Replies

1. 
   AlanTurner | May 10, 2003 10:14pm | #1

   I have the Fein III Vac, and use it with a new 6" Metabo ROS.  Finally wore out my PC 333.  (Anyone need 5" 5 hole, PSA discs?)  No dust is right!  But, the power of the bigger sander is very hard to get used to.  I can remove the sander from the surface smoothly, with no swirls, but the start up is harder.  I have been told that starting the ROS while it is on the wood is the way to do it, but for me, I try to come down in a smooth, shallow angle, and keep moving, and this seems to work better.  Learned any tricks on this point yet that you would like to share?  It sure can remove a lot of stock/roughness quickly.

2. 
   BenA | May 10, 2003 10:34pm | #2

   Matt:

   You can go to Fein's web site and get a bunch of good information for your vac. Also you can get literature from them. Maybe  you can even request a manual if they have one. I think its a pretty good web site. Good luck

   http://www.feinus.com/

3. 
   Michael6255 | May 11, 2003 06:22am | #3

   Matt,

   I've had one for about 5 or 6 years specifically due to its DC ability.  It really is amazing and you'll find that you don't need as agressive a grit since there is never a sawdust/grit build-up to wear away sandpaper or provide a cushion between the wood and the sander..

   -Mike

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | May 12, 2003 04:17am | #4

   Do you mean I won't need the lower grits (like 40 or 60)? That would be welcome news, although perhaps a little too late for me. I just bought boxes of 40- and 60-grit Fein sanding dics. After I picked myself up off the floor from reading the price tag ($80 for a box of 50 discs) I consoled myself by saying that they should last a while.

   I used the sander again today.

   I haven't felt such a level of adoration for a woodworking tool since I bought my Incra Twin Linear router setup.

   Edited 5/11/2003 9:18:16 PM ET by Matthew Schenker

1. 
   Michael6255 | May 12, 2003 05:45am | #5

   Matt,

   Yes......I found very quickly that since the dust extraction was so good, that you did NOT get a build up layer of dust uder the pad.....which prevented the disc from cutting.   Therefore, it cuts great with finer grits than you'd otherwise expect.  Email me w/ any other questions at [email protected]   

   Mike

4. 
   riverr1 | May 12, 2003 06:05am | #6

   Matthew,

   If you don't mind my asking, what did the set up set you back? I have a plaster job coming up that will require almost clean room specs because the man of the house is elderly and an invalid. I was looking at this, the festool and also the PC with dust collection. Except for the PC, it just seems like a lot of cash even if the tool is written off against the job.

   Don

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | May 12, 2003 11:55pm | #10

   Don,

   I looked very closely at the Festool and the Fein.  It was a difficult decision, because the Festool products are made very well and have a great reputation.  I used to own a Festool plunge-cut saw, and it was terrific. 

   For the vacuum, I ended up with the Fein because I could buy it locally from a very good source called Coastal Tool in Hartford, CT (http://www.coastaltool.com).   But you'd probably be happy with either the Festool or the Fein.

   Coastal Tool sells the 6" sander and the Turbo II vacuum together as a package for $659.  The equivalent Festool package goes for about $690.

   Another reason I went with the Fein is because it uses readily available 6" sanding discs, whereas the Festool uses 150mm sanding discs that I cannot find anywhere.  150mm is about 5.9", which is close to 6" ... but not.

   Edited 5/12/2003 4:57:58 PM ET by Matthew Schenker

5. 
   Hempstalk | May 12, 2003 07:21am | #7

   Matthew,

       I purchased the same setup about 4 years ago.  I just wanted to give you a little warning about the fine dust in the vacuum.  My vacuum is now dead and not fixable.  In fact the motors to these units are riveted together and cannot be taken apart to be fixed.  A new motor is the same price or more than an entire new unit.   Basically the huge amounts of fine dust made their way into the motor and fried the motor bearings.  Fien sells a extra filter for really fine dust.  This filter will help to keep lots of the fine dust from making it's way into the motor.  I don't know if it's absolutely necessary but after killing one vacuum I think I would spring for one.  If not make sure to use compressed air to clean the unit every time you empty it.  When my unit finally died I took it apart and the amount of fine powder dust in the motor and entire upper case was huge.  Other than that the sander and vacuum is fantastic.  I'm sure you'll  love it more every time you use it.

