chopnhack Posted December 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 The OSS is from there old lineup and consistently gets great reviews. I would do a bit of homework first and make sure they haven't "updated" the model first. If they haven't, I would go for it. It would be hard to tell, you never know if they just get cheaper parts made. In other words, no model revision, just get the same parts from a different, cheaper source. I would hope that this is unlikely since they have their extended warranty to have to service still. I think I will start a thread and ask folks to check their model label info to see if there is a version number or anything after the model # to indicate revisions like a - number. Thanks for the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 ==> Yup, Ridgid has changed a lot The problem with Rigid is lumpy quality... It's actually quite difficult to value-engineer to a marketing price-point (Rigid's business model).. I've got a Mfg Engineering group that spends its days doing just that... They take the product from Development and apply value-engineering and mfg-engineering principals then hand it off to the Production group... When you get it right, it's a win-win... But when you get it wrong... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFatBaron Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 I've got the older (2600) Ridgid ROS (I believe the same one Franklin had). It's a couple years old... not sure if that counts as old or new, but it's great. But as Franklin said, the new one isn't as good in little ways, and I see a lot of complaints. Their drill press SEEMS to be another one of those tools that is simply the old model (which I also have) in a new skin. Whatever you end up getting, I'll echo Spencer's comments about not being afraid to dismantle and clean an ROS. I keep a small stash of brake skirts and H&L pads, and a spare bearing or two lying around since those are what I seem to burn through. I've replaced a half dozen brake skirts, the H&L pad once or twice, and the bearing once - all at a significantly lower cost than getting a new tool every time, and it takes me about 5 minutes to make the repair. Any tool that won't let you buy spare parts? Don't bother. Yup, Ridgid has changed a lot. I have their TS3650, and it is incredible. I have had it for at least 8 years, and it still performs like a champ. I also have the tp1300, which is an awesome planer, and have had it for almost as long as the table saw. Most of their newer line up of tools are made cheaply and are almost disposable, at least from my experience and use. Check out my thread on the issue I had with the sander. Do a search for ridgid sander and you should get it. Also, if you are so inclined, head over to ridgidforum.com and check out what others are saying. I have been a member of that forum for over 10 years, and have read A LOT of complaints about their newer products and customer service issues. I will not buy any of their newer machines, unless they go back to their previous quality. They are very close to ryobi now, and I demand more of my tools than they provide. I sold a ridgid belt sander on kijiji a while back, and the guy buying it said he would not even consider their new belt sander and had been looking for the older model for some time. I have some other ridgid tools that I quite like, but again, they are not newer models. I have the 23 guage pin nailer, as well as the brad and finish nailers, which are quite good and I would recommend. Not sure if the new guns are the same or not. Fortunately, homedepot has a good return policy and you can try before you totally commit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krtwood Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 While I have heard consistent praise for the Festool ETS 150 I can't say that I've been happy with my ETS 125. Out of the box it didn't like 80 grit, it would often leave nasty swirl trails that were as if there was a bit of coarser grit or something caught between the paper and work piece but there was never anything there. Wasn't a big deal because I usually start at 120 anyway. About five years later I had to replace the pad as it was losing its grip and that was $32 at the time. Now a year later and the pad is falling apart. Not the foam part but the plastic part that it attaches to and connects to the sander. Cracked in three places so 1/4 of the pad can just flop around. Now I can't use 120 grit without those same swirl trails. A new pad is now $36!! 12% increase in one year. So I bought a Dewalt with the current $25 off $100 on Amazon along with something else I needed to get anyway, and I got the variable speed because the cheaper option wouldn't have put me over $100. So it basically cost me $50. I was expecting to not like it and at first I really didn't like the grip being used to the Festool. But I've gotten used to it and I have to say I like it. Even though it wobbles around a bit it doesn't make my hand hurt. I have intentionally done everything wrong, moving too fast, uneven pressure, you name it, trying to get it to leave swirl marks and I can't get it to misbehave. It's way more aggressive than the ETS 125. I had thought I would end up getting the Bosch afterwards and dedicating the Dewalt to a coarse grit or something but I think I'm just going to stick with it. I haven't tried it yet with dust collection because I'm using the leftover Festool pattern paper and the holes don't line up. It's a dust spewing monster at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopnhack Posted December 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 While I have heard consistent praise for the Festool ETS 150 I can't say that I've been happy with my ETS 125. Out of the box it didn't like 80 grit, it would often leave nasty swirl trails that were as if there was a bit of coarser grit or something caught between the paper and work piece but there was never anything there. Wasn't a big deal because I usually start at 120 anyway. About five years later I had to replace the pad as it was losing its grip and that was $32 at the time. Now a year later and the pad is falling apart. Not the foam part but the plastic part that it attaches to and connects to the sander. Cracked in three places so 1/4 of the pad can just flop around. Now I can't use 120 grit without those same swirl trails. A new pad is now $36!! 12% increase in one year. So I bought a Dewalt with the current $25 off $100 on Amazon along with something else I needed to get anyway, and I got the variable speed because the cheaper option wouldn't have put me over $100. So it basically cost me $50. I was expecting to not like it and at first I really didn't like the grip being used to the Festool. But I've gotten used to it and I have to say I like it. Even though it wobbles around a bit it doesn't make my hand hurt. I have intentionally done everything wrong, moving too fast, uneven pressure, you name it, trying to get it to leave swirl marks and I can't get it to misbehave. It's way more aggressive than the ETS 125. I had thought I would end up getting the Bosch afterwards and dedicating the Dewalt to a coarse grit or something but I think I'm just going to stick with it. I haven't tried it yet with dust collection because I'm using the leftover Festool pattern paper and the holes don't line up. It's a dust spewing monster at the moment. Wow, nay I say, is this first negative thing I have heard about the Festool brand! ;-P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted December 16, 2013 Report Share Posted December 16, 2013 ==> consistent praise for the Festool ETS 150 I can't say that I've been happy with my ETS 125 ==> first negative thing I have heard about the Festool brand! Have to keep it in context... The ETS 150/5/3 is considered by many to be the best 6" available (especially the /3). The only thing in the same ballpark is the CEROS for about $150 more or pneumatic sanders... I've got all of the above, and the CEROS is really a bit better -- and that's saying something... I'm phasing-out the air sanders (too much noise)... The ETS 125 is a good sander... well made and runs smoothly... I've had a bunch of 5" RoS over the years and the 125 is better than most, but not a run-away leader... You could save a bunch of $$ and get the PC 390 low-profile and not give up that much... Long-term reliability of the ETS 125 over the PC? -- not sure. I've only had my ETS 125 for a couple years... BTW: FT isn't perfect... They've had plenty of misfires -- their first attempt at the Carvex jigsaw comes to mind... It was so bad that it was withdrawn from the market within a year of its launch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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