Hello all,
I am hoping to tap into this increadible wealth of experiance that is The Knots Forum. I will soon be purchasing a detail sander and am looking at the Fein and the simular Porter Cable. The Fein works by “moving the head 2 degrees left to right”; I think I understand what that means. The PC works like a very small straight line sander. I definately understand how that works.
Logicly it seems that the PC should work better, however the Fein seems to be the one that is always refered to as being the best. I am buying this tool almost solely for sanding, the other atatchments are of little importance to me. What is yalls experience?
Thanks for the info,
Mike
please excuse my spelling.
Replies
Mike,
I bought the PC when it first came out. Was doing a big job of stripping/refinishing intricate moldings at the time, and I thought this machine would be the cat's meow.
It turned out to be the most worthless tool investment I ever made. I tried it every which way, but just found it was ineffective and a poor substitute for hand sanding.
Perhaps others will find virtues in this machine that escaped me.
And if in the end, you decide you want to buy one, I will sell you a little-used machine at a phenomenal price. Seriously.
Hey Nikki,
I just spent some time looking over the Amazon user reviews on the two tools I am looking at and the consensus agrees with you. Sounds like the PC is Pretty Crappy. I've never seen so many bad reviews.
As for the Fein it looks like it may be worth it. I really only want it to sand mouldings on my furniture pieces. I don't like using dowels and fingers as that always seems to change the profiles. I've read some complaints about the limited supply of profiles and that they don't seem to be accurate; as in 1/2" cove.
Thanks for the input,
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
The Fein is not really a profile sander; as I recall, they have only a flat, triangular shaped sanding pad.
But Fein does carry a variety of other attachments, which seem to be especially useful for remodelers -- removing dried grout, cutting in tight places, etc.
For stripping/refinishing, rather than a PC, I ended up with a pile of cheap, flat screwdrivers and chisels, which I would grind to whatever profile I needed and use them as scrapers.These same tools can be used for furniture projects -- kind of like a custom ground cabinet scraper.
Thanks all for the replies.
Nikki, actually Fein sells, for $50, a profile sanding kit. I think that it only has 6 profiles though. I also heard that the profiles are metric, so for example there isn't really a 1/2" cove profile, you end up using the closest metric equivalant.
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
Wow! All this time I thought I was an idiot because I never found a good use for that porter cable thing! It turns out that it is really useless.
I have several more useless tools I've bought over the years. And some really good ones.
I have had the Fein for years but only use it for rough detail sanding and not all the other features. It does very well for getting into corners or tight places and removes material very quickly. While a lot of the stores carry the triangular sanding discs you can only get the Fein discs from a Fein dealer. Also, at the dealers they tend to carry mostly very fine grits which I find curious because for the more delicate (finer?) jobs , hand sanding is best. I only use it with the coarser grits for fast removal. The speed of the Fein head is very fast and it will remove material very quickly.
I have used mine rather frequently but a friend who has another brand says he rarely uses his; so what can I say. The tool has been used extensively by me and without any problems, good quality. Hope this helps.
Hi Mike,
I own the older Fein Detail sander (with the metal body and no variable speed). I purchased the sander about 6 years ago for getting into tight places when building furniture.. I had high hopes for machine..
I found the machine to be totally useless, very aggressive sander, much like a small belt sander. I called Fein, and talked to their customer service department, they explained the PSA backed pad were much more aggressive than the hook and loops and were kind enough to send a H&L pad and 5 or 6 different grits of H&L sandpaper, I was impressed by Fein customer service. I found it made the machine slightly better, but still overall useless for fine furniture building.
There is a happy ending though, when repainting my old house, the Fein detail was the best for stripping old paint out of area's that the random orbit sander could not reach. You just can't imagine how aggressively it removed old latex paint.
Hope this helps, good luck
Mike-
I agree with nikkiwood. I bought the pc profile sander to help speed up sanding mouldings, as I make my own. It ended up being such a nightmare that I put the darn thing back in the case, and haven't pulled it out in four years. I went right back to dowel rods and hand sanding. Don't waste your money. If you ever make it to Crystal Lake, Illinois, you can have mine for free.
JC
Mike,
Maybe we should start a thread on the most useless tool you ever bought........
As careful as I try to be, I hate to think of the $$ spent on some of those tools at the back, far reaches of my my shop -- which seemed like a good idea at the time of purchase, but have been sitting there since.
