I am an admitted tool junkie and I have been eying the Festool FEQ125 a 5″ sander for a long time. Well I did all the research, saved the money, cleared it with the wife and had a job where I could justify the purchase. Well when I went to my local dealer all excited to get my fix. But I got a case of the jitters when the salesman that I have known a long time asked If I was sure I wanted to spend $380 on a sander. I replied no I am not sure. I went home and took out my Poter Cable RO just to be sure I was doing the right thing. I am not that happy with the Porter Cable but I dont know if there is a huge improvement with the Festool.Can anyone shed some advice in this matter.
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Replies
Remember how the PC tells us where it wants to go?
And how it often "rounds over" the edge?
But you can get 3-4 for the price of a rotex.
Not exactly light shed. Sorry.
A Great Place for Information, Comraderie, and a Sucker Punch.
Remodeling Contractor just outside the Glass City.
http://www.quittintime.com/
Just burnt out the sanding platen on my PC. The phenolic or whatever base that bolts the sanding pad base to the drive just wore right out. The replacement part (delivered) is about half what I paid for the POS, so it'll be heading for scrap. Yeah, it saw some use, but nowhere nearly what I'd expect out of a decent brand-name tool rather than some Chinese #### from Princess Auto etc. Mine had a sintered (porous) plastic dust collector on it which worked well and was easy to empty but kept rattling off the tool until it just plain disappeared one day.
Dunno what I'll buy next, but know the Festool stuff is way too pricey- it'd never earn its keep in my shop.
I've got the FEQ125 & couldn't be happier. P-C is a decent little sander for the money, but no comparison to what you're looking at. I have heard since that some others, Bosch in particular, are pretty comparable as far as sanding ability. Not sure if the dust collection is as good tho.
Mine gets used near daily, so it wasn't a huge decision. You don't say if you are hooking it to a vac or not. If so, you'll be amazed at how well it collects the dust, if not I'd look for something different. AFAIK, Festool doesn't offer any dust bags or the like.
Mike
I have the Festool sander and agree with arcticat.
If you'll be connecting it to a shop vacuum, then it's worth the expense. You'll have a cleaner work site, and you won't be breathing all that dust.Otherwise, it's an excellent sander, but not 2-3 times better
than several alternatives that cost half as much, or less.Now, one factor you may not have considered is the sandpaper.
Festool makes an excellent line of sandpapers, in many grades, for this sander. Pleasant surprise: especially when you buy the large boxes, in the past they've been quite a bit cheaper than the Norton disks you'll find at HD or Lowes (though I have not purchased them in a year or so, and have not checked the prices lately.)
I just got the Bosch. nice sander, much better
then the Dewalt, but the dust control is the pits.
Well non-vacuum wise. Their micro filter clogs instantly
and is a pain to clean.
I did look at the dual-mode Bosch before I bought the Festool, but I already had the Festool vac & was looking for good dust collection. I can't remember the price difference, but the bosch was quite a bit cheaper.
Mike
I'm a retired applied physicist/amateur woodworker and priest. Several years ago I was in the market for a new sander. Fortunately, my local Woodcraft dealer had some Festool items on displayl
Having mild asthma, dust collection was inviting (having never combined a sander with a shop vac before). I played with the RO 125 for a few minutes, purchased it (the 5" Festool) with the Festool model 22 dust collector. When I turned it on, I was delighted! No more face masks (unless sanding really nasty stuff). One of my grandchildren wanted to try it. On first try, he grasped it as if it was a poisoness snake that was about to bite. After telling him to hold it very gently, he found that he could guide it over the wood with no effort at all.
I now have many of the Festool models. I'm sold on them! Yes, they are pricey. However, they are superbly made and do a fine job. They are always my first choice when looking for a new tool.
Fr. M. Blake Greenlee
I hooked my Bosch up to a Fein shop vac and MAN what a world of difference! The sad part is that you have to buy the vacuum adapter separately! Check this out:http://www.popsci.com/gear-gadgets/article/2008-07/sand-still
Just for clarification, I'm only talking about ROS here. I do not have the dual mode Bosch, if I needed one, I'd probably just step up to the Rotex, just so I could stack the boxes!
Fancy!
Looks like you have to try and load the paper on that ring tho.
PITA!
I'm curious... perhaps its a time for a trip to Sears.
Could be.
Nearest one is an hour away, so I'll just assume
your right.
Didn't mean to be a grump.
You're not grumpy. Changing sand paper is a PITA. I wonder if not having to line up holes makes it easier?
somtimes we want things and try to justify a reason for purchasing. then once you have that reason...you stop and realize no... its not worth it.
I have that 125 rotex, so I'll toss out my .02
As was said before, if you've no plans to use it with a vac, there are other sanders that will do just as nice a job at blowing dust around.
But, with a vac? I'll say that even after I read up on it, watched the videos and took a test drive, I was still surprised at how well it did when I got to run it on my work. Barely anything dusty on the surface, and certainly nothing on me.
