Originally Posted by
Randy Heinemann
Since I bought my first Festool sander, I decided that I would not ever buy another brand sander. Their finish sanders, like the ETS125, ETS150. and DTS400 have given me the best finishes I've ever had. (It's also possible that, with age and experience, I know more about finishes now than in the past.) With good dust collection (which is also provided by a Festool CT vac in my case), my sanding has become essentially dust free; a huge plus. I'm sure there are other great sanders available, but, for me, I now only used Festool sanders because of the dust collection and results I get. I feel that a woodworker would never regret buying one of the ETS sanders; maybe a Rotex also (if you have need of aggressive removal and minor flattening of a glue up or slab.)
Pretty much the same experience for me, Randy.
First Festool I bought was the Rotex 125 along with the CT26 DC. But the Rotex was a bit much for light sanding jobs so I bought the ETS 125. Then came a big sanding job and I broke down and bought the ETS 150/3. But I wanted something more aggressive and soon the ETS150/5 was in the shop. The collection was filled out with the Rotex 90.
Since then the 150 models are by far used more than the rest. Next is the Rotex 90. I would never part with those three. The Rotex 125 rarely gets used and the ETS 125 even less than that. But I also have a Makita 4" belt sander that comes out for the heavy sanding jobs. No way the Rotex 125 can compete with that. I can sand with one hand easily and create a very flat surface. The Makita is also in the "can't live without" group.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness..." - Mark Twain