I own the Fein and like it, but I am hesitant to buy the profile sanding kit. It seems like the way the attachment is oriented does not convert the sander's oscillations into an in-line action. If anything, the oscillation would cause to profile the bounce up and down on the work. I may very well be off, but I'll see if I can confirm with the Fein rep this weekend at the woodworking show. The assortment of profiles is frankly underwhelming, about a third that of the Porter Cable. I wouldn't worry too much about the exact size of the profile since the rubber has a little give and you'd have to account for the thickness of the sandpaper for those radius ones anyways. If you are mainly going to do mouldings, the Multimaster plus profile kit for $200-$250 seems like a lot for a tool that isn't really designed for that. However, if you're going to do a bunch of other stuff in addition to sanding moulding, then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
The Porter-Cable certainly is less expensive at half the price and designed for your purposes, but it seems like a lot of posters have negative comments. Bad things I have heard over the years include barrel is difficult to grip, barrel heats up too much, and the required psa sandpaper doesn't stay on the profile.
The only tool I can think of that might meet your requirements is the Festool Duplex linear sander. It has an in-line action, and one of its accesories is a profile blank that you can custom create your own profile. They have other profiles as well, but the radius ones and the like are probably metric. Unfortunately, the price is a real drawback at over $300. But to hear other Festool owners, they often claim the price is worth it. Something to think about if the price doesn't scare you away.
I received one as a gift one time and was terribly disapointed by it's performance. The body of the tool vibrated around a lot and the sanding pads seemed to vibrate less. It made my hand numb and did little if any actual sanding. I sold mine at a garage sale for $25 bucks after only a few attempted uses.
Buyer Beware.
Papa,
Are you refering to the PC or the Fein?
Thanks,
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
John Lucas has a brand new review of the Festool Duplex sander on his website:http://www.woodshopdemos.com/fes-54.htm
Hope this helps,
Christian
Mike,
Many of these answers sound just like mine. I bought the PC several years ago. There are few tools I have purchased that cause me as much embarassment as this one. I have used it twice since I bought it over 6 years ago.
The only attachment that has shown any value for me is the standard triangular tipped pad.
I would take a look at the festool deltex sander as well, especially if the attachments are of no consideration. I have a review of this item on my web if you are interested.
PMB
http://benchmark.20m.com
I am mostly looking to sand profiles. That is the priority.
Thanks everyone,
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
I understand that sanding profiles is your priority. However, don't disallow the future use of the saw attachments for the Fein. I find new uses for mine all the time. It cuts veneer better then anything else, including a router. The saw will get into areas where nothing else will.
JP,
I can see many uses for most all of the attatchments. I am a remodeler and specialize in high end interior and exterior trim work. So most all of the features seem handy.
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
Mike
if sanding profiles is your priority and they are not too fine, the Festool Duplex linear sander is almost certainly the way to go. (I don't work for Festool, just own three of their sanders and have a fourth on my Christmas wish list.) Along with an assortment of preset profiles Festool also market a kit from which you can make your own profile. The process involves using a very short piece of the original profile to make a negative sanding pad. The primary limitation is that the smallest radius on the profile must be great enough that it can be followed by two to three thicknesses of cloth backed sanding paper.
Ian
Ian,
I'd like to ask which three Festool sanders you have, and what do you use them for?
Thanks.
which three Festool sanders you have, and what do you use them for?
Duplex – originally purchased to help shape two round rails that were too long for the bed of the lathe. What I like is its ability to sand narrow work pieces, profiles (provided they are not too fine) and that it sands with the grain. Plus I don't have a down draft table so the hook-up to the vac is a big plus.
Rotex 150 – buying this was a toss up between it and possibly an ETS 150/3 plus an ETS 150/5. I wanted fast material removal, plus the ability to fine sand. The ability to use the tool as a polisher was what swayed me. Before buying I posted a question here on Knots and got a lot of positive feed back. I'm very happy with the tool for panels and for touching up the finish on my [tung oiled] timber floor but it's not the tool for stock narrower than about 4-5in and it's very heavy if you have to reach out over the work for extended periods. The Rotex replaced a Bosch ROS I bought about 13 years ago which I've never been entirely happy with.
ETS 150/3 – really this one's was a "gift" for my 83 y.o. dad. We share a shop and the Rotex is just too heavy for him on large work pieces. The 150/3 is so light and has so little vibration that it basicly steers itself.
In use the sanders are always connected to a Festo dust collector, which IMO is a must.
I posted pictures of a sleigh bed with a coopered headboard panel in the gallery about 6 weeks ago. Final shaping of the top rail was done with the Duplex whilst the panel's profile was created with a combination of hand plane and Rotex. Dad used his ETS 150 for the final sand. The polish was buffed out with the Rotex.
