Festool Rotex RO 90 DX - Review

Festool has just released the RO 90 DX Rotex Sander, a tool capable of sanding, grinding, polishing, and dealing with inside corners. It's a crazy tool and we were just entering the sanding phase of a large shelving project when Festool sent one our way to test out.

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Skil 2-amp Oscillating Tool

Update: we just saw that Stu from ToolGuyd posted about this yesterday. Great minds think alike, but apparently, his mind is one day greater than ours....

....and heeeeres Skil!

Skil's oscillating tool looks pretty similar to the Bosch PMF E Multi, which EuroBosch released years ago. Green EuroBosch, as opposed to blue EuroBosch denotes their DIY brand and since Bosch US doesn't have a Bosch DIY brand they own Skil instead, which is sort of the same thing. So it makes sense that the tools look like relatives. They are.

Skil's tool has a 2-amp motor, is variable speed and has a built-in dust collection system and a no-mar head. It's going for about $100.

At Amazon.com

Bosch MXE25E Corded Oscillating Tool

We've got to be honest, we're a bit burned out on the whole oscillating tool thing. Fein's patent wore out years ago and it was way back in July 2008 that we started covering oscillating tools from other companies. Back then, for some reason Bosch opted to put their weight behind a 12-volt cordless version, even though EuroBosch already had a corded model available since at least mid 07 when we first covered it here (granted, it was in their DIY line...sort of like Skil).

At the time, the only corded options were the Dremel MultiMax and the Rockwell Sonicrafter (yeah, yeah, yeah, we know there was a Harbor Freight version available). And for years, those two models pretty much owned the marketplace. We've come to generally dislike 12-volt oscillating tools for their short battery life and truly don't understand why it took Bosch so long to get a corded version to market. If the traffic numbers to our review of the SoniCrafter are any indication, everyone and their mother has one by now. Since it was posted in late 2008, it has been, by far, our biggest traffic draw. By a long shot.

Seems to us like a big opportunity lost, and not just by Bosch, but by the other big companies as well. Milwaukee took a while to get into the game and, like Bosch, led with a cordless model and DeWalt is nowhere to be seen, which isn't surprising given that their 12-volt line was released just last year.

But this is all from our perspective and we follow the tool industry with a microscope. The average carpenter (at least the ones we work with) hardly know that there are even options other than the Fein available. So once we step back, the fact that this tool is two years late probably doesn't even matter. And the fact that we're like a broken record on this topic matters even less.

And, not surprisingly, the tool looks very nice. Jay from CopTool has a great review up at his site that puts the tool head to head with the Fein.

Press release is after the jump for all the stats....

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New Info on the Festool Rotex RO 90 DX

Festool has just updated their Rotex micro site with more information and pictures of their new geared sander, the first of its kind. If you missed our earlier post on the tool, the deal is that the sander has three distinct modes; an aggressive one which Festool likens to a grinder, a standard orbital mode, and a delta mode which requires switching out the circular pad for a triangular one (similar to an oscillating sander).

They've also posted up a couple videos. Here's a general intro to the tool...

...and here is the aggressive mode in action. Looks feisty.

They've also given a March 1st release date.

Festool Rotex RO 90 DX Sander

If you signed up to Tool Nut's weekly email blast, you'd already know about this all-powerful sander that's on its way from Festool. The newest tool in their Rotex line, the RO 90 DX, has the functionality of a grinder, a standard orbital and a corner sander. This tri-action is the result of two different aspects of the tool; 1) it has interchangeable heads (one circular, one triangular) and 2) it has gear settings that not only seem to regulate the speed of the tool, but the style of orbit as well.

From what little information there is available, the RO 90 DX has three distinct modes; aggressive, random orbit, and delta. Festool says that, "the aggressive mode delivers material removal like that of a grinder" which is an intense feat coming from a tool that doubles as a fine finish sander. The orbit mode behaves as you think it should and thankfully, according to Festool, "it's like a Zen sanding experience." Finally, there's the delta mode which, we assume, alters the orbital motion to better accommodate the smaller sanding pad.

