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Thread: Festool Vac & Sander Question

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Shakopee, MN
    Posts
    125

    Question Festool Vac & Sander Question

    OK, so I'm trying hard to justify another Festool purchase, it goes something like this.

    My first and only Festool purchase so far has been the Domino which I got in April and absolutely love. But I understand that Festool advises against running the Domino without a vac attached, so I thought I'd pick up the Festool hose and somehow adapt to my old Rigid shop vac....until I realized the hose would cost more than my old vac did when it was new...and now this old vac has really been around the block a time or two and in fact I managed to start it on fire at one point (cockpit trouble, not the vac's fault)...so needless to say I don't really want to continue to use it...so time for a new Festool vac, either the CT 22 or CT 33. A justifiable purchase in my mind

    And so I'm thinking, why not take advantage of one of Festools package deals and come home with a new sander while I'm at it, since my old PC ROS has already been rebuilt once and may not have much time left before permanently "expiring".

    So my question to Festool sander owners.....

    I'm considering either the RO 150 FEQ or the RO 125 FEQ. Wondering what owners of either of these think of them? Do both modes work as advertised? So often tools that are "two in one" like this don't do the job as well as separate, dedicated tools. Is that the case with these?

    I'm just a hobbiest who builds furniture for my home...end/coffee tables, book cases, casework, etc. Planning to get into some slightly larger pieces - grandfather clock, china cabinet/hutch, perhaps a dining room table, office furniture, etc. Am I better off with the 5" 125 or the 6" 150? My old PC is a 5" and I've always thought the size was sufficient...but I've never owned a 6" so maybe I'm really missing out on something?

    Apologies for being so long winded. Thanks in advance for any advice the Creek may be able to provide!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Plymouth County, Massachusetts
    Posts
    2,933
    When I was interested in a Festool sander combo, I decided to go where you can get all the information you can handle. Festool has an owners forum site that I'm not sure I can give you a link to because I don;t want to violate any SMC rules. Give me a PM and I'll give you a link to the site.

    Gary K.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Greenville, South Carolina
    Posts
    756
    Gary will set you on the right track. One thing to keep in mind is whichever sander you choose, think about standardizing on either 150mm or 125mm for your shop, so you won't have to buy two different sizes of abrasives.
    Cheers,
    Bob

    I measure three times and still mess it up.

  4. #4
    I standardized on the larger size and am glad I did. Festool sanders are like rabbits.

  5. Kim,
    In my shop I have 6 - ES125 's . 3 get daily use, somewhere from 4-6 hrs of use a day. ( 3 are for back up when the others are out for service)
    I also have 2 CT-22E 's . I've had them for about 3 years ( Warranty is 3 years) . Both Vac units died within days of each other about a month ago, of course just passed the 3 year warranty . It cost me about $100 total to fix the two units.
    As for the sanders, we USE them and we USE them hard. We've had minor issues with the sanders. In need of basic care, nothing major. Never an issue. I send them off and they are back ASAP.
    MY biggest gripe is that the 4 screws that hold the sanding pad in place tend to strip themselves out .I'm sure it's the vibration that does it.
    I have tapped a new set of threads in a pinch. We also go thru alot of sanding pads. ( we're a funrniture refinshing shop).
    On the plus side, the sanders connceted to the Vac system have cut down on the dust on my shop tremendously.

    I use to use good old Porter Cable 5" sanders. Such CRAP I can't begin to tell ya. At one point I had sent back 17 broken or defective sanders to have replaced for new ones. They sent me refurbished units, I told them that the new units couldn't stand up in my shop how could used/refurbished units last longer.
    I eventually spoke directly with some big honcho who replaced all of my units with new ones .

    As soon as I found Festool, we tried them out ( salesman lives a few minutes away) and have not looked back !

  6. #6
    Honestly unless you want the best dust control going I don't see the need. There are other tools that are every bit as good but lack the integral DC features. the PC sander is flawless I prefer the speed Blok.
    The Bosch jig saw is the equal of Festool's (maybe better 'cause you can see the work better) sans the DC of course.
    Their routers too have rivals elsewhere.

    If I earned my living in other people's homes making dust and chips I'd go with Festool for sure - 'cause I hate cleaning up after myself and Festool does a lot of that for you. Otherwise ~ ~ ~ ~

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Posts
    428
    I have the 125 and love it. Here is my take

    Will a festool sander give you a finer surface? No

    Will it give a finer surface with less work and more comfort? Yes IMO

    Is the dust control worth it? The fines created by sanding are the biggest health risk in the shop. Large dust never gets to your lungs anyway. So you decide what the lungs are worth.

    I recommend teh 125 because I think it is ergonomically better designed (big words meaning more confortable to hold). The 150 is large and cumbersome in my opinion.

    Be prepared for a ridiculously powerful sander in either case. These babies are designed to be held with two hands for a reason
    America is great because she is good. If America ceases to be good, America will cease to be great.
    Alexis de Tocqueville

    You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.
    C. S. Lewis

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Minnesota
    Posts
    2,285
    I have the RO150 and recommend it without hesitation. I can't quite justify big $$ for the RO125 because it's 5" instead of 6". I already have a 5" palm sander, so the ROTEX 150 was the right choice for me.

    By the way -- you can get a relatively cheap Festool hose for your RIDGID vac. Just get the non-"antistatic" version, which is grey in color. I think I got mine for about $30-ish. But you can't go wrong with the Festool vac, either. I'm amazed at how well it works and love being able to snap toolboxes on top of it.

    JW


    Quote Originally Posted by Kim Spence View Post
    OK, so I'm trying hard to justify another Festool purchase, it goes something like this.

