looking for New RO sander

[JohnnyEgo]

I have the Festool ETS 150/5, and while I love it now, it took me a while to warm up to it. I found it to be way too aggressive at first, and the soft pad had an annoying tendency to round off corners and edges in a heartbeat if you weren't paying full attention. I swapped out for the firm pad and got more comfortable with the appropriate speed and vacuum settings, which put an end to constantly sanding through the face veneer of ply. It is very satisfying to use now that I have that experience, but it took me longer than I would have thought for a sander.

[Jack01]

Another for Festool . I have 125 and 150 Love both.

I had Bosch, Dewalt, before , they worked ok, But had issue on dust collection, also did not run for longer time.

I abuse Festool and they still keep working.

I don't have deep pocket, so buying Festool was a mejor decision, now when I look back, it was worth every penny.

Before you buy any other RO, give serious consideration for Festool

[jteneyck]

Another for Festool . I have 125 and 150 Love both.

I had Bosch, Dewalt, before , they worked ok, But had issue on dust collection, also did not run for longer time.

I abuse Festool and they still keep working.

I don't have deep pocket, so buying Festool was a mejor decision, now when I look back, it was worth every penny.

Before you buy any other RO, give serious consideration for Festool

You didn't specify which models you had dust collection issues with, and the devil is always in the details.  The Bosch ROS65VC had the best on-board dust collection in FWW's comparison testing a few years ago.  Yes, better than Festool, but I can't remember if they tested both the 125 and 150 or just one of them.  Festool did better when hooked up to a vacuum, however.  Same with performance.  Festool was no better.  I've read about significant problems changing pads on the Festool sanders.  It's a simple, foolproof process on the ROS65VC.  

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  Mine is that the tools Festool invented, like the Domino, are top notch.  Their other tools are no better than some costing much less.  

John

[Lumber Yard®]

...Mine is that the tools Festool invented, like the Domino, are top notch.  Their other tools are no better than some costing much less.  

John

That's pretty much how I feel. With that being said, I have a bunch of green in my shop and if there is an advantage it's that everything works together in their system. Their sanders, vacs, routers, are all good tools but there is solid competition in the marketplace. I don't regret many of my green purchases but there have been a few. I've flipped those Festool tools that I thought didn't live up to the hype and with the brand following at least resale value is decent. 

I still think that with the usage a ROS gets in a woodshop it's worth investing in a decent quality product. We'll spend hundreds and sometimes thousands on a specialized tool that might get used every dozen products... meanwhile the ROS gets used on almost every single project and used for large periods of time working through the sanding process. IMO it's silly not to get a decent quality tool and one that has decent dust collection as the dust produced by a ROS is certainly tough to catch and horrible on your lungs. $ .02

[Cabinet Monkey]

It was suggested early on in the other forum he posted in.

The ros65 is a nice sander. Even more so when price is factored in.

If you want a smaller, palm sander only, then it’s not so great.

[Scoony]

My current Bosch has outlived the porter cables and Dewalts. I would not get anything other then a Bosch unless I was moving up to Festool.

[jteneyck]

My current Bosch has outlived the porter cables and Dewalts. I would not get anything other then a Bosch unless I was moving up to Festool.

That's the thing, Festool is not a move up over some other brands in this category, and some others.   You just pay a lot more for the bragging rights of owning a Festool.  

John

[Cabinet Monkey]

That’s not really fair or accurate. And is usually the party line by people who don’t own “x”.

Festool sanders are almost always a step up from the brands kicked around here. Especially this thread. The only brands they aren’t a step up from are Rupes, and Mirka. Typically , that’s a lateral move.

To be sure, part of the price of a Festool is snob appeal, or club membership dues. But that doesn’t account for the entire price difference. $60-100 of the cost is due directly to the carrying cases Festool comes in. Now, you may not need or even want a fancy storage/carrying case that you’re forced to pay for with Festool , but that doesn’t make the tool itself better or worse. Certainly adds (or subtracts really ) from the value proposition though.

Can the ros65 do a beautiful job ? Yes. So can a Firestorm model from WalMart. Pretty much all Sanders can. But it boils down to feel, lack of vibration, consumable cost, durability of both tool and consumables, as well as price. To pot shot the most expensive brand as being overpriced is just as easy as declaring the lowest price one is rubbish. And both sentiments are usually incorrect. They both have their place in the market. A professional painter or wood finisher isn’t going to get good value from a firestorm anymore than the class mom is going need a Festool for the 3rd grade class community project.

[jteneyck]

That’s not really fair or accurate.   And is usually the party line by people who don’t own “x”.

Festool sanders are almost always a step up from the brands kicked around here.  Especially this thread.  The only brands they aren’t a step up from are Rupes, and Mirka.  Typically , that’s a lateral move.

To be sure, part of the price of a Festool is snob appeal, or club membership dues.  But that doesn’t account for the entire price difference. $60-100 of the cost is due directly to the carrying cases Festool comes in.  Now, you may not need or even want a fancy storage/carrying case that you’re forced to pay for with Festool , but that doesn’t make the tool itself better or worse. Certainly adds (or subtracts really ) from the value proposition though.

Can the ros65 do a beautiful job ?  Yes.  So can a Firestorm model from WalMart. Pretty much all Sanders can.   But it boils down to feel, lack of vibration, consumable cost, durability of both tool and consumables, as well as price.  To pot shot the most expensive brand as being overpriced is just as easy as declaring the lowest price one is rubbish. And both sentiments are usually incorrect. They both have their place in the market. A professional painter or wood finisher isn’t going to get good value from a firestorm anymore than the class mom is going need a Festool for the 3rd grade class community project.

What do you think was not fair or accurate?  What data supports your belief that Festool sanders, specifically the ETS-150/s, perform better, are more durable, require less maintenance, etc., than the ROS65VC?  What leads you to conclude that Festool is a step up in any category besides price?   

John

[Mr Eddie]

I have an older model Mirka Ceros connected to a Festool vac.  I like the way it feels and the job it does.  Dust control is exceptional when using the Abranet mesh paper.  I bought the sander and the vac, used, at steep discounts to retail.

Lonnie