Author Topic: ETS EC 125/150? (Read 62686 times)

bobfog · « **on:** May 30, 2016, 04:41 PM »

Does the ETS EC 150 take the 125mm pads as well?

Phil Beckley · « **Reply #1 on:** May 30, 2016, 04:42 PM »

Quote from: bobfog on May 30, 2016, 04:41 PM

Does the ETS EC 150 take the 125mm pads as well?

.....nope.
rg
Phil

ear3 · « **Reply #2 on:** May 30, 2016, 04:48 PM »

That would be the Mirka!

bobfog · « **Reply #3 on:** May 30, 2016, 05:20 PM »

Quote from: Edward A Reno III on May 30, 2016, 04:48 PM

That would be the Mirka!

Yup! Guess that's where my money will go.

Shame really, things like this make it difficult not to feel disgruntled at Festool. It's a blatant case of daylight robbery, as if spending nearly £400 on a sander isn't enough, you can't even put a smaller pad on it. Instead Festool think it's reasonable to make you spend ~£750+ on two sanders instead of making a universal pad fitting. I mean why make your customers able to put a£20 pad on the sander when they can instead make them but another sander.

Holmz · « **Reply #4 on:** May 30, 2016, 05:59 PM »

@bobfog I think it is only the 230v model. I think it is the 5650.(the one I got)

leakyroof · « **Reply #5 on:** May 30, 2016, 07:32 PM »

The pad brake does not line up between the two different sized sanders, in case you're wondering.

AndyUK · « **Reply #6 on:** May 31, 2016, 02:31 AM »

It is a shame that Festool haven't included the ability to change from 125 to 150 on their sanders as other manufacturers have done.
Would also like to see the ability to change from 3mm to 5mm orbit also on the ETS EC.
Others can do this and I can't see why it's not offered by Festool?

bobfog · « **Reply #7 on:** May 31, 2016, 02:35 AM »

Quote from: Holmz on May 30, 2016, 05:59 PM

@bobfog I think it is only the 230v model. I think it is the 5650.(the one I got)

Thanks @Holmz

I assume you're happy with yours and would recommend it?

Holmz · « **Reply #8 on:** May 31, 2016, 02:37 AM »

Quote from: Holmz on May 31, 2016, 02:37 AM

Quote from: AndyUK on May 31, 2016, 02:31 AM
It is a shame that Festool haven't included the ability to change from 125 to 150 on their sanders as other manufacturers have done.
Would also like to see the ability to change from 3mm to 5mm orbit also on the ETS.
Others can do this and I can't see why it's not offered by Festool?

The Mirka is braked by the motor, so pad changes may be easier if the issue preventing it is the braking.

Unless one has stacks of 125-mm papers, or has a compelling need to change sizes, I am not sure it is all that important to change pads?

Then if the different orbit sizes cause a huge jump in cost, it might make more sense to have separate /3 and a /5 sanders ?
(They already cost a fair bit of coin)

Quote from: bobfog on May 31, 2016, 02:35 AM

Quote from: Holmz on May 30, 2016, 05:59 PM
@bobfog I think it is only the 230v model. I think it is the 5650.(the one I got)

Thanks @Holmz

I assume you're happy with yours and would recommend it?

Yes I like it. It is faster than the 1/2 sheet, but I like the 1/2 sheet (uva115e). I think the 1/2 sheet is better all around, unless one is dead set on a round RO sander. You at least find the pieces flat with a 1/2 sheet, so I often use that first to get it level.

I personally like the Mirka paddle, but some do not.
The Mirka screens are good, but those fit on a FT, Bosch, or B&D...
The 5650 is a 5-mm, which pairs well with the 1/2 sheet's 2.2-mm stroke.
If I was using it in 110v I am not sure, but the 5650 is 230v only.

But yeah I like it, and I only use it for 1/2 hour at the most, so a switch is not important, and the paddle works.
And the handling and weight are a thing of joy.

AndyUK · « **Reply #9 on:** May 31, 2016, 02:41 AM »

Quote from: Holmz on May 31, 2016, 02:37 AM

Quote from: AndyUK on May 31, 2016, 02:31 AM
It is a shame that Festool haven't included the ability to change from 125 to 150 on their sanders as other manufacturers have done.
Would also like to see the ability to change from 3mm to 5mm orbit also on the ETS.
Others can do this and I can't see why it's not offered by Festool?

The Mirka is braked by the motor, so pad changes may be easier if the issue preventing it is the braking.

Unless one has stacks of 125-mm papers, or has a compelling need to change sizes, I am not sure it is all that important to change pads?

