ATF55 homemade right-side splinterguard

[lat]

The feature I missed the most compared to the new model. Works well for me.

http://picasaweb.google.com/lat2104/TOOLS

 

[Ned]

Thanks for an interesting idea, lat.

Do you have a picture of the attachment to the saw?  Did you have to modify the saw?

Ned

 

[johne]

Lat,

I d like to know more about the attachement to the saw as well, and i m really interested in how that setup works on melamine.
I have an ATF 55 (not in such a pristine condition as yours ) so if this works well on melamine plz let me know

I haven t been very impressed with the splinterguard on the TS75 so far.

 

[lat]

Thanks for an interesting idea, lat.

Do you have a picture of the attachment to the saw?  Did you have to modify the saw?

Ned

I will be glad to take and post a picture of the attachment to the saw if the following explanation  is not clear enough. No modification was made to the saw except to replace the two panhead 4mm bolts at the bottom of the bladeguard by two roundhead and slightly longer 4mm bolts. These two bolts hold the 1" aluminium square channel through two vertical slots in the inside wall of the channel. Beside holding the channel against the saw, the purpose of these slots is to allow a perfect depth adjustment of the splinter guard against the work surface (which you only have to do once of course). The bolts are tightened via the 3/8" access holes in the outside wall of the channel (quite visible on the photos). The zero clearance guard is 1/4" polycarbonate cut for clearance by the ATF itself (the river knife limits the depth of the cut so I finished the cut on my table saw). You will notice a 1/8" aluminium shim between the channel and the polycarbonate which I found necessary to achieve enough downward reach. This could be eliminated by using either 3/8" polycarbonate or 1 1/4" aluminium channel. Very easy to make.

Lou

 

[lat]

Lat,

I d like to know more about the attachement to the saw as well, and i m really interested in how that setup works on melamine.
I have an ATF 55 (not in such a pristine condition as yours ) so if this works well on melamine plz let me know

I haven t been very impressed with the splinterguard on the TS75 so far.

See above reply for attachment to the saw. The guard works extremely well on solid wood and veneered plywood. I am actually cutting melamine shelves at the moment and the results are acceptable (not perfect but way better than without the guard altough not as crisp as the left side). I believe that applying some relatively soft but slippery material under the polycarbonate could emulate the effectiveness of the rubber strip under the Festool rail. Room for experimentation.

Lou

 

[semenza]

Hi,

      Nice clean modification.  I read in another thread that the TS right side splinter guards work best when they are not only matched to a particular blade, but also to a particular cutting depth.  Resulting in a closer fitting guard.
      How about trying a piece of the Festool splinter strip from a guide rail in the bottom of the polycarbonate? I don't know how well it would slide.  If you need a small piece to experiment with PM me and I will put some in an envelope and mail it to you. I have some extra.

Seth

 

[nickao]

Seth do they make a right side dust guard for the TS 75 like they did for the ATF.

I get a lot of dust while using the TS 75 out the front right side, a lot!

Nickao

 

[semenza]

Seth do they make a right side dust guard for the TS 75 like they did for the ATF.

I get a lot of dust while using the TS 75 out the front right side, a lot!

Nickao

Hi,

    No dust Cover Plate  for the TS75.  But I don't think it would take too much engineering to make one. The TS55 Cover Plate attaches just like the Parallel guide does. Using two rods.

Seth

 

[nickao]

Don't you get a lot of dust? If they offered it I would buy it. I guess I will make something up, thanks.

Nickao

 

[lat]

Hi,

       Nice clean modification.  I read in another thread that the TS right side splinter guards work best when they are not only matched to a particular blade, but also to a particular cutting depth.  Resulting in a closer fitting guard.
      How about trying a piece of the Festool splinter strip from a guide rail in the bottom of the polycarbonate? I don't know how well it would slide.  If you need a small piece to experiment with PM me and I will put some in an envelope and mail it to you. I have some extra.

Seth

Thanks for the offer Seth. However I did try and there is too much friction. The bare polycarbonate works quite fine on  wood and plywood, and is frictionless. For melamine we would need something of about the same sponginess as the Festool splinter strip but without the friction. Good suggestion to match the splinter guard to the thickness of the target material. Easy to achieve as the polycarbonate splinter guard is simple to make and after the initial cut can be removed and replaced without a need for re-adjustment. I will certainly experiment.

Lou

 

[John Stevens]

You will notice a 1/8" aluminium shim between the channel and the polycarbonate which I found necessary to achieve enough downward reach. This could be eliminated by using either 3/8" polycarbonate or 1 1/4" aluminium channel.

Lou, many thanks for sharing this here.  I've owned an ATF-55 for a few years, and for all that time I've been trying to come up with a solution like yours.  This is great.  I was thinking of trying it with some 3/8" UHMW PE stock I have lying around.  Do you think there'll be any problem with that material?  I also have some 3/8" polycarbonate or acrylic (I forget which) I could use, but I was thinking the UHMW PE would slide better and would be a little easier for the blade to cut through.

Regards,

John

 

[lat]

You will notice a 1/8" aluminium shim between the channel and the polycarbonate which I found necessary to achieve enough downward reach. This could be eliminated by using either 3/8" polycarbonate or 1 1/4" aluminium channel.

