Considering first festool

[Prashun Patel]

A cyclone preseparator for my shop vac works very well for sanding dust. I use a porter cable 1.25” hose with some adapters on my Ceros, which is in the same league as the Festool. The thinner hose is easier to manipulate, and the cyclone (like a Dust Deputy) keeps the filter pretty clean.

Dust collection on thin, curved objects like table legs is always a bear, but for large flat sanding, this dc set up is good enough for me to do in my basement.

I still wear a mask and turn on the air cleaner after I am done.

[Van Huskey]

Can you expand on that? Right now I’m using a ridgid orbital sander with a 16gal ridgid shopvac over a rockler down draft table connected to my Oneida v3000 cyclone. My issue is that the ridgid has been very difficult to manipulate given the stiff shopvac hose. Not sure if the festool would add any benefit or if I should focus on more flexible hose instead.

A good flexible hose makes a LOT of difference. Bosch makes a good not too expensive hose that is possible the same hose as the Festool non anti-static hoses. You can also use expandable hose covering and heat shrink to combine the hose and cord for easier control. The Festool sanders have the advantage of detachable cords so you can use the same hose/cord combos for all their tools if you use the heavyweight cord with the hose.

The best new brushless ROS (Mirka, Festool EC series, Surfprep/Airvantage) have significant advantages in maneuverability, power, control, weight, form factor, longevity and vibration. They are simply in another league even compared to the high-end Bosch which are solid sanders in their own right.

[Wade Lippman]

I have both models of the 5" Festool ROS. They are the best on the market, but it is really hard to justify the price over a $50 Bosch unless money isn't an issue. Or if you are really sensitive to vibrations.

I had a Festool vacuum and my wife made me get rid of it because it gave out a high pitch shriek. I didn't hear it, but it drove her crazy. The important thing is that it wasn't magical; a shop vac works fine. I now use a Dyson canister and a dust deputy.

I have never paid full price for any of my 9 Festools; either a discount on ebay, reconditioned from Festool, or used.

[Greg Parrish]

Cool. I just picked up the rockler hose and adapters to try out both t haven’t opened the box yet. Had another trip today that put me near woodcraft and that’s where I started comparing the festool stuff. The auto on vacs seemed nice but want sure if the sanders would be any better. Thx.

[Neil Gaskin]

I own a fair amount of festool. I like their Sanders, track saw, and Domino. I have their mid size router and while it is a damn good router I’m not sure I’d replace it.

More to your question. The sander I would recommend is the ets ec 125-3. Link below. I have s fleet of their ets-125 “normal” ro sanders and 3 of the newer models I linked below. Nobody grabs the ets-125s anymore.

https://www.festoolusa.com/products/...53-eq-plus-usa

for sandpaper we order from Klingspor. You do not need to use festool paper but you need to use paper with the correct hole pattern.

I have 2 festool dust extractors and 2 fein. I’d order more fein. Might not buy another festool. The fein are cheaper and in my opinion slightly better.

[Van Huskey]

OP you never mentioned which 5" sander you were looking at, it makes a BIG difference.

[Dave Sabo]

I’d skip the Kapex until festool fixes the motor problems and it becomes documented.

Van is right , the festool sanders are some of the best around. I’ll take a bit different tack and say don’t bother even trying to use paper that doesn’t have the correct hole pattern. Mesh/net discs are a good way to accommodate a variety of sanders. Freud / Diablo now makes mesh discs too. Available at Home Depot.

I’d suggest you look at the midi vac for shop tool collection. Seems to be the sweet spot for price capacity, performance in the lineup. Prob should wait til next year though as a new platform for those vacs has been announced and they are arriving in the euro markets imminently.

Might want to try out Bosch’s ros65 as it’s almost the equal to festool at a 30-50% less. Easily and cheaply swappable from 5” to 6” pads.

[Vijay Kumar]

Festool is a game changer with respect to the sanders you can sand for 20 minutes and will not feel tingling on your hands. Very smooth and balanced. The domino has no competition. Their tracksaws are very good but you can buy Makita, Dewalt, Grizzly and others. Festool is quite good here though. Their routers are excellent too.
All their tools are set up for dust collection whether or not you use their vacuums or some other vacuum. And the dust collection is excellent.
But their Kapex has a reputation of motor burning so that is one item I would probably skip.

One other thing though , once you buy one it is a slippery slope--ask me how I know

Vijay

[Zac wingert]

Do not drink the kool aid... just my opinion, though. I have no festool products and have never tried out any, but I can’t imagine when they are so much more than what’s availabile from Bosch, dewalt, etc.. I’m not a professional, but it’s a whole whole lot more money that I’d rather spend on wood. I just imagine that % the tools are better is not proportional to the % of the cost.

As a hobbiest, it just seems silly. I have a 5” Bosch ROS ($70) dewalt 1/4 sheet sander ($50) and two old craftsman 3x21 belt sanders (given to me for free)and the idea of spending about $1k for a sander and basically a vacuum is unthinkable.

