New Sander

[Don Z.]

Through a long and complicated story that I don't wish to tell, I'm in the market for a new sander.

My old sander was a 6 inch Bosch, which had the luxury of switching between quick stock removal and fine sanding. I'm planning on replacing it with either a Fein or a Festool.

From where I sit, the largest disadvantage of the Fein is that it does not have a variable speed. The two advantages that I see are that I already have the Turbo Vac, and it looks like I can change out between 4, 5 and 6 inch pads. I need to call them to confirm that. Also, I already have a few other Fein tools, so I somewhat know what I'm getting into.

For the Festool, I could get the ETS 125, which would answer the need, or I could jump to the RO125, which would give me the fine/coarse mode that I lost. My one concern is that I notice that Festool suggests ONLY their own paper. I do have a rather large collection of, and I really like using, Mirka. Not having played with one, while I understand the hole in the center is important, can I "modify" other papers, or is the hook and loop system proprietary?

"One paper" could be the weak link here. I can make the dust collection work without painting my whole shop green (or orange, for that matter), but I draw the line at being forced to buy consumables from the same company as well.

Use ranges from fine sanding of small projects (shelves, etc... the stuff we do all the time) and removing paint and varnish from boats (the need for coarse work). Should I just go with two sanders (fine and coarse), or can I make one do double duty?

[Dyami Plotke]

Don,

I have the Festools. My first suggestion would be that you replace the Bosch with another Bosch. That will leave you with the same capability and let you use the paper you already have.

I've never used a Fein sander, so I'll not weigh in on that front.

As for the Festool, I'll address the Rotex first. I have a 5" Rotex. It is excellent in aggressive mode. However it is terrible in random orbit mode. I can't recommend it if you need it to put on a nice, random orbit finish. I also have Festool 5" & 6" random orbit sanders. They are excellent at putting on an even surface.

As for the paper, I mostly use Festool paper. It is expensive, but it has their proprietary hole pattern & it also lasts long and does a great time. I've also used Mirka Abranet paper and it also does a great job. I've never used standard Mirka paper, but if the holes don't line up then it won't be nearly as efficient as the Festool paper.

This may not be an option you're considering, but you may want to look at the Ridgid 6" RO sander. I have one of them too. It is a very good (vs. Great) sander. It switches between random orbit & aggressive mode. It also takes standard paper and only costs about $125.00.

Sorry if that was too much info, but hopefully something in there will help. Good luck.

[wdwerker]

I think there are aftermarket disks(Klingspor?) that fit Festool sanders now. I have the ETS 150 6 inch Festool, their paper lasts much longer and it works out a bit cheaper. I tracked my disc use on a few jobs and now only use the Festool papers.

My old Bosch worked fine for years, not sure of the quality of the new ones.

[rodger.]

I wouldn't consider the variable speed on a sander a valueable option.

[fransikaner]

There was a great post a few weeks back that brought the Mirka Ceros sanders into the discussion. Pricey, but there were some great testimonials.