1. 
   jimhamster | May 12, 2003 08:13am | #8

   Hempstalk:

   My Fein vac is starting to sound louder when I use it.  Are my bearings beginning to fry??  If so what should I look for to fix/prevent a melt down?  As you know these guys aren't cheap and up to now I've been pleased with the job it does, but your comment got me thinking...  Thanks. 

1. 
   Hempstalk | May 13, 2003 08:15pm | #15

   Jim,

     I couldn't say if your bearings are starting to fry.   I can say that your vacuum starting to sound louder is a bad sign in my opinion.  Thinking back my unit started by getting a little louder then it developed a small, for the lack of a better description, harmonic vibration which I ignored followed by a complete melt down as you put it.  I would take the unit apart and spray all parts with compressed air.  Clean it out well.  I don't think you can do much to fix what damage has been done if any but the extra filter wouldn't hurt.  As I said in my other post you cannot disassemble the motor because their riveted together.  Just preventative matience.

        I would also like to say that these are just warnings from my experience and I think these products are excellent.  I don't want to scare anyone or deter them from purchasing these items I just wanted to help people keep their units in good working condition and not fry one like me.  Lesson learned the hard and expensive way.

2. 
   Elcoholic | May 12, 2003 11:44pm | #9

   According to the literature Fein vacs have bypass cooling.  My understanding is that these vac-motors are cooled by a separate air stream and therefore it wouldn't matter how fine the dust being vacummed was because it would never go through the motor.  I thought the pleated filter was just to get the discharge air filtered below 5 microns.  Since you've torn into this much farther that I have maybe you could straighten me out?John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

1. 
   Hempstalk | May 13, 2003 08:04pm | #14

   Elcoholic,

      Now I'm no expert on these vacuums but as far as I can see after disassembling one is this.  If you remove your top motor from the canister and flip it upside down and take a look you'll see a small round sponge.  This is a small filter.  Right behind that is the intake of the motor.  Basically your dust comes through your hose into the canister. The filter that comes with the unit filters the air but let real fine dust through much like a large dust collectors bags. It then passes through the small round sponge, through the motor and exhausts through vent found just under the rim of the top unit.  As for the bypass.  If you look under the rim of the top unit you see exhaust vents as well as a pair of intake vents.  If your vacuum hose becomes blocked the motor can then take air in through these and prevent the motor from over heating.  If you install the extra filter it basically filters the dust down to the specs you mentioned before it passes through the motor and exhausts through the top so It would prevent some of the really fine dust from making it to the motor in the first place and as I see it help to extend the life of the unit.

           Now I did call Fien and talk to the tech about this and he said that it was fairly uncommon for one of these units to fail so early but it does happen.  He mentioned that the corion (sp) ,the counter top material, does seem to kill them pretty fast because of the super fine abrasive dust it produces.  That got me thinking.  I work mostly in exotic hardwood which may be more abrasive than other dust.  Who knows.

           I would also like to share something else the tech told me.  If you scan your instruction manual you see that Fien recommends that the sander be disassembled and regressed every 300 hours of use.  I took mine apart and could only get to a certain stage before I found you needed special wrenches and things.  To disassemble requires a major break down of all parts including switches motor etc. etc. etc..  Not a speedy easy process.   So I asked the question.  Does everyone disassemble and degrease every 300 hours ?.   Basically he said most people run them till they die and then fix them.  Most of the time it's cheaper in the long run.  He said it's mostly the head bearings that go.

        

3. 
   MatthewSchenker | May 12, 2003 11:56pm | #11

   Hempstalk,

   What you're saying sounds bad.  Why is it that news like this always surfaces AFTER I buy a tool?  No matter how many questions I ask, no matter how many reviews I read, I always get the bad news after I plunk down the cash.  Why is that?

   Anyway, I think I'll check into this to make sure I didn't make a mistake going with the Fein.

1. 
   mitch | May 13, 2003 05:13am | #12

   what sort of 5", 5 hole, paper have you got?  and what would you want for it?

   m

1. 
   AlanTurner | May 13, 2003 03:58pm | #13

   Email me thrugh my porfile and we can discuss.

   Alan