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[Cochese]

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[bkharman]

Panther...

 

[peter halle]

[attachimg=1]

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

What are you ripping? 3/4" Pine? 2" Hard Maple? Ipe? Material type, thickness, desired feed rate, and desired finished surface quality will influence your blade choice.

Since Festool has discontinued the "Standard" blade for the TS55, you're limited to the Universal or Panther blades. I assume that right now you're using the Fine blade?

The Panther is going to cut through most materials like butter but will likely leave a slightly rough surface. In other words, it likely wouldn't be an improvement over your table saw. The Universal blade is just that: good for ripping and crosscutting, but not outstanding at either. That being said, it makes a nice rip cut, but you need to be willing to slow your feed rate. So long as you're not ripping 2" hardwoods, and are willing to take your time, I'd cast a vote for the Universal.

Mafell makes some very nice 160mm blades as well. Most are in stock with their North American distributor.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

For this particular project it is Western Red Cedar, 1.5" thick.

One of the issues I have with my table saw isn't so much cut quality from blades, it is kerf marks and the end of the stock moving away from the fence.

For the TS55, I have only ever used the stock blade, and only for plywood.

For this particular application, I'd strongly suggest the "Universal" blade. You'll get a great quality of cut with a decent feed rate in 1.5" Cedar. If you've only ever used the stock (Fine) blade, I think you'll be impressed by the quality of cut the Universal blade delivers when cross-cutting as well.

Good luck, and work safe!  [smile]

 

[Pareto]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I've also been looking at getting a Panther blade for my TS55 to rip some 2" Elm. I've only used the standard/Universal/whatever-was-fitted-when-it-left-the-factory blade - am I right to believe that the 2.2mm kerf on the all the 160mm blades means that all will be fine with my cutting guides when changing between blades?

Cheers.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

Sorry to hijack this thread, I've also been looking at getting a Panther blade for my TS55 to rip some 2" Elm. I've only used the standard/Universal/whatever-was-fitted-when-it-left-the-factory blade - am I right to believe that the 2.2mm kerf on the all the 160mm blades means that all will be fine with my cutting guides when changing between blades?

Cheers.

Your TS55 shipped with a Fine blade, but I strongly recommend to my friends that the first accessory they buy for their saw is a Universal blade, it really opens up the opportunities of what you can do.

Remember that, when you're cutting on a guide rail, the kerf difference (if there is one) tends to be pretty minimal. For instance, I mostly use Mafell blades, which are 1.8mm, but when I do use Festool blades (usually 2.2mm), you're really only looking at what the difference is on the arbor side. So, rather than saying the blades have a 0.4mm difference, there's really only a 0.2mm (1/128") difference. If you're setting your guide rails by hand (not using a jig), I doubt you'll notice any difference whatsoever. I hope this helps!

 

[Pareto]

Thanks for that information - very helpful!

 

[semenza]

I need some better quality rip cuts than my table saw can provide (for whatever reason), so I need a rip blade. I need a recommendation for this, to stick with the Festool blades (which have mixed opinions on) or go with a third party. I'd like to keep the 2.2mm kerf if at all possible, and I need something I can get relatively quickly - I'm not sure the Tenyru is an option.

    I have no idea what the cut quality on your table saw is like. However the cut quality with the Panther blade is pretty rough. The trade off is that it will sail through rip cuts with relative ease on most hard woods. 

    I think you will find mixed reviews of the Universal blade on the TS55 as well. In my experience it is a compromise. It makes rip cuts pretty well and the cut quality is much better than the Panther, but the cut still needs to be cleaned up. For me I'd rather have the cutting done with ease using the Panther since I have to clean the cuts up anyway. I have found that the Universal blade performs better on the TS75 than the TS55. Just my personal findings. Like a I said some people really like the Universal and some don't (same for Panther).

    In any case , regardless of how the cut quality is compared to your table saw, it certainly is a good idea to have the Panther blade (and maybe the Universal too) to give you as many cutting options as possible. Expanding the use of your saw can only be a good thing.

Seth

 

[jswalcott]

I've been so happy with my TS55 cut quality, haven't paid attention to blades and didn't even realize the standard/fine blade had been discontinued.  I cut mostly plywood - if I find myself in need of a blade replacement, is the mixed quality opinion on the Universal blade mostly tied to solid stock as discussed here?  And Seth, are you mostly cutting solid stock as well?  Curios as to the cleanup you refer to on cut stock, I get that on solid stock but not sure how/if that applies to sheet material (if that makes sense).

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

I've been so happy with my TS55 cut quality, haven't paid attention to blades and didn't even realize the standard/fine blade had been discontinued.  I cut mostly plywood - if I find myself in need of a blade replacement, is the mixed quality opinion on the Universal blade mostly tied to solid stock as discussed here?  And Seth, are you mostly cutting solid stock as well?  Curios as to the cleanup you refer to on cut stock, I get that on solid stock but not sure how/if that applies to sheet material (if that makes sense).

Just to avoid confusion, the Fine blade comes standard (lower case "s")on the TS-55.  The Standard blade (upper case "S") is no longer listed for the TS-55 in the 2014 catalog. Hope this helps!

 

[grbmds]

Went with the 28T, as the 2.2mm rip blade wasn't in stock at Woodcraft anyway. They had the old one, though.

When buying blades, to keep the clear splinter guard accurate, you need to check the blade box to be sure it's a 2.2mm kerf. There apparently are some TS55 blades which are not. I don't know if they are old or just a different kerf width for some reason.

 

[semenza]

I've been so happy with my TS55 cut quality, haven't paid attention to blades and didn't even realize the standard/fine blade had been discontinued.  I cut mostly plywood - if I find myself in need of a blade replacement, is the mixed quality opinion on the Universal blade mostly tied to solid stock as discussed here?  And Seth, are you mostly cutting solid stock as well?  Curios as to the cleanup you refer to on cut stock, I get that on solid stock but not sure how/if that applies to sheet material (if that makes sense).

  The clean up is only on solid stock when using the Panther or Universal blade. No clean up needed on sheet goods using the Fine blade. By clean up I mean sanding out blade marks or edge jointing .

Seth

 

[tjbnwi]

For the cedar use the stock 48 tooth blade that came with the saw. Make sure it is clean and sharp. It will rip the cedar with no problems at all.

For the Elm the 28 tooth in 2 depth passes or the Panther for a single depth pass. That is the beauty of the TS, you can adjust the depth to make subsequent passes. I think the 2 pass cut in the Elm will produce the better looking cut.

Tom

 

[waho6o9]

Panther blades no doubt.

 

[tjbnwi]

Cochese, you'll learn to pick the blade for the application.



Tom