Dumb Question? What are these extra TS 55 parts?

[Jeff Scott]

What are these items I received with my TS 55?  I mounted the splinterguard, but I'm not sure what these are for and skimming the manual didn't seem to shed light.

Thanks, Jeff

 

[pugilato]

I never use it, but the one on the left is a stop that is attached to the rails, and is used in case the saw decides to go in reverse for whatever reason and tries to commit suicide by jumping off the rail.  Its in the book somewhere...

 

[peter halle]

The stop is also designed if you are using the saw to make a plunge cut where the risk of kick back is greater.  Used in front of the saw it can be a limited stop for either the saw or a router.

If you do perform plunge cuts, I would advise clamps of some type to hold the rail to the workpiece.

Do you have bevel locking knobs on both the front and rear of your saw?  The extra knob and bolt etc looks like it could be one of those.

There aren't any dumb questions  [big grin].

PS:  you might want to download and print the supplemental manual fo the saw.  It has a lot of useful information.  Here is the link:  TS 55 Supplemental Manual

Peter

 

[Alan m]

the right one is for holding on the green splinter guard on the outboard side of the blade

 

[Jeff Scott]

The stop is also designed if you are using the saw to make a plunge cut where the risk of kick back is greater.  Used in front of the saw it can be a limited stop for either the saw or a router.

If you do perform plunge cuts, I would advise clamps of some type to hold the rail to the workpiece.

Do you have bevel locking knobs on both the front and rear of your saw?  The extra knob and bolt etc looks like it could be one of those.

There aren't any dumb questions  [big grin].

PS:  you might want to download and print the supplemental manual fo the saw.  It has a lot of useful information.  Here is the link:  TS 55 Supplemental Manual

Peter

Thanks for the link Peter, I will check it out. I can't say if I have two bevel locking knobs, I'll check that after work today.

the right one is for holding on the green splinter guard on the outboard side of the blade

Alan, I received two knobs so one is already holding the splinterguard on.  Peter's suggestion may be on target, I just can't remember if it has two bevel locking knobs on it at the moment. Thanks!

 

[peter halle]

Jeff,

I checked mine, it does appear to be a bevel locking knob.  Possibly it vibrated loose during shipping.

Hope you enjoy your saw!

Peter

 

[tbellemare]

It's pretty common when I receive a TS 55 from Festool to have one or more of the bevel locking assemblies loose in the Systainer. I'd day Peter nailed it.

Tom

 

[Sam Murdoch]

Both of these have been identified but I write to add how useful the stop can be. I have 2.  Use them for starting & stopping  plunge cuts in the middle of a board or panel. I recently fitted some 1x 8 t&g pine boards on a wall above & below the head casing & the window sill. (All the trim is set flush to the wall boards. The ends of the 1x8 boards are tenoned into the side & head casing with dominos for a nice flush surface). Anyway, I needed to fit around the trim which required cutting out a section of the board so that it could drop over the casing. I think this job would have been such a hassle otherwise but with these stops & my TS55 I could locate the exact stop & start point of the cut & plunge the full depth of the blade to get very close to my marks with complete confidence & safety. And, yeah clamp the rail down for such an operation. If you ever need to start your saw where the blade will engage the work as soon as you plunge, this stop is an essential safety item.

 

[waho6o9]

Hey Sam, when you do that type of cut do you remove the riving (spelling?) knife? TIA    [big grin]

 

[ccarrolladams]

Hey Sam, when you do that type of cut do you remove the riving (spelling?) knife? TIA    [big grin]

"Riving" is the way Festool USA spells the word and that is the most common spelling in English.

I agree with Festool that the riving knife is an essential safety feature of the TS saws, especially when actually making a plunge cut. I also agree that setting the limit stops of a well-clamped rail is important when plunging the saw into material at the start of the cut. Normally, when making ordinary cuts I plunge my TS55 or TS75 on the extended rail and bring the blade to full speed before moving the saw forward to start the cut. I also agree it is best to make sure the back of the blade is clear of the work piece before taking my finger off the trigger to stop the blade and relaxing the plunge. This avoids marking the work with blade wobble as it slows down.

So, when making plunge cuts, for sink cut-outs as an example, I would clamp the rail carefully, set limit stops before and after the cut so there would be some material left in the corners. I would finish those corners with a jig saw, or perhaps a hand saw.

When I make a cut-out which needs rounded corners, I usually do the rough cut entirely with a jig saw (currently a Trion barrel grip) and finish using a router with a guide bushing and a template.

 

[Sam Murdoch]

Hey Sam, when you do that type of cut do you remove the riving (spelling?) knife? TIA    [big grin]

NO- never have needed to.

 

[peter halle]

The fact that the riving knife is spring loaded and retractable makes it a true safety mechanism in my mind.

 

[JSands]

Not a dumb question at all.....
I never used it either, but after this thread, if I ever make a plunge center cut out, I will surely put one in both directions....

 

[Jeff Scott]

Jeff,

I checked mine, it does appear to be a bevel locking knob.  Possibly it vibrated loose during shipping.

Hope you enjoy your saw!

Peter

And that's exactly what happened. Thanks to everybody for your responses!

 

[peter halle]

Jeff,

That's why we - everyone - is here.

Enjoy and never be afraid to ask!

Peter - on behalf of all the members

 

[sancho57]

Call me stupid but I put my stop at the end f the rail to well stop the saw from going off the end of the rail. Simple I know..

I didnt think about using it for plunge cuts. But I dont do that very often in fact hardly ever. But its good to know just in case