Festool, Mirka, Mafell, Bosch, Fein- best sander?

[tarbellb]

Not getting much traction in the Gen Tool forum, thought I would send this over to the boys who are actually using their tools

Im in the market for a quality orbital sander with DUST COLLECTION being the leading concern. Almost exclusively for wood work.

_ Electric

_ 5-6" diameter (125mm-150mm)

_ $600 +/- budget (sander only)

Ive worked with Festool before, I know its good. I also know they are not the best, but alway a good bet. Other brands I have done a little research on are Mirka (Ceros and Deros) and 3M.

Who else should I be looking at, what other features or pitfalls should I be concerned about?

Bonus- tell me where and what Abranet or similar sanding abrasives I should be buying?

Thanks

 

[tarbellb]

Nobody sands!

 

[royce]

Nobody sands!

I do, but have a bunch of junk sanders.
I'm thinking of upgrading to a 6"rotex and a mirka.
Sorry, wish I was more help.
Royce

 

[firworks]

I avoid it at all costs. Sanding is the bane of my existence. Easily the worst part of any project.

I can't offer you any advice pertaining to your question though. I have a Bosch 5" RO sander and it kinda *****. Higher end Boschs are probably nice though.

 

[Mattpopp]

When looking at top brands and trying to figure out what is the best top brand you are just slicing hairs at that point.

My vote is Festool Rotex 150, no real world experience to back it up but if I wanted to drop $600 on a sander that is the one I would buy.

But for now my $100 Orbital does the job just fine.

 

[icecactus]

I have quite a few festool sanders. I was hooked after getting my first, an RO90.

I have never used a Mirka or Mafell, but i have read that Mirka, Mafell are better in some ways. I think Mattpopp hit the nail on the head, your slicing hairs, especially if you're not after a specific feature, such as being super light weight cause your doing overhead sanding all day.

I personally like the festool system approach so I have stuck with festool sanders. I like having matching T-Locs and their dust collection rocks.

 

[wasfast]

Had a Bosch RO for many years. Great sander. The Dewalt and Makita 1/4 sheet sanders were just "meh".

 

[rlitman]

I think one thing missing from the OP's question is what will be sanded.
I see a lot of what's the best one-size-fits-all tool for some type of task threads, and invariably, you will get different answers from different people, who do different things.

I for one am very happy with my Dynabrade pneumatic sanders. The Mirka Deros would be the closest electric equivalent. But not all tasks are best handled by this type of machine. Festool (though they're not the only ones), makes a sander where you can choose between a geared (for more power) or free spinning (better for finishing) pad. Something like that might better suit more purposes, though when I want more power, I'll switch to a belt sander.

 

[trialrun]

festool rotex and you won't look back

 

[tarbellb]

Sweet, some feedback!

Thanks guys. And yeah, its splitting hairs at this price point I suppose.

I really like the form factor of the Mirka, small. And the interchangeable pad sizes (5-6").

But Festool is a great system to get into, and they have a following which makes the resale value nice.
Thanks for the info on the geared vs free spinning, will have to look into that a bit more. And unfortunately pneumatic is not a option for me.

 

[Major Ramifications]

You would probably get a lot more help on a dedicated woodworking site. Sorry, I also have no experience with high-end sanders (I thought my pawn-shop Bosch 5" ROS was high-end).

Form factor? Are you into consumer electronics? I've never heard that term used outside of the computer/gaming/cellphone world. I spent years designing machinery and working with engineers and designers and we would use the term platform instead. Just curious.

 

[mtnkid85]

I own several Festools and have used the Mirka Ceros, this was before the Deros came out. The Mirka is a delight to handle, really loved the throttle like switch, plenty of power but the converter box is a pain for anything but bench work in the shop.

The rotex sanders are great generalists. In geared mode with 40-60 grit paper you can remove some serious material, then put it in random orbit with higher grit paper and bring it to a polish!

If your looking at only one I would go Rotex 125. The 150 is a big machine, the 6" pad just doesn't fit into corners as well.

 

[tarbellb]

Major- yeah I have a degree in Industrial Design, form factor gets tossed around.

mtnkid- thanks man. Great insight, exactly the kind of feedback I am looking for.

