RO 5" Sander - Reason to spend $300+ VS $60 ??

[Marc Jeske]

Many of you have Festool or other high end ROS.

I have a couple Bosch ones that sell for $60-70 that work OK for me.

How will I benefit from purchasing a Festool or similar for ?$300 - $400?

In my situation, dust collection is a minor issue... I'm Asking more about reducing my sanding time/ labor ?

Thank you all, Marc

[Frank Pratt]

I don't have any Festool, but I spent somewhere around $300 CAD for a really nice Bosch 6" ROS. It is so smooth running & powerful that I hardly use my 5" Dewalt anymore. I won't be buying any more cheap sanders.

One day I'll try out some Festool sanders to see what all the fuss is about, but they'd have to be pretty spectacular to be worth the price.

[Jim Becker]

I made the move to get feeling back in my hands. The PC sanders I used early on would cause me to lose that feeling in only a short period of time. So in addition to dust collection, the better sanders tend to be more productive...I can sand for hours (literally if necessary) without the major discomfort I experienced with the old way. That's very much a productivity thing, IMHO.

[Dave Sabo]

have a couple Bosch ones that sell for $60-70 that work OK for me.

Just OK ?

What don’t you like about them ?

[Brian Tymchak]

My Dewalt 5" wasn't that great but I tend to wring out every last dollar of value I can on gear. So, when the Dewalt finally died, I bought a Mirka Ceros. The difference was night and day. Dust collection was so much better, ergonomics much better, no tingling hands, and it just does a better and faster job.

[Phillip Mitchell]

Choose your own order of importance but the higher end sanders will be better in general in the following areas.

Ergonomics
Dust Collection
Wood surface quality
Power
Vibration
Speed
Build Quality, country of origin, supporting a living wage

Not sure how dust collection wouldn’t be at or near the top of the list for anyone using an orbital sander, but higher end sanders with decent extractors make all the difference in terms of dust collection and safety / health.

[Andrew Hughes]

Many of you have Festool or other high end ROS.

I have a couple Bosch ones that sell for $60-70 that work OK for me.

How will I benefit from purchasing a Festool or similar for ?$300 - $400?

In my situation, dust collection is a minor issue... I'm Asking more about reducing my sanding time/ labor ?

Thank you all, Marc

The key to reducing sanding time before finishing is milling of the wood. Tablesaw,bandsaw,planer or jointer spending time to get the absolute best from each machine.
Good Luck

[Phillip Mitchell]

Totally agree. With well behaved species coming out of my planer I can start the sanding routine at 150 or 180 grit and make relatively quickly work of random orbit sanding.

[Matt Day]

Since I got a couple Festool sanders I haven’t touched my Bosch, Dewalt, Makita sanders. Far less hand fatigue and good dust collection - DC matters to me. Better for my lungs and less cleanup.

Biggest thing you can do with any sander is buy good paper though.

[Roger Feeley]

I’m amazed at how far we’ve come. Why, when I was a young sprout, we didn’t mind the vibrations that came from our craftsman half sheet orbital sander. I sanded the floor of my eldest brothers room when he moved out. Couldn’t feel a thing with my left hand for a couple of days. I inherited that sander and continued to use it until I tried a PC ROS whereupon the old sander went into the trash.

[Mitch schiffer]

I have several sanders in my shop a cordless Milwaukee, a corded performax, a corded mirka deros, a corded festool ets125, and a corded Bosch. The Milwaukee is almost worthless. It takes forever to sand anything the dust bin constantly falls off and its not very comfortable to use. The performax is not much better it does sand a little faster but has bad vibration. The Bosch is ok but I don't find it comfortable for a extended period of time and it doesn't sand quite as fast as the higher end models. The festool used to be my go to until I bought the mirka. The festool ets is a cheap model for festool and isn't really any better then the Bosch maybe even a little worse. The mirka was a game changer for me I would guess it shaved maybe 30 percent or better off my total sanding time, it is very smooth and comfortable to use for a long time. I very rarely reach for any other sander anymore.

[Marc Jeske]

They are fine, but reading about all these Festool and other to me "High end" sanders I am thinking I may be missing something.
Most folks especially in business do not toss out more money than logical, so I figure there is some logical benefit.

BYW, I typically use Klingspor discs.

Marc

[Prashun Patel]

The biggest difference is the paper you use and how often you change it.

I have a ceros that is nice to use because it has a low center of gravity and doesn’t vibrate, so it is comfortable to use. It also gets into some spaces better than the higher Bosch I used to use. But the Bosch produced as fine a surface as my ceros.

It’s a question that comes up all the time. I’ve read enough of these threads to conclude what I confirm through my own experience: If you don’t own an expensive sander you won’t miss it, but if you do, you will probably think it’s worth it.

[chuck van dyck]

I think how quickly a festool stops when hitting the kill switch is worth a few bucks as well. If you need to address something while sanding you can kill it, and put it down immediately without worry of it needing to wind down. That 5 seconds it takes lesser models to stop can seem a lot longer if something is goin poorly. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Marc Jeske]

Ok, so my Bosch sanders link below have sufficient for me dust collection w the attached filter box.

I have had hand numbness/ "tingling" from other sources, but the sanders I have do NOT cause any of that.

I am ok w the 5 second wind down time, I set it on a folded up thick towel.

I make a specific product and start and finish w 120 grit... totally adequate for my specific purpose.

I am mostly removing minimal but still slightly seeable planer ripple.

The resultant "Scratch pattern" I get is also totally acceptable for my specific use.

Years ago I used the Porter cable 4" sq block sander... The model virtually all cabinet shops used back then, and the Bosch is much less scratch and much less vibration.


So, all is good, the main or maybe only thing I want to improve is reduced sanding time.

I make a specific product and start and finish w 120 grit... totally adequate for my specific purpose.

So, at this point in the post, I am clarifying it is reduced sanding time I am hoping for.

Marc

I dunno, I recall paying more like $70 than $90, but here is what I'm pretty sure I have ----

https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-ROS20VS...%2C167&sr=8-16