Best Tablesaw for Festoolians

[Loren Woirhaye]

If I could find one, I would choose an INCA minor or
the extremely rare INCA compact universal saw.

I have owned several INCA machines, including the
big cabinet saw and the legendary 259 with the mortiser.
These are very accurate saws that are compact
and not very heavy.

I'm downsizing my stationary machines like many here,
planning to use the Festool guiderail system for
breaking up sheet goods and squaring panels.  I'm
hoping its not folley, because I do this work for a
livelihood and am used to having a well-tuned tablesaw
around... with a sliding table or cutoff sled.

INCA machines are very precise for joinery, etc... and
not overbuilt much at all.

Noisy portable table saws with Universal motors are
less than ideal for me. 

As far as I am concserned the real weak spot of the Festool
system is the safe and speedy ripping or narrow strips of
solid wood stock.  A bandsaw is actually the safest tool
for this IMO, but like many Americans, I habitually turn to
a tablesaw to rip solid wood stock. Yes, I know that Festool
makes a table for inverting their circular  saw for ripping,
but its NAINA and jawdroppingly pricey, isn't it?

I have a vacuum bagging system for veneer work, and
I have recently bought some "vacuum pucks" from
a supplier on Ebay.  I have yet  to figure it out but
I'm thinking a sort of useful jobsite jig for jobsite
repeat ripping with my 55 may be possible and even
graceful.

Another strong suit of a tablesaw is the quick machining
of grooves for drawer bottoms, etc... a tedious, messy
operation with router slot cutters.

If Festool were to introduce a saw blade with 1/4" (6mm) 
wide teeth it might be a good thing for guys like me.

 

[GreenGA]

If the opinion of a hobbyist counts, I have the Bosch 4000 (not the new 4100) with the self-raising cart/stand/whatever.  I like it because when not in use, it's folded up and stored out of the way in the corner of the garage.

I also use the DeWalt SCMS and I like it a lot.  It's the saw that gets the most use, at least for now.  When I purchased this saw I also purchased the DeWalt SCMS stand.  Although this stand works as designed, and it quite sturdy, a couple of months ago, I bought a stand from the Orange Borg that works exactly like the stand from Bosch for 4000 I already own.  The Borg stand is not as sturdy as the DeWalt (which is going up on eBay shortly) but I like it because I can store the SCMS in the corner along side the Bosch.

 

[tallgrass]

how about the festool table saw adapter plate for the 55?? ;D still festool

 

[Eli]

The CMS. It's also a router table, jigsaw, linisher.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

ehrm, I just got my CMS table + module for my TS55 the other day  ;D but have been busy busy at work so I haven't had time to install the TS55.

I do have some delicate ripping to do before the weekend so I will get to it any day now... 

CMS table looks sturdy enough, yet compact and my GF didn't even flinch or sneer at it when I brought it home.
It folds neatly, legs can be removed and I got the extra guide fence/rail (or whatever you call it) for it so hopefully I can report back with a success story.

 

[Eli]

did you get the rolling table? The fence you're talking about is the good one with microadjustment (flips through pages, 488062, or 492095)?

 

[Matthew Schenker]

As an update, I haven't used my table saw for several months now.  I like the saw (a Ridgid TS2400), and there was a period when I used it sometimes.  But as the months went on, I found myself slowly replacing every single table-saw function with an equivalent Festool-tool function.

Now I'm looking to reclaim that shop space, probably selling the TS2400 at some point.

Anyway, I just offer my experiences as an example of how the table saw can be phased out of a Festool shop!

Matthew

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Eli: 492095 is the one I got. I did not bother with the rolling table as I have a small rollerstand for longer material and I plan on using the TS55 +rails for anything wider than the table will accommodate. 

Matthew: I see your point, I have been doing fine with my Makita LS0714 Mitre saw and the TS55 and have had little use for a table saw and have most of the times managed to work around table-saw-craving applications. Have done some trimming/ripping with the EHL65 + the table fixture/base, it has seen some use and was a good investment indeed and fits in the Systainer with the planer if the one removes the interior molding.

However, when I made a couple of loudspeakers a few months ago I used my colleagues Makita 2704 I realised there are times when a tablesaw really comes in handy. I could not fit one in the crammy apartment and already there was an alarming number of Festool/Tanos systainers so I had to justify both the expense of a table saw and the space it would occupy when idle.

The CMS seems like just the ticket as I can get the module for the router if the need arises. And there is room for Systainers underneath and on top so it doesn't really occupy any extra space, just a few inches / cm extra height. Also, I did not pay for the CMS table and the extra goodies with cold hard earned cash, it was a trade of services so I thought, what the heck - if I end up not using it much it just cost me a weekends work.

 

[Dave Rudy]

The CMS. It's also a router table, jigsaw, linisher.

It's also NAINA.  I'll take two linishers please.  What is a linisher, by the way?

 

[Eli]

Dedicated table mounted belt sander.

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Dave: oh, is it NAINA? :-[ I am sorry for that - it is a very clever design.

Eli: yup, it's like Pokemons: gotta catch them all.  The belt sander could come in handy, but anything other than the router table would REALLY have to wait until we move to something substantially larger space wise or I will have to knock out the wall in the walk in closet to fit another Festool accessory.

(It is a small walk in closet though...)

8)

 

[Eli]

I'm mostly interested in it for use as router table first I think. Next a jigsaw base and last as a tablesaw. I wish the BS75 fit into a plate as a module and didn't have to be a dedicated linisher..... Guess that should go in the wish list thread....

walk-in is walk-in. Space to work? I say plant your flag in it.

