Festool tsc 55 REB ripping capacity

[StephanHolt1986]

Hey guys! I’m new to the forum but not new to festool or the addiction. I’m currently looking at purchasing the tsc 55 reb track saw for cutting live edge slabs and my sheet goods, and I want to know if you can rip 2x4s with this saw and guide rail. I would virtually like to do away with the table saw if possible. Any insight on the capabilities and restrictions of this saw would be great.
Cheers
Steve

 

[lwoirhaye]

I don't have the saw, but I can say that whatever work you're doing will have the most effect on whether this or that power tool will be adequate.  If you're working on site cordless tools are terrific.  There's little doubt that ripping 2x stock will burn through battery charges though,  so its a matter of how many lineal feet you need to rip between charges.

You could invert any 8" corded circular saw in a piece of plywood and make a rough fence and rip 2x4s all day if the size of benchtop table saws bothers you.  It bothers me sometimes when I have to go to a site and make a few cuts.  I won't tell you track saw setups for simple rips in narrow stock is quick - it's not.  With a table saw of any size you set the fence and rip.  With a track saw there's all kinds of workholding hassles involved and it's simply more time consuming.

For straightlining rough boards that are wide enough to clamp the track to, track saws are great.  I used to snap a chalk line and cut to it with a band saw before taking a rough board to my jointer, but today I use a track saw if the board isn't too thick or so dense it will strain the motor and make a lot of smoke, in which case the band saw method is more pleasant.

 

[usernumber1]

should work just fine, and i'd say with the edge guide it beats the table saw in tight work areas since you need lot less space ; 1x length of your board, and not 2x.

 

[Gregor]

TS(C) 55 maximum cut capacity at 90° is 55mm, when used with a rail 50mm.

As a nominal 2x4 actually is 38 × 89mm you'll be able to rip it along 38mm dimension - but not the 98mm one without flipping it and completing the cut from the other side.

 

[chrisrosenb]

It will work fine, but you will need a different blade. You will need a ripping blade.
If you will be ripping a lot of thicker lumber, I would suggest you consider getting the TS 75.

 

[JFelchlin]

I “ditto” JD2720’s thinking.
I’ve got both the TS 55 REQ and TS75 EQ.
“On site” - Although setups do take longer - Nothing beats the TS75 .
It’s a “beast”. Cuts through anything, including long/thick rips.
In the shop, for ripping, I use my Bosch 4100-09 10-Inch Table Saw.
Works better for ripping narrow stock; and setups are just quicker/easier.
And in either case, using a rip blade (less teeth) makes a huge difference.

 

[StephanHolt1986]

Ok that sounds good. I also like to make a lot of endgrain cutting boards and if you’ve ever made one you’ll know you have to crosscut your face grain board into about 1.25” strips about 14” long.  Can this be done with the track saws and keep a nice uniform cut?  I find table saws splinter the wood a lot and I end up planing the boards a ton to get rid of the tare outs and the track saw is suppose to leave a glue ready cut that would save me a ton of time.
Cheers

 

[Sanderxpander]

I have a TS 55, not a TSC, but I hate using it for ripping narrow stock. I keep wanting to by a tablesaw for this reason but I can't justify the space and cost as a hobbyist.
The main two issues are
1. It's very hard to balance the rail on a single piece of narrow stock, and very involved to use multiple items yet keep the workpiece properly aligned and not moving etc.
2. A track saw always rips perfectly straight. This may sound good but most of the time your wood won't be straight to the same level of precision. A table saw accomodates for this with the fence; your rips will leave you with wood of a certain width. A track saw will leave even a slightly bent piece of wood with one perfectly straight side but varying thickness along the length of the cut.

It would definitely not be my preferred method of ripping 2x4s.

 

[Gregor]

1. It's very hard to balance the rail on a single piece of narrow stock, and very involved to use multiple items yet keep the workpiece properly aligned and not moving etc.

You could setup to use the off-cut (outside the rail) side, measure with the kerf width in mind.

2. A track saw always rips perfectly straight. This may sound good but most of the time your wood won't be straight to the same level of precision. A table saw accomodates for this with the fence; your rips will leave you with wood of a certain width. A track saw will leave even a slightly bent piece of wood with one perfectly straight side but varying thickness along the length of the cut.

Quite some suggest to first cut oversized and do the precise cut after the wood relaxed internal tension.

 

[Sanderxpander]

1. That doesn't really make it much easier because it means clamping/fixing the rail independently of the workpiece (which should also be clamped), maintaining their relative position without clamping them together. AND, as you said, measuring becomes more complicated.

2. I'm not talking about tension in the wood. I'm saying very often a 2x4 won't be perfectly straight. The track for a track saw is (or should be) perfectly straight. Since you can then only cut a slightly crooked piece of wood with a perfectly straight track you end up with a piece with varying thickness. Unless you manage to clamp it so that it's perfectly straight, without getting in the way of the track.

All in all, not quite impossible, but waaaaay more of a hassle than a tablesaw.

 

[ProCarpenterRVA]

For what it's worth, I have both the TS55REB and the TS55. I have used the battery saw to rip 1-3/4" thick yellow pine with the 12 tooth panther blade. Any other blade would be a miserable experience, it's just too much work for the saw, it gets hot and bogs down.

If you're looking to really process a lot of cutting board timber and live edge slab stock, get a TS 75. Buy a new Panther blade for it and use it for all your rip cuts. You'll be glad you did.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[h1pst3r88]

I have a TSC55 and a HKC55 and today was ripping 10' 2x6s into 1.25" strips to sister to existing 2x4s for a shower surround install.

I was using the FS guides with the TSC and things were working ok but it was slow going with the stock blade that ships with the TSC; the TSC was bogging down. I decided to swap out the TSC for the HKC just to try it out and the HKC was ripping through the 2x6s like a hot knife through butter.

I learned that it's all in the blade! The TSC is a dual-battery saw and has more power than the HKC, but the right blade (stock) in the single-battery HKC was an epic upgrade in cutting power. Lesson learned for me that both saws are totally capable base platforms but that the blade is what makes all the difference depending on use case.

Amazed at the abilities of these saws!

-Chris