Carvex Blades?

darita

Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2007
Messages
462
I'm a little confused about which blades work best on the Carvex.  I think Trion blades work on the Carvex, but Carvex blades are thicker and won't work on the Trion...right?  Also, I just mistakenly purchased a 35 piece set of Trion blades.  Is there a similar set of Carvex blades?  One last thing...which blade is used for 4x4s? 
 
All Festool blades work with all Festool jigsaws and any other jigsaw that takes t-shank blades.  The Trion blades has trapezoidal backs and the Carvex blades are straight, resulting in a stiffer blade.  Cut quality with the blades is identical.  I believe that the packs of Trion blades are going to be replaced with the Carvex blades.  For the 35 pack, did you buy the set that includes packs of different blades or did you buy the 20 pack of FSG style blades?

Scot 
 
ScotF said:
All Festool blades work with all Festool jigsaws and any other jigsaw that takes t-shank blades.  The Trion blades has trapezoidal backs and the Carvex blades are straight, resulting in a stiffer blade.  Cut quality with the blades is identical.  I believe that the packs of Trion blades are going to be replaced with the Carvex blades.  For the 35 pack, did you buy the set that includes packs of different blades or did you buy the 20 pack of FSG style blades?

Scot
It may be true that all Festool blades work with all Festool jigsaws however it is not true that Festool blades work with all jigsaws that take t-shank blades, some of the Festool blades are too thick for my t-shank jigsaw.
 
Jerome said:
ScotF said:
All Festool blades work with all Festool jigsaws and any other jigsaw that takes t-shank blades.  The Trion blades has trapezoidal backs and the Carvex blades are straight, resulting in a stiffer blade.  Cut quality with the blades is identical.  I believe that the packs of Trion blades are going to be replaced with the Carvex blades.  For the 35 pack, did you buy the set that includes packs of different blades or did you buy the 20 pack of FSG style blades?

Scot
It may be true that all Festool blades work with all Festool jigsaws however it is not true that Festool blades work with all jigsaws that take t-shank blades, some of the Festool blades are too thick for my t-shank jigsaw.

Thanks -- I should have said that they fit most professional jigsaws.  I have not had an issue with the thicker blades in the non-Festool saws I have used (mostly Bosch), but cannot say for every make and model out there.  Thanks for pointing that out.

Scot
 
I had posted about this in Frank's review thread but I'll reiterate.

The Trion blade has been discontinued and replaced with Carvex blade.

The Trion blade may not work well in the Carvex because the thicker T-shank can be problematic with the auto-eject mechanism of the Carvex. Worst case scenario, you remove power/battery and use pliers to remove the blade. Basically, the blade may be just a hair too thick (less than the thickness of the paint on the blade) and get hung in the Carvex's chuck.

It's best to use the Carvex blade with the Carvex. The Carvex blade also work in the Trion jigsaw without issues.

The Carvex S145/4 FSG blade is going to work well with your 4x4s. It's a thick blade to prevent flexing and long enough for those cuts.

http://festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/jigsaws/jigsaw-blades/s-145-4-fsg-jigsaw-blades-pack-of-5-499478

New Blade  Old Blade Blade Description
499476 486551         Jigsaw blade S75/4FSG 5x
499477 486552         Jigsaw blade S105/4FSG 5x
499475 488015         Jigsaw blade S105/4FSG 20x
499478 490179         Jigsaw blade S145/4FSG 5x

Shane
 
Shane, thanks for the info.  I was confused and recently bought the Trion 35 piece blade set assortment thinking they were the Carvex blades.  Are Carvex blades now available in the assortment?
 
darita said:
Shane, thanks for the info.  I was confused and recently bought the Trion 35 piece blade set assortment thinking they were the Carvex blades.  Are Carvex blades now available in the assortment?

Oops, sorry for not addressing that.