 

[Goerge]

pingvinlakrits,

while the cms might be a NAINA, there should be lots of friendly dealers willing to send it to you.

It's only a means of putting your handtools to stationary use. Apart from the linisher Eli mentioned, you can put either ts55/75, of1010/1400/2000 and jigsaw in it. What I mean is, if you own the tools, just get the cms-stuff in a country where it is available - it's not too heavy to be shipped oveseas, and  No problem with voltage ratings and stuff, as you already own the tools.

The Router-Setup works pretty fine, but the table saw setup is a bit of a PITA when it comes to adjusting cutting height and tilting the blade. It ain't got any dials, what you do is tilt the saw underneath the table, for height adjustment you "plunge" the saw in the upside down motion.

Still the Precision is good, and it does exactly what most of the threads said you guys want: do repeated cuts of smaller workpieces, ripping and crosscutting. So if you happily own a mft, you might want to try and get a cms basis, a sliding table and the right module to mount the hand tools you own. As I was warned not to emphasise NAINA tools in another thread, I don't want to insult anybody. But I still stink it's possible to have the stuff delivered, and hey: it's festool!

As a means of information: Try Eby maybe for older "basis" setups, not the now sold cms line. As Festo stopped building the atf plunge saw, they altered the basis to the nowadays cms. The older basis could be connected to the mft, so you used the mft as an extension, which saved a bit of money. And the atf had a pull-option, which I like very much to rip small workpieces.

Again, no offence intended going on about NAINAs.
Goerge

 

[Greg B]

No worries Goerge (how do you pronounce that anyway, like George, gay-org?) and pingvinlakrits,

NAINA is a friendly taunt hurled our way by you folks who choose to live in the "other" continents  ;D ;D. Also, btw, the CMS is actually NAINAY or NAINAYet. It is winding its way through our tortuous UL approval process.

Now, since I'm already typing, and appear to be the self-appointed name jockey, what the devil is a pingvinlakrits, family name, given name? Inquiring minds want to know and they've already attempted a translation to no avail.

GB

 

[pingvinlakrits]

Goerge: No worries for me: I was feeling sorry for the US fellows - I myself have the CMS table and I live in Sweden, right across the big pond. And yes, I am going to fit my TS55 to it and eventually the routerbase. Will actually mount the TS55 just after I have had an after work snack - it is now 5.15 PM my time.

Is your name pronounced J?rgi? Like Yergee or something like that.

Greg B:
Pingvin = Penguin, Lakrits = Licorice.
Nickname is taken from a box of salt licorice which happened to be right in front of me as I was choosing a nickname and the one I had thought up was taken, hence the nick Pingvinlakrits.

You might think Swedish would be hard to learn but if you look closely at most of the words they are quite similar... Word = Ord. Penguin = Pingvin. Bank = Bank. Festool = Festool. Cat = Katt. Sky = Sky, only pronounced differently.  Etc etc...

 

[Dan Clark]

...
Also, btw, the CMS is actually NAINAY or NAINAYet. It is winding its way through our tortuous UL approval process.
...

Greg,

Really?  Where'd you hear this?  When will it be available? 

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Goerge]

: gay-org  That's by far the best one until now, and I've been collecting funny pronounciations for all my live....
It's pronounced something like gurga, the oe is the way to spell the german o with these funny dots on top - a bit like the swedish ore?

Pinkvinlakritz, if you own the base, go for the ts. I have to say I didn't like the feel of the cms compared to the cs, but if you own othe tools for comfortable adjustments to different tasks, why not - the cms uses the same presision sliding table and extensions, only height and tilt adjustment is a major PITA.

BTW, I somehow can't imagine why the hell this "UL approval" doesn't accept tools that come with the european ce-sign. Definetely quality tools like Festo's are among the safest and best engineered I ever ran across!

 

[pingvinlakrits]

So G?rg-ah, then?

Yes, I realise the CMS is not as smooth handling as a CS table, but the latter are quite expensive and I will mainly use the table for some ripping and minor work that would require a table saw. Tilting seems a bit awkward but I don't think that feature will be used much by me.

As I have the TS55 I thought it would make sense to get the CMS as I will not be using the table saw very often and could not see myself investing in a dedicated table saw. I do have access to a workshop with a Makita 2704 + dust collector so if the need arises I can make my way over to that place. 

I am totally with you on the notion that the CE approval would be sufficient to validate the Festool's for the US market. They are manufactured to stringent tolerances and on the ergonomic side of things as well.

 

[Greg B]

...
Also, btw, the CMS is actually NAINAY or NAINAYet. It is winding its way through our tortuous UL approval process.
...

Greg,

Really?  Where'd you hear this?  When will it be available? 

Thanks,

Dan.

Dan,

From my local rep. We need a new acronym, WWIBA or WCIGI (When can I get it), or ISHWCIH,WII (I'm standing here with checkbook in hand, where is it?), the answer to which is always the same, UL if I know. ;D.

GB

Goerge,

Yeah, I get it, umlauts, like Goethe or in an old commercial that they used to have about Loewenbrau Beer where they pronounced it "Leurvenbroy" (mit lots of shpit in ze mouth).

GB

Pingvinlakrits,

Man, that's cruel, killing poor penguins for their licorice, then pouring salt in the wounds. Yup, I've got that one right! Hey, thanks for user review on the CMS, it's always the little details like those that you often don't find out about until after you've used the product for a while.

GB

 

[Dan Clark]

Greg,

OK... WCIGI!!!  ;D

Dan.