Festool ROS?

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
OK, Ill admit it, Ive become a festool junkie, Domino 700, Ts75 etc....... I figure admitting you have a problem is the start to rehabilitation. I drank the koolaid and well, I was impressed. All joking aside, Im investigating a new festool ROS for general finishing use. Been using Bosch "disposables" for quite sometime now with good success. I say good because I have seen hard to remove swirl marks at times that seem quite large and hard to remove. Im looking for recommendations here on the jumpoff point model to start with. Thanks!
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
I've had the Festool Ro 150 for a few years and am very satisfied w/ it. It has coarse and fine settings. I typically start w/ 100 grit and work my way through 180 on the coarse setting, then switch to the fine setting w/ 220 and 320 grit. Plenty of swirl marks at 100 grit, but gone by the time I'm finished.

If you go w/ something like this plan on getting a "Dust Extractor" w/ it. The clean air was my motivation for buying this in the first place.
 

cyclopentadiene

Update your profile with your name
User
Hate to tell you but the sanders are the best items in their product line. I have the 3 1/2 inch and 5 inch ROS and the ETS125. All 3 have their purpose and function and are excellent. The dust extraction is the best feature.
the Klingspor sandpaper is awesome and much less expensive than Festool
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Hate to tell you but the sanders are the best items in their product line. I have the 3 1/2 inch and 5 inch ROS and the ETS125. All 3 have their purpose and function and are excellent. The dust extraction is the best feature.
the Klingspor sandpaper is awesome and much less expensive than Festool
Could you describe a bit how you use each of these.? I am having difficulty envisioning 3 different sanders.
As context I have a heavy 6" Ridgid that works great on large flat surfaces and a much lighter 5" Festool (the 'gateway' model) that gets used on anything small and/or vertical.
 

chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
I've had the Festool Ro 150 for a few years and am very satisfied w/ it. It has coarse and fine settings. I typically start w/ 100 grit and work my way through 180 on the coarse setting, then switch to the fine setting w/ 220 and 320 grit. Plenty of swirl marks at 100 grit, but gone by the time I'm finished.

If you go w/ something like this plan on getting a "Dust Extractor" w/ it. The clean air was my motivation for buying this in the first place.
Thanks Bill, I have the dust extractor already. priceless for the TS and domino
 

tri4sale

Daniel
Corporate Member
one of the best investments I made was a Festool ROS and dust collector, sanding isn't the chore it used to be.
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
I have 2 Festool sanders and a dust collector. I use them in my Scrollsaw area
IN MY HOUSE. Yeah, they’re that good. Perfect sanding, no dust.
 

LB75

Moderator
George
I have the brushless 6" ETS150 and it is a dream to use. Like others have said, beautiful finish, no dust and it's so smooth you can use it for extended periods without the hand tingling that can result from using other sanders.
 

Rex

New User
Rex
i have to rotex 90 and 150. paired with a midi ii, i couldnt be happier. almost dust free and they are monsters in rotex mode. i might add a ets150 since its lighter and smaller than the ro150 but thats in the future.
 

Jeremy Scuteri

Moderator
Jeremy
why jeremy?
Feels better in my hand. I think it has a lower center of gravity. Easier to control. If I recall correctly, my RO150 has a 5mm stroke and my ETS150 has a 3mm stroke, so that may be part of it. You're welcome to come over and try them out. I have the Festool 1/2 sheet sander too(RS 2E).
 

cyclopentadiene

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User
The 3 1/2 RO 90 can get into places the larger sander cannot. It works great on shaped chair seats and legs with odd surfaces

The larger RO 125 is great for larger surfaces andflat sanding. Final finish is not as clean as the ETS125

I use the ETS 125 primarily with 320 and 400 grit on the final sanding. It leaves a very clean surface. Yes,I could get away with one of the rotary sanders not set to the rotating mode but the finish does not appear as smooth with finish. This was the first Festool product I purchased so this also justifies having it.
 

tri4sale

Daniel
Corporate Member
yes. They vacuum is amazing. I have a few festool sanders and love them all. Literally not a spec of dust when using it.

agreed, I'm amazed by the dust extractor when sanding how good it does. And even with my TS 75 track saw it gets a ton of the dust from cutting.

I added the Festool Cyclone Pre-Separator to mine, and I do like how I don't have to change the expensive bag as often. I'm do think the suction isn't as strong, but I need to test it to see if it's just in my head
 

cyclopentadiene

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User
The dust extractor hose is metric so it will not fit most sanders properly. Rockler offers an adaptor but I am not sure if it works well.

I would not recommend the dust extractor if you want to use some other sander. The Fein dust extractor is less expensive, comparable quality and should have more flexibility to fit other sander brands that with imperial units dust ports
 
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