I finally took the 'plunge', pun intended, into Festool last week. I purchased a 55 REQ and broke it in on a volunteer job where I built 12 6' picnic table/benches for an orphanage. They were made entirely of pressure treated pine 2x6's and 2x4's. All of the men I was working with couldn't get over how great my new toy was, but the engineer in me couldn't help looking for how it could be better... Here are my thoughts, if there's already a solution for them or if its operator ignorance, please let me know.
1) The Thumbswitch to disengage the plunge lock is on top of the tool which is not a natural grip point. It forces a user to release the safety and then shift his grip to wrap the thumb around the saw handle before use. A firm grip might not be necessary in ply cuts, but I was cutting at near capacity in very wet PT lumber. A firm grip felt safer. A better option might be a push button release where the thumb wraps around naturally on both sides to be ambidexterous. I would prefer a pinky trigger release to the thumb, a little cleaner.
Either way the thumbswitch's textured grip ridges left my thumb sore after sliding it 8 hrs/day for 2 days. Call me a mouse-hands (guilty!), but I fully intend on taking my dremel to those grip lines and softening or smoothing them alltogether. The concavity to the switch should provide enough grip by itself.
2) When cross cutting dimensional lumber hanging off the edge of a sawhorse the saw foot naturally springs back out as the cut is complete. It feels a little clumsy and preparing for it made freehand miter cuts a little more difficult than using a standard circ saw. I found myself reaching around the front edge of the foot with the fingers of my leading (left) hand to hold the plunge through the cut and allow it to slowly retract. *Cringe* Bad stuff can happen under the foot, I'd like to see a molded or bolted grip on top of the leading edge of the foot or a cushioned plunge spring to help with short unsupported crosscuts.
3) When making close-proximity repetitive freehand cuts (mitering the corners off the ends of the benches and table tops) I was annoyed having to wait on the blade to spin to a near stop before the motor would spin up again. I'm sure this has to do with the speed control, but waiting on it between every cut eventually led me to either hold the trigger when moving around from cut to cut or just put down my Festool and reach for the $35 Skill saw which did the job quicker. If the electronics can't be adjusted for immediate use regardless of current blade RPM, maybe a blade brake would help reduce the down time between cuts.
4) Just inside the blade housing, there is a guide track for the motor's plunging motion. That track is molded so that it protrudes abruptly out of the blade housing. I found when using the saw right handed, the track would run between the knuckles of my 1st and 2nd finger. This usually wasn't uncomfortable, but a couple times the saw would bind in the wet lumber and kick back. The brunt of the kickback would punch the hard 90degree plunge track edge into my knuckles. A more comfortable solution would be a continuous fillet molded into the housing along the track instead of leaving a "sharp" edge.
1) The Thumbswitch to disengage the plunge lock is on top of the tool which is not a natural grip point. It forces a user to release the safety and then shift his grip to wrap the thumb around the saw handle before use. A firm grip might not be necessary in ply cuts, but I was cutting at near capacity in very wet PT lumber. A firm grip felt safer. A better option might be a push button release where the thumb wraps around naturally on both sides to be ambidexterous. I would prefer a pinky trigger release to the thumb, a little cleaner.
Either way the thumbswitch's textured grip ridges left my thumb sore after sliding it 8 hrs/day for 2 days. Call me a mouse-hands (guilty!), but I fully intend on taking my dremel to those grip lines and softening or smoothing them alltogether. The concavity to the switch should provide enough grip by itself.
2) When cross cutting dimensional lumber hanging off the edge of a sawhorse the saw foot naturally springs back out as the cut is complete. It feels a little clumsy and preparing for it made freehand miter cuts a little more difficult than using a standard circ saw. I found myself reaching around the front edge of the foot with the fingers of my leading (left) hand to hold the plunge through the cut and allow it to slowly retract. *Cringe* Bad stuff can happen under the foot, I'd like to see a molded or bolted grip on top of the leading edge of the foot or a cushioned plunge spring to help with short unsupported crosscuts.
3) When making close-proximity repetitive freehand cuts (mitering the corners off the ends of the benches and table tops) I was annoyed having to wait on the blade to spin to a near stop before the motor would spin up again. I'm sure this has to do with the speed control, but waiting on it between every cut eventually led me to either hold the trigger when moving around from cut to cut or just put down my Festool and reach for the $35 Skill saw which did the job quicker. If the electronics can't be adjusted for immediate use regardless of current blade RPM, maybe a blade brake would help reduce the down time between cuts.
4) Just inside the blade housing, there is a guide track for the motor's plunging motion. That track is molded so that it protrudes abruptly out of the blade housing. I found when using the saw right handed, the track would run between the knuckles of my 1st and 2nd finger. This usually wasn't uncomfortable, but a couple times the saw would bind in the wet lumber and kick back. The brunt of the kickback would punch the hard 90degree plunge track edge into my knuckles. A more comfortable solution would be a continuous fillet molded into the housing along the track instead of leaving a "sharp" edge.
(disclaimer: I'm a wuss and wear gloves just about any time I'm working unless they get in the way of detail work)
Many peeps throw a sheet of foam board or other sacrificial material under their cuts to support it.