The 35-pack of blades was a limited time promotional item. We are out of stock on those and I've not heard of any plans to reintroduce it at this time. Presumably, if it was reintroduced, it would have the Carvex style blade rather than the Trion that was original in the pack.

Shane
 
I don't know when the above Festool blade page came along but it could still be improved to make blade selection easier.
It is nicely graphic when you roll over a blade and the black border surrounds it but that really doesn't help in choosing a blade.
At the least, rolling over the picture of the blade could pop up a closeup of the shank and teeth so we could get a quick idea of the tooth spacing. Also, the material color code should be at the top of the page so people can quickly scroll to the appropriate section.

The text says, "In order to select the right jigsaw blade for your application, think first about the type of material you want to cut, since there are blades available for wood, plastics, non-ferrous metals, steel, and special materials like fiberglass, foam, and other materials. Next decide what kind of cut you need: fine, fast, scroll, clean."

I agree that material to be cut is the first factor. 
The online blade selection page could be structured as a row of pull down material choices
branching into more specific materials and further into thickness ranges.

In my experience material thickness is the next most important factor.
I try to keep 3 teeth in contact with the work to minimize chatter but that can be reduced
if speed is more important. It would be helpful for the tooth spacing to be clearly indicated
with a minimum of clicking (like the roll-over close-up).
 
Michael, I have a blade selection tool that I started on and haven't found the time to complete. It allows you to use material, blade length, type of cut, etc. Maybe I can work on it since things are a little less hectic.
 
darita said:
Shane, thanks for the info.  I was confused and recently bought the Trion 35 piece blade set assortment thinking they were the Carvex blades.  Are Carvex blades now available in the assortment?

That 35 blade pack is NOT Trion logo blades. They are universal. Work just fine in the Carvex....not the heavy painted ones that say "Trion".

While discontinued, they are still in stock at a number of dealers for $50.00.  I just purchased a set from Bob Marino to use in my PSC420. 

Doesn't look like these are available yet in the U.S., but I purchased a 20-pack of CARVEX S 75/4 FSG blades in Germany for about U.S. 70.00.  The part number is 499441. AWESOME blades!

Description:
• Extra stable blade, particularly well suited for straight cuts when using the guide rail
• cross-set teeth, conically ground for quick cuts in exact angles

Technical data
Length of cutting blade 75 mm
Pitch 4 mm
Maximum workpiece thickness 55 mm
qty. in pack 20 piece(s)

That same part number used to be for a 20-pack of equivalent Trion blades, but they are now Carvex.  Hopefully, they'll get to NA soon. In the meantime, the 35 pack will do you nicely. No worries.

Frank
 
I have to update my last post.  The sample pack, which some dealers including Bob Marino still have in stock for $50.00 show both the short S75 and long t105 blades as Trion on the package. But I just received my set, and the shorter ones (S75) are now CARVEX branded blades.  The long ones are still Trion, but I will file the tops down a bit so as not to have a problem with my Carvex.  The other blades in the set are the focused use blades that are generic and won't be an issue.

I was surprised that the printed description insert differed from the actual set inside, but it was a pleasant surprise considering that the set now has CARVEX blades included. The one set of Trion's included only need a little "adjustment" to the upper thickness to work just fine.

Get the set while dealers still have a little stock. Great price and a great savings! [big grin]
 
Glad I saw this thread...I think.  I ordered a set of 486549 blades which in the Carvex brochure have the Carvex logo on them (S 75/4 FS five pack).  I received a package with the same stock number, but they have the Trion logo on them.  Are you saying these will get stuck in my new Carvex PSB 420 EBQ?  I don't think I want to be scraping off the paint in the hopes that the blade will fit.  I checked with my retailer and he said, "The FSG blades are the only ones whose thickness has changed for the carvex.  The 486549 (FS)will work in either saw without problem."  Do I need to be concerned?  Thank you!
 
kcasser said:
Glad I saw this thread...I think.  I ordered a set of 486549 blades which in the Carvex brochure have the Carvex logo on them (S 75/4 FS five pack).  I received a package with the same stock number, but they have the Trion logo on them.  Are you saying these will get stuck in my new Carvex PSB 420 EBQ?  I don't think I want to be scraping off the paint in the hopes that the blade will fit.  I checked with my retailer and he said, "The FSG blades are the only ones whose thickness has changed for the carvex.  The 486549 (FS)will work in either saw without problem."  Do I need to be concerned?  Thank you!

