Festool Edge Sander


jussi

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This is a interesting new tool by Festool.  Released in October in US.  Basically a ROS with base that holds it 90 degrees to the surface.  But can be adjusted to other angles.  As a hobbyist I don't think I could justify the $564 price tag but could see how a pro might benefit from it.

 

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What is the point of a battery powered tool when you hook up the Vac hose that has a plug right there?

Also i feel like a #4 from Veritas or Lie Nielsen would do a better job faster, maybe not on these epoxy monstrosities but with a 2" wide edge balancing a sander isn't that difficult.

2 hours ago, jussi said:

As a hobbyist I don't think I could justify the $564 price tag but could see how a pro might benefit from it.

You can buy it as an attachment for a sander you already have... https://www.festoolproducts.com/festool-205316-edge-sanding-guide-for-ets-etsc-125-sanders.html

$99 isn't awful, makes the sander and guide $200 total if you bought one of the Pro5 ltd sanders for $100 when they came out. Trouble is the ETS 125 & pro5 sanders aren't really heavy removal sanders and don't work well with grits lower than 150. It'd be better if they made this for the ETS EC line of sanders imo. Still a lot of overhead for a 1 trick pony, that's hard to justify as a pro.

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40 minutes ago, Chestnut said:

epoxy monstrosities

Haha! my sentiments exactly. A local shop built a huge conference room table out of 2 beautiful book matched live edge slabs. There was a huge amount of epoxy filling the gaps & edges. It was for a local Cadillac dealership. I was in there & had a look at it. After about a year it already looked like s***t. Just enough minor wear to make the epoxy look really crappy.

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1 hour ago, Chestnut said:

What is the point of a battery powered tool when you hook up the Vac hose that has a plug right there?

Also i feel like a #4 from Veritas or Lie Nielsen would do a better job faster, maybe not on these epoxy monstrosities but with a 2" wide edge balancing a sander isn't that difficult.

You can buy it as an attachment for a sander you already have... https://www.festoolproducts.com/festool-205316-edge-sanding-guide-for-ets-etsc-125-sanders.html

 

Didn't know they sold the attachment separately.  Makes sense though.  Unfortunately for me I switched over to a Mirka Deros a while back.  I bought the pro 5 just because the deal was too good to pass up but quickly sold it after realizing how weak and slow it was.

I think the benefit of the battery powered sander is in it's use with a bag.  Don't have one but when I tried out the demo the dust collection was still pretty good.

Also I think a sander would be better than a plane when working on end grain or live edge surfaces. 

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1 minute ago, jussi said:

I bought the pro 5 just because the deal was too good to pass up but quickly sold it after realizing how weak and slow it was.

This was a big mistake of festool. The Pro5 sander was a finish sander and really should be used to sand 220 grit and higher. I've used it with 150 & 180 grit on bare wood but it's not the ideal use case. It has a nice small stroke and excels at sanding finishes (poly. shellac, lacquor) but doesn't have the power for raw stock sanding. It also works great for plywood sanding as the small stroke and low power doesn't blast through thin veneers.

3 minutes ago, jussi said:

Also I think a sander would be better than a plane when working on end grain or live edge surfaces. 

I'm going to have to disagree here on the end grain. I use my planes over sanders on end grain because sanders are so SLOW. It takes for ever to remove burn marks or other saw marks where a good sharp plan takes 4 swipes. I don't even use low angle for this, my bevel down smoother works perfectly. I feel like live edge doesn't need a guide as the live edge is going to be highly variable not sure what you meant there?

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On 8/25/2020 at 4:51 PM, Jar944 said:

I Don't see the point of the cordless, but I might pick up the attachment for my ets ec 150.  Nothing worse than rounding over the edge on a inset door with a tight reveal.

That's why professional use an edge sander...you want to achieve straight line? Edge sander...

 

471108666_Photo20.JPG.602b41f762e224662022d91efb0ebdf6.jpeg

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58 minutes ago, BillyJack said:

You can only get then to a certain point. You take a risk of blow out from a jointer and then not all openings are square and need to be sanded to fit perfectly...

A edge sander better than a DA? Yes Better than a jointer ?yes again..

You can't blowout the endgrain if you flip the door so you are always cutting towards the rail when going across the end grain like i did in the video.

Yes the edge sander is certainly more common at fitting inset doors. Not necessarily more useful overall if you are starting from rough lumber though. I didn't invent fitting doors on a jointer either.

 

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