[Van Huskey]

Do not drink the kool aid... just my opinion, though. I have no festool products and have never tried out any, but I can’t imagine when they are so much more than what’s availabile from Bosch, dewalt, etc.. I’m not a professional, but it’s a whole whole lot more money that I’d rather spend on wood. I just imagine that % the tools are better is not proportional to the % of the cost.

As a hobbiest, it just seems silly. I have a 5” Bosch ROS ($70) dewalt 1/4 sheet sander ($50) and two old craftsman 3x21 belt sanders (given to me for free)and the idea of spending about $1k for a sander and basically a vacuum is unthinkable.

This is always an opinion that baffles me. That to me is like saying I don't own and haven't tried any Bosch, Makita or Dewalt tools but I can't imagine them being any better than Harbor Freight tools. While one tool being some percentage better than another can be highly subjective it is pretty clear that that rarely is any consumer product that is twice the money considered to be twice as good.

The entire thing boils down to value and that is very personal. Different people (particularly hobbyists) place different priorities on woodworking tools. Someone that is very passionate may be willing to spend far more on a tool than someone that occasionally does woodworking, similarly, there are some people that have to save up for a HF tool and wait for a 25% off coupon and some who can skip Festool and buy Mafell by the truckload without even looking at the price tag. I completely understand the value argument and have known people that tried or bought Festool and for them the value proposition did not work, but I will never understand the I never used them but they can't be that much better argument.

There is a cult-like following correctly associated with Festool but there are a large contingent of Festoolians that will quickly admit that other companies make better versions of some tools (usually at a higher price) and there are many tools that get to within (an admittedly arbitrary) 10% of them for much less money, the high-end European made Bosch is an example. The thing that really sucks people into Festool is the ecosystem, which is by far the best in all of tooldom. Honesty, I used to be in the "they are completely overpriced camp" but then I tried them.

[Greg Parrish]

OP you never mentioned which 5" sander you were looking at, it makes a BIG difference.

I was looking at the ETS 125 REQ-Plus. A combo like this: https://festools-online.com/festool-...r-ct-mini.html

[Jacob Mac]

Just my opinion, but here's how I did it.

1. If you want new, and a discount, the only reliable way is to buy from eBay using a discount code. Buy from a legit seller like Hartville and you are fine.

2. Bob Marino has the best service I have ever received from this section of the retail world. With Grizzly being second. But no discount.

3. No need for a festool vac. They're nice, I'm sure, but there are cheaper options that work fine. With that said, I have a Fein vac that automatically turns on when I turn my tool on. That is such a great convenience.

4. The sanders are good, I have two. But honestly they're not as big of a game changer as tyye Domino. For me, the Domino was a work altering tool. The sanders are just a more pleasant experience.

5. Go used where you can if you can find a good deal. This site is a great place to find good deals on Festool. But outside of the domino, I'm not really sold on any Festool as being way better than cheaper options.

[Wojciech Tryc]

DO NOT DO IT! I made this mistake not long ago. After one seemingly innocent purchase (Festool track saw) I now have the 150 Rotex, a Midi dust collector, a Domino XL, MFT, and a few minor things. After using that track saw and sander I now curse Bosch every time I use their router, jigsaw, and drill/driver.

It really is that big of a difference. Every Festool product I have used is a pleasure to pick up.

Haha, i totally agree. Just got my first Festool piece, the Domino 500 and I am already thinking about a ROS and their track saws.....

[Kory Cassel]

My problem is the basic design and weight of the ROS on the market. While I'm sure the high priced tools are smoother and do a better job, they are an attempt to replicate a commercial pneumatic palm sander using electric motors. This may be what you want for versatility such as doing vertical and overhead sanding. But it's been my experience that a heavy, smooth sander is better for bench work. You just glide it around and let it cut with it's own weight. I've done stacks upon stacks of doors and an endless line of carcasses and if you can sand on a horizontal, heavier is better.
I see they've discontinued the PC 330 Speed Block, shame it seems to be a lost design. Much better option for the hobbyist, but now you're stuck getting the ubiquitous lightweight ROS with unwieldy hoses and buying special disks. My line of commentary was out of line, darn. Still like the idea of a big downdraft table better than an expensive extractor though.

[Todd Zucker]

My first entry into festool was the ets 150 and CT 26 combination. It is a slippery slope.

I prefer the ets 150/3 to the 125. I have the older model ETS and the 125 i got was actually called a Pro-5 that they offered as a promotion a year or two ago. For some reason, i just find the 125 easier to handle. The rotex 90 is also nice to have for specific uses.

i didn’t see it mentioned in previous posts, but on the Festool CT extractor you can vary the suction level to suit the tool you are using, I.e., reduce the suction while using the large sander so that it doesn’t put too much downward pressure while sanding and stick to the workpiece vs. highest suction level while using a router or track saw. It’s a nice feature.