What to expect from a Festool 150/3

[Eric Sayre]

I've been doing a great deal of research on 6" sanders and believe I'm starting to close in on the Festool ETS 150/3.

I read the review in FWW. Now I'd like a little more info to make sure this is what I need:

I have a Dewalt 5" variable speed ROS that is 6 years old. I use it for everything, all the way to final finishing. I don't spend a great deal of time building things, but when I do, I hate spending "all day" sanding.

I don't want to invest in the Rotex at this time -$$. I want to move up to something better than what I'm using. I want it to be very dependable, have excellent finish quality, and get the job done faster.

I believe the Festool 150/3 will be a good upgrade. I have 2 questions for those of you with experience on this:

1. How much better/faster will this sander be compared to the Dewalt 5" ROS?

2. Does the 150/5 have a good enough finish quality to use by itself, or would the 150/3 be a better choice for a "start to finish" sander?

Thank you!
Eric

[Ralph Okonieski]

I use my 150/3 almost exclusively for all my sanding. It is NOT very aggressive so on those rare occasions that I need to take a lot in a short time, I go to my 1/4 sheet pad sander with coarse grit. Then the dust is a real mess so I try to avoid using it. I'm excluding those times when a belt sander is needed.

I used it to refinish a floor; that was not a smart move. It did the job but it took a long time with frequent sandpaper change. I used a belt sander when the floor was originally laid but used the 150/3 to refinish because of the dust collection. Next time, I'll rent a floor sander

[Ben Davis]

I've been doing a great deal of research on 6" sanders and believe I'm starting to close in on the Festool ETS 150/3.

I read the review in FWW. Now I'd like a little more info to make sure this is what I need:

I have a Dewalt 5" variable speed ROS that is 6 years old. I use it for everything, all the way to final finishing. I don't spend a great deal of time building things, but when I do, I hate spending "all day" sanding.

I don't want to invest in the Rotex at this time -$$. I want to move up to something better than what I'm using. I want it to be very dependable, have excellent finish quality, and get the job done faster.

I believe the Festool 150/3 will be a good upgrade. I have 2 questions for those of you with experience on this:

1. How much better/faster will this sander be compared to the Dewalt 5" ROS?

2. Does the 150/5 have a good enough finish quality to use by itself, or would the 150/3 be a better choice for a "start to finish" sander?

Thank you!
Eric

Have you considered a good quality smoothing plane?

[Bob Childress]

I believe the Festool 150/3 will be a good upgrade. I have 2 questions for those of you with experience on this:

1. How much better/faster will this sander be compared to the Dewalt 5" ROS?

It will certainly be faster, as it has a considerably larger pad area. Dust collection is superb, which yields a better finish faster IMO.

2. Does the 150/5 have a good enough finish quality to use by itself, or would the 150/3 be a better choice for a "start to finish" sander?

It depends on your application. If you are making fine furniture, the 150/3 is a better choice. For all around sanding, the 150/5 is fine and will give a nice finish but if you intend to take it up into really high grits (400-1200 +) I would go the 150/3 to achieve that really fine final sanding back type of thingo.

Thank you!
Eric

You would have to pry my 150/3 out of my cold, dead hands.

[Tim Malyszko]

I too upgraded my Dewalt 5" ROS to a 150/3 and it cut my sanding time significantly. I'm guessing I've cut sanding time down by over 50% if not more. A few passes with the 150/3 on each grit and I'm done. I can attribute the time savings to the following reasons:

• Size - 6" provides 28 sq in of sanding area vs the 19.7 sq in of sanding area on a 5"
• Comfort - the Festool is so comfortable to hold and use. The vibration is minimal and my hands don't go numb after using it. I would have to stop using the Dewalt after a few minutes of sanding to give my hands a rest.
• Paper - The Festool Paper does not get clogged as fast as the Mirkira Paper I used on my Dewalt and this can be attributed to both the quality of paper and the dust collection.

As far as 150/3 vs. 150/5, I use to use the 150/3 all the way from 80 grit up to 400 grit with no issues. If I had to have 1 sander, the 150/3 would be it. Personally, I never had any issue with the 150/3 not being able to handle any project. Now, however, I own a RS 2E 1/2 sheet sander, so I use that for the initial sanding, since it really speeds up time. If I didn't have that, I would be perfectly happy just using the 150/3. With that being said, I would still go with the 150/3 over the 150/5.