Lou, many thanks for sharing this here.  I've owned an ATF-55 for a few years, and for all that time I've been trying to come up with a solution like yours.  This is great.  I was thinking of trying it with some 3/8" UHMW PE stock I have lying around.  Do you think there'll be any problem with that material?  I also have some 3/8" polycarbonate or acrylic (I forget which) I could use, but I was thinking the UHMW PE would slide better and would be a little easier for the blade to cut through.

Regards,

John

I find your suggestion of using UHMW interesting. Not that the polycarbonate does not work well (it does slide easily and the blade cut trough it without effort). However it is brittle and for that reason UHMW could provide a longer lasting and better fit against the blade.

Lou

 

[Ned]

Lou--

The Festool splinter guard is covers the leading edge of the blade, essentially just where the teeth come through the work.

Your design runs the length of the blade.  In addition to acting as a splinter guard, it widens the base plate.

Have you found the wider base plate useful?

Ned

 

[Michael Kellough]

Lou--

The Festool splinter guard is covers the leading edge of the blade, essentially just where the teeth come through the work.

Your design runs the length of the blade.  In addition to acting as a splinter guard, it widens the base plate.

Have you found the wider base plate useful?

Ned

Also, is the housing of the saw (to which the aluminum tube is screwed) square enough to the base so that the al tube doesn't need to be shimmed? Otherwise the edge of the poly... may or may not contact the work near the teeth.

 

[lat]

Lou--

The Festool splinter guard is covers the leading edge of the blade, essentially just where the teeth come through the work.

Your design runs the length of the blade.  In addition to acting as a splinter guard, it widens the base plate.

Have you found the wider base plate useful?

Ned

Not a disadvantage as far as I know, perhaps some advantages although they would appear marginal (easier to make and align, protection from vibration along the entire blade, stability).

Lou

 

[lat]

Lou--

The Festool splinter guard is covers the leading edge of the blade, essentially just where the teeth come through the work.

Your design runs the length of the blade.  In addition to acting as a splinter guard, it widens the base plate.

Have you found the wider base plate useful?

Ned

Also, is the housing of the saw (to which the aluminum tube is screwed) square enough to the base so that the al tube doesn't need to be shimmed? Otherwise the edge of the poly... may or may not contact the work near the teeth.

As you can see in the 3rd picture (added) the housing is very square and no shim was needed. The picture also shows the vertical slot under the head of the 4mm bolt to allow for depth adjustment.

Lou

 

[semenza]

Don't you get a lot of dust? If they offered it I would buy it. I guess I will make something up, thanks.

Nickao

Hi,

  I have the TS55 and use the Cover Plate most of the time.    Perhaps we should move this part of the discussion to Cover Plate Review

Seth

 

[johne]

Lat,

I d like to know more about the attachement to the saw as well, and i m really interested in how that setup works on melamine.
I have an ATF 55 (not in such a pristine condition as yours ) so if this works well on melamine plz let me know

I haven t been very impressed with the splinterguard on the TS75 so far.

See above reply for attachment to the saw. The guard works extremely well on solid wood and veneered plywood. I am actually cutting melamine shelves at the moment and the results are acceptable (not perfect but way better than without the guard altough not as crisp as the left side). I believe that applying some relatively soft but slippery material under the polycarbonate could emulate the effectiveness of the rubber strip under the Festool rail. Room for experimentation.

Lou

If you can adjust the height you could try to use the same rubber material, as the strip on the guide rail. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[lat]

Lat,

I d like to know more about the attachement to the saw as well, and i m really interested in how that setup works on melamine.
I have an ATF 55 (not in such a pristine condition as yours ) so if this works well on melamine plz let me know

I haven t been very impressed with the splinterguard on the TS75 so far.

See above reply for attachment to the saw. The guard works extremely well on solid wood and veneered plywood. I am actually cutting melamine shelves at the moment and the results are acceptable (not perfect but way better than without the guard altough not as crisp as the left side). I believe that applying some relatively soft but slippery material under the polycarbonate could emulate the effectiveness of the rubber strip under the Festool rail. Room for experimentation.

Lou

If you can adjust the height you could try to use the same rubber material, as the strip on the guide rail. Thanks for the explanation.

As I have said above, I have tried Festool rubber strip but the friction is way too high. Ideally looking for something of the same sponginess but low-friction.

Lou

 

[johne]

Lat,

I d like to know more about the attachement to the saw as well, and i m really interested in how that setup works on melamine.
I have an ATF 55 (not in such a pristine condition as yours ) so if this works well on melamine plz let me know

I haven t been very impressed with the splinterguard on the TS75 so far.

See above reply for attachment to the saw. The guard works extremely well on solid wood and veneered plywood. I am actually cutting melamine shelves at the moment and the results are acceptable (not perfect but way better than without the guard altough not as crisp as the left side). I believe that applying some relatively soft but slippery material under the polycarbonate could emulate the effectiveness of the rubber strip under the Festool rail. Room for experimentation.

Lou

If you can adjust the height you could try to use the same rubber material, as the strip on the guide rail. Thanks for the explanation.

As I have said above, I have tried Festool rubber strip but the friction is way too high. Ideally looking for something of the same sponginess but low-friction.

Lou

Srry bout that forgot the thing had to move Just a thought what if you would use some sillicone spray on the rubber strip?? Wouldnt use it on wood that needs a finish but maybe on melamine?