    My first and only Festool purchase so far has been the Domino which I got in April and absolutely love. But I understand that Festool advises against running the Domino without a vac attached, so I thought I'd pick up the Festool hose and somehow adapt to my old Rigid shop vac....until I realized the hose would cost more than my old vac did when it was new...and now this old vac has really been around the block a time or two and in fact I managed to start it on fire at one point (cockpit trouble, not the vac's fault)...so needless to say I don't really want to continue to use it...so time for a new Festool vac, either the CT 22 or CT 33. A justifiable purchase in my mind

    And so I'm thinking, why not take advantage of one of Festools package deals and come home with a new sander while I'm at it, since my old PC ROS has already been rebuilt once and may not have much time left before permanently "expiring".

    So my question to Festool sander owners.....

    I'm considering either the RO 150 FEQ or the RO 125 FEQ. Wondering what owners of either of these think of them? Do both modes work as advertised? So often tools that are "two in one" like this don't do the job as well as separate, dedicated tools. Is that the case with these?

    I'm just a hobbiest who builds furniture for my home...end/coffee tables, book cases, casework, etc. Planning to get into some slightly larger pieces - grandfather clock, china cabinet/hutch, perhaps a dining room table, office furniture, etc. Am I better off with the 5" 125 or the 6" 150? My old PC is a 5" and I've always thought the size was sufficient...but I've never owned a 6" so maybe I'm really missing out on something?

    Apologies for being so long winded. Thanks in advance for any advice the Creek may be able to provide!

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Phoenix AZ Area
    Posts
    2,505
    I have both the RO150, and the 150/3. The RO150 is a brute. It's powerful and a little difficult to control, and definitely a two hand tool. In rotary mode it removed stock as fast as a belt sander, and you can quickly flip to orbital mode. I bought this sander before I bought the 150/3. The 150/3 uses the same paper, but it is much smoother to use and one can pretty easily use it one handed. In my shop, the 150/3 will get the lion's share of usage. In fact, I'm not sure I have used the RO150 since I got the 150/3 last winter. In hindsight that's a little surprising since the RO150 replaced my old 6" Porter Cable which was also a right angle style sander.

    On 5" or 6", I prefer the 6" as I get flatter results. I use the small RTS400 rectangular sander for the edges and small stuff. Do the math, and the area of 6" is 43% more than the area of 5".
    Last edited by Joe Jensen; 08-08-2007 at 10:26 PM.

  10. #10
    I also wanted a sander to do everything. I bought the RO125. Both modes work very well for me. I took off some major material and then used it to mirror finish some speakers I made. I love the dual mode.

    I wish the RO150 was in the RO125 body. I have smaller hands and the 150 was a little big for me when I tried it out. I like how the 125 is lighter and therefore more controllable for me. If you are a "manly man" with mitts for hands then the 150 may be the better choice.

    Either one will work very well. For me, the two modes work as advertised. It saved me money from buying two different sanders to do multiple jobs. YMMV
    BE ALERT! The world needs more lerts.

  11. #11
    Kim,

    I have the new RO150 FEQ. It's a great sander. That said, I'm not sure if it's the right sander for you.

    For furniture and case work, Festool makes other sanders that might be better. Suggestion: go to the Festool Owners Group (delete the spaces) forum and scroll down to the "Festool Quick Links" section. Go into that section and check out the Festool Sanders Guide by Jerry Work.

    Jerry is a furniture maker par excellance. He probably knows more about festool sanders than anybody going. What is great about his 33 page guide is that it covers what each sanders is best at and not just what they are.

    Please check out his guide. If you need a direct link, please give me a PM.

    One thing about Festool sanders, I won't argue much if someone want to say that other circular saws, jigsaws, routers, etc are as good as Festool. There are other good tools out there. Festool sanders? They are the best!

    Regards,

    Dan.

    p.s., I'd post the link here, but this forum doesn't allow that sort of thing.
    It's amazing what you can accomplish in the 11th hour, 59 minute of any project. Ya just have to keep your eye on the goal.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Shakopee, MN
    Posts
    125
    Thanks to everyone for all the helpful info!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    Shakopee, MN
    Posts
    125
    Thanks Dan. I'll go check out Jerry's guide.

  14. #14
    I hesitate to give you an opinion, but given what you want to do, I'll give you a hint. Here's what Jerry has to say about the RS 2E:

    The other pure rotary sander, the RS 2 E

    (pictured below) is another story. It is a
    big, powerful work horse that is in my
    hands virtually every day. It has a bit
    larger orbit (2.5mm), has a much larger
    pad (115mm x 228mm or 4 1/2” x 9”), and
    at 5.5 pounds is twice as heavy as the
    DS and RS 400 sanders.

    That big flat sanding pad (the right most
    media pictured above) simply cannot be
    beat for smoothing out large surfaces.
    surfaces.


    It is not an overly aggressive sander compared
    to the RAS 115 we discussed earlier
    or the RO 150 we will be discussing
    shortly, but you can use it all day long
    with no tingling of the hands. Since it
    produces a really flat surface, there is no
    worry about dips or gouges showing up
    after the final finish is applied.


    OK, it was a big hint.

    Regards,

    Dan.
    It's amazing what you can accomplish in the 11th hour, 59 minute of any project. Ya just have to keep your eye on the goal.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Phoenix AZ Area
    Posts
    2,505
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan Clark View Post
    I hesitate to give you an opinion, but given what you want to do, I'll give you a hint. Here's what Jerry has to say about the RS 2E:



    OK, it was a big hint.

    Regards,


    Dan.
    The RS2-E is my FAVORITE sander. Maybe the best hand held power tool I've ever used.

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