Any one using the festool Ro150 Feq sander

[supuk]

Well I know a few of you are as it came up in conversation a while ago, Im looking at taking the plunge and splashing out on one mainly for the dust extraction purposes and to have something that is super nice to use.

What I want to know is how do they compare in sanding performance to a regular 7-8" orbital sander. At present im using a dewalt which was a big step up from my cheap hf style thing.

Obviously it will save time of not having to clean up the dust so much but how about time taken to actually sand a hole board?

cheers

[Dwight (DW)]

I'd like to know too!

They are crazy expensive in U.S.  Don't understand where they could be better.

My concerns when I looked into them...

Requires their sanding pad because of special hole pattern. Finding great sanding discs is just as important as the sander itself. So that limitation freaked me out.

I have a great vacuum already that doesn't clog.

I like sander handles more over the pad. Easier to sand flat. I use a Bosch. Nice, but not perfect.

[supuk]

yes there crazy expensive here to but your getting a well made German product with a solid warrantee and replacement service as well. there vacuum system's have filters in them also which takes out the nasty's rather than just recycling the air which sounds like a great idea but the bags are expensive but im sure I can find a way to re use them some how and I believe there are ones with zips to empty if not. Maybe yours does the same? I quite agree with the disks also but I think I can get around that by making a punch thing that pops the holes in to them and just gluing fresh paper onto old Velcro dicks with spay glue however I will inquire if I can get indasa disks ant my local later today

[TallDude]

I don't think the localized dust extraction is that effective to make it worth the cost. You're sanding at such a low speed anyway. Like DW says, sanding disc's! I rip the pads off, shoot spray adhesive on , slap them down a few times and keep moving. The cost of their disc's. Holy crap $27. ea. on sale now!!!!  That's a rich man's tool.

I have a Delta ceiling mount workshop air cleaner that works great.  http://www.amazon.com/Delta-50-871-3-Speed-Digital-Ambient/dp/B007N0MR74/ref=pd_sim_sbs_469_14?ie=UTF8&refRID=01E0P2HEJ248S8ATSCF2  I've had mine for over 15 yrs and it still runs perfect. I'm going to buy another one to mount low closer to my working area. I could also just have one on a rolling cart, and push it around the shop as I work. I change the filters regularly. They are generic and cheap online.

I friend of mine who's a boat designer, gave me a tour of a Cobalt's boat factory (when he worked there). I was standing right next to 4 guys sanding and grinding glass hulls. The air was amazingly clear. On the ceiling maybe 20' up, they had 2 banks of these workshop air cleaners running the length of the boat.

[supuk]

just found this video that's quite good and explains more on it

[PonoBill]

I've bought five sanders in the last few years and don't like any of them. I'd consider this but it looks much too heavy to be using for any length of time.

[supuk]

I've bought five sanders in the last few years and don't like any of them. I'd consider this but it looks much too heavy to be using for any length of time.

Power consumption   720 W
ROTEX rotary motion speed   320-660 min⁻¹
Eccentric motion speed   3300-6800 min⁻¹
Sanding stroke   5 mm
FastFix sanding pad Ø   150 mm
Connection Ø d/e   27 mm
weight   2,3 kg

[dave808]

I use that sander, along with many of their other tools, all the time for my woodworking business and it's pretty amazing. They have soft, medium and hard pads available. Also the sanding disks are not 27.00 each, they're 35.00 for a box of 50, which makes them a pretty good deal. If you use power tools on a regular basis, you'll quickly appreciate the engineering and accuracy of the Festool line. They back up their products well and with fixed retail pricing you don't have to spend a lot of time shopping around for a better price. This is just my opinion, for what it's worth.

[supuk]

yes I'm not worried about the disks they actually work out the same price as good paper and they are velcro so way easier.

Have you ever used on on a board? how would its efficiency compare to a normal rotary 7" sander/polisher?

many thanks

[TallDude]

Also the sanding disks are not 27.00 each, they're 35.00 for a box of 50, which makes them a pretty good deal.

That makes more sense. The sale ad didn't specify any quantity.

