Control of Ridgid 6" ROS 2610 with Dust Collection

[Hoa Dinh]

Got a new Ridgid 6" ROS (2610 - Metabo rebadged, not the new China-made 2611).

The sander by itself is smooth and easy to control.

But when hooked up to a Fein Mini-Turbo, even when the suction set at the lowest level (via a valve) and the sander at the lowest speed, the sander becomes jerky. It jumps all over the board.

Am I doing something wrong ? Or is that a nature of the beast? My little PC 333VS doesn't behave this way.

Should I return the Ridgid and bite the bullet for a copy of the about-to-be-released Festool RO150?

[Mickey Elam]

I have the same sander and if I'm using a fine grit on a slow speed I get the same problem. I think it's caused by the fine grit disc not allowing enough air into the holes and causing a vacuum clamp situation. My solution has been to turn the sander speed up all the way. As a matter of fact, the only time I really turn the speed on the sander down is when sanding a surface that is somewhat thinner than the sanding disc - say ~2"-3" wide, and then only to control material removal.

[Kevin Blunt]

I have the ridgid 5" ROS and do not have any of those problems. I realize it is not exactly the same thing but it is something to think about. That being said, if I were to hedge a guess I would say Mickey is right on the button with that solution to your problem. Makes perfect sense in my mind. How tight does the Fein vacuum hold the sander to the wood when it is not running. If you are using fine sandpaper it may not be much different. FWIW

[Hoa Dinh]

Thanks, Mickey, for sharing your experience.

My original post was based on my experience with grit 180 sanding disk. After reading your post, I tried the sander at full speed with grit 120 and grit 80. As you stated, the coarser the grit of the sanding disk, the easier it was to control the sander.

But it's still dissappointing. Right now I'm leaning toward returning it and get the new Festools RO150. I will be selling my PC 325VS belt sander to add to the fund of the Festools.

Thanks again.

[Brian Clevenger]

My experience has been the same as Mickey's. The sander will tend to "suck" to the workpiece with slow revs and fine grit. The fix was the same for me....turn the knob up a hair.

OTOH, you couldn't pry my Ridgid/Metabo from my cold, dead, fingers. If there is a better ROS out there, I DON'T want to see it..... I spend enough money as it is.