I should have bought a Festool

[Greg Funk]

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.

It is a very good sander. Invest $2.95 and buy an RS006 vacuum adapter. It will get rid of all your dust.

[Jason White]

If you're seriously considering a Festool -- you should go to a local Woodcraft store and try one out. They will let you plug them in and play with them. I'd try either the "Rotex" RO150 or RO125 if you want a good, all-purpose sander (both super-fine and aggressive sanding). But play with all of them and decide for yourself.

JW

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.

[Bob Childress]

Don,

Whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy a Festool sander! I bought my first one 8 months ago and my third one is due to arrive tomorrow.

[Dixon Peer]

All this palaver about Bosch, Festool, back and forth. Bosch makes a helluva good jig saw, and I've heard their other tools are very nice, good products. That said, I have many Festool sanders, and I have to say they are the best I've ever used. I've been building cabinets and all kinds of millwork for over thirty years, so there's a lot of experience behind my recommendations.

There is virtually no dust when using Festool sanders in conjunction with their dust collectors. At first it's a little disconcerting, not seeing any dust flying through the air. You don't believe the sander is working right...believe me when I tell you, they are the best on the market today.

[Scot Ferraro]

I bought two of the 5 inch Bosch sanders from Lowe's and had trouble with each one within a few minutes -- each ran very hot, the black pad started to disintegrate on them and they were not smooth. I ended up buying a 6 inch Bosch and it has worked flawlessly -- very smooth and quite and excellent dust collection. While not as good as the Festool 150-3 I tried, for $100 less, it was the right sander for my needs at this time and I have no regrets. I think that Bosch has some quality control issues on the 5 inch.

Scot

[Don Bullock]

Wow, I was just venting last night and didn't plan to start a Festool vs Bosch debate. I took the sander to the local Bosch Service location. The guy who fixes the tools blew it out with a high pressure air hose, but it still wouldn't start. He said he'd call sometime next week and added that he doesn't see many of the Bosch sanders in his shop. We'll see what happens.

It is a very good sander. Invest $2.95 and buy an RS006 vacuum adapter. It will get rid of all your dust.

Greg, if the sander is fixed I plan to do just that. Thanks for the suggestion.

If you're seriously considering a Festool -- you should go to a local Woodcraft store and try one out. They will let you plug them in and play with them. I'd try either the "Rotex" RO150 or RO125 if you want a good, all-purpose sander (both super-fine and aggressive sanding). But play with all of them and decide for yourself.

JW

Jason, the closest WoodCraft to me is a two hour drive in bumper-to-bumper traffic. I don't go there often. I have seen a Festool sander demonstrated, but I haven't actually has a chance to try one. The next time I'm at WoodCraft I'll see if they will let me try one out.

Don,

Whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy a Festool sander! I bought my first one 8 months ago and my third one is due to arrive tomorrow.

Bob, thanks for the information. I'm sorry that you had so much trouble with the Festool, but it's nice to know I'm not alone on this one.

All this palaver about Bosch, Festool, back and forth. Bosch makes a helluva good jig saw, and I've heard their other tools are very nice, good products. That said, I have many Festool sanders, and I have to say they are the best I've ever used. I've been building cabinets and all kinds of millwork for over thirty years, so there's a lot of experience behind my recommendations.

There is virtually no dust when using Festool sanders in conjunction with their dust collectors. At first it's a little disconcerting, not seeing any dust flying through the air. You don't believe the sander is working right...believe me when I tell you, they are the best on the market today.

Dixon, I have no problems with Bosch tools. In fact I have one of their jig saws and it is as good as you say it is. The Bosch router that I have is a good tool as well. I just wish that I had "good luck" with the sander because it's a tool that I use a lot more than the others. Maybe a Festool would have been a better choice. I appreciate your input on the topic.

I bought two of the 5 inch Bosch sanders from Lowe's and had trouble with each one within a few minutes -- each ran very hot, the black pad started to disintegrate on them and they were not smooth. I ended up buying a 6 inch Bosch and it has worked flawlessly -- very smooth and quite and excellent dust collection. While not as good as the Festool 150-3 I tried, for $100 less, it was the right sander for my needs at this time and I have no regrets. I think that Bosch has some quality control issues on the 5 inch.

Scot

Scot, your input on the 6" Bosch vs the 5" is interesting. It may be worth looking into. I actually loved the results I was getting from my 5" sander. It's the premature failing that I'm upset about. As for it running hot, that's something that I didn't notice. Hot is a relative term, but my old Craftsman ran a lot hotter than the Bosch was running. So far the pad on mine was fine, but it's white. Perhaps they have changed that. Thanks for your thoughts on my situation.

[Rick Christopherson]

Don,

Whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT buy a Festool sander! I bought my first one 8 months ago and my third one is due to arrive tomorrow.

Bob, thanks for the information. I'm sorry that you had so much trouble with the Festool, but it's nice to know I'm not alone on this one.

Bob, Bob, Bob...Why are you always badmouthing Festool like this .

Don, Bob was joking, and was explaining that once you buy one...well, you just want more. I don't believe he had problems that required 3 sanders--he just wanted 3 sanders.

[Don Bullock]

Well, if this works out "just right" I may end up with two sanders. It won't be soon, unless the Bosch situation isn't "fixed" under warranty, but I do plan to get a Festool, even if Bob doesn't like them. Right now, I'm recovering from all my tool purchases, and simply don't have the $$$. Maybe, like Bob, I eventually end up with three of them.

