# Festool RO 125 sander and CT 26 dust extractor



## CFrye (May 13, 2013)

Congratulations on the new tool (toy) Sandra! Sounds like you are one satisfied customer. That auto start of the dust extractor would be a big plus in my book. Don't want to think about how many times I hooked up the Shop Vac to the ROS and forgot to turn it on!


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## DIYaholic (Jan 28, 2011)

Good review.
Should I win the lottery….

I love the bit about buyer's remorse & that you did NOT succumb to it.
I'll be shipping all my sanding needs to The Great White North!!!

One question….
What are you now using for wood putty??? ;^)


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## lightcs1776 (Nov 14, 2013)

Very good review with a lot of details. Glad you kept the unit.


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Randy - the dog produces enough eye boogers to keep me in putty…..


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## DocSavage45 (Aug 14, 2010)

Sandra,

Nice Review.


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Thanks Doc! Hope your shop is coming along.


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## mojapitt (Dec 31, 2011)

Great deal. Waiting to see the projects coming forth.


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## JL7 (Apr 13, 2010)

Very cool Sandra…...that is quite the rig…...I've heard that the aggressive mode is great when you really need to get down to business…...

I can appreciate the dust collection and the auto start because I have a pair of Fein extractors, and working in the basement, sanding was a real problem….the difference is amazing. And leaving the sander setup and ready is a nice luxury….....

Enjoy the cool new toy….......


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## WhoMe (Jul 9, 2009)

Sandra, welcome to the land of the green kool-aid…. Thanks for posting the good review with your impressions and experience. 
Where I work, I have had a chance to play with many of the Festool products and the Rotex 125 and a CT 26 would be my first purchase too. The Domino would probably be second. ...


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

The Rotex in our shop is 7 years old at the moment and has probably sanded over 300 pieces of furniture and a few hundred lineal feet of cabinetry.

It suddenly went dead earlier this week so I'll have to send it in for repair. Fortunately that should take less than a week. Unfortunately we only had one week to finish up our current job.

Only now do I realize how spoiled we've become since acquiring that sander. It just had to die while we still had 12 or so pews out of 32 to sand. Finishing the job off with Porter Cable random orbit and belt sanders made it really tough to stick to our schedule.


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## toeachhisown (Eddie) (Mar 30, 2011)

Sandra thats a sweet rig there ,you got me to thinking


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## redryder (Nov 28, 2009)

$1126.00 for a sander.
Sandra, you must be a 1%'r.
Congratulations…......................


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## CharlesA (Jun 24, 2013)

I have a Bosch ROS, and I find hooking it up to my DC system (shop vac + dust deputy) a bit of a pain, but it eliminates virtually all dust. I'm curious why your system ore firmed so poorly. (Maybe I have lore standards)


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## HillbillyShooter (Feb 15, 2012)

Congratulations on a fine review and a great purchase! Welcome to the wonderful world of green. IMHO the Festool dust collection systems are second to none and all of their products are top notch. Just remember you don't need to purchase everything at once-slow and easy wins the race with periodic treats to look forward to.


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## ssnvet (Jan 10, 2012)

Nice review….

New strategy, everyone send you pieces to Sandra for sanding :^)

She'll appreciate the opportunity to play with her new sander.


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## JoeinGa (Nov 26, 2012)

I'll give a hearty "Ditto!" to what redryder said above.

If ONLY I could afford to drop that kind of dough on a sanding system. (big sigh) But alas, my wife simply hasn't won the lottery as of yet 

I think when THIS happens, I might get one …


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Thanks for the comments folks. I know Festool can be a touchy topic and almost didn't want to write a review. But for those who would be able and willing to drop the cash for it, I wanted to give my opinion.

Funny one, Joe. It's certainly cold enough up here.

Matt-international postage is likely more expensive than Festool!

Charles- the Bosch has served me but the noise of it with my shop vac was unreal and just setting it up for dust collection caused a lot of dust.

Red Ryder- depends on which 1 percenter. The 
HA s wouldn't have me


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## lightcs1776 (Nov 14, 2013)

Don't worry about the cost of the tool. You earned it, spend it the way you want to do so. I enjoyed the review and appreciate that you took the time to write it.


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## MarkDavisson (Apr 26, 2009)

This is not a comment pro- or con-Festool, just information for anyone interested.

Dewalt makes a $335 auto on/off extractor. That doesn't include HEPA filter, but during promotions they'll include the HEPA filter.


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

You did good Sandra by getting the 26 in leau of the mini.

As one that makes a living with this stuff I was not quickly sucked in but when I finally did, there's no going back!

I thought for years that I was at the pinnacle with Bosch sanders. Those are my backups now.

Seems like I have only picked p a belt sander maybe once in the past year or so. That rotex fulfills most of that job now!

Festool can not sell itself on looks and feel alone, one has to use it for a while to see the difference. (10min.)

enjoyJb


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

JB- yup, it took less than 10 min for me as well to be very happy with the sander. It may be the only Festool I ever buy, but then again, I never thought I'd buy one in the first place…


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## mprzybylski (Nov 21, 2011)

I agree wholeheartedly about Festool. I have the 150/3 ETS and it's dust collection with my CT36 is amazing. I bought the CT with the TS55 combo and thought it may be the only ones I buy as well. Two years later I have about 6 or 7 Festools and want to eventually replace everything I can with them. They are amazing tools and in the Festool ecosystem all together they can't be beat. Congrats on the purchase.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Money well spent Sandra, congratulations on your purchase.

Value has never been cheap.


