125mm or 150mm Electric Sander?

[shed9]

Posted a recent advice request on sander purchase which revolved around which brand to plumb for over Mirka / Festool / Other.

Anyhow I'm convinced Festool is the route, but my conundrum now is size. I had concluded that 150mm was the obvious choice but now I'm not so sure.

Based on current requirements, I'm mostly going to be finishing framework of around 100mm width with maximum panel dimensions of less than 1m square. After lengthy reading up on the whole debate, it seems the 125mm has the edge in terms of comfort, especially the Rotex RO 125. I'm also drawn to the RO 90 due to the flexibility and am 80% sure of adding this to the mix.

My current shopping basket looks like this;

Rotex 90
Rotex 125
ETS 125 (2mm)

My question? Is the above a good collection of sanders and are there any advantages of the 150 range that I'm missing - I know some have complained that the RO 125 is a tad weak comparative to the RO 150.

All help appreciated.

 

[custard]

Personally I'd stick to one size so you don't have to inventory loads of different sandpapers.

In my workshop I use 150mm Rotex plus a couple of 150mm Festool Orbital Sanders and use them for thin rails and wide panels, veneers and solid wood.

Come to think of it, pretty much every commercial cabinet making workshop I've been in seems to just use 150mm diameter Festool sanders. I guess they've been swayed by the paper inventory argument too, you have to buy in bulk to get a decent price, you need a decent range of grits and possibly abrasive types, sandpapers take up a lot of storage room, so each time you add a different diameter tool into the equation you're just making life more complicated than necessary.

 

[MMUK]

Personally I'd go for 150mm. It's a more common size and consumables are cheaper.

 

[shed9]

I hear the common size of inventory argument, that makes sense.

However, I did think the 125 was cheaper in cost comparative to 150, although this is not my driver. My sway towards 125 is more convenience, comfort and also I'm not sure I will be sanding materials requiring anything bigger than 125.

I know there are a few users on here with both sets of ETS and RO's in 125 and 150. Wondered if there was a killer argument to 150.

That said, I take on board the above advice.

 

[MMUK]

If you're looking at professional brands such as Bosch or Makita, the price difference in the machine itself is negligible.

 

[shed9]

If you're looking at professional brands such as Bosch or Makita, the price difference in the machine itself is negligible.

MMUK, price is not a decider for me. I'm well aware of the adage of buying good once and cheap twice.

I've narrowed it down to Festool as I've already invested in it, love the dust control and the plug it system simplifies interchanging tools.

 

[custard]

Wondered if there was a killer argument to 150.

I've only ever used 150 ETS and RO but I guess for general cabinet work I'd be equally happy with 125's, so I doubt there's a killer argument one way or the other. The issues I can think of are as follows,

1. As I posted earlier, paper inventory is a major issue so I'd want to keep as much consistency as possible.

2. If the sander is resting on the workpiece then weight works for you, if you're holding the sander against a vertical surface then weight works against you.

3. If you need to (regularly) get into a corner rebate then round isn't a good shape, but if you don't round is great!

4. If you're sanding flat surfaces and want to preserve crisp edges you want the hardest pads available. IMO this is critical, for a fine finish I'd rather have a 5mm orbit with a really hard pad than a 3mm orbit with a soft pad, no matter how careful you are softer pads always dub over the edges ever so slightly. On solid wood it just looks sloppy, on 0.6mm commercial veneers it's fatal. So I'd check you can get the pads you want in whatever size you go for.

 

[shed9]

Thanks Custard, the weight comment is one I never considered.

I've got an RO 90 on my list which comes with a triangular pad so corners are covered. I had picked up on the hard pad / soft pad argument from reviews I read - bit disappointing that Festool don't include that as standard really.

Thanks for the feedback everyone, it is sinking in.

 

[petermillard]

I know there are a few users on here with both sets of ETS and RO's in 125 and 150. Wondered if there was a killer argument to 150.

Hiya. I have the sanders you're thinking of getting - Rotex 125, Rotex 90 and ETS 125 - as well as the older-style Rotex 150E and ETS 150/5.

Rotex 125 is nice for aggressive sanding of narrower stock, and handles well, though there is a learning curve. the RO90 for smaller areas - I use mine for stripping the paint off door panels and sash windows, mostly. As you say the ETS 125 only has a 2mm stroke, but is great for finishing/denibbing between coats of paint/lacquer; Festool don't make a 5" sander with a bigger stroke, sadly. It's a lightweight sander though, and easy to handle one-handed; I keep this and an RTS 400 with my installing kit, and I can cover a lot of ground with those two alone.

For me it's the area that I need to cover that dictates which sander to use - the 6" pad has a lot more contact area than the 5". For example, I have to strip and refinish a small area of flooring this week, and the RO150 / ETS 150/5 is a great combination for this. As others have said, though, the weight diffeence is significant, and there are advantages to standardising on one size. +1 to the 'hard pad' comment as well!

HTH Pete

 

[shed9]

Okay, I pushed the button, I went with the 150mm options.

I also asked at the FOG and they all concurred that 150 was the way to go. As I don't have experience of the Rotex I need to go with the advice of those that do.

So, just ordered;

RO 90
RO 150
ETS 150/3

and

CXS drill
EHL 65
Surfix Sys3 kit

Going to be like Christmas in a few days. Just need to contain my Homer Simpson Chilli Cook-off dance in the meantime.

Thanks for the advice everyone, it is appreciated and was a big help.

 

[custard]

Just need to contain my Homer Simpson Chilli Cook-off dance in the meantime.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[petermillard]

Woo hoo! I can recommend Granat as a great all-round abrasive, fwiw. Let us know how you get on.

 

[shed9]

Christmas in late March!!!!!!!!



Also finally collected a DF 500 and tenon package that was waiting to be collected (was delivered earlier but had to collect from neighbour).