Upping my sanding game

[Woodypk]

As the title suggests, I’ve decided It’s time for upping my sanding game to a more professional level now that I’ll be using the tools daily.

I’m currently using a cheapish Makita BO5031 125mm orbit and have been teaming it with cheapo discs from tool station and Amazon.

The discs seem to last about 4 orbits until they need changing and although I’ve never used a high end sander before, I feel there’s definitely an upgrade to be had with a more ergonomic, less bulky(tall) sander which would suit me much better.

My question is that after some research, I’m torn between the Mirka Deros with a move to the Abranet discs and the Festool ETS EC 150/3. But which one…

Additional, as I’ve hear so many good things about the Abranet discs, again which I’ve never used before, I’d like to know if these can these be used on the festool sanders without modification or extra parts needed? I’m really interested in using these discs as my research leads me to believe that they’re brilliant when it comes to dust control. I’m even thinking about buying the Mirka hand sanding kit which can be hooked up to a vac for the last pass I usually give by hand when doing my final quality control. Has anyone used those before?

Finally, I believe the Mirka has a 27mm fitting for DC. Am I right in saying I should have no issue with connecting this to my CT26?

Thanks all.

 

[Stigmorgan]

I cant really help with which sander to go with but I can say that sanding mesh is totally the way to go, I find it lasts several times longer and doesn't tear like sandpaper does, when it's worn out it simply becomes less effective, almost like as it degrades it chages from say 240g to 320g to 400g etc

 

[Jameshow]

Is try the mesh first cheaper than a new sander unless you want one...!

 

[deema]

Abranet discs can’t be used with ‘standard’ Velcro pads, they require hooks with a shorter length. If you try, you just said iff the hooks and have a useless pad……don’t ask how I know! You can. You can buy interface pads that stick to the standard pad and allow Abranet to be used. Think a pad saver disc.
I have the Deros, great machine. But, I’m not a fan of Festool which coloured my buying decision.

 

[Woodypk]

Abranet discs can’t be used with ‘standard’ Velcro pads, they require hooks with a shorter length. If you try, you just said iff the hooks and have a useless pad……don’t ask how I know! You can. You can buy interface pads that stick to the standard pad and allow Abranet to be used. Think a pad saver disc.
I have the Deros, great machine. But, I’m not a fan of Festool which coloured my buying decision.

Deema, what’s your reason for not being keen on Festool as a brand? What brand of dust extractor do you use with your Deros?

And I may have a look at the Abranet discs with an interface pad on my Makita and see if this satisfies me enough. I don’t hate the sander I’m using to be honest, I think my frustration recently has been more with the cheapo sanding discs I’ve got but it’s nice to make the decision where I want to go to next and have a model to aim for for when the time to upgrade comes.

I think I’ll have a look at the Abranet on a roll too and test it by hand sanding against the discs I’m already using and see just now much better it really is.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

Woodypk, I have the Mirka Ceros and this runs with the Mirka 27mm into a Festool CT26e. No issues. The Mirka hose is lighter than the Festool hose. Nice.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[Spectric]

I would buy the Mirka rather than the Festool but I use a Bosch GEX 125 / 150 sander and mesh pads from Sianet, I get great performance and with my Nilfisk hoover attached very little dust.

https://www.sandingshed.co.uk/product-category/discs/sianet/

 

[clogs]

I was given a couple of sheets of the Abranet, truely amazing product
but I have tooooo much stock of the Mirka variety to use up first......
but may just get some for the wood lathe....
Do they make a 2inch disc for lathe sanding....?
My Makita was a revalation to the junk I had before....Festool is just overprised but I do have one of their jigsaws....
for the bigger sanding jobs inside I have a St/St vac from Lidil's with a power socket that turns on when using the sander......my proper vac doesnt have the extra socket....
I do most of all my sanding and other work outside tho.......

 

[deema]

@Woodypk Like or dislike of a brand is I think a personal thing. Lots of people love the Festool brand and buy into it a big way. I’m not sure if they still have the same cover which they offered which was if your Festool gets ‘borrowed’ they will replace it FOC, a big thing for anyone making a living off their tools.
For me, I prefer for instance the Mafell tools over Festool. Mafell tools are to me better made, the majority of the tool is made from metal rather than plastic, where as Festool have too much plastic for me. I also feel, again, this is just my view, that Festool has become too gimmicky and about the brand rather than the tools themselves. But, I have to say there are a huge number of people who swear by Festool, and earn their living from them.

 

[Woodypk]

I would buy the Mirka rather than the Festool but I use a Bosch GEX 125 / 150 sander and mesh pads from Sianet, I get great performance and with my Nilfisk hoover attached very little dust.

https://www.sandingshed.co.uk/product-category/discs/sianet/

Thanks for the link, Spectric.

I’ve not heard of the Sianet discs before. How do they compare against the Abranet? At current prices, they look to be about just under half the cost of the Abranet discs. Would you say they’re more than half as good and therefore better value than the Abranet (if you’ve used them before of course)?