Ian
Ian,
Re: the ETS 150 (Festool RO):
From the Website and Festool Catalog, it appears that if you do not use the vac attachment, they have only disposable paper dust bags for the sander. Do you have any idea why they do not offer a cloth bag -- like every other sander in the world?
I assume you are using one of the Festool vacs, which also use the disposable paper bag. I saw a cloth bag in the catalog -- which only apparently works for the larger vacs (not the min vac), but it costs something like $140, which I thought was astonishingly expensive.
Do you reuse the paper vac bags? If I wanted to use a permanent cloth bag for the vac, am I compelled to spend the $140?
I bought their jig saw, which I think is terrific, and I am trying to figure out how far into the rest of their line I want to go. I appreciate your feedback.
Edited 11/10/2004 9:35 am ET by nikkiwood
Regarding “why they do not offer a cloth bag -- like every other sander in the world”. This may sound uppity but it’s because their dust extractors work so well that you wouldn’t want to use a bag, it’s almost barbaric by comparison. They are also a German company and that has a little to do with it, these guys tend to not compromise on their original design intent.
PMB
http://benchmark.20m.com
I'm sure the dust extractor (with vac) is terrific, but there are times (many) when I use a sander with a dust bag. It is just that I can't figure out why they offer only disposable paper sacks and not a cloth bag.
And then with the vacuum cleaner, I am dumbfounded that a cloth dust bag would cost $140 -- and I am curious to know what they could do to a bag that would make it so expensive.
Nikki
may I call you Nikki?
First the disclaimer, I have no association with Festool and like you my knowledge comes from reading the website, catalogue and using their tools.
Paper vers cloth bags. This is a long running argument, especially with household vacs. Some have cloth bags, some paper. I remember reading somewhere that paper traps more dust than cloth, but whether this is fact or marketing hype I don't know. However, looking at the catalogue, it appears that the paper bag is rated for carcinogenic dusts whilst the cloth bag isn't.
I've one of the 200 series dust extractors which along with holding about 6 gallons of dust in a bag can be used without the bag for coarse dirt – shavings and planner chips – so bag life hasn't really been an issue for me. For example, all the cement dust and other small crap from a bathroom renovation fitted into one bag. This is where the small diameter hose saves you money – if it's too big to be sucked up, use a broom and save on filter bags! Shortly after buying the vac about 9 years ago, I bought a box of 5 bags and still have 1 or 2 left. Early on I tried reusing the bags but gave it away as emptying the bag just generated too much dust – what was the point of collecting all the dust at the source if I was going to spread it around and breathe it in when I emptied the bag?
I love how efficient my dust extractor is and how clean it keeps the work environment. For me, lugging the extractor to where I need to sand is well worth the effort.
On the subject of sander bags, Metabo sanders also use paper bags. The difference between a Makita belt sander with cloth bag and the same sander hooked to the vac is chalk and cheese.
Ian
Ian,
Thanks for your reply.
I realize this concern over paper vs. cloth may seem unreasonable, but it is one of those minor things I find irritating. I have a Fein vac -- which in these parts is considered a high-end vac -- and it came equipped with a felt dust bag, but you can buy paper if you prefer them.
The Fein is quiet and tool activated, and it would probably serve my purpose better than a Festool vac, although there are other fetures about the latter which I like.
Thanks again.
The only good thing I can say about the PC is that I got it cheap from the PC outlet, it's a POS.
I have the VS Fein and find it fairly useful for all but final sanding. I don't have the profile attachment. The offset scraper blade is excellent at trimming plywood edge tape. I don't think much of the flush cut blades because they tend to burn badly.
For profiles and moldings I bought an el cheapo $30 air in-line body sander from Harbor Freight and make my own profile pads.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
Thank Everyone,
I bought an assortment of the rubber profiled hand sanders. They work better than dowels but I spent all day sanding 300 feet of cove. That is about 2/3 of the profile work to be sanded on this job! I was really hoping for a faster option. I will look at the pnumatic in line sander option, I like the price!
Thanks again,
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
Mike,
have you tried a scraper on the cove?
Craig,
Yea, I have a good assortment of carbide scrapers and a traditional curved cabinet scraper. I use the carbide set for the rough removal but it can be hard to controll sometimes. The HSS cabinet scraper is effective and on my nicest ($$$$) pieces I use it. But it is impractical to use one on a large job like my current one. I have hundreds of feet of coves to sand! We pretty much finnished it today though. Thanks for the sugestion.
