Death of an orbital Sander

[Greg Portland]

The 5" Festool is designed to be a finish sander for faster stock removal the 150/5 or the Rotex is the choice.

I have the "slow" ETS 150/3 and it removes stock quickly with appropriate abrasive choices (comparing it to my old Bosch or PC sanders). The 150/5, Rotex, and rotary options are VERY fast.

[Brent VanFossen]

Woops....forgot about the Mirka Ceros.

That Mirka is *sweet*, though I haven't plunked down the money yet.

[Carl Beckett]

I have had a Bosch 3727 Model for maybe ... 18 years now?? A workhorse, and if attached to a vacuum does a pretty decent job with dust as well (holes through the pad).

Those units that have a shroud surrounding the pad would seem like a better dust collection design, but I dont have direct experience (or if that type would prevent getting into corners)

I find electric to be very convenient. No driers, dont have to drag the compressor around, can take it to different rooms in the house, or to a job site or loan it out even.

I would buy the Bosch again. (unless I had no budget, then might try out Festool or Mirka)

[Todd Davidson]

True, but online you can buy the Metabo made refurbished sandrers on eBay or at CPO Ridgid for around $60. It is also a dual mode, and (like you said). in aggressive mode it's a beast. I, too am a still a fan of the 1/4 sheet palm sander - have a pair of Speed-Blocs that are over 20 years old and are my go to sanders.

The newer ones aren't made in Germany anymore. I have one, it's a good sander, but apt to turn a nice piece of plywood into a piece of veneerless scrap if you're not careful. I get the wife to do the sanding with it and blame her. I stick to a 1/4 sheet cheapie and haven't gone wrong with it yet.

[Rich Engelhardt]

My long time companion, a dewalt 5 inch hook & loop,variable speed dander has gone on to the great shop in the sky

I have the single speed version of that sander. Other than the replacement pads being all out of proportion costwise to replace, mine has served me fine - for a $59.00 sander.

[Jim Andrew]

Have trouble with the ROSers where you have to hang onto the body. Got a Bosch with the handle on the side, and bought the fittings to hook it to my vac, and get along very well. The body also has a knob, so can hang onto it with both hands. Bought the refurbished version several years ago, don't use it every day, but often for 2 or 3 hours non-stop.

[Dave Lehnert]

I had a USA made Porter Cable 333 that wore out after light hobby use. I had it 5 years and I used it maybe 50 hours total.

I now have a Milwaukee 6021-21 with 30 hours on it. Good sander at a great price. I tested the 5''Festool and it didn't do any better job at sanding than the Milwaukee. In fact the Festool was slower.

I also own the Milwaukee 6021-21 sander. I don't dislike it but it seems to be kinda grabby. You can be sanding and it will all of a sudden want to take off across the board. Kinda have to fight it to keep it on course. I take it you do not experience the same issue?
Just FYI-Ridgid has the same sander in orange.

[Andrew Joiner]

Dave, The Ridgid is not the same, the switch is on the side.

I have no "grabbing" issues with my Milwaukee. I think any RO held up high with coarser grits could feel grabby. I hold on as low as I can on the tool, around the barrel. If I hold onto to the highest part or what looks like the hand grip I don't press down, just guide it.

[Dave Lehnert]

Dave, The Ridgid is not the same, the switch is on the side.

I have no "grabbing" issues with my Milwaukee. I think any RO held up high with coarser grits could feel grabby. I hold on as low as I can on the tool, around the barrel. If I hold onto to the highest part or what looks like the hand grip I don't press down, just guide it.

Thanks for the reply.
Yes, The difference between the two are the switch. The Ridgid got some bad reviews, because of it's location, was easy to accidentally bump off. The reason I went with the Milwaukee.
The sander I had before was a Ryobi. Very possible I am not use to the extra power of the new unit.

[Michael W. Clark]

I had a 5" Craftsman, was actually was a pretty good sander, just didn't last long. I think it broke some kind of belt inside. I bought a Dewalt 5" with variable speed and I don't like it. It vibrates like crazy and is extremely loud. I have used it maybe 5 minutes. I got a Festool 6" Rotex and love it. Also have the Festool ETS 150? rectangular pad sander. It takes a little getting used to but is very good on face frames and narrow pieces. I also have a Rigid 1/4 sheet and don't like it either, it tends to grab. I'd be willing to part with the Rigid and/or Dewalt. The Rigid was bought refurbished from an outlet. Both sanders are like new with very little dust on them. If interested, PM me.

Mike

[David Larsen]

I have both the PC 390K and Festool ETS 150. Both are variable speed and both have good dust collection.

[shane lyall]

I love my P-Cs. They come with an extra ring that goes between the pad and body to help seal for dust collection. After many hours of use I still haven't seen a need to replace it in mine yet. My sander get used several hours a day as I make a living in my shop. I use them hooked up to a small shop vacs and dust collection is good. I think, but not sure, I had to buy the adapters seperatly but it's been a few years ago so who knows.

The felt backed paper costs a little more but I can change grits and save the paper if it isn't to far gone. That, and using the big eraser deal made for drum sander cleaning, has cut my paper use down so it all comes out about the same. As an added bonus, my woodmaster also uses the same backing. The outside edges hardly ever wear out before the middle and I cut new disks from it when we change a roll on the drum. Just something to think about if you are on the fence about backing materals.

If my Porter-Cables smoked today I would buy another just like them as soon as Lowes opened in the morning. eWalt is the same sander IIRC so it may pay you in the long run to replace it with what you had.