There's no pricing yet, and not much else in the way of details, but to see some cool pictures or sign up to get more information as it becomes available, go here. This one sounds like a winner to us.

Dremel 6800-01 Trio - Review

Dremel recently released a funky looking tool called the Trio (and were nice enough to send us one to review). In the great Venn diagram of power tool abilities, it seems to overlap with 'rotary tool,' 'router,' and 'RotoZip (aka spiral saw).' We're generally wary of tools that try to do too much (seems like they usually end up doing not too much of anything) but because of our very high regard for Dremel, we had hope and were looking forward to digging into the Trio.

As it turns out we found some good and some bad. Unfortunately, more of the latter than the former...

Update: we heard from Dremel and as it turns out, we were using the Trio in an incorrect manner. We've updated the review with some clarifications. Amazing, eh? We write a post about tool safety and then rip this thing out of the box and start using it without reading the instructions...."

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Craftsman 5" Vibrafree Random Orbit Sander - Review

We've had an eye on the Craftsman Vibrafree Sander for a while. It's been out for a couple years and we've read a bunch of reviews of it and they all seem pretty positive. Way more positive than we would have guessed from our first skeptical glance at the tool. The whole thing just seems too good to be true: an orbital sander that doesn't vibrate? So we had some anticipation in the works when Craftsman offered to send one our way for testing.

If you don't know, the Vibrafree's special superpower comes from its sanding pad, or rather sanding pads. Craftsman has taken the standard design of a singular disc and replaced it with a circular inner disc and a separate outer ring. The two pads orbit in opposite directions and thus cancel one another out. It's a simple idea and a nice one, but no matter how much we read, we wanted to know for ourselves if it did indeed work, and if there were any big drawbacks to the system.

One thing we noticed immediately is that the Craftsman is heavier than the standard orbital. We suppose that this is from having to stuff two orbiting mechanisms in the tool. It's also slightly bulkier than most, but even with both of these characteristics, the size and the weight, it's easy to manage with one hand. It also has a nice long cord (10'), which we're always in favor of.

Now on to the whole 'no-vibration' thing.

We started it up and got going. And, well, yeah, it actually works. There's still the general movement and occasional stutter of an orbital sander, but that constant micro-shimmy, the one that wears your arm out and gives you pins and needles after about five minutes, is entirely absent. It's a strange feeling, using an orbital without that ever present jiggle. It's sort of like the first time we sat in a Hybrid and realized it was on, even though there was no motor noise: it's great, but there's something about it that's slightly unsettling. Using the Vibrafree on a few small projects, we discovered that the wear and tear on our arm was considerably less and we realized what a struggle on the wrist standard orbitals actually are.

A second interesting feature of this tool is the dust collection. Instead of a soft filter dust bag, the Craftsman comes with something they call a 'cyclonic dust box,' which seems to work fine, but gains awesome points because it's called a 'cyclonic dust box.' It even has this nice little flip-up door at the back end of it so you can empty the canister without having to take it off the tool. Unfortunately the connection point between the tool and the dust box is done with these two little clips that look like they're one workbench drop away from breaking off. If you're not into the whole cyclone thing, the Craftsman comes with an adapter for a vacuum.

The one real downside to the tool is the fact that it's a single speed. If you're not used to variable speed orbitals, it's probably no big deal, but we like having that kind of control over disc speed based on the situation and it's too bad it's not an option with this tool.

Another minor bone that we have to pick with this tool is the case that it comes in (we can actually hear some of you clicking away from the site). It's one of those cases where there is only one possible way for everything to fit in (which includes removing the dust canister from the tool), and there's really no room left for storage. in our experience, orbital cases end up being sandpaper clearing houses, and here, there's no way for that to happen.

