ATF 55 New Blade

[Tinker]

I just picked up a replacement 48 tooth blade when i tok the old blade in for sharpening.
The old blade is wider than the new blade.  Other than having to adjust the splinter strips on some of my rails, i was not foreseeing and problems.  I have changed blades before.

I tried making a test cut of a scrap pice of plywood and for the first 4" */-, everything was fine.

All of a sudden, the saw just rose up in the cut.  I checked the cut and found it to be straight.  Evidently no problem there.
I checked for errant hardware.  Still not any problem.
Checked to be sure cord and DC tube were not catching.  Still ok.

I tried anther cut and at the same point of cut, the saw started to rise up out of the cut.
I unplugged and turned saw upside down for investigation.

I finally determined that the riving knife is off to one side of the saw teeth so as it reaches the cut it forces the saw upwards.  The riving knife seems to be within .5 mm or so as wide as the new blade teeth.  There is very little room for adjustment.

I know how to adjust the riving knife for distance FROM the saw teeth.
I can not find any directions to set the knife from side to side.  My inclination is to do what sometimes gets done with heavier equipment where the might be an inch or so of extra space.  Get out the heavy hammer  [eek]

In this case, even a light hammer will produce more of a problem.  Do i just apply pressure and try to bend the knife into alignment.  There is almost no allowance for over correction with so narrow a blade that is barely wider than the knife.

Any suggestions.
TIA
Tinker

 

[semenza]

I just picked up a replacement 48 tooth blade when i tok the old blade in for sharpening.
The old blade is wider than the new blade.  Other than having to adjust the splinter strips on some of my rails, i was not foreseeing and problems.  I have changed blades before.

I tried making a test cut of a scrap pice of plywood and for the first 4" */-, everything was fine.

All of a sudden, the saw just rose up in the cut.  I checked the cut and found it to be straight.  Evidently no problem there.
I checked for errant hardware.  Still not any problem.
Checked to be sure cord and DC tube were not catching.  Still ok.

I tried anther cut and at the same point of cut, the saw started to rise up out of the cut.
I unplugged and turned saw upside down for investigation.

I finally determined that the riving knife is off to one side of the saw teeth so as it reaches the cut it forces the saw upwards.  The riving knife seems to be within .5 mm or so as wide as the new blade teeth.  There is very little room for adjustment.

I know how to adjust the riving knife for distance FROM the saw teeth.
I can not find any directions to set the knife from side to side.  My inclination is to do what sometimes gets done with heavier equipment where the might be an inch or so of extra space.  Get out the heavy hammer  [eek]

In this case, even a light hammer will produce more of a problem.  Do i just apply pressure and try to bend the knife into alignment.  There is almost no allowance for over correction with so narrow a blade that is barely wider than the knife.

Any suggestions.
TIA
Tinker

So the riving knife is too wide for the blade and won't fit into the kerf?

Maybe  an old blade is available somewhere?

Call Festool.

Seth

 

[Tinker]

Thanks Seth.

After I sent my OP, I went down and pulled the cover plate off and could get a closer look at Knife/Blade thicknesses.
I don't have a mic to check, but it looks to be the riving knife is same thickness as the blade --- almost exactly.

That leaves no room for error so I am not going to mess around trying to make the knife fit.  I do have a 24 tooth blade (original equipment) that I will put into service for now. 

My question now is:  Are the riving blades on the TS 55's thinner to go along with the newer/thinner blades?
I think that would be only solution.  I won't call Festool today as i am sure nobody is there on Sunday.

Tinker

 

[Michael Kellough]

If I remember correctly the kerf of the newer blades is 2.2mm while the old is 2.5mm.
I don't know if the thickness was reduced evenly on both sides of the blade but I expect it was.
In either case that isn't enough difference to account for a half mm offset of the riving knife.

Which side is the off-set on? Inboard or outboard?

As a first step I'd remove and clean the riving knife and seat and re-install (as well as the blade).

The riving knife doesn't need to be exactly as wide as the kerf of the blade. It just needs to be no wider
on either side of the kerf and in fact should be a little narrower than the kerf. In the worst case
you can just take it off and grind down the fat side.