 I probably have 5 or 6 sanders. My Porter Cable belt is probably 30 years old now and still going. Good for doors and large wood lamination but not for foam or fiberglass. I've tried various random orbitals on fiberglass but they get the board too hot too fast. My Makita 9227 C 7" sander does a great job. It's light and runs with plenty torque at the lowest rpm. Easy on the arms. No dust system though. They probably have one as an accessory that would just get in the way. I hate one handing most orbital sanders. It wears my arms out. The bosch 1250 DEVS orbital sander is the only one I like.  I mostly like to hand detail sand foam and fiberglass with a soft foam backed sanding block w/ velcro face. 

[PonoBill]

Since I'm generally fixing boards or modifying them I'm often sanding off paint and hotcoat to get to the base layer and enable some taper on the edges. I like an orbital that doesn't gouge but that has enough oomph and a wide enough stroke pattern to strip stuff quickly. And they need to suck enough air to not overheat the grit and surface. I might buy one of these just for that kind of stuff and the massive work I need to do to the fiberglass body for my Ambro 001 (race car). Looks heavy and out of balance though. I let you know later what I think. Sheesh, 550 for a sander??

Then again, I had to cut some 1/4 inch aluminum today to make some motor mount shims. I could have used a saber saw and spent an hour, gumming up up half a dozen blades, or a sawzall with the same issue, but instead I used my giant carbide metal cutoff saw with it's $650 blade and ripped through the stuff like butter. Then I welded the shims into a pack with my $4800 Millermatic TIG. So I don't know what my fricken problem is. Good tools cost money, but you only buy them once--says the guy who bought five useless sanders.

[supuk]

The nice thing about this is it actually blows air onto the work in the center and sucks from the outside so is meant to keep things extra cool. I totally agree and happy to pay the money if it's the right tool for the job. When building my cnc I allso had the same thing with cutting Ali but managed to find a Mikita in the free ads for next to nothing. The best thing for cutting Ali is a fine tooth tct blade although you can get away with using most wood blades on soft metals if you only have a small job. I'm prity much desided on it and will order it online Monday once I have desided on what vacuum and extras to get along with it by the sounds there is a few bits that are worth geting.

[PonoBill]

I tend to go cheap when I buy tools, struggle with their limitations and then buy something proper. You'd think I'd learn, but you never know if you're paying for brand, glitz, limited market--or actually paying what it costs to make the right tool. I bought a cheap TIG setup, struggled to learn how to use it. Made crappy welds and never improved. Then I found a millermatic on eBay (still absurdly expensive) and discovered that the barrier to learning was the tool, not just my ham-handedness.

I don't expect to have exactly the same experience with this thing, but I'm going to order one as soon as I figure out what I need to get.

[supuk]

i think I'm going to go with the RO 150 and the ctl midi vac and then use a dust cyclone to take the bulk of the material away from the main bag. I will get all three sanding pads and then maybe the long life bag also and whatever discs i need. some one has mentioned to maybe go larger on the vac hose but i will try the stock and maybe have a play with using a slinky hose that i got for my skill 100 that is now redundant. From the rest of the research I have done I'm quite excited to get my hands on one, which will hopefully be Tuesday!

[PonoBill]

Looking at the hole pattern it will be fairly easy to make a stamp to convert universal sanding disks if the Festool ones aren't handy. I've made a few gasket stamps from aluminum plate with threaded holes to run bolts through. You lay the plate on the gasket material with soft wood backing it and whack it with a mallet. I've also made gasket plates with just holes to guide a gasket punch. You can even drill the holes. Not something you want to do every time you use it, but handy if you run out. Having a sanding disk to lay out the pattern will make that pretty trivial. It's a lot tougher making gaskets when you don't have a pattern other than the parts to be sealed. One of the joys of working on 50 year old cars and motorcycles.

I have a buddy with a shop full of automated gasket cutting equipment now, so I don't make my "works of primitive man" gaskets so often. His water cutter will shape 1/8" copper sheet into complex head and manifold gaskets like magic. Crazy to watch. Paper gaskets get laser cut. His equipment runs 24/7. I guess there's a million ways to make a buck in this world.

I spent most of the day yesterday getting my spare engine into Peyote. I've never had so much trouble with such a simple thing. Still not done. Fortunately the wind is up this morning so I have an excuse to wait a day or two. Whitecaps on the water at 8:27am. Woohoo.