Less vibration means more money because the Vibrafree sells for $100, which is a good $30+ higher than the average high-end name brand orbital. There's also the issue of discs. Because of the anti-vibration design, the sanding discs are unique and, thus, not easily available. They're on the Sears website (a 3 pack for $4), but items like this, you need to have available on the fly. It's likely that they're also at your local Sears. Also, it's worth noting that Rockwell has also released a Vibrafree sander that looks similar to the Craftsman. And when we say, 'similar,' what we really mean is, 'identical.' It's like someone photoshopped in some new colors and a new logo. The Rockwell even has the kickass "cyclonic dust box." The tools are so similar that there's got to be some sort of licensing agreement going on. But anyway, our point is that while the Craftsman may have limited availability with their discs, the Rockwell may be easier to find.

So our final say is that the orbital works great, even though we have some finicky little issues with it.

At Craftsman

Skil 5" Random Orbit Sander with Pressure Control

Have you ever been using an orbital sander and all of a sudden you realize that you've gradually gotten to the point where you're putting about 90% of your body weight on it? It seems to happen to us all the time. We're not sure why, but it's our natural tendency to really lean into it. We know that it doesn't improve the efficiency of the tool, but we end up there anyway. Apparently we're not the only ones with this problem because Skil has recently released a new orbital with something called Pressure Control.

Pressure Control is some sort of warning system that lets you know when excessive pressure is being put on the tool. From the image, it looks like there are a number of warning lights, sort of like the Homeland Security threat level system. The sander probably makes some kind of noise too. Maybe an electrical pulse as well.

In all other respects, this looks like a regular old orbital; it has a vacuum attachment, a filtered bag, a nice grip, etc. It costs about $40 which sounds like a good price.

At Amazon.com

Goldblatt G05138 Dust-free Hand Sander

Nothing is quite like the dust produced when you sand joint compound. We can say without hesitation that we loath it. It gets on our clothes, in our hair, up our nose. Everywhere. And then someone comes along and pats you on the shoulder and all of a sudden it looks like a bag of flour exploded. The stuff is wretched, and that's why we're in favor of tools like Goldblatt's Dust-Free Hand Sander.

It looks like this kit comes with a sanding pad, a hose, and a few couplings for the various vacuums out there. Obviously it's not just for joint compound, it can be used for wood as well, but it's with the drywall tasks where we would find the best use for it.

The whole kit costs a whisker over $20, which is nothing compared to what you'll save on laundry detergent, shampoo and cans of Endust.

Amazon.com

Oscillating Tool Accessories: What Fits What?

Now that the market is swamped with oscillating tools, there is a lot of talk about what brand's accessories are interchangeable with what brand's tools. Over the weekend, we went out to the shop and spent about an hour trying different accessories with different models and we came up with this chart (click to see it enlarged):

A few things about our notation:

1. Y: Yes, the accessory fits in the locking system of the tool.
2. N: No, the accessory does not fit on the tool in any functional way.
3. NL: The accessory fits on the tool, but it does not lock into that particular tool's locking system. On some brands (Dremel, Bosch), this locking system is a pattern of 'nubs' that the accessory fits around, and on others (Fein, Craftsman) the tool has a shape that the accessory conforms to. Because of the oscillating motion of these tools, we really don't recommend using any of the accessories that don't lock into the tool. Not only can they come loose easier, but it's likely you're placing a great deal of pressure against the face of the nubs or other locking system giving them additional wear.
4. WA: With adapter. The Bosch tool comes with an adapter that sits over the nubs and creates a bumpy surface for the accessory to rest against. Even with the adapter, the other accessories are still not locked into the tool, so the situation is functional, but not ideal.
5. The Proxxon, because it is built for such light duty, has no locking system and thus all but the Craftsman and Rockwell accessories, with their large holes, were deemed acceptable.
6. The Fein is the only one with a quick change chuck system and should NOT be used with any accessories other than those made by Fein, Rockwell, or Craftsman. The other accessories may fit on the spindle, but if they sit on the face of the locking system and can cause damage to the quick change system.
7. If anyone has any information on the Harbor Freight oscillating tool or any of the other brands not included, drop a comment and at some point, we'll update the chart accordingly.