Be careful, Festool is a slippery slope. I started with the 150/3 and now I have a shop full of sustainers.

[Aaron Montgomery]

What Tim said. I did the same upgrade and really love the 150/3. It's the only Festool that I own. It was worth the investment. I haven't been in the shop as much as I'd like in the last few years while I've been working on my MBA, but I intend to get back in there soon and more Festool equipment could be in my future. Go with the 150/3 - you won't regret it.

[John Stevens]

Hi, Eric. I own the 150/3, and used to own the old-model Rotex, which had the same stroke as the 150/5 when used in "random mode." I bought them both at the same time, and after a couple months of starting with the 150/5 at 80 grit and switching to the 150/3 at 120 grit, I decided to see how much harder it would be if I just started with the 150/3 at 80 grit. It worked just as well, took me no more time to get to 120 grit!

I can't say how different the Festool sanders are from the DeWalt you're using now. The Festool sanders were the first electric sanders I ever bought, and the first ROSs I ever used. I am never bothered by vibration, even when sanding for a couple of hours. And the dust collection is amazing--after sanding for a couple hours, I never have more than a tiny bit of dust on the workbench, none detectable in the air.

One last comment: I have never used the 150/3 to "polish" a finish, but when Per Swenson originally wrote his article on polishing with the Festool sander, the article stated he was using the 150/3 rather than the Rotex.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

John

[Narayan Nayar]

I don't sand very often, as I prefer to handplane, but the ETS 150/3 is the go-to sander for me. I sold off all my other sanders once I got it (though I ended up getting a RS/2E later). I don't know that it's "faster" than other sanders; as others have said, though, it's definitely more comfortable to use for longer periods of time.

But do yourself a huge favor. Don't just get the ETS, get it with a Festool vac (you'll get a discount for buying them as a package)--any of their vacs will do. Yes, the ETS is a great sander by itself, but with the vac it jumps into a league of its own. As will all your Festool purchases going forward

[Eric Sayre]

Normally on small projects, I'll use smoothing planes, but I'll normally finish sand the last pass. On larger projects, I normally grab the sander.

Thank you for the replies. They confirmed what I was hoping to hear.

I understand the sandpaper is somewhat unique. What would you suggest I use to start out? I normally purchase Mirka. (I rarely use a grit coarser than 100 or finer than 220.)

Thank you.
Eric

[Bob Childress]

Normally on small projects, I'll use smoothing planes, but I'll normally finish sand the last pass. On larger projects, I normally grab the sander.

Thank you for the replies. They confirmed what I was hoping to hear.

I understand the sandpaper is somewhat unique. What would you suggest I use to start out? I normally purchase Mirka. (I rarely use a grit coarser than 100 or finer than 220.)

Thank you.
Eric

In that case, I'd go with Rubin at 120 and 180 grits and Brilliant 220 and up.

[Jamie Buxton]

..
I understand the sandpaper is somewhat unique. What would you suggest I use to start out? I normally purchase Mirka. (I rarely use a grit coarser than 100 or finer than 220.)...

Oddly enough, Festool is quite competitive about sandpaper pricing. They're way expensive on the tools themselves, but their sandpaper costs about the same as others', and works about as well.

[JayStPeter]

I believe the Festool 150/3 will be a good upgrade. I have 2 questions for those of you with experience on this:

1. How much better/faster will this sander be compared to the Dewalt 5" ROS?

2. Does the 150/5 have a good enough finish quality to use by itself, or would the 150/3 be a better choice for a "start to finish" sander?

Thank you!
Eric

I have a 150/5 only.

1. Just the fact that it's 6" over 5" will make things go much faster. I'd say I spend 1/3 less time sanding compared to my old PC 5".

2. Yes, I think so. Haven't used a /3 though, but really see no reason to.

[Eric Sayre]

Well, I just ordered the 150/3 & abrasives. The "vac" will have to come later, but it is certainly on my list. Thank you all for your experiences and advice.

[Jim Becker]

Good choice, Eric. My 150/3 is my "go to" sander 90+% of the time.

[Andy McCormick]

I own a 150/3 and a 150/5. I use the 150 5 way more than the 3. I found the 3 to slow to sand. The 5 sands at a good pace and leaves a great finish itself.