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## gfadvm (Jan 13, 2011)

Sandra, I've got to second what Chris said! I'm just glad that it works as advertised and you are enjoying it. As far as cost goes, you have about the same in your set up as I do in my Dynabrade and big compressor. Plus yours has it's own dust collector.
Dang, when I look at it that way…...I coulda had a Festool!


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## HarveyDunn (Aug 29, 2013)

Nice review.

I've been thinking about a Festool 125 - but possibly the cheaper ETS model, as I don't think I actually need the agressive option provided by the Rotex (I hand plane and scrape). But I really don't think I can afford a dedicated Festool vac as well. Can I just hook the Festool sander up to a regular shop vac? I seem to recall reading in FWW that some vacs provide too much suction, and the sander ends up sticking to the work.


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## TheGermanJoiner (Dec 1, 2013)

Nice review Sandra. Glad you're happy that u kept the order. Is it true that you now know the future through the power of festool


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Harvey, you could very well do that but you would not even come close to the extractor performance.

Your shopvac without significant modification will not perform at different power levels nor will it be as quiet.

some situations call for min. setting at the extractor and others call for a higher setting.

these settings can be changed quickly and often. lots of factors come into play,i.e.: species, condition of material and desired results.

Also i would forgo the ets if its only for the sake of having a festool sander and spring for a rotex

I know, its a little painful but to truly appreciate the performance you really need the extractor that is designed to go with it.

Hang with the scraping and hand planning a little longer till you can get the complete setup, you'll be glad you did. JB


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Harvey - JB has more experience than I do with the sander, but I already see a big difference in the shop vac and the festool dust extractor. For now, I'll be leaving the sander connected to the Festool dust extractor and my shop vac will stay on it's cart for shop clean up and my other machines. It sounds odd, but the Festool has a 'pitch' to its sound that I find far less annoying than the shop vac.

As far as the aggressive mode - I have hand planes that I do use, but the aggressive mode will be great for getting the worst of it done.

Greg - Yup I can see the future….. I predict I'll be buying more tools….


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## HarveyDunn (Aug 29, 2013)

Since I'm thinking of getting the 125 ETS, not the Rotex…could I save some money by getting one of the very small Festool vacs?


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Not sure Harvey, maybe JB would know. Good luck though.


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## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

*Oooooooooooh my GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODNESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!* Sandra has gone over to the dark side!

I have been eyeballing several Festool products, but I can't bring myself to pull the trigger. I don't know why, since I spend at least $1200 a month on cheese. Maybe I'll have another look. Of course I know at least a few hundred fans of the podcast that will lose their minds if they see Festool green on my bench!


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Harvey, I have no idea what your budget is but no matter it is pricey stuff by anyones standards and means.

I know about getting the bug for stuff because i have done that on many things and still do, but for me it is simply a means to more efficiently and a little easier get where i am going.

When my kids were young no way i would have paid big bucks for sanding equip like festooll but now that they are producing grandkids a lot of the heat is off.

But being in the millwork business (anything wood both commercial and residential) i would have given festooll a hard look years ago had it been available. I would have gladly put the money there rather than dumping it into my first unisaw thirty plus years ago.

But to answer your specific question I would buy a larger extractor and save to add sanders later. After all it is the system that makes it work so well.


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## HarveyDunn (Aug 29, 2013)

cabmaker, I think you misunderstand me. I don't want it because I have "the bug for stuff". I want it because I value efficient dust collection. The reason I do not currently have a ROS is because of the dust issue. It appears Festool has done a good job of addressing this issue. However, the RO 125 + the CT 26 are out of my budget. So I'm interested in knowing if there is a less expensive package I can put together. Saving money on both components - the ETS instead of the RO sander, and a different make of vacuum, either from Festool or another supplier.

And, no offense, but I'm interested in this and this alone, not the ability to add more sanders later. I am sure that one is all I need.


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Yes you can do that


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## HarveyDunn (Aug 29, 2013)

Any suggestions as to how?


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Harvey if you value dust collection efficiency as you stated there is really nothing I know of that you can readily plug and play. Other than maybe mirka and a couple other systems,but then your right back up there in the same arena with festool.

If I were setting out to cobble together a system I would first find a shopvac with hepa filtration and in the 12-14 gallon capacity range

I would then couple it to a Bosch five inch ros with a soft pad

Hope you find something that works for you, oh and not just any Bosch I'm talking about the 3725. Or I think that's what it is. I'll check in a minute and get back with you


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## cabmaker (Sep 16, 2010)

Yes. 3725 dvs


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Stumpy - yep, there's the fear of shunning when you cross over…..


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## lightcs1776 (Nov 14, 2013)

No shunning here, Sandra. More power to ya!


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## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

Shunning? The Amish use Festool?


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Not likely  but I'm thinking that there could be backlash about the 'Blue Collar' everyman aspect of your show…
Just my thoughts pre-coffee.


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## TheGermanJoiner (Dec 1, 2013)

Stumpy don't talk about the Amish they might read it on this forum while looking for advice on their new festool dust extractor, get offended and stop following you on YouTube.


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## Keyser_Soze (Feb 5, 2014)

I got to use that sander a few months ago, and I'd easily pay triple what my Bosch cost to obtain it. Question though - can it be had without the dust extractor? I have a Shop Vac I'm rather fond of and would only want one line item of Festool sticker shock rather than two.


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

Yes, you can buy the sander separately at Lee Valley.


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## Momcanfixit (Sep 19, 2012)

$563.00 Cdn pre-tax price. Free shipping right now. (No, I don't work for them)


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