Of the tools, the ones that cross-pollinated easiest were the Fein and the Craftsman who, for all intents and purposes, share a locking system. The Rockwell accessories also fit the pattern successfully.

We've reviewed all of the tools mentioned and you can check out our thoughts at the following pages:

Fein MultiMaster
Rockwell SoniCrafter
Bosch PS50
Dremel Multi-Max
Craftsman Nextec Oscillating Tool
Proxxon Delta Sander

Dremel 4000 Rotary Tool - Review

"Man, this thing has some stones."

That's what our coworker said after borrowing the Dremel 4000 to fine tune a radius cut on a piece of 1/8" steel. The grinder bit was devastated after the five minute process, but the tool seemed like it was just getting warmed up.

The Dremel 4000 is simply the latest update to Dremel's omnipresent rotary tool. Over the years, we've tried a number of different rotary tools and we keep coming back to the fact that Dremel is where it's at in this category. In fact no one we know even uses the term 'rotary tool,' preferring to use 'Dremel' as the catch all, like 'Kleenex.' So with the release of this new installment in the ongoing Dremel saga, the company was nice enough to ship a unit our way for reviewing purposes. We immediately tossed it in the back of the truck and headed off to work to see what it was capable of.

So what's new with the Dremel 4000? Quite a bit actually. And as an added bonus, the changes are pretty significant when it comes to the functionality of the tool.

First, the 4000 is more powerful than its predecessors, ticking in at 1.6 amps, as opposed to the 1.15 amps of earlier models. We understand that 0.45 amps might not sound like much, but here it makes a large difference. Compared head to head with an older Dremel, the 4000 has reached a strength level that really increases the uses of the rotary tool. Until now, we saw Dremels as items that are useful in many situations, but their 'hobbyist' vibe (read: low strength) prevented us from embracing them as a job site item. Since we're coming at things from a carpenter's perspective, the added strength is right up our alley and, like we said, it opens a lot of new doors for the tool.

But there's also a 'double-edge sword' thing going on here though. Yes, the tool is more powerful, but because of this added strength, the Dremel has outgrown some of its accessories. We used the 4000 to tinker around with the pre-cut lock set openings on a metal door and while the tool showed no signs of stress, we went through the grinder accessories like they were made of origami paper. They might be fine for someone sitting in their basement carving ducks, but on a job site, a more aggressive grinder wheel is necessary. If we were Dremel, we'd start considering a 'Pro Line' of accessories. If they're going to make a tool with this strength, morons like us are going to push it well beyond its limits on a regular basis. (For all of you non-carpenters out there reading this, you can probably ignore this paragraph and take comfort in the fact that the Dremel 4000 is powerful enough to do what you ask.)

The added power is just one of the cool things about the 4000. There is also a new handle attachment called a 'detailer's grip,' that screws onto the chuck and allows a tremendous amount of control over the tool (not available in all kits). During use the handle would loosen some, but this was nothing more than a minor irritation compared to the level of added maneuverability. The kit we used also had a sanding guide and a multi-purpose cutting guide (not available in all kits).

To wrap things up, this is a fantastic tool and by far the best rotary tool in Dremel's already stellar line up. The ergonomics are off the charts and like our pal so eloquently said, it does indeed have 'stones.' Lots of 'em.

It looks like there are three kits available, the differences being in the number of included accessories and chuck attachments. We tested out the 3/34 (3 attachments, 34 accessories), and after looking at the other kits, that's probably the one we'd recommend. There is also a 2/30 kit and a mega 6/50. We suggest checking out each kit to see which one suits your needs best.