Mike
please excuse my spelling.
I was going to post to the original question but , after reading yours, I wanted to comment. I have had the Fein mUltimaster or whatever it's called for 4+years and I have used the triangular sander attachment and I think it is a little better than good and would not part with for those times when you need it for thast special application. They do cut very fast and are gerat for sanding inside edges of face frames when they butt up against the cabinet bottoms/walls as in melamine or prefinished panels.
Now as for the saw blades,THEY ARE GREAT!!, except for the chrome colored style. they are too soft of metal and heat up quickly, which means easily warped. I have the blackish colored "bimetal"? style and they are no problem to use. But, the flat ended corse and fine saw blades(sorta like a Japanese saw blade) are really what make this tool stand out. I have used them for cutting in various cabinets to walls with base and cutting casing/jambs for tile/carpet. The cost of these cutters are a little overwhelming, but worth their weight in gold when the need for them arises
Thanks I'll try the bimetal blades.
John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking
The more things change ...
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency, and demoralization.
Petronious Arbiter, 210 BC
Edited 11/16/2004 9:02 am ET by ELCOHOLIC
Vein vacs are considered to be pretty good arround here too.
I think Festool's marketing strategy is to offer the mini vac as the dust "bag" for people who need to move their sanders arround. Those looking to use their equipment within a shop environment are encouraged to buy the CT 22 or larger unit. If you look at the company's product line what you see is a suite of tools designed for use where keeping the work area clean is an important consideration or where space is limited. For example, Festo's plunge cut saw and guide rail system will easily and accurately cut up sheet goods, cut glue quality joints on planks and when matched to a vac cut MDF with little or no dust.
Ian
Ian,
Thanks again for all your information on Festool. I generally don't fret much over tool purchases, but the price differential is substantial, and no one in my circle has yet taken the Festool plunge. So I am compelled to make my judgments based on what I can read and feedback from generous souls such as yourself.
I mentioned earlier that I bought their jig saw; I have used a Bosch since forever, and I don't think I'm stretching it much to say it is like the difference between a Ford and a Ferrari. So, the performance of the jig saw is what has moved me to think about other Festool products.
The next logical move for me would be into their line of sanders, and I wonder which you would recommend as a first choice. I already have a flock of RO sanders, and I am attracted to the Rotex for its dual capability. However, I already have two polishers, so that aspect would not loom large for me.
So, if you have any advice, I would be grateful for it -- also from Phil Bumbalough, if he is still perusing this thread.
Thanks.
If sanding profiles is priority #1, I don't think the PC mentioned does a very good job. The paper lasts only a few seconds IMO and occasionally has problems moving on the contour part and then you run the risk of rubbing glue along the stock, or rubber marks. Although it may not seem like it, I've found the hand powered tadpoles to work better than the PC.
I don't have one but I highly suspect that the festool duplex ls130 would not have these issues, festool really does excel at making sanders. The only down side I can see is that there is a minimum radius you can put on H&L paper and expect it to work. While the festool gear is expensive, you do have a grace period where you could return it if it did not perform for you, not much risk involved.
If you are looking for a more general sander, my recommendation kind of depends on what you have and how good they are. If you have mainly top of the line bosch or similar gear, the logic for changing over to festool is going to be pretty weak; buying a bosch then a festool is a very expensive way to tool up for example. Is there some gap you are looking to fill in your sander needs? Do you have a "low end" sander that works but you want to replace it with something better?
If you are not currently using a vacuum with your sanders, I highly recommend going to one with a power port. These have made a substantial difference to me so the point that the festool CT22 is the most often used power tool in my shop. One of these vacuums will make ALL your sanders work better.
PMB
http://benchmark.20m.com
From what you say, I guess I would be hard-put to justify a Festool sander, except maybe for the dust collection set-up.
My workhorse RO's are two Makita 5" -- the 5021 two hand model, and the 5010 palm grip, both with dust bags. I also have an old AEG 6" (with a dust bag), which is great for fast stock removal, and a 5" AEG (angle grinder style); the latter is fiercely aggressive, but I hardly ever use it because it has no dust collection capability at all. In addition to big and little belt sanders, I must have a half dozen 1/4 sheet orbital sanders I have accumulated over the years.
I do have one of those PC detail sanders which, like everyone else, I think is useless. For this type of work I either use scrapers or get out the auto body filler to make a custom profile for hand sanding.
I like the Makitas because they are light, maneuverable, and effective for cabinetmaking chores.
