Replies

1. 
   James R. | Nov 03, 2009 07:43am | #1

   They are different. Festool has those holes to aid with the dust control, which is very efficient. Their sanding disks are also very efficient at sanding and tend to last longer than most others. The cost is within reason for what you get, however you can buy after market disks but you'll need to investigate that yourself as I've never used anything other than Festool.

   Good luck with your purchase.

   Jim

1. 
   Joe Sullivan | Nov 03, 2009 04:59pm | #2

   My Dewalt ROS has holes for dust, too, and many of the aftermarket disks have sort of general duty holes that sort of fit various different machines. However, I have no idea if they would work on Festool.J

1. 
   JerryPacMan | Nov 03, 2009 05:06pm | #3

   Festool disks have a hole in the center for exhaust air to aid in dust extraction and increase disk life.  

   Life is what happens to you when you're making other plans.

   When your ship comes in... make sure you are not at the airport.

1. 
   Joe Sullivan | Nov 03, 2009 05:18pm | #4

   Oh well, that is entirely different. I've never held any Festool products. I guess my ignorance shows.J

1. 
   stpatrick | Nov 03, 2009 09:08pm | #5

   Joe, the mere fact that you are asking questions means you are not ignorant, simply inexperienced in this one particular area. 

    

   It is all in the presentation and perception; blarney ain't all bad.

2. 
   Tinkerer3 | Nov 04, 2009 07:15am | #9

   But remember that ignorant does not mean stupid.  It could mean lacking knowledge in a given area.

3. 
   stpatrick | Nov 04, 2009 07:31am | #10

   Tinkerer,

   At no time did I infer, imply or suggest he was stupid.  My post was meant to be supportive, not insulting, not snide, not anything negative.

   Joe, sorry if you or anyone else saw any negativity or pissy-ness in my post. It was not intended that way.

   Patrick

4. 
   Tinkerer3 | Nov 04, 2009 08:04am | #11

   No, I didn't mean that at all.  But one of the meanings of ignorant is "unknowledgeable of a given subject."  Sorry, I mentioned it.  Friends?

   Edited 11/4/2009 12:04 am ET by Tinkerer3

5. 
   stpatrick | Nov 04, 2009 07:23pm | #14

   Of course we are friends . . . . .you so-and-so, you. (wink)

   Tink, re-reading your post, I  think we are on the same page and saying the same thing.

   Best regards, Patrick

6. 
   jimmy | Nov 04, 2009 01:59am | #6

   Also, like its machines, its sandpaper is the best.  They even have differentn names for different styles.  We use Rubin quite  bit....

2. 
   bones | Nov 04, 2009 03:43am | #7

   They have a different pattern, you can get paper form other sources, but the dc on festool is something to see.  I have the festool ct33e and the ets150, awsome combination.  If you want dc, its the cats meow.   It's amazing how good dc extends the live of a disc. 

   I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.
   George Burns

3. 
   docotter | Nov 04, 2009 06:36am | #8

   The Festool disks are unique to Festool. I understand that you can get them from Klingspor, but the price difference isn't that big.

   I bought the Festool ETS 150/3 a few months ago with the dust extractor after my trusty Makita BO5010 died. I too was a bit concened about the disks, but when I did the math between what I was paying for 5" Mirka disks and what the 6" Festool disks taking into account the area difference (44%), the gap wasn't that big. Also, with the Festool dust extraction the disks last *way* longer. Factor in the fact that with the HEPA dust extraction I don't need to sand outdoors with a respirator (or clean the whole shop afterwards), my hand doesn't get numb from vibration, and I probably don't need hearing protection (with the sander on the lowest speed), and the Festool sure feels like a good deal.

4. 
   Lataxe | Nov 04, 2009 12:51pm | #12

   WT,

   The middle hole in the festool RO pad/paper is where the machine pushes air out, to help move the dust into the other 8 peripheral holes, which suck air/dust in.  Its this "air-out" central hole that makes the Festool RO sanders so good at dust collection.  With a vacuum attached, very little dust escapes.  I've sanded internal plaster walls with a Festool RO & vacuum and left no significant dust in the room.

   The pads also come in soft, medium and hard.  The soft ones squish quite a lot so are useful for sanding curved surfaces.  For most furniture- makers, the hard pad is the better default pad, as it stays flat and therefore is much less prone to sand a hollow in a flat surface or to round-over an edge or corner.

   The Festool velcro pads stay sticky for a very long time.  One may mount/dismount sandpaper discs dozens of times before the velcro hooks start to degrade.  This is important with an RO sander if its used to "go through the grits" when finishing a piece. In my limited experience of other RO sanders, the pads often seem to lose their sticky rather too quickly.  I once had a small B&D sander that went through pads nearly as fast as it went through sanding disks!

   Be careful to get the right kind of sanding disks if you buy Festool's own.  The red Rubin is meant for wood.  The white ones (meant for paints and fillers) will also work on wood but tend to be slower and seem to blunt more quickly.

   There are several other sandpaper manufacturers that do RO discs in the Festool hole pattern.  I found Norton and Hermes Superdiscs to perform very well, in terms of fast wood removal but also long wear.

   ***

   Finally, I did get a flyer from Festool a few weeks ago advertsing a new RO pad/disc arrangement that used lots of mini-holes all over the sanding disc.  I've no experience with this new thang myself:

   http://www.festool.co.uk/artikel/artikel_weiterleiten.cfm?id=1226&CFID=13166511&CFTOKEN=35033934&jsessionid=2a30f1a92bd95d23e383TR

   Lataxe

1. 
   9619 | Nov 04, 2009 03:17pm | #13

   All,
   I am glad to see the Hand Tools folder include a hand "power tool" discussion. My experience is that the discussions here have been on "people powered" hand tools, and has eschewed "human-guided but machine powered" hand tools. I just made a large carving of a shell. I used all "hand tools", including:
   - an angle grinder with chain saw blades
   - an angle grinder with carbide-grit carving disks
   - a Dremel tool
   - a power drill with a sanding attachment
   - a half dozen carving gouges and a mallet
   - sandpaper Using a machine powered hand tool requires even more skill than a human powered hand tool since the power of the motor gives you the opportunity not only to do a lot of good quickly, but to do an immense amount of harm to your project. I remember watching a guy with a full size chainsaw carving a bear out of a large section of a tree. He was an artist! Immense skill. Inspiring. About Festools - I work at the local Woodcraft so I am very familiar with the Festool line, and am greatly impresses. All of their stuff is top quality. Contractors love it because they can use it on site and not get the place dusty. Great dust collection. The sandpaper lasts longer than regular sandpaper. I haven't come across anyone who has used Festool tools who doesn't like them. Glad to see Lataxe is on the Festool bandwagon.Have fun.
   MelMeasure your output in smiles per board foot. 

2. 
   PeterDurand | Nov 04, 2009 07:44pm | #15

   Cool stuff about the new Festool discs. Thanks. It will probably be 5 years before we can get on those side of the pond :-)