Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Festool). This thread is read-only.
Hi everyone,
I’m in the process of buying sander, but I don’t know which one will be more suitable.
I work mainly with baltic birch plywood. So, I need to sand small pieces (6×12 inches, for example), as well as large pieces (12×70 inches, 20×20 inches, for example).
The plywood is bought directly from the supplier, so it’s not really rough stock, and it’s raw (it isn’t painted, varnished or stained).
I need a sander to smooth it, and smooth between coats of filler and varnish.
Maybe one day I need to sand primers and between coats of paint, but not for now.
Occasionally, I might need to sand a solid wood kitchen table top, and between coats.
After reading several opinions and reviews, I can’t make my mind if I need a 5 inch or 6 inch, 3mm stroke or 5mm stroke.
I was looking at the ETS EC. Are this a good option, or are there other better options?
Grit range: 120-320
I can afford only one sander.
What do you recommend, according to my needs?
Thanks
Welcome to the forum.
The Festool ETS 150/3 is my go to sander for fine sanding. The Festool ETSC 125 also looks great..
It may work better when working to finer grits. Mine go to 4,000 grit for some projects.
They say a finer stroke will give a better finish. A larger stroke will remove material and finish faster but may not leave as nice of a finish. The ets ec line only goes down 3mm stroke where the etsc has 2mm. That being said I still hear people say the go to sander from Festool is the ets ec. I think the ets ec 125/3 is the right option for your needs. You could also look into the Rotex 125 or Rotex 90 which would give you other features that may be of value. Another option you could try is looking at what MIrka offers. I heard their sanders are of a similar quality as Festool.
I would agree with the Festool sander. Currently I run two cordless Dewalt sanders, a Festool RO90 and a Bosch ROS65VCL which has both a five and a six inch interface pad. The big thing is dust collection so you don’t get a lot of extra scratching or dust and the paper. Festool arguably makes the best paper and I won’t disagree with that. I would that I use both Festool Granat) and Mirka (mesh) paper. Plywood can be tricky because of the veneer thickness but you cannot go wrong with Festool. Don’t skimp on the paper though! On a side note I am a Festool snob but my Bosch is a GREAT sander and is my primary sander. If I was in a position to get the EC I would not hesitate.
Jronman wrote:
7 hours ago, Jronman said:They say a finer stroke will give a better finish. A larger stroke will remove material and finish faster but may not leave as nice of a finish. The ets ec line only goes down 3mm stroke where the etsc has 2mm. That being said I still hear people say the go to sander from Festool is the ets ec. I think the ets ec 125/3 is the right option for your needs. You could also look into the Rotex 125 or Rotex 90 which would give you other features that may be of value. Another option you could try is looking at what MIrka offers. I heard their sanders are of a similar quality as Festool.
Mirka was the other option, but I saw some reviews and comparisons with Festool, and it has some downsides.
Thank you all for the clarifications, I think I’m going to go with the ETS EC 125/3.
One thing I don’t quite understand is the sanding accessories, since I’m trying to foresee what I will need.
Regarding the abrasive sheets, is granat net suitable for sanding plywood? In which cases is it necessary?
Should I use granat or rubin, since they have similar grits?
From what I understand, the ETS EC 125/3 is shipped with the universal sanding pad.
Is it worth to buy the ST-STF 125/8-M8-J SW (https://www.festool.com/accessory/492288—st-stf-1258-m8-j-sw) for bends and curves, and the ST-STF 125/8-M8-J H (https://www.festool.com/accessory/492284—st-stf-1258-m8-j-h) for flat surfaces?
I was curios about the interface pad IP-STF-D120/8-J https://www.festool.com/accessory/492271—ip-stf-d1208-j). Does it replace the ST-STF 125/8-M8-J SW? What is it used for? I’m a little bit confused about this.
There are very few times I use the medium sanding pad.
On flat surfaces I use the hard pad. On contoured surfaces I use the soft pad.
Granat and Rubin might have similar grits for your common grits but Rubin is more designed for bare wood. Granat is a nice all around paper that works well on finishes and paints supposedly. it also has the very high grits too for sanding finishes. Granat is more expensive but higher performing. Rubin is cheaper and if all you are doing is sanding bare wood Rubin is a great option to save some money. If you will sand finishes or paint I would not bother with Rubin. I don’t have experience with Granat Net. I know it is good with drywall sanding. I’m sure you could probably use it for wood sanding too. In terms of which pad to go with, you sander likely comes with the medium pad. I think the hard pad is more useful than the softest pad because you can buy foam pads that can be placed on the pad that are good for curves.
A question just came up… since the 125/3 is the same price as the 150/3, why not buy the 150? Will there be any specific situation where I will need the 125 over the 150?…
IMO the larger one is perfect size. I’ve used mine for hundreds of hours.
Smaller would fit into smaller spaces. That has never been an issue for me.
Smaller is lighter. I’ve done hundreds of hours over my head. Lighter would be better, or anti gravity.
I’d also go for smaller laminated plywood sheets if they are available. Keeping it light is better in the long term.
Antonio Santos wrote:
On 3/3/2022 at 5:01 PM, Antonio Santos said:A question just came up… since the 125/3 is the same price as the 150/3, why not buy the 150? Will there be any specific situation where I will need the 125 over the 150?…
smaller diameter pad with the 3mm stroke would in theory provide a finer finish. the ETSC 125 has an even smaller stroke if you want the finest finish I think it has a 2mm stroke. the bigger sander would get more work done if you have larger surfaces to sand. As others have mentioned the 125 would get in smaller spaces.