Attn. Festool: TS55 underpowered!

BigfootBuilder

BigfootBuilder

Member
Joined
May 27, 2016
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76
I have a new TS55 and it bogs down even going through one sheet of 3/4" ply. I thought that's where these things are supposed to shine? The other day it shut itself down ripping the length of a 4x8 sheet of 3/4", about 2/3 of the way in. Do I have a lemon, or is this common? I've heard others say they wish these had more power but it seems kinda ridiculous how much it bogs down. It just needs like 2 more amps.
 
Could you please post some more details?

Blade used, cross or rip cut, rail used or not, feeding speed, ...
 
I've never found the ts55 to bog down in sheet material. Even cuttung two 18mm sheets of ply at a time.

Unless you're forcing it through the sheet goods at an unrealistic pace, sounds like you got a lemon to me.
 
Are you running it off an inadequate power source or inadequate power cord? Either will rob the saw of power.
 
The TS55 isn't the most powerfull saw but mine goes through ply and softwood without problem. Hardwood is another story though.
 
I would start at the blade.  You shouldn't be having an issue, so something needs to be corrected.
 
It is a little underpowered, that's why I chose the Bosch tracksaw, along with Bosch having better rails. However for your described purpose, the TS55 should be fine!

Things to check:

Blade sharpness.
Blade is clean.
Blade installed the correct way.
The material pinching the blade.
Poor electrical supply.
Faulty extractor supplying the power.
Finally after all of the above...fault with the saw.
 
This is a fairly common issue. [member=61469]BigfootBuilder[/member], I suggest that you talk to our applications team. They're well-versed in this, and a quick call might be the easiest path to identify and fix the issue. If you'd prefer, we can have them call you directly at a time that's convenient to you.

Either call 1-888-337-8600, or PM me your phone number and a preferred time for us to call. Thanks.
 
I have cut through 8/4 white oak and didn't have those problems. Either there is a problem with the saw or one of the things mentioned in the other posts is a problem. One other thing I can add which, as far as I can tell, no one else has had a problem with. After experiencing something similar with short crosscuts, I checked the blade and found that the nut had come slightly loose. I removed, cleaned, and reinstalled the blade, and it's been great since then. Don't know how the blade came loose as it shouldn't but I may not have tightened it all the way the last time I cleaned it (which also is a good idea, cleaning the blade periodically if you notice pitch buildup and even if you don't).
 
Thank you for all of the replies everyone. OK:
[member=53905]Gregor[/member] and all others looking for my lack of details-
-The blade is factory installed still, so it's the 48T blade. Still sharp, haven't done a whole lot of cutting with it.
-It is on the right way, I've never removed it yet.
-I'm only going through 3/4" birch ply in this application, so I would expect better results.
-The power supply is a good call, but I'm running from a 20A dedicated circuit through a short run of 10 gauge extension cord, to the CT26, to the saw. Pretty sure it can't get much better than that.
-[member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] it's definitely set to 6
-It's been rip cuts the times that it's bogged down and gone into some kind of safe mode for a few minutes while it cools down. Using the rail. I'm not raving it down the track, but pushing at what I would think is a responsible pace, I go by ear for this kind of stuff.

I did think that others had had this problem, so it's interesting to hear of all of this success with the saw from all of you.

[member=57769]TylerC[/member] thanks for that number, I think I'll give a call today.

Sounds like either my CT might be the issue power supply-wise, or I'm dealing with a lemon...
 
BigfootBuilder said:
Thank you for all of the replies everyone. OK:
[member=53905]Gregor[/member] and all others looking for my lack of details-
-The blade is factory installed still, so it's the 48T blade. Still sharp, haven't done a whole lot of cutting with it.
-It is on the right way, I've never removed it yet.
-I'm only going through 3/4" birch ply in this application, so I would expect better results.
-The power supply is a good call, but I'm running from a 20A dedicated circuit through a short run of 10 gauge extension cord, to the CT26, to the saw. Pretty sure it can't get much better than that.
-[member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] it's definitely set to 6
-It's been rip cuts the times that it's bogged down and gone into some kind of safe mode for a few minutes while it cools down. Using the rail. I'm not raving it down the track, but pushing at what I would think is a responsible pace, I go by ear for this kind of stuff.

I did think that others had had this problem, so it's interesting to hear of all of this success with the saw from all of you.

[member=57769]TylerC[/member] thanks for that number, I think I'll give a call today.

Sounds like either my CT might be the issue power supply-wise, or I'm dealing with a lemon...
Click to expand...

If you can go outside and make a similar cut by-passing the CT you'll find out if the CT is at fault.

You might be pushing too hard. If your feed rate is slow you'll hear the electronic speed control working to manage the speed of the blade (the tell-tale sound is gear gnashing). If you push just a little harder then full power will flow and you won't hear the gear gnashing any more.

That is the ideal feed rate. Push much harder and the gullets of the fine tooth blade can't remove enough swarf to allow the blade to advance (just like when the flutes of a drill bit clog). This is more likely with stringy plywood cores like DF.

If you're cutting construction grade plywood then you should switch to the Combination blade.
 
Hop on Youtube and look at some videos of people cutting ply or even 2" thick hardwoods with the TS 55. That will give you a sense of whether you are experiencing something normal or abnormal from a performance perspective.
 
plug the ct straight to the wall no ext cords would be the quickest check. I had this underpower issue with the kapex and the ext cord was the problem.
 
That's a cross cut blade BTW not a rip blade. But I've never had any issue using a 48 tooth blade ripping plywood.
 
Shane Holland said:
...
Plus, it's possible that the toe-in for the blade is off. If it was dropped or something else happened, for instance. Tweaking it is fairly easy and documented in the supplemental manual on page 22.
http://www.festoolusa.com/media/pdf/Festool-TS55REQ-Supplemental-Manual.pdf
Click to expand...

I encountered this problem a while back with my then two week old ts55 rebq.

The first job I used it for was cutting a 40 mm thick wbp plywood doorslab with two thin aluminum layers sandwiched in the ply with absolutely no problem.
Then, after someone hooked his leg on the cable, it dropped down from the systainer on top of the ct26.

The way I noticed the toe in had been turned into a toe out by the drop was experiencing similar symptoms as yours when cutting a 6 mm sheet of trespa.

The calibration process was fairly easy, but my saw was the latest revision, and the mentioned 2mm allen-screws were torx instead.
 
8/4 white oak ? On the rail that's 2 passes as max cut is 1 15/16"  The ts55 just has small heuvos.
 
I would think if it was toeing in or out I would see it in the quality of the cuts (burning etc) but I wouldn't rule anything out. Thanks for the suggestion.

I've definitely never dropped the thing.

I won't have a chance to mess with it until next week, but I will try plugging the CT directly into an outlet, though I hesitate to think that's the problem as I've run my table saw, 2000W router, and bench top planer through the CT with absolutely no (abnormal) noticeable slowing of the motor under loads.

Didn't get a chance to call today but I will first thing next week. Thanks for all of the help so far everyone!
 
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