I am almost scared to go Festool... the cool-aid is delicious and expensive. But considering I will likely be in the market for other products they offer the system is very well thought out.

 

[SiGmA_X]

Wow, those Mirka's look really fantastic. I too would use the word packaging - to me, platform would be the group of products not the size/shape of the individual product.

Question, do most folks run a vacuum or a dust collection system with a necked down hose and a 1" tool hose?

 

[tarbellb]

Question, do most folks run a vacuum or a dust collection system with a necked down hose and a 1" tool hose?

Most european tools use a 35mm hose and 27mm connections to the tool. Most vacuums USA and Euro use a 2.25" connection at the inlet.

This may help you, here is a hose I ordered that perfectly connects my Ridgid vacuum to a standard Festool tool connection.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000AV78B/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Woodtick]

I have the Festool ETS 125EQ random orbit sander. Great machine, quiet, no excess vibration, and performs well. I have also used the 125 and 150 Rotex. We have the 150 at work and I have been using it a lot lately in the cabinet shop. The aggressive mode can do some serious stock removal. It's nice to be able to change over to the finishing mode which is very effective. I actually prefer the 150 size as it seems it's a little easier to keep the larger disc flat on the workpiece.
The 150 Rotex is going to be my next purchase for my home shop. I've already consumed a fair amount of the Festool koolaid......what's one more?
Rich

 

[Git]

The problem with finding the "best sander" is the best sander for what?

What are your going to be sanding? Face Frames, large flat glue-ups, in between coats on finishing? There really isn't 'one' sander that is going to handle all these tasks

I have my share of Festools (track saw, a couple of sanders, a vac, etc) and to be honest with you, the value is just not there...

I will never forget how Festool handled a problem someone had with one of their jig saws. (keep in mind were talking about a $350 jig saw). Festool denied the warranty because the guy was not using a Festool jig saw blade! If you want to read it for yourself - here is the link
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festo...ir-of-jigsaw-at-1year-into-a-3-year-warrenty/

Festool Rotex - I don't have one, and I certainly wouldn't pay $600 for one - especially when I have a Bosch 1250DEVS for 1/2 the price and I am very happy with it, and it's basically the same thing.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0001408SO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I do have the Mirka Ceros - and that sander was worth every penny. Someone mentioned the Dynabrade pneumatic type sanders, and once you used one it is very hard for any other type of sander to measure up - but the Ceros does. I have the 5" version (they also have a 6") but again - you can't really use it for everything.

Along with the Bosch 1250DEVS I also have one of their Belt Sanders. (I have never had a problem with Bosch, and I really stand by their products)

For sanding on smaller items I have the Festool DTS 400 - the one that has a triangular look pad in the front and recently I purchased their new Pro 5 for finishing work, because it was a very good deal when it was first released.

Abranet - when I bought my Ceros, at that time they were throwing in a very good assortment of Abranet sandpaper. The biggest advantage to me - you don't have to worry about lining up the holes with the pad, because the sandpaper is basically a mesh. It works quite well and 'Abranet' is a pretty big name in the sandpaper world

So back to your question - for larger areas I would seriously look at the Bosch 1250DEVS and for smaller items, the Festools DTS 400 or something like their 125eq. (It looks like the Mirka sanders are now pushing $600-$700, and now I just couldn't justify it personally)

 

[dkroth]

AvE over on YouTube takes apart tools and analyzes their construction*.

He wan't impressed by the Festool, but had many nice things to say about Fein.

I have some Fein and it is very nice.

* Now that he has become popular he seems to make more videos about general ******* around rather than BOLTRs - Bored Of Lame Tool Reviews.

 

[tarbellb]

Update:

After lots of research and some helpful advice on here and other places I decided to go with:

Bosch 1250DEVS 6" w/ dual mode
paired with

80/120/220 Mirka Abranet abrasives
added some backing pads as well.

All and all it was $450ish for the sander, hard + soft backing pads, 50/ea abrasives.

Lots of cha-ching but im done marinating in dust during builds and then having a filthy shop afterwards. Plus not wearing a respirator during will be nice.

Thanks for the advice guys, seriously appreciate the input. Feel like I am getting 95% Festool/ Mirka quality for %60 the cost.