Dremel 4000 2/30 at Amazon.com ($80)
Dremel 4000 3/34 at Amazon.com ($87)
Dremel 4000 6/50 at Amazon.com ($150)

Gator Ultra Power Sandpaper with Black Zirconium - Review

Ali Industries, makers of the Gator brand of sanding products (which we've covered here), recently sent us a few sample packs of their new Black Zirconium sanding discs so that we could check them out. The timing was fantastic, because just a day or two after they arrived, we were tasked with sanding what felt like 3-1/2 miles of shelving. Not only could we use the opportunity to review the product, but because we were testing out something, 8 hours of sanding made the leap from 'water-boarding bad" to barely tolerable.

At our disposal were three packs of discs (12 discs per pack, 50-grit, 80-grit, and 120-grit). We stuck to the 80, but dipped from time to time into the other two. We also used a few 80-grit discs from another manufacturer (Porter-Cable) to see how they compared.

Gator claims that the BZ discs last three times longer than regular discs. While we're not sure on the 3x number, they certainly to last much longer. It seemed that every eight or so shelves (they were big shelves, each one was about 7' long), we were replacing a Gator disc, while the PC discs only lasted maybe three shelves. Along with holding their grit, the Gator discs impressed us because they took much longer to fray at the edges.

Gator also talks about how good their pads are at not clogging up. Again, we got a chance to test this out on some Bond-O, the scourge of the sandpaper world. As they did with general sanding, the Gators lasted much longer than the other brand.

The Gator discs are available in a variety of grits (50, 80, 120, and 220) and are sold in packs of 4 (under $5), 12 (under $12), and 40 (under $20). Amazon sells Norton discs in packs of 10 for about $9, so the Gators are a little more expensive, but when you think about the amount of extra work you'll get out of each one, they make sense.

Available at Lowe's and participating Ace, True Value, Do-it Best, and other local hardware stores

Gator Drywall Sanding Head & Zip Sand Block - Review

Over the years, we've learned that there are a few secrets to making nice drywall joints. The first is to not be shy with the joint compound; for a while we would try to use as little as possible which would leave us with a little ridge along the tape line which would easily telegraph through our usually rushed paint job. Since you want to blend in the joint with the wall, the more width on the compound joint, the better (duh). It also helps if you use a large knife when applying putty so your patch will be as even as possible. Along these lines is the second trick, which is to use a large sanding block. This way, the sanding is also even and smooth (again, duh).

Gator has just released a new Drywall Sanding Head that's great for this application. In addition to being a solid 4" by 10", the Gator sanding head is smaller than the paper that's made for it which softens the edge for sanding, which is nice and leads to a very smooth finish. The sanding head is also available with an adapter for a broom handle so you can hit the ceiling with no problem.

Gator has also released a new sanding block that uses adhered sandpaper as opposed to putting the grit directly into the sponge. This leads to a longer lasting grit and less 'gumming up.' We were skeptical about rinsing out the new sponge, but we did it a number of times and it appeared to have no negative effect on the grit. It's also compatible with the Gator Sponge Holder (our review here). This is all good, but we found one major oversight in the design and that is the lack of a gritty surface on the sides of the sponge. We tend to use sponges to sand all kinds of uneven shapes and usually this includes utilizing the corners, faces, and sides, but here with only the two large sides of the item usable, this is quite a bit more difficult.

The sanding head is available on its own or as a part of a nice looking drywall sanding kit which is at Amazon.com

More information on both items at ZipSander.com

Gator Zip Sand-BLOCK

Gator, a company intent on advancing every single aspect of the sanding world, has released yet another grit-tastic innovation (our reviews of the Zip Sander, Micro Zip Sander, and Sanding Sponge Holder). Their new Sand-Block seems to take the best characteristics of sandpaper and sanding sponges and combine them into one single mighty sanding warhorse. Sounds good to us, but from the picture it looks like the edges don't have any grit on them, which is too bad seeing as we use sponge edges to sand little molding profiles and things like that. But still the longevity of sandpaper compared to sanding sponges makes us likely to go out and pick up a few of these.

Click through to read ye old presse release:

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