Sander talk

[Mike220]

I'm in the market for a new 6" sander with dual mode (finish and rough) which is basically a gear driven mode and a standard random orbit mode with a flip of a switch. It must have dust collection port as well. There are a few other options available but these are the popular ones. I went to berlands house of tools to get my hands on all of them but did the get to "use" them. Does anyone have experience with these sanders? I will give my initial thoughts on each of the 3.

Bosch 1250DEVS $254.99 = to me the feel of this sander was by far the cheapest of the 3. Fit and finish was not there. It didnt feel as stable as the other 2.

Makita BO6050J $365.13 (was $319 a few days ago) = this really impressed me it felt very similar to the festool. Good grip locations and plastics felt similar to festool. It actually has the same hole locations as the festool for the sandpaper and pad but used the standard mount for the pads. It only comes in a soft and super soft pad right now so I was going to hold off until I know if they are getting a hard density pad. So basically you can use festool paper on this sander.

Festool RO150 Feq $595 this I did get to use and feel. It has a ton of power and removedo material crazy fast. Paper doesnt clog like my 5" sander does nor does it wear out as fast.


Basically I am thinking of getting an MFT/3 table and their vacuum to setup a small winter shop in my basement for small projects so I don't spend 100's of dollars on propane this winter. I have a makita track saw and happened to see that it works perfectly on a festool track so the mft table would be the same.

[Stevers]

I have used the Bosch for about 5 years now (I don't think mine has that black part underneath the handle though) It is fantastic and I have used and abused it. You can buy two Bosch for a Festool or one Bosch and a month's worth of beer.

[David Crewe]

I have the Ridgid 6" and it's worked well for several years.
David

[Mike220]

I have a 5" ridgid and some other black and decker/ tools shop /skil sanders. I like the ridgid but it doesnt have the power to really remove stuff quickly so I speed alot of time sanding. I buy the large 100 packs of the diablo paper because i clogs up and I got through one very quickly. I watched my neighbor sand and entire pine tabletop with a single paper on his festool sander and it didn't get any build up. I was a non-believer before but there is some truth to the cooling the pad and dust collection they provide.

I might be able to get a bargain on the bosch through work so I can at least ask about it.

[dcibel]

Switch to Abranet sanding discs. Lots cheaper than a new sander ;).

[the-jessman]

You are hitting all my favorite brands. I haven't had the opportunity to use anything Festool yet, but I've been very happy with all my Makita and Bosch tools. I doubt you could really go wrong with any of those choices.

I will also second dcibel's recommendation of Abranet discs. They are worth every penny and probably end up being cheaper in the long run.

[JavadS]

I know you're talking high end sanders but I LOVE my DeWalt DWE6423K sander, does dust collection well and the discs last forever, I usually swap sander discs just because it feels like I should, I sanded my largest speaker project which was over 36 square feet with 2 120 grit discs and 1 240 grit, and it hogs through material too when needed. Highly recommended, and it's variable speed too. HTH, Javad

[Mike220]

Switch to Abranet sanding discs. Lots cheaper than a new sander ;).

Is Mirka the main supplier of these? Im really looking for a 6" sander to cover larger work surfaces. If the Mirka pads would fit the makita that's a possibility.

I did quite a few tabletops last year and the sanding was pretty time and effort consuming with the ridgid. I was looking into drum sanders but I think a 6" would speed up the work and give you a larger footprint to reduce any ripples.

[Neis]

It seems to me that Bosch are not what they used to be. I have owned 4-5 Makita orbital sanders and they have been good enough for everything I needed. Festool has always been a little out of reach.... but I just got one of these and I really like it. You can pick one up on Amazon for about $220. Has fine/rough settings, dust collection. is really lightweight but solid and powerful. They make good stuff.

[dcibel]

Is Mirka the main supplier of these? Im really looking for a 6" sander to cover larger work surfaces. If the Mirka pads would fit the makita that's a possibility.

I did quite a few tabletops last year and the sanding was pretty time and effort consuming with the ridgid. I was looking into drum sanders but I think a 6" would speed up the work and give you a larger footprint to reduce any ripples.

The Abranet discs are available in 5" or 6". Its a Mirka product, I hear they make the best sanders as well, but also at Festool prices. I get the discs at Lee Valley.

[Paul Carmody]

What is this Abranet you speak of?

[mattsk8]

Mike, I think Rigid also makes a sander like the RO150 as well, FWIW.

I have the Mirka Deros (which is the replacement for the Ceros because the power box for the Ceros was catching on fire so they recalled it), and the Festool RO150. The Deros is an awesome sander for sure, but if I were to only have 1 sander it would be the Festool, hands down. The Festool does everything extremely well, start to finish. The only issue is that it's a big sander, so fine finish can be mildly cumbersome, depending on the project, and this is where the Mirka shines. The RO150 and the Deros are the same price. That said, Festool did come out with a ETS EC 125/3 sander, which I've never used; I'd love to see how that performs next to my Deros. I think the Deros will have the advantage just because of the air sander feel with the paddle control as opposed to a switch, I think the Deros is lighter and a tad smaller as well. But again, if I was to only have one sander, it would be my RO150, not my Mirka. The dust collection from the RO150 is better than the Deros as well.

As far as sandpaper goes... IMO, I'd rate them in this order...

1. Festool- lasts a long time, and does what it's designed to do very well
2. Abranet- debatable as to which is better between it and Festool, but IMO it doesn't last as long. It seems to cut better initially when it's new, but it wears out quick, and if you aren't sanding a flat piece it tends to tear very easily. Also, dust collection with the Abranet isn't as good if you use it on a Festool sander.
3 & 4. Norton or 3M- these are tied, but the last time I bought Norton it seemed like they had a waxy compound in them. The paper lasted a long time, but it didn't sand as well as I remembered. This could be because I've gotten so used to Festool paper though.

[r-carpenter]

Abranet is excellent if you need to sand finishes or syntetic panels like Corian. For wood or metal sending Abranet is not very good.

[dcibel]

Abranet is excellent if you need to sand finishes or syntetic panels like Corian. For wood or metal sending Abranet is not very good.

Its perfect for MDF.

[Wolf]

I really like Norton and 3M-automotive papers, but what do I know? I use a B&D Mouse and B&D Cyclone....

Later,
Wolf