

The Bosch ROS65VC is not sub $100, but it's way cheaper than an equivalent Festool & it is extremely smooth. Vibration will not be an issue no matter how long you use it. Dust collection without a vacuum is quite good as long as you keep the filter empty & clean. Powerful too.

do you find this is a little heavy to single hand hold? I do this a lot to knock down sharp edges, or hold parts in one hand and the sander in the other. It looks kinda tall.