There is some confusion about what has and has not changed with various blades. The FS blade has not changed at all. It ("they" when you consider it comes in different lengths) are non-side-set teeth with a trapezoidal shank (also called conical grind) to provide kerf clearance.

The FSG blade was originally a side-set blade that also included the redundant trapezoidal shank. Because both of those features do the same thing, the trapezoidal shank was removed. This gives the shank a little more rigidity. There is nothing wrong with using either blade in either saw, with the very minor exception of the thickness of the paint on the older version.

The metal shank of both old and new FSG blades still comes from 14-gauge steel, which is 0.070" thick. This hasn't changed. What did change was keeping a closer tolerance on the thickness of the cosmetic paint covering the blade. That doesn't prevent you from using an older FSG blade in the Carvex, but it can cause the blade to not easily pop out with only the blade-ejection spring force. It doesn't impact the function of the tool. It is just a loss of convenience when ejecting a used blade.

This applies only to the FSG blade (comes in 2 lengths, so sometimes the plural "blades" is used, which may be confusing). If you have existing inventory of old FSG blades, there is nothing wrong with using up that inventory with a Carvex. (However, the newer blades are stiffer.) You just have to be aware that sometimes (not always) the thicker paint may make the blade a little harder to eject from the blade holder.
 
Hi Rick,

Thank you for the explanation.  Not sure I followed it all, but as long as I'm not doing damage to my cool new saw I'm happy!

Ken
 
Rick Christopherson said:
kcasser said:
Glad I saw this thread...I think.  I ordered a set of 486549 blades which in the Carvex brochure have the Carvex logo on them (S 75/4 FS five pack).  I received a package with the same stock number, but they have the Trion logo on them.  Are you saying these will get stuck in my new Carvex PSB 420 EBQ?  I don't think I want to be scraping off the paint in the hopes that the blade will fit.  I checked with my retailer and he said, "The FSG blades are the only ones whose thickness has changed for the carvex.  The 486549 (FS)will work in either saw without problem."  Do I need to be concerned?  Thank you!

There is some confusion about what has and has not changed with various blades. The FS blade has not changed at all. It ("they" when you consider it comes in different lengths) are non-side-set teeth with a trapezoidal shank (also called conical grind) to provide kerf clearance.

The FSG blade was originally a side-set blade that also included the redundant trapezoidal shank. Because both of those features do the same thing, the trapezoidal shank was removed. This gives the shank a little more rigidity. There is nothing wrong with using either blade in either saw, with the very minor exception of the thickness of the paint on the older version.

The metal shank of both old and new FSG blades still comes from 14-gauge steel, which is 0.070" thick. This hasn't changed. What did change was keeping a closer tolerance on the thickness of the cosmetic paint covering the blade. That doesn't prevent you from using an older FSG blade in the Carvex, but it can cause the blade to not easily pop out with only the blade-ejection spring force. It doesn't impact the function of the tool. It is just a loss of convenience when ejecting a used blade.

This applies only to the FSG blade (comes in 2 lengths, so sometimes the plural "blades" is used, which may be confusing). If you have existing inventory of old FSG blades, there is nothing wrong with using up that inventory with a Carvex. (However, the newer blades are stiffer.) You just have to be aware that sometimes (not always) the thicker paint may make the blade a little harder to eject from the blade holder.

I think you meant 3 lengths, Rick - 75mm, 105mm, and 145mm.

Tom
 
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