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You cannot go worng with this sander for any and all your sanding needs. no vibration what so ever. The "Turbo" mode removed material so fast it was amazing. my 5" RAS will now sit on the shelf. I needed a sander for resurfacing my deck and while a belt sander would have been ideal it was not a tool that would get much use outside of that task. This sander worked so well that I do not feel I "sacrificed" anything. Once I was done with that job I wanted to test it on so furniture and it worked perfect.
Intense vibration. Small workpieces need to be clamped in place or else the sander can spin them on the bench. This is a very powerful sander. That could be user error though.Weaknesses:1. The same strong motor that doesn't flinch at anything can cause the sander to dance over the surface if the sandpaper grabs instead of gliding. The "fast removal" mode can throw the sander out of balance so that it wobbles and jumps all over the place.
"Swirl Free Finish" once again does not live up to its promise. The motor does not break a sweat on anything.2. This is in contrast with a smaller, lighter sander that will glide.3. Regular sanding mode doesn't feel like, in spite of the power of the sander, to remove material any quicker than a smaller, less powerful unit. My previous sander was a Dewalt and I decided to replace it as I was getting a large number of swirl marks from it with the very hard woods that I like to work with (Wenge, Bloodwood, Purpleheart and so on). 4. Surfaces that are not perfectly flat cause imbalanced friction on the disk and that can cause some of the jumping around. It's terrible.2.
Part of that seems to be design and part that it is just not the right tool for the application.Strengths:1. You need to have some good vibration absorbing gloves on when using this sander, and long term this kind of vibration is no good for your hands. it's very rapid.3. Everyone promises this but few deliver. In combination with the two handed use and the constant threat of the sander jumping, it seems to be a net negative as a tool. I bought this sander on the strengths of the reviews as a replacement, and overall it has not performed as well as the Dewalt. The "fast removal" mode lives up to its name. I worked on the assembly line doing spot welding and I know long term what vibration does to your hands.
So overall for myself, I think a lighter less powerful unit would have been the better choice. I think this is really highly dependent on the kind of material you're working with. I have to disagree with the glowing reviews of the sander. Seems to work adequately as a polisher, though attempts to use it like this have always resulted in swirls in the finish. You need two hands on this, and a firm but light touch at all times.
If your in the market for a dustless random orbit sander, I would highly recommend this one. etc. I use the Bosch over the Fein 9 times out of ten. I have used many tools in my 30 years of carpentry and the Bosch 1250 sander is one of the best hand tools I have ever used. Great ergonomics, low vibration, super non orbit mode, etc. I also have a Fein 8 inch Random Orbit sander and the Bosch is a much more comfortable tool to use.
It almost makes sanding fun. I expect to get many years of sanding from this machine. Noting comments that the vacuum attachment doesn't fit (very unBosch). The project is sanding the hull of an 80' steel sailboat. You can also slow the motor down if it's to aggressive.It is just about completely dustless on flat surfaces with the vacuum connected. I have not used the fine setting extensively yet, but some test pieces lead me to believe that it will do fine work as well as it removes stock.
The stock pad is very high quality and the motor is sealed from dust. This machine is unbelievable - it allows me to remove 2 thick layers of badly orange peeled paint with speed and precision on the stock removal setting. Fortunately, it has a very predictable motion and you can lean a little bit at different points as you sand to steer. I opted to use hose gotten at the hardware store. It is at least 1/3 faster than the 6" Rigid and Porter Cable machines that I was using. Having read an assortment of reviews about an assortment of DA sanders, I went with the Bosch 120DEVS.
Until you get the hang of where to lean on it to "steer", it can be a handful. The motor is very smooth and reasonably quiet, you can lean into it without bogging the motor down.
I am a happy customer. I am sure some of my friends that have spent twice as much will argue with my statement, but, just drop your festool plastic toy on the ground and tell me how happy you are with your purchase lately. The festool sander has become a cheap plastic piece of junk. I have no complaints about this tool and when I did have a minor issue the Bosch representative on the phone solved my problem. I make solid surface counter tops. I have used the fein and the festool sander. I have two Bosch 1250DEVS sanders and plan on buying a third.
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