Then if the different orbit sizes cause a huge jump in cost, it might make more sense to have separate /3 and a /5 sanders ?
(They already cost a fair bit of coin)

I'm not sure if the cost would increase greatly as Metabo 450 sx has this facility (variable orbit) and I believe there's a Bosch sander also.
Both of those sanders are well south of the Festool price.

Holmz · « **Reply #10 on:** May 31, 2016, 02:51 AM »

Quote from: AndyUK on May 31, 2016, 02:41 AM

...
I'm not sure if the cost would increase greatly as Metabo 450 sx has this facility (variable orbit) and I believe there's a Bosch sander also.
Both of those sanders are well south of the Festool price.

The FT would not go down in price...

There are a lot of good sanders these days. I have not looked at those two, but it seems worth consideration, and I assume that they also fit on any vacuum...

Alex · « **Reply #11 on:** May 31, 2016, 11:10 AM »

I wouldn't mind if a sander could change between a 3 and 5 mm orbit, but the added mechanism would make the sander heavier, noisier and more costly. I think I could do without that.

But there is really no logical excuse to not offer switchable pads. I want 125 & 150 mm pads on a single eccentric sander, and DTS and RTS pads on one sander as well.

JD2720 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 31, 2016, 03:23 PM »

Joint recall with Health Canada, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (US CPSC) and Mirka USA Inc.

Fire Hazard

Mirka Recall

ear3 · « **Reply #13 on:** May 31, 2016, 03:26 PM »

Quote from: Alex on May 31, 2016, 11:10 AM

and DTS and RTS pads on one sander as well.

This would be particularly welcome, and I imagine would be a relatively trivial engineering feat to accomplish.

bobfog · « **Reply #14 on:** June 02, 2016, 03:27 AM »

Spoke with someone regarding the pad issue and they said that they own an ETS EC 125mm and this accepts the 150mm pads with no issues. Anyone able to comment on this?

bobfog · « **Reply #15 on:** June 02, 2016, 10:36 AM »

Little bump, now the forum is back in full swing after its outage.

Cheese · « **Reply #16 on:** June 02, 2016, 12:52 PM »

Quote from: bobfog on June 02, 2016, 03:27 AM

Spoke with someone regarding the pad issue and they said that they own an ETS EC 125mm and this accepts the 150mm pads with no issues. Anyone able to comment on this?

I think I remember reading that a 150 pad would fit but that the pad brake would not operate.

jwaite550 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 02, 2016, 04:35 PM »

Quote from: bobfog on June 02, 2016, 03:27 AM

Spoke with someone regarding the pad issue and they said that they own an ETS EC 125mm and this accepts the 150mm pads with no issues. Anyone able to comment on this?

I was at a dealer and he put a 6" pad on the ETS EC 3. He took the pad off and it was stamped ETS EC 150 on the part the pad goes on. Oddly the ETS EC 125 5 will not accept the 6" pad.

bobfog · « **Reply #18 on:** June 02, 2016, 05:06 PM »

So the 3mm stroke version will accept the 150mm pad but not the 5mm? This is interesting!

JD2720 · « **Reply #19 on:** June 02, 2016, 06:25 PM »

Quote from: bobfog on June 02, 2016, 05:06 PM

So the 3mm stroke version will accept the 150mm pad but not the 5mm? This is interesting!

There isn't a 5mm version of the ETS EC 125 sander. The 125 only comes in 3mm.

Cheese · « **Reply #20 on:** June 02, 2016, 10:27 PM »

So...the confusion continues. Where's @TylerC ?

TylerC · « **Reply #21 on:** June 03, 2016, 03:08 PM »

Quote from: Cheese on June 02, 2016, 10:27 PM

So...the confusion continues. Where's @TylerC ?

The ETS EC 150 will not accept the 125 mm pad. The sanders have different shafts. The 150 sanders have a keyed shaft with wings, whereas the 125 has flats but not wings. I can send pics if needed. The soft pad for the 150 sanders is thinner than the 125 mm pad and therefore does not engage the pad brake. Also, the balance between the 5 mm stroke 150 and the 3 mm stroke 150 are not the same.

bobfog · « **Reply #22 on:** June 03, 2016, 03:22 PM »

Quote from: TylerC on June 03, 2016, 03:08 PM

Quote from: Cheese on June 02, 2016, 10:27 PM
So...the confusion continues. Where's @TylerC ?

The ETS EC 150 will not accept the 125 mm pad. The sanders have different shafts. The 150 sanders have a keyed shaft with wings, whereas the 125 has flats but not wings. I can send pics if needed. The soft pad for the 150 sanders is thinner than the 125 mm pad and therefore does not engage the pad brake. Also, the balance between the 5 mm stroke 150 and the 3 mm stroke 150 are not the same.