I thought the Rotex was appealing, since you seem to be able to switch back and forth between delicate and aggressive sanding, but from what Ian said in an earlier post in this thread, I gather it is rather heavy and klutzy. I would appreciate your view on all this.
If the Rotex is a machine that would be more appropriate for large surfaces (e.g. table tops), then the 150 might be a better choice for me.
I like the thoughtful reviews on your website, so I am grateful for your comments here.
I don't have the rotex so I can't offer much advise on that. If you are looking for something to do large (flat) surfaces, a half-sheet sander would seem to be more appropriate. I also haven't owned any of the makita or aeg sanders you mention. My sanders have been gradually replaced with festool gear. I was using an old bosch ¼ sheet sander and a festool es125 the other day. Using this bosch reminded me that the bosch was not so much a sander as it was an instrument of torture by comparison.
If you are using all the sanders in your post it would seem pretty logical that you would benefit from some sort of dust collection on them. While I'm sure there are several brands of sanders that will work well with a vacuum, festool has evidently decided to excel at it because all I've used work exceptionally well in this regard. I don't want to sound like a festool evangelist but it's kind of hard not to. If your sanders are working well to you there isn't any need to replace them. If there is some gap in coverage festool probably has something to fill that gap and it deserves some consideration.
PMB
http://benchmark.20m.com
Thanks for your comments.
Since Festool is good enough to provide tools for your reviews, maybe it is time to hit them up for a Rotex. I for one, would like to know what you would have to say about it.
Nikki
I didn't mean to imply that the Rotex is klutzy. More that in relation to a recent job I personally found it a bit heavy and awkward. This was mostly related to the size of the panel I was working on and the fact that it was too far off the floor (almost chest height) for comfortable sanding with a Rotex weilded by a somewhat over weight 49 y.o. If the panel had been at hip or waist height I wouldn't have had the issues I had.
As to what sander you might replace with a Festool ...
check with Makita and AEG, you may be able to get a fitting that replaces the bag with a vac hose, you'll be surprised by the difference proper dust extraction makes.
If you want really fast stock removal without lots of dust (unlike your 5" AEG angle grinder style) check out Festool's rotary sanders, the RAS 115.04 or RAS 180.03 – both come with dust collection.
I really like my Duplex for narrow work pieces.
Ian
Once again, Ian, thanks for your comments. I have found this dialog very helpful, and I appreciate that you have been willing to take the time to answer my many questions.
Hi,
I agree on Ian's and Phil's comments.I think one of Festool's 6" RO sanders would be a good investment for you. I own the ES 150/3 which I like a lot. Before I decided for the ES 150/3 I emailed Bob Marino at [email protected] and asked for further information on the different Festool sanders. Bob is hobby woodworker and Festool ISA, his input was quite helpful to me.
The ES 150/3 provides an excellently smooth finish and that's why I went with it. The ES 150/5 is certainly more aggressive but the finish is supposed to be very nice as well. The Rotex is really the most versatile ROS Festool offers as it can be used for rough and finish sanding and polishing. Now it really depends on your applications which sander serves your needs best. IMO Rotex + ES 150/3 is the best combination one can imagine and that's why I plan to purchase the Rotex one day.If you want to buy only one sander, you might want to get the Rotex or the 150/5.
BTW, the ES sanders are now called ETS and have some improvements over the ES line.
Hope this helps,
Christian
Your comments are always helpful.
Is there any particular advantage in my buying from Bob Merino vs. ordering direct from Festool? Since you are in Austria, I assume you buy Festool locally.
Festool has the strangest marketing set-up I have ever seen. I spoke to one of the biggest industrial tool sellers in my area, and they tried unsuccessfully to take on the Festool line. Their arrangement is to have the retailer stock one each of the tools, but all sales must be mail ordered from Festool (which can be done through the retailer).
I think Festool could easily become one of the dominant players in the U.S. market -- but not with that kind of strategy. do they use the same sort of arrangement in Europe?
Edited 11/15/2004 7:15 pm ET by nikkiwood
Hi,
yes, I buy my Festools locally, in Austria. While it might be possible to ship Festools from the US to Austria, it wouldn't be very useful as 230 V is standard here:-)
Regarding price, there's no advantage in buying from Bob Marino because Festools are equally priced everywhere. But as far as I know you get a either a T-shirt, two coffee mugs or a cap if you place an order with him. That's what he states on his website.Yes, if I remember correctly all Festools are shipped out from a warehouse, no company or ISA has them in stock. The reason I'd buy from Bob Marino is that even though I'm not one of his customers he's always helpful and friendly when I contact him with questions regarding the Festool line. So as Festools cost the same everywhere I'd support the company/ISA which/who provides excellent service.