Sure, there's the usual Festool markup, but part of the expense is that you are getting 2 sanders in one. You can scribe with one mode and finish in the other.
I'll say that there's an adjustment period and you have to make sure the thing doesn't wander off course. If the 6" is better suited to your work, that's supposed to be a bit better at staying flat on the surface, and less prone to wandering. And after 20 mins it's pretty easy to get the hang of it.
Maybe your dealer isn't very familiar with the sander?
Edited to add: You've also got 30 days to decide if you like it, so there's no risk in trying it out if you've been thinking about it.
'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
Edited 8/13/2008 12:55 pm ET by FatRoman
I went from a PC 5 inch sander to the Festool 5 inch sander 4 years ago. It isn't particularly powerful, no more than the PC or the DeWalt or the Bosch 5 inch sanders that I have owned. But, it is a light, easy to handle, has effective dust collection, and fits my hands. It is now my 5 inch sander of choice. If you use it for finsih work, attach dust collection, and have to hold it on vertical surfaces or above your head it is worth every penny. I used to go through a 5 inch varilable speed PC 333 every 15 months or so, the gears would start sounding like it was grinding coffee and then they would go out. The DeWalt just didn't feel good in my hands and I was always having to blow dust from the switch. The Bosch was OK, but didn't collect the dust like the Festool. I also have to say the Festool hasn't given me a single moment of difficulty.
I just got the Rotex a few months ago with their vacuum. I am also an amateur but addicted tool junkie.
My story: I ripped out a ceramic tile floor in the foyer, even with taped plastic drop cloths, dust got all over the house. The next week, I ground down the residual mortar with the rotex. I did not bother to use the plastic sheeting, figuring I was domed to dust. With the Rotex and vacuum, there was hardly any dust around the house. As far as I was concerned, it paid for itself in one job. The dust collecton is awesome. In also agree with their sand paper being better. The Rotex can really grind away material.
Do you think their sandpaper would be good enough to use as a paint stripper, or would it still clog too fast?
I have not tried stripping paint but I don't think it would clog because the vacuum works through the holes in the pad. Where I bought it , they told me the lead paint removers use it with the HEPA filter.
Do you mean using their sandpaper on another sander? Some of the dealers will break the paper down into smaller packs (5 or 10), so you can give a couple different types a try without buying 100 of each.'Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt man doing it' ~ Chinese proverb
Slow down the speed of the sander when removing pain. It will reduce the melting effect.
Thanks for the info. I think I will purchase this tool before the week is out. You know what they say you should always go with your first impression.
Thanks
Thanks for the info. I think I will be purchasing this tool by weeks end.
I have a Poter Cable RO sander and I hate it. That thing is a piece of junk. It doesn't do it job very well at all.
If I get another sander I'm not sure what I'll get but I will be test driving it before I buy.
1. I need dust collection!
2. I'm pretty sure I need velcro. I'm sick and tired of playing around with peel and stick pads. Either they are to sticky and won't come off or they don't stick and they fly off whem I'm using them.
Companies like Porter Cable are who set up Festool for their market. People are sick and tired of buying tools that don't work.
I like PC sanders a lot. I buy the 7335 and/or 7336 model wich look like a right angle grinder , and cost around $160. The dust collection kit cost a few bucks more, but works well.
The quicksand model from PC (and the dewalt & others that look the same) are
junk.
I have the 7335. Does yours have dust collection? How do you stick sandpaper on?
Mine has no dust collection and I have to peel and stick paper on. Half the time the paper won't stick and the other half they flay off.
Does the dust collection kit work well or is it cumbersome and not thought out well.
Because I'm not ready to invest more into this sander if it isn't done well.
Get the dust collection kit and a hook&loop pad. It picks up 95% of the dust and is only as cumbersome as any other device with a vac hose attached.
Thanks! I'll check it out.
I posted a question re: removing paint from my 100 yr olde 5/4 doug fir porch flooring and received a number of responses - the majority of which mentioned or included the Festool RO125 FEQI've had the porter cables, finest boschs and they can be fine for ordinary finish sanding but if you've got some paint removal or any amount of wood removal there is flat out no comparison
I was thinking of putting a floor edger sander to the test ( are they minimum $ 900 ) and with the festool I got one
you can press a bosch or whatever and it will squeak & probably retire on you - the festool will get meaner like see you's or my wife and deal that much more aggressivelyfor that someone back there near post 15 or so asking abouit paint removal - it is the cat's meow - for my many layers their 50 grit worked better than the 25 - you can buy in 25 packs and they make a variety of discs all prepared to offer better service depending on applicationto me it is a bit like comparing a battery pack 1/4 drill to a plug in 1/2" Milwaukee - those PCs / bosches will go where you want w/ one hand whereas that festool will take your arm off if you try with one hand or get out of your elementI don't buy new tools easily and hook this up to a craftsman vac that is over 25 yrs old and it is my first festool
might add paid $ 60 for hose to go from sander to my vac rather than have to go too Rube Goldberg
ciao, John