So is what you're effectively saying, that the 125mm pads absolutely won't fit the 150mm ETS EC? However, the 150mm pad will physically fit the 125mm machine and spin, but the pad brake won't engage and the performance will be sub-optimal due to balance issues?

TylerC · « **Reply #23 on:** June 03, 2016, 03:34 PM »

Quote from: bobfog on June 03, 2016, 03:22 PM

So is what you're effectively saying, that the 125mm pads absolutely won't fit the 150mm ETS EC? However, the 150mm pad will physically fit the 125mm machine and spin, but the pad brake won't engage and the performance will be sub-optimal due to balance issues?

Yes, that's the case. Obviously, we can't guarantee the performance if you do that.

Holmz · « **Reply #24 on:** June 03, 2016, 06:45 PM »

By the time you get the second pad, the cost may be the same as the Mirka which comes with 2 pads.

bobfog · « **Reply #25 on:** June 05, 2016, 03:49 PM »

Ok, so I went to my local Festool dealer today and looked at the situation for myself.

Observations:

1) The pad for the 150 does indeed fit the 125.

2) The pad brake works perfectly, whilst the pads are "keyed differently" (looks like a purposely engineered flaw/point of difference IMO to stop people putting the 125 pad on the 150) the 150 pad sits on the 125 just fine. Though as previously stated the addition keying prevents it working the other way (125>150)

3) The pad felt absolutely perfectly balanced both when spinning freely in the air and when on the work doing its thing.

McNally Family · « **Reply #26 on:** June 05, 2016, 04:07 PM »

Quote from: bobfog on June 05, 2016, 03:49 PM

Ok, so I went to my local Festool dealer today and looked at the situation for myself.

Observations:

1) The pad for the 150 does indeed fit the 125.

2) The pad brake works perfectly, whilst the pads are "keyed differently" (looks like a purposely engineered flaw/point of difference IMO to stop people putting the 125 pad on the 150) the 150 pad sits on the 125 just fine. Though as previously stated the addition keying prevents it working the other way (125>150)

3) The pad felt absolutely perfectly balanced both when spinning freely in the air and when on the work doing its thing.

When I was considering the ETS EC 150/3, this concept might have tempted me. However I have since decided for my second Festool sander, I will go with the ETS EC 150/5, as a better compliment to my RS 2 E.

Since it appears to work for you, you should pull the trigger, use it for a few months, and then post a review. If, after a period of time I decide I don't like the 150/5, or want to expand to the 125/3, I might consider it myself, if for no other reason so I can use the same 150 consumables on both sanders.

Cheese · « **Reply #27 on:** June 14, 2016, 12:45 PM »

After reading all the reply's and conjecture, I just decided to purchase an ETS EC 150 pad and fit it to my ETS EC 125. Sure enough, as @bobfog stated, the pad does fit and performs the very same as the stock 125 pad.

Balance with the 150 pad is not an issue and that makes sense because the pad is injection molded, which means it was designed for symmetry from the get go.

The pad brake works fine and has nothing to do with the pad itself. In the photo below, the brake assembly is behind the magnesium housing and does not interact with the pad at any time.

The pad brake stops both of the pads in the same amount of time, switching back & forth between pads, I was unable to tell any difference.

bobfog · « **Reply #28 on:** June 14, 2016, 02:39 PM »

Quote from: Cheese on June 14, 2016, 12:45 PM

After reading all the reply's and conjecture, I just decided to purchase an ETS EC 150 pad and fit it to my ETS EC 125. Sure enough, as @bobfog stated, the pad does fit and performs the very same as the stock 125 pad.

Balance with the 150 pad is not an issue and that makes sense because the pad is injection molded, which means it was designed for symmetry from the get go.

The pad brake works fine and has nothing to do with the pad itself. In the photo below, the brake assembly is behind the magnesium housing and does not interact with the pad at any time.

The pad brake stops both of the pads in the same amount of time, switching back & forth between pads, I was unable to tell any difference.

Good to see we got to the bottom of this!

The project I was buying this for (lots of vertical sanding) has been put back a few months, so I'm yet to pull the trigger myself and put the money into a new router table for a more pressing project. I'll have to remember to PM you later in the summer to ask your long term opinion.

bobfog · « **Reply #29 on:** June 21, 2016, 04:24 PM »

@Cheese

Looks like I might need the sander sooner than I expected, have you done much with the 150mm pad in the last week and if so any issues?

Cheers

Bob