BTW, you might be interested to join the US Festool Owner's Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FestoolOwnersGroup/
I'm not familiar with the detailed marketing strategy in Europe and the US but basically Austrian retailers can and do stock Festool products. But I think that the European market differs from the US. We have no ISAs and Festool's role is way more important, especially among pro woodworkers. On the other hand the US market appears to be a lot more aggressive and tools (not only Festools) are usually cheaper there.
Hope this helps,
Christian
Edited 11/16/2004 3:43 pm ET by Christian Aufreiter
Edited 11/16/2004 3:43 pm ET by Christian Aufreiter
I have Bob Merino's email address ([email protected]), but as far as I can tell, he does not maintain a personal website; is that correct?Thanks again for all your help.
Bob Marino has had his personal website for a couple of months now, check out http://festool.safeshopper.com/
Regards,
Christian
I'm also guilty of buying the PC and was pretty disappointed. I though the idea had merit but the results weren't anywhere near what I expected. My biggest beef was that the rolls of paper sold for it seem to clog up very easily where you'd end up burnishing the wood. I actually spent more time removing marks from the sander than anything else. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever tried using the PC with garnet or another brand of Alum Oxide paper stuck on instead of the stuff PC sells for it. PC says their paper is Alum Oxide, but resin-coated "to resist heat & humidity". Not sure, but the PC paper kind of looks like a stearated paper.
As a side note - Ryobi makes (or at least did make) a pretty decent triangle shaped detail sander. I'm not normally a big fan of Ryobi but this is a pretty agressive little sander that might be a lower cost alternative if you just need to get into some tight places.
I sand profiles and details by hand using the rubber profile blocks & the adjustable sanding block from Klingspor. I've tried the motoroized profile sanders, and they just don't seem to work any better than doing it by hand. I've used the PC, Fein, and Dremel (cheapest), all seem to be about the same in performance and usefullness.
If you do alot of one profile, consider making a scraper to fit the profile.
Craig,
It's interesting that you recomend that, I just orderd three sets of those rubber profile sanders from Wood workers supply! I generaly only need a few passes after machining but I am refinishing a table and was hoping for something faster. The Fein is on my list of tools to buy, but not this go-round.
Thanks to all for the help,
Mikeplease excuse my spelling.
I agree with all of you that these sanders are fairly worthless, and the abrasives are too costly for something so poorly designed. However,
I HAVE GOOD NEWS. I have come with some techniques that work for lots of this kind of sanding that works great, and just in time since my arthritis is getting really bad. I would like to share it with you here, but I am very busy trying to meet some deadlines.
Maybe if enough of you will request FWW contact me, they will understand there is demand for this development, and I will be happy to write an article.
Rootburl,
The editors at FWW are always open to article ideas, so I would suggest you write to one of them with a proposal.
I am not sure you can expect an outpouring of support from any of us -- not knowing you nor your idea for sanding profiles. If you care to explain your approach here, and it seems like a good and innovative idea, some of us would be happy to jump on the bandwagon.
Be forewarned though (if you've not done article writing in the past), doing an article and getting it accepted takes more than an idea.
Edited 11/15/2004 7:37 pm ET by nikkiwood
the PC sander is poorly engineered/manufactured. the little rubber detail pads are the only good point.
the motor shaft almost immediately backed out and would not drive the pad. have to constantly open the case to reset it. I bought mine when they first came out 10 years or so ago.
I bought a Fein later and had I done that from the start would have been 100X better off.
I'm surprised PC is still making this piece of junk.
I agree with nikkiwood and all the others about the PC. I bought mine at a moving sale for 30.00 and as soon as I used it I knew that I got a rotten deal. The only thing I can say is that I now have more profiles for hand sanding. I also have a Dremel Profile Sander. I think it is much better than the PC.
The same type of feeling came over me the last time I purchased a PC tool. It was when they first came out with the DA sander which was nothing more than a grinder with a DA End. The balance was terrible and the noise that came from this thing made it sound like it was going to fly apart any second. It sits on the shelf to this day along with other disappointing PC purchases and I am not inclined to purchase anymore PC tools.
Garry
Garry,
I agree that PC seems to lead the pack in coming out with tools that are not carefully considered.
Remember the Bammer?
I hope forums like this one will help consumers of tools avoid these klinkers.
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