I should have bought a Festool

[Don Bullock]

Well, in May I decided that I needed a new sander. My old Craftsman vibrating sander was just not doing the job and I thought it was getting unsafe (the grommet where the wires entered the metal case had disintegrated). I decided to buy the Bosch 1295DVSK 2.2 Amp 5-Inch Palm Grip Variable Speed Random Orbit Palm Sander with Dust Canister from Amazon. I've used it several times and thought it was doing a super job of sanding the oak and cherry that I'be been working on.

Monday morning I used it and all was fine. When I tried to turn it on Monday evening nothing happened. It wouldn't start. Yes, I tried it on several outlets and even bent the prongs of the plug to make sure it wasn't loose in the plug. When I contacted Bosch, all they would tell me by email today is to try to get the retailer to replace it or take to one of their service centers. I've had it for less than two months - maybe 4 to 5 hours of sanding with it! Anyway, I think I should have bought a Festool 5" random orbit sander ES 125 EQ from Bob instead of the Bosch. Even if I get the one I have to work I'll be waiting for it to fail again. I guess I'll have to go the the service center tomorrow and see what they have to say. Sorry for the rant. No, I don't feel any better.

[Jim Summers]

Bummer man.

Who is Bob?

Thanks

[Don Bullock]

Bummer man.

Who is Bob?

Thanks

Bob Marino posts a lot here on Sawmill Creek. Many have bought Festool products from him.

Link: http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/

[Michael Weber]

I have had two and they can be a POS. Likely trouble spots are the speed control or the quick connectors on the wire from the brushes. The connectors are small and overheat easily especially if you tend to apply force downward when sanding. I was fortunate to be able to clean mine up and solder them to their terminals after reinstalling. When they overheat the metal becomes soft and loses it's spring which lessons the contact which causes more heating. A vicious cycle. The speed control failed in one and I just removed it and wired around it. I can also tell you that you might as well go ahead and order replacement hook and loop pads for the thing because they won't last a long time. The reason I got a second 1295 is that I had ordered two replacement hook and loop pads for the first one just before it failed again. So at least I'm set for hook and loop pad with three currently.

[jonathan snyder]

Don,

The switch on mine failed too. Bosch replaced the switch under warranty. I put the sander in the cabinet and bought a vintage Stanley #4 smooth plane. I haven't taken the ROS out of the cabinet since!! No dust, no noise!!

I have a number of Bosch tools and like them for the most part, although the switch on my router also failed. Retailer replaced it!

Jonathan

[Dennis Peacock]

All I can add here is: Once you go with a Festool sander? You'll never look back.

[glenn bradley]

Sorry you had trouble. I've been using the heck out of mine with no problem. I do use it with a vacuum hooked up to it and never really see any dust. I wonder if their seals aren't as good as they should be(?).

On the upside, I had to have my Colt serviced and they had it back to me in a couple days. The service guy even called me to tell me what he had done and to make sure that there were no other concerns with the tool. Quick, courteous service.

[Jason White]

Take it back and get the Festool (connected to a shop-vac with adjustable suction control). You will never regret it I have 4 Festool sanders and love them all!

JW

Well, in May I decided that I needed a new sander. My old Craftsman vibrating sander was just not doing the job and I thought it was getting unsafe (the grommet where the wires entered the metal case had disintegrated). I decided to buy the Bosch 1295DVSK 2.2 Amp 5-Inch Palm Grip Variable Speed Random Orbit Palm Sander with Dust Canister from Amazon. I've used it several times and thought it was doing a super job of sanding the oak and cherry that I'be been working on.

Monday morning I used it and all was fine. When I tried to turn it on Monday evening nothing happened. It wouldn't start. Yes, I tried it on several outlets and even bent the prongs of the plug to make sure it wasn't loose in the plug. When I contacted Bosch, all they would tell me by email today is to try to get the retailer to replace it or take to one of their service centers. I've had it for less than two months - maybe 4 to 5 hours of sanding with it! Anyway, I think I should have bought a Festool 5" random orbit sander ES 125 EQ from Bob instead of the Bosch. Even if I get the one I have to work I'll be waiting for it to fail again. I guess I'll have to go the the service center tomorrow and see what they have to say. Sorry for the rant. No, I don't feel any better.

[Don Bullock]

Don,

The switch on mine failed too. Bosch replaced the switch under warranty. I put the sander in the cabinet and bought a vintage Stanley #4 smooth plane. I haven't taken the ROS out of the cabinet since!! No dust, no noise!!

I have a number of Bosch tools and like them for the most part, although the switch on my router also failed. Retailer replaced it!

