I have drank the green Kool-Aid (a couple years ago is all) and find it a superior SYSTEM. I emphasize system because that is what you are buying into. At first I was very skeptical and thought it ludicrous to spend hundreds of dollars on a sander followed by more hundreds on a vacuum. I now have two sanders and the vacuum, plus a domino...and a track saw...oh and some of their clamps...ya I have been assimilated. I was introduced to them by a friend you does slab tables for a living. While I do find the actual sanding to be more enjoyable, it is not so much better that you couldn't achieve the same results with more inexpensive sanders. What I do find superior is the dust collection. I grew tired of everything in my purview being covered in sanding flour. It is all but completely a dust free experience now, the best being when used on a flat surface. You still get some escape when on edges and corners, but still better than any other sander I've used.
Yes! Aside from performance, one of the notable features w/Festool is dust collection. It is very superior to a shop vac. Pair the sander with the dust extractor and you will have very nice setup.
I read a writeup on the Festool sander recently either in a copy of Fine Woodworking or in their annual tool reviews, I can't remember. They said that on the high setting (which required a two hand grab) it removed wood more than twice as fast as any other sander. They did say that the onboard dust collection was not up to the task and a vacuum is required.
I would note that I have my Festool track saw hooked up to my shop dust collection and I also use it with my Rigid shop vac. Both work well, though the Rigid is very noisy. I ordered a Bosch vacuum hose to hook up to the Festool (much cheaper than the Festool hose).
The feature of the Festool sander I thought seemed good was the variable speed.
While I understand that I should just be removing nibs and the occasional imperfections with my between coats sanding, my spraying skills are sufficiently poor that it’s a bit more sanding for me between coats. Also, I saw a guy using the Festool sander on a low speed to do between coat sanding and to sand 600/800/1000 before polishing and it did that beautifully.
Sounds like you'd be better served trying to improve your spraying skills, rather than getting a new sander. Personally I don't ever grab a power tool for sanding a finish unless I'm trying to take it all off. Hand is the way to go, more controllable and it shouldn't take much work to get a surface smooth between coats.
Course, if you're in a production shop making 8 foot table tops all day every day a power sander looks a little better, but life will still be easier if the finish off the gun looks the best
I’m using 320 or 400 between coats. When sanding by hand; with the grain , I can see the sanding lines below the most recent finish coat. I figure a good random orbit sander might eliminate that too.
Between coats I sand with very light pressure. I watch to see that the finish looks dulled and that it feels smooth. Light pressure seems to do the trick.
To the OP. I own a variety of festool sanders RO90 , RO150, RTS 400 and ES150/3. They are very good sanders. But the trick using them and not have any swirrel marks is to reduce the suction on the vacuums. I have the Festool Vac to and I turn the suction down about have way when sanding.
OH I didnt see a edit button so Ill post this as a separate reply.
Festool also offers different pads for their sanders that do different things. For example I swapped my RO 150s pad for a hard pad. That works extremely well for flattening boards / panels after glue up. The RTS 400 (the rest of them have one to) has a accessories called a interface pad. That helps extrememly well in sanding rounded surfaces, when I use wax they offer a pad that loooks like sheepskin I use to buff the wax out.
Festool for some reason doesnt spend a lot of time showing what accessories they have for their tools that makes our woodworking life a lot easier. Ive never really understood that.
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Festool for some reason doesnt spend a lot of time showing what accessories they have for their tools that makes our woodworking life a lot easier. Ive never really understood that.
Most people have to live on a budget like it or not. Festool tools are way above the run of the mil brands in quality and price. If a woodworker on a somewhat limited budget decides he wants a Festool sander , for example, he decides he will save up for it anf in s few months, he will own one - which is great news. Then he decides that he wants some with the 'necessary' accessories also. Now all of a sudden, the $600 sander is now thousand dollars and so he decides it is not worth it to him and abandons Festool. And this is why they dont promote their accessories - maybe. This is an unsubstantiated wild guess so take it for what it is worth. I am not a marketing person, just a consumer.
I know I know, they have a couple of new tools coming out that id like to get. Im trying to figure out how to swing it They aeint cheap by no means
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