Festool Gloat

[Matt Meiser]

My Festool order arrived today. If you weren't following my other thread, I decided on the ETS 150/3 sander and CT 22 vac.

Tonight I tried them out in my shop for the first time using the piece of 120 grit paper that came with the sander. I sanded a piece of walnut that has been acclimating in the shop after a couple passes through the planer on the high feed rate. Obviously it had some pretty heavy machining marks. I was shocked at how quickly the machining marks disappeared, and moreso that I could see them disappear. That's not something I've seen before, probably because of the dust left behind after sanding with my previous sanders. When I ran my hand over the sanded area, I picked up virtually no chalky dust as I would have before.

Next, I hooked the vac up to my Porter Cable circular saw and tried it with my EZ Smart system. Again, almost no dust vs a small cloud before with my Ridgid vac. The hose fit the PC connection perfectly with no need for adapters or tape.

Finally I grabbed one of my old 2-1/2" hoses and floor nozzle. They hooked right up to the vac and I found that it has a little less suction with that size hose as the Ridgid. It appears to have more suction than the Ridgid with the small hose, as evidenced by the circular saw test.

The only thing I see needing to work out is storage of the hose. One option may be to use the systainer that came with the sander to store the hose on the vac since that would probably be more convenient than having to store the hose elsewhere and keeping the sander on the vac. At least for now, I don't want to dish out $50 for a spare Systainer.

All in all, I am very happy and can say I'm now a Festool believer.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great gloat Matt. Sounds like they work just fine.

[Jim Becker]

Welcome to the "black and green" addiction!! Good stuff. As to the larger hose...since you probably will only use it for shop cleanup...just keep the old vac for that and reserve the CT22 for the woodworking!!

[Russ Massery]

I have the same sander Matt, But I have the mini vac. Very happy with both. Congrats on the sander and the vac. Great choices

[Matt Meiser]

Welcome to the "black and green" addiction!!

I've already got my next "score" in mind, but it will have to wait a while.

[Frank Pellow]

Congratulations Matt and I am sure that these will not be your last Festool purchases.

I find that the little gizzmo called a suction hose holder (part SHR-CT/SR) which can be seen to the right on: ([http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDet...366&tab=access) and costs $27 is a good way to keep my hose handy and off the floor.

[Kurt Voss]

Somebody once told me you could sand in your living room with that set-up, turns out they were right. I got the handle for the vac which works great for moving it around and provides a handy place to wrap the hose around when not in use. Congrats

[lloyd morris]

"Next, I hooked the sander up to my Porter Cable circular saw and tried it with my EZ Smart system."


Matt,

Thanks for your post about the Festool Sanders and Dust Collection. Now that I have found out what kind of wood I am allergic to I am seriously thinking about a buying few new power tools [which have great dust collection] instead of just using hand tools.

How and why does the Festool Sander hook up to a Porter Cable Saw? Can't you use the Dust Collector as a stand alone tool?


Thanks,

Lloyd

[Jim Becker]

"Next, I hooked the sander up to my Porter Cable circular saw and tried it with my EZ Smart system."

How and why does the Festool Sander hook up to a Porter Cable Saw? Can't you use the Dust Collector as a stand alone tool?

I am thinking that Matt's fingers were not reflecting in type what his brain was actually saying...which is that he hooked up the CT22 vac to the saw, not the sander. Good catch!

[Matt Meiser]

How and why does the Festool Sander hook up to a Porter Cable Saw? Can't you use the Dust Collector as a stand alone tool?

I find its a big timesaver because I can cut AND sand at the same time. Seriously though, Jim is correct.

[Matt Meiser]

I find that the little gizzmo called a suction hose holder (part SHR-CT/SR) which can be seen to the right on: ([http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDet...366&tab=access) and costs $27 is a good way to keep my hose handy and off the floor.

I found a picture you posted with that accessory installed on your vac, and it does look like it would work well.

Frank's Picture

I also noticed that Frank has a very serious case of Festool addiction and I should perhaps stay away from him.

[Tyler Howell]

Welcome to the club

[Bill Simmeth]

I also noticed that Frank has a very serious case of Festool addiction and I should perhaps stay away from him.

Kinda looks like it, huh? Is that long thing in the front the optional, but highly coveted, Festool coffin? I noticed it's a bit on the thin side, but I suppose the CT22 applies suction to fit the owner on insertion?

[Peter Pedisich]

Matt,

I also have the suction hose holder Frank mentioned and it is very convenient.

Pete

[Jason Tuinstra]

Matt, good for you. I'm sure you'll be very happy with your purchase. I know I've enjoyed mine a whole lot.