Jonathan

I've had other Bosch tools with no problem, but I don't use them as much as I use a sander.

As for the plane, I haven't gotten into using them yet. It is on my "to do" list, but I have too many higher priority things on the list.

Sorry you had trouble. I've been using the heck out of mine with no problem. I do use it with a vacuum hooked up to it and never really see any dust. I wonder if their seals aren't as good as they should be(?)....

The reviews on the Bosch sander were very good and many like you had reported on the forums that it was working well for them. That's the main reason I decuded to buy one. Hopefully after it's repaired it will be a workhorse like yours.

Take it back and get the Festool (connected to a shop-vac with adjustable suction control). You will never regret it I have 4 Festool sanders and love them all!

JW

Jason, if I could I would at this point. Unfortunately even Amazon won't take it back now. I'll take it in today to get it repaired and then look into hooking up my ShopVac to it. We'll see what the repair shop says about it. I will, however, be buying a Festool as soon as I can.

[Greg Funk]

I think it's a bit silly to recommend buying Festool sanders just because Don had one problem with his sander. Festool equipment is not immune to failure and if you monitor the Festool owners group you will see that on occasion Festool has to replace defective product as well.

The failure rate on Bosch products is very low. Get the sander fixed and it will last for many years.

Greg

[Matt Day]

My Bosch has worked great without problems; I'd recommend it to anyone especially for the price.

Sorry you have an issue, but I bet it's a quick fix.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

I like 1/4 sheet sanders that Porter Cable has called the Speed Bloc

[Don Bullock]

I think it's a bit silly to recommend buying Festool sanders just because Don had one problem with his sander. Festool equipment is not immune to failure and if you monitor the Festool owners group you will see that on occasion Festool has to replace defective product as well.

The failure rate on Bosch products is very low. Get the sander fixed and it will last for many years.

Greg

Greg, I'm the one who brought up the subject. After what I have just experienced, I do wish that I had bought a Festool. Yes, they may fail as well. Part of my feeling is based on the fact that I've had the Bosch sander for such a short time. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that Festool would have been a little more sympathetic about it failing with so little use. Only time will tell if I'm right. I'm taking it in this afternoon. Hopefully I'll change my mind and will end up with a great sander. I guess I was spoiled with the old Craftsman sander that my dad bought in the mid '60s. It still works great. I may just find a grommet at Radio Shack and go back to it. For now, I'm back to sand paper and my favorite sanding block.

[Greg Funk]

Greg, I'm the one who brought up the subject. After what I have just experienced, I do wish that I had bought a Festool. Yes, they may fail as well. Part of my feeling is based on the fact that I've had the Bosch sander for such a short time. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that Festool would have been a little more sympathetic about it failing with so little use. Only time will tell if I'm right. I'm taking it in this afternoon. Hopefully I'll change my mind and will end up with a great sander. I guess I was spoiled with the old Craftsman sander that my dad bought in the mid '60s. It still works great. I may just find a grommet at Radio Shack and go back to it. For now, I'm back to sand paper and my favorite sanding block.

I see - you want to have your cake and eat it too. Festool dealers can afford top flight service because their margins are good. Bosch sells their products through lower margin channels like Amazon, consequently they can't afford the same level of service. Of course you could probably buy 2 or 3 Bosch sanders for the price of one Festool...

That having been said I think there are other good reasons to get a Festool. I have a perfectly working Bosch sander but will probably go ahead and get a Festool just because I like nice tools...

[Don Bullock]

I see - you want to have your cake and eat it too. Festool dealers can afford top flight service because their margins are good. Bosch sells their products through lower margin channels like Amazon, consequently they can't afford the same level of service. Of course you could probably buy 2 or 3 Bosch sanders for the price of one Festool...

That having been said I think there are other good reasons to get a Festool. I have a perfectly working Bosch sander but will probably go ahead and get a Festool just because I like nice tools...

The only reason I bought the sander from Amazon is that I couldn't find a local source, including several BORGs, that had it in stock (actually the price at LOWES was lower than Amazon, but they didn't have any in stock). I spent the better part of a day looking. In fact,I had to buy my Bosch jigsaw and a Bostitch 23 Gauge Pin Nailer through Amazon for the same reason. Yes, I live in a highly populated area with many retailers to choose from. None of them had any of these tools in stock when I wanted them.

True, the Bosch was about $100 less than the Festool, but cost was only one of the reasons I selected the Bosch. I like nice tools as well (I own a SawStop). One review I saw reported that the sanding pattern of the Bosch was even better than the Festool's pattern. There were, as I stated above, other good reviews and posts from people who own the Bosch. It sounded like, and still may be, a great tool.