I recently picked up a set up of Festool sanders and vacuum that I am not overly impressed with. The tools definitely work well but I am having a hard time justifying the purchase when looking at the cost/finished product ratio. So, I may go back to using my Bosch set up which for the cost worked great.

I will say that something I love about the Festool is the variety of sanders and sanding pads that they sell. They have a sander for every type of job. It’s just too bad they are so expensive.

Before making this transition I wanted to ask what other companies make quality sanders that also offer a variety of options?

So, I want a really good sander for my refinishing work. Most of what I work on is mid century; sculptural, spindly, with close-set details.

Here are my criteria:

1. Compatible with surfprep's squishy pads. (All fit the bill)

2. Lowest profile possible. I want to sand spindles on chair backs while minimizing hand sanding. The first challenge will be some Selig/Kofod Larsen Blade chairs, for some idea of what I want to sand..

3. Enough whoopass that I can use it to remove recalcitrant finishes off of larger flat surfaces like table tops. I know a little orbital isn't perfect for that, but it's a start before I can buy a complimentary bigass RO.

4. Excellent dust collection.

Right now, I'm leaning towards the Surfprep and Deos for their reduced heights. However, the Surfprep would be significantly less expensive to get into. I can get a Surfprep with a bunch of squishy abrasives for about $650. The Mirka would probably be 50-100 more to get into. The Festool is easily the least expensive, but it's also much taller. I have concerns about tight spaces.

Right now, it seems like the rectangular sanders are a better fit than the deltas, seeing as I can use the corners of the rectangle just as I might the point of a Delta.

Those with experience on multiple models, could I get some input?