 

[Woodypk]

@Woodypk Like or dislike of a brand is I think a personal thing. Lots of people love the Festool brand and buy into it a big way. I’m not sure if they still have the same cover which they offered which was if your Festool gets ‘borrowed’ they will replace it FOC, a big thing for anyone making a living off their tools.
For me, I prefer for instance the Mafell tools over Festool. Mafell tools are to me better made, the majority of the tool is made from metal rather than plastic, where as Festool have too much plastic for me. I also feel, again, this is just my view, that Festool has become too gimmicky and about the brand rather than the tools themselves. But, I have to say there are a huge number of people who swear by Festool, and earn their living from them.

Deema, I see what you’re saying.

I went for the Mafell MT55 track saw after seeing both the mafell and festool side by side. Using the mafell along with their guide rails is a joy. I do however really love my festool dust extractor. It amazes me every time I check the bag to see how full it is and find how perfectly the unit has compacted the dust, right to the edges of the bag inside the machine.

 

[MARK.B.]

The abranet discs are really good when coupled with a decent sander and a vac,i also purchased a mixed box of Smirdex discs and imho they are just as good as abranet but they are cheaper to buy. The choice/brand of sander is all down to personal preference and how deep your pockets are,i have a couple of el cheapo ones by Ferm and they work ok but are not great,i also have a Metabo sxe450 turbo tec and for a medium priced sander it is very very good

 

[Ollie78]

Sanders are a bit personal, I prefer the low profile air sander style. Like the discontinued Mirka Ceros and a lesser extent the Deros or its copies with a paddle switch on the top.
I find you can control the sander better from closer to the work.
I used a tall style Makita one and really found it awkward.
I think its important to try them out in person if possible.
As for sanding disks I am using the 3m cubitron mesh ones which I find a bit better than the Abranet.

Ollie

 

[Woodypk]

Thanks for the input guys.

Today I purchased some Sianet discs and sanding strips to go with my hand sanding block.

Sanders are a bit personal, I prefer the low profile air sander style. Like the discontinued Mirka Ceros and a lesser extent the Deros or its copies with a paddle switch on the top.
I find you can control the sander better from closer to the work.
I used a tall style Makita one and really found it awkward.
I think its important to try them out in person if possible.
As for sanding disks I am using the 3m cubitron mesh ones which I find a bit better than the Abranet.

Ollie

And I agree about the control of the sander. That’s why I’m putting the Deros and the ETS EC 150 on my list.

I’m leaning more towards the Deros but I’ll look into that when I can justify the cost. Hopefully, moving up from the tool station special discs will give me the upgrade I desperately need right now. The machine can come a little later I feel.

Would you say the Cubitron are the best discs you’ve used up to now, Ollie? And would you say they were pound for pound better value than others you’ve used?

As I mentioned, I just bought a box of 50 of the Sianet 7900 discs for £12.56 plus vat and if they’re half as good as the Abranet then they’ll equal them in value pound for pound.

I’ll have a look into the cubitron discs and see how they stack up…

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Someone published a definitive (very precisely measured) test of discs some while back - probably searchable on YouTube - Cubitron were better than others by a mile. Much depends upon the usage - if the disc is going to be thrown away in a few minutes clogged with something beastly there's little point in paying for top rated stuff.

 

[mikej460]

I also use the 3M Xtract Cubitron II disks and they are excellent in my Metabo SXE 150-5.0 (green mirka).

 

[mikej460]

Someone published a definitive (very precisely measured) test of discs some while back - probably searchable on YouTube - Cubitron were better than others by a mile. Much depends upon the usage - if the disc is going to be thrown away in a few minutes clogged with something beastly there's little point in paying for top rated stuff.

Katz-Moses - his excellent review is here

 

[Spectric]

Would you say they’re more than half as good and therefore better value than the Abranet (if you’ve used them before of course)

Sia is a swiss company and there products perform very well, I have had no problems using them in my Bosch sander. Price is unfortunately not directly comparable to quality or functionality anymore because of marketing hype and branding, it is often not the better product that wins out but the one with the better marketing like Festool and going way back how VHS won over Betamax. For heavy removal of material then Klingspor Stearate disc get some good writeups, en-gb

 

[Peanutcoxy]

Sanders are a bit personal, I prefer the low profile air sander style. Like the discontinued Mirka Ceros and a lesser extent the Deros or its copies with a paddle switch on the top.
I find you can control the sander better from closer to the work.
I used a tall style Makita one and really found it awkward.
I think its important to try them out in person if possible.
As for sanding disks I am using the 3m cubitron mesh ones which I find a bit better than the Abranet.

Ollie

I totally agree with the above re the sanding discs. I used Abranet for years with no problems but when I came to get some more in various grits, I thought I’d do a bit of research. There is a video on YouTube where they do a review of discs and the Cubitron came up far ahead of the rest. I’ve given them a go and they are definitely cheaper, longer lasting and give a better finish in my opinion. Currently available on Amazon for £20.99 for the lower grits

 

[Ollie78]

Would you say the Cubitron are the best discs you’ve used up to now, Ollie? And would you say they were pound for pound better value than others you’ve used?

As I mentioned, I just bought a box of 50 of the Sianet 7900 discs for £12.56 plus vat and if they’re half as good as the Abranet then they’ll equal them in value pound for pound.

I would say the xtract cubitron are the best I have used. They are less likely to tear than the original Abranet, cut really well and they seem to last longer as well. Though this is not scientific measuring.
Make sure to shop around for a keen price.

I am sure the Sia ones will be good and that is a pretty good price for 50.

Ollie