rare for me, but hemming/hawing on a sander purchase - Festool related

[Dan Clark]

I started with the 150/3 and ct22 and just added the Rotex to get boards flat faster. The 150/3 is by far easier to handle but also takes time to remove material. It's my go to sander 80% of the time followed by the Rotex 150. I just picked up a smaller PC 130 5" palm sander to do curves on chairs but my return it for the Mirka which looks better and has better dust collection when attached to a vacuum. Having a dust collector that is attached 100% of the time and turns on every time you use your sander was my best decision for my health.

Keith,Mirka doesn't mention it but the Ceros OEM pad takes Festool 6" sandpaper. The pad holes line up with the outer ring of Festool paper, so you can leverage your supply of 150/3 paper and still get excellent dust collection. Speaking of dust collection, a D27 hose will fit into the Mirka dust port by removing the rubber connection. I keep a spare D27 hose hooked to the Ceros and use cord wraps to keep the hose and ceros together. The sander, hose, cord, and power supply is stored in a Festool Sys4 T-Loc. Regards,Dan

[Danny Hamsley]

I had the same questions about which 6" RO sander to get. Did a bunch or research on the Festools and other sanders (but not the Mirka....). In the end, I ordered the Bosch 3727DEV 3.3 amp 6" variable speed sander yesterday for half the price of the Festool. Maybe the Festool is twice as good. Anyway, it will be an upgrade from my 5" DeWalt that has sanded thousands of BF, so hopefully at least I am headed in the right direction.

One last thought. The best sander that I have ever purchased is the 15" 3 HP spiral head planer!!!!!!!!! The finish is so nice that sanding has become much less of a chore. I have found that doing the finish planing right really makes the down stream processes so much more pleasant, especially sanding.

[Stephen Cherry]

I'm looking at sanders also, and it seems to me that the price of these dedicated vacs would go a long way towards a used compressor to run air sanders, as well as giving the capability to do other things. It seems that the entry level compressor would be a real 5 hp, with 7.5 being more realistic.

I'm looking at mirka and dynabrade, with the self generating vacs. They look very simple and light weight. Plus these sanders are not super big money, like the festools.

[Phil Thien]

Wow, some of you guys have more invested in sanders than I have invested in my entire shop! Mark me impressed!

[Curt Putnam]

About 3 weeks ago I spent about 2 hours with a Festool rep checking out sanders & vacs. Decided the 6" Rotex and the mini or midi vac was what I needed. 10% off for another few days. Totally choked on the idea of spending nearly $1,000 for a vacuum and a sander - especially since I'm trying to move to hand tools. Spent $100 and bought a Ridgid 6" with lifetime warranty that hooks to my 20 year old ShopVac. The sander is not as good and the vac sure isn't. But $100 was just too attractive. Also added a 3M 7500 series half mask filter for when the dust is really flying.

[Dave Lewis]

Regarding the dust collection, I bought a 3M Bosch dust hose that connects my Bosch 6" ROS to cyclone ductwork that works OK. . I can also connect to a variable suction Fein vacuum; at full suction it's almost too much though, but it's quieter and auto-on/off is really nice.

[Don Bullock]

When I had multiple problems with a Bosch ETS sander quitting after very light use I bought a Festool 5" Dual Mode Sander RO 125 T-Loc. It's been very reliable with absolutely no problems. I wanted the 5" for more versatility and it's been my "go to" sander for almost everything. I don't know what I'd do with a more aggressive sander. After trying to hook the sander up to my ShopVac with some degree of success I decided that I "needed" a Festool CT 22. They had them available in "Package Deals" like they do now. After discussing my sanding needs with Bob Marino (Festool dealer) I decided on the Orbital 1/2 sheet sander RS 2 T-Loc. I do a lot of flat sanding, i.e. table tops, and Bob suggested this sander would be good for that. Wow, was he right. I love the Orbital 1/2 sheet sander for table tops and anything I want to make flat. Both sanders, of course, work flawlessly with my Festool CT 22. I decided rather that buying new bags or trying to empty them (very messy) I'd place an Oneida Dust Deputy between the sanders and the CT 22. It works great.

After stating my experience I'd like to say that most people seem to like the 150/3 better than the RO 125. There are times when the RO 125 is more difficult to control than the 150/3. If I had the cash I would buy a 150/3 to add to my shop, but that's not happening anytime soon. I's strongly suggest that you work with a dealer who will allow you to experiment with the sanders or at least has a good return policy.