Keep TSC 55 K or upgrade TSC 55 R to thin kerf?

[guybo]

Has anyone tried this for the corded saw or is that the version that requires several parts and is not cost effective?

Would also like an answer to this. I have a TS 55 REQ and it works well but wouldn't mind running a narrower blade. It's kinda slow even on 3/4 ply.

Hi, took about one hour and only cost was the new blade.I use a granite tile as a lap stone and glued the paper to it,flat enough for this job.very please with it.[member=61254]mino[/member] the old eq came with a 2.2mm fine,however the pather and universal blade @2.5 and the riving knife@1.8mm+/- .02mm ran just fine minus a splinter guard, riving knife remained functional i.e. don't recall blades ever being stopped by a closed kerf.

 

[mino]

...
[member=61254]mino[/member] the old eq came with a 2.2mm fine,however the pather and universal blade @2.5 and the riving knife@1.8mm+/- .02mm ran just fine minus a splinter guard, riving knife remained functional i.e. don't recall blades ever being stopped by a closed kerf.

Heh. Sans riving knife, closing kerf has the tendency of turning the saw into a flying device ... with a working one the saw will instead tend to get stuck by the wood pinching the riving knife. So your point proves the opposite of what you meant to convey .. That said, a skilled person will hold the saw with such a strength that the flying lesson will tend not to take place and instead just a jaggy cut edge will ensue.
I prefer not to speculate about the "skill level" of a random reader on the internet. Hence the only proper statement is to not use a blade the riving knife is not designed for. Period.

Do notice my qualifier of "when a riving knife provides safety" though. There are use cases - e.g. MDF cutting - where the riving knife has no safety function and thus even the complete lack of one is not a (safety) issue when cutting -only- MDF.

For more detail, see below. The statements about which saw blades can be (safely) used with a 1.8 mm (marked) riving knife fitted saw, see comments on what saw blades can be used with the TS 55 F saws:https://www.festool.com/campaigns/landing-page/circular-saw-blades#FAQs

*) Professional users are trained on "which saw blade can be used with what tool, how and when". Someone such qualified to make judgements on these things - and understand the consequences of those judgements - will ignore any general "internet advice" anyway.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Maybe I’m just a cynical old hack with sawdust for brains, but I spat out my coffee when I first saw the ‘twice as fast’ claim. Even if the motor was twice as powerful and the saw had a Teflon baseplate running on a Teflon rail, anyone with more than an ounce of sense would continue to run the saw down the rail at the normal slow-to-medium speed. I don’t really understand what Festool were thinking when making such a nonsensical claim. So, so uncharacteristic of them.

Unless …….. the real reason for the change to 1.8mm kerf + electronic anti-kickback was something to do with multiple sales being continually lost to Mafell?

Whaddya think?

EDIT = goofing around modifying power tools isn’t for me. Too risky, and I’m not an engineering designer who designs things a certain way for a reason.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

The original TS 55 R / TSC 55 are the last "universal" plunge saws that *could* be reasonably used sans the rail. The blades are stable-enough and the riving knife allows to use them such.

Can’t argue with that. I recently bought the parallel guide kit for my TS55 and it works great.

 

[Coen]

Has anyone tried this for the corded saw or is that the version that requires several parts and is not cost effective?

Would also like an answer to this. I have a TS 55 REQ and it works well but wouldn't mind running a narrower blade. It's kinda slow even on 3/4 ply.

Hi, took about one hour and only cost was the new blade.I use a granite tile as a lap stone and glued the paper to it,flat enough for this job.very please with it.[member=61254]mino[/member] the old eq came with a 2.2mm fine,however the pather and universal blade @2.5 and the riving knife@1.8mm+/- .02mm ran just fine minus a splinter guard, riving knife remained functional i.e. don't recall blades ever being stopped by a closed kerf.

Yes and soon after they realized how stupid that was and made all TS 55 blades 2.2mm

Sadly they forgot to do the same for the CS 50 and TS 75.