I was thinking of a centrifical blower that was designed for a 2’’ or 3’’ inlet would be prime. The small ones use half the power but pull twice the air of shop vacs. From sander/planer > Cyclone > Blower > vent outside. No filters or bags to clog up/empty. Vacuum the floor of your bay and whole workshop, stuff sweeping and shoveling!!
The Festool vacuum I have is the old CT 22E, which has been replaced by the CT 26E. Both evidently have the same motor. The CT 22E is 1,200 W peak with 94 CFM, where the Rigid 5 HP vac is 3,729 W with 160 CFM. The new CT 26E says on the Festool US site that it’s 137 CFM, but the manual doesn’t say anything. It is still 1,200 W peak though. The power rating is the real difference between the CT 22/26 and a conventional 5 HP shop wet/dry vac. The vacuum at the tool is a function of restrictions in the tool + the hose diameter and length. The ability to flow air through all of this load is the power ceiling of the motor, and a 5 HP is 3 times that of the Festool. Sure it’s quieter than a shop vac, but the current price of a CT 26E is $576 USD vs. about $80 for a shop vac.
Marsh, I use the Dust Buddy (http://www.dustlessdepot.com) with a 7" pad. The hose must be attached overhead, and I only do flat surfaces with it. If the hose is dragging on the ground and you try to use it on rails, it’ll be a hassle.
When my brother Bernie got the festool he gave me a good RO sander that has a vac attachment, and he gave me a Dust Buddy for my 7" rotary sander. My setup is the same as PeteC’s and it’s great. You need to get used to the dust buddy because hides the sanding pad, and the vacuum hose is off the to the side. I used to hate using the big rotary sander because it made such a mess, now I don’t mind.
I think the Festool setup gives you a well designed easy to hold and work with solution for a lot of money. The dust buddy on a rotary sander gives you more power and disk size for quite a bit less cost.
If you add the cost of a rotary sander, a good RO sander, and the dust buddy, the festool sander starts looking like a reasonable option. If you already have a rotary sander and good shop vac, just try a dust buddy and one of those tornado filters that you put between the 2. That will cost about $200.
Bernie also has an attachment that he can put on a big garbage can that will send the dust into the garbage can. We use that when we use the big thickness planer because the planer creates a lot more waste.
Pete, very helpful. thx. I went to the dustlessdepot web site and watched the video. My only question is what pad could fit in the shroud? The dustbuddie seems not have much depth. Do you use a standard PowerPad?
thx
The hard pads fit, the thicker soft pads will work if they aren’t too wide. The dust buddy has screws that allow you a little bit of play maybe about 1/2" up or down. You might be able to replace the brush that runs around the edge with a longer brush for thick pads.
Greg-
I know you are asking about the Festool rotax specifically but I have a suggestion…
I’m sorry to differ from other members here, but we’ve used all kinds of R/O and D/A sanders, both
electric and pneumatic.
They are too slow and will not create the bitchin’ true straight surface you will get with an industrial
disc sander, hands down.
This is just my experience.
Second, is the noise, especially the spendy Festool, neighbors will complain about the incessant
droning against a foam/glass blank as it acts like a guitar body, and the loud vacuum collector
before they complain about the dust.
My suggestion is to go to a production house in your area, one that is open to doing contract work.
One that was in your area was Steve Stewart (Liquid Soul Surf Co.) just north of you in Lutz. I would
offer him a premium price if he can produce an excellent sanded board. I would work with his Sander
and develop a rapport. Offer a bonus (that premium price) if he can come through. If you spot
imperfections or the work is not to your satisfaction, settle on a lower price before the work starts.
Figure about $25 to $35 per board to get that quality you want out of epoxy. Bring the boards home,
then block them out yourself, make them killer.
Another thought is to ask for “a sand for gloss” or “single grit” sand job. That should run about half
the price. You can finish that out at home by hand pretty quickly, and getting the board “optically right”
with hard blocks.
Lastly, I would set up a meeting, show him the several boards you want done, then only hand him one
to do. Be sure to offer an incentive in price, I guarantee the Sander will “switch on” for you and
produce results. Tell him you are happy to work in cash, and pay for good work when it gets done in
the promised time.
This way you completely eliminate the dust, noise and stress of doing sands, and keep it fun.
If that guy is not available any more (he was a dry waller too I think) there are several ding repair
businesses around.
Just throwing an option out there, and doing so with all due respect. I use R/O sanders on my car
projects and they are great, and on wood they are excellent, but on the harder epoxy surfboards
I find the disc sander is the way to go.
Good luck,
George
P.S. Don’t show up dressed up in a tie and fancy cell phone holder! dress like shit the way I do and
also, don’t roll up in a Lexus, bring a buddy with you (they’ll think there may be more work coming! ha ha)
We always joke about that in the shop…
Very good advice, George. Especially the part about re-blocking the board after you get it back home.
Greg,
Maybe the RAS 180.03 could replace the Milwaukee?
It has 4000 RPM versus 2800 on the 5540.
The RAS also has dust extraction
Which Milwaukee are you talking about by the way?
Wouter
Hi Greg
Just bought one second hand for 300 euros and tried it out a little bit
Sanded my KK epoxy laps on the bottom with it on a 5ft11 with 40 grit on the medium pad
Orbital mode: slow, but good control and no dust that i can see
Rotary mode: faster, less control [wants to go on one side of the pad to sand well] quite a bit of dust/particles coming off
Actually, when i broke out the wood block with 60 grit, i went a whole lot faster on those laps
But hand sanding with 150-220-320 grit is just not an option is it?
From the smaller ETS Festool i have i know the surface quality is just beautiful, unlike hand sanding.
The Rotex150FEQ does have good control, so going into concaves and up to the nose with a soft pad that is 150mm is not a problem
For me, with 4-5 boards per year, i prefer dust extraction over fast sanding [though i do find it annoying]
Ciao !