[Jim Dailey]

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

Cliff I have to agree about the Speed Blocks. It's one tuff little sander. Thousands & thousands of board feet have gone under my several Rockwell/PC Speed Blocks. It was my all time favorite sander.... "was" is the key word... until my Festool DTS 400 & RTS 400's. I hate to think how much dust I swallowed with the Speed Blocks!!!

I've owned just about every PC model & many Bosch model sanders... but I have long since slide down the slippery Green slope. Today I own 9 different Festool model sanders. Personally I don't care if they are wood tool fashionable or Festool kewl. They work nearly dust free better than anything I've tried before... one sander has "sold" for me the "next" model & the "next" the following... that's why I own 10 total... And they haven't caused me a single service issue.

I'm not saying they are for everybody.... but they work (dust free) for me.

jim

[Scott Lingle]

I won't get into the whole Festool debate, but, my recommendation would be to *call* Bosch (instead of emailing them). I have a Bosch compound mitre saw. Shortly after I got it, through only my own stupidity, a kickback caused the blade to flex and nick one of the inserts in the table. It wasn't bad, certainly livable, but I decided I didn't like the 'abused' look, so I call Bosch to buy replacements. The guy who answered the phone (without having to go through all the "press one for sales, 2 for service crap) got all the pertinent information and sent me both left and right inserts as well as a new sticker set for both...at no charge (not evening shipping)! I even offered again to pay for them (remember - it was my fault, and I let him know that) a he still declined. It was one of my most pleasant customer service experiences in recent history. I have had friends say the same thing. They don't seem to worry about whose 'fault' it is. They just want to make the customer happy. Heckuva way to keep brand loyalty IMHO.

Scott

[Bob Childress]

Bob, Bob, Bob...Why are you always badmouthing Festool like this .

Don, Bob was joking, and was explaining that once you buy one...well, you just want more. I don't believe he had problems that required 3 sanders--he just wanted 3 sanders.

Yep. RO-150, then a DX93, now an ETS 150/3.

[Andrew Williams]

Ok just to confuse you even more....

I haven't used a Festool sander but have had a Milwaukee 1/4 sheet finishing sander for many years, probably since 1994, and it is still going strong.

[Henry Cavanaugh]

My Bosch 5" 3725 has been working great for many years.I dont like the dust canister and plan on hooking it up to my shop vac once I can find any apator for it. I do plan on buying a CT22 Festool vac some day to have a quiter unit and hepa filters, and slow down the speed feature. If my bosch works good on it why change. My goal is to use a plane and card scrapper more and sander a bit less.

[Don Bullock]

I won't get into the whole Festool debate, but, my recommendation would be to *call* Bosch (instead of emailing them). ...They just want to make the customer happy. Heckuva way to keep brand loyalty IMHO.

Scott

Scott, if it doesn't get fixed by the service center, I'll do just that. At this point it's literally out of my hands. I'm not one for "brand loyalty." My shop is equipped with many of the major brands, but it's good to know about your experience with Bosch customer service.

My Bosch 5" 3725 has been working great for many years.I dont like the dust canister and plan on hooking it up to my shop vac once I can find any apator for it. I do plan on buying a CT22 Festool vac some day to have a quiter unit and hepa filters, and slow down the speed feature. If my bosch works good on it why change. My goal is to use a plane and card scrapper more and sander a bit less.

Henry, I'm interested in using a card scraper, but I just haven't had the time to practice with one. It's a good way to go. Thanks for the suggestion. I've only seen one source for the Bosch sander vac attachment. I'll search that out and get back to you this evening (going to be out all day).

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

Cliff I have to agree about the Speed Blocks. It's one tuff little sander. Thousands & thousands of board feet have gone under my several Rockwell/PC Speed Blocks. It was my all time favorite sander.... "was" is the key word... until my Festool DTS 400 & RTS 400's. I hate to think how much dust I swallowed with the Speed Blocks!!!

I've owned just about every PC model & many Bosch model sanders... but I have long since slide down the slippery Green slope. Today I own 9 different Festool model sanders. Personally I don't care if they are wood tool fashionable or Festool kewl. They work nearly dust free better than anything I've tried before... one sander has "sold" for me the "next" model & the "next" the following... that's why I own 10 total... And they haven't caused me a single service issue.

I'm not saying they are for everybody.... but they work (dust free) for me.

jim

Jim, I jhaven't tried any of the PC sanders. It's good to know about the Seeed Blocks. I'm planning on joining you on that slippery slope toward Festool. As I stated in another post, I'll have to wait a while to save up some $$$.

[Greg Funk]

My Bosch 5" 3725 has been working great for many years.I dont like the dust canister and plan on hooking it up to my shop vac once I can find any apator for it. I do plan on buying a CT22 Festool vac some day to have a quiter unit and hepa filters, and slow down the speed feature. If my bosch works good on it why change. My goal is to use a plane and card scrapper more and sander a bit less.

The adaptor model is RS006 (Coastal tool sells them for $2.95). I have the same sander and got one of these recently. I use it with a CT22 and it works very well. You do have to run the vacuum at a slower speed otherwise the sanders gets sucked down and it is harder to manage.

Greg

P.S. If you order from Coastal you need to call them as the part is not listed on their site.