lets design the next track saw

[Alan m]

maybe the next ts caould tilt in wards so that the weight is still over the rail.

Where do you leave the motor?

if the motor come out and when back at 90 degrees it would free up some space for it to tilt in.
maybe mount the motor at 45' and higher  and use a few gears to bring the power down.
im sure they could come up with something.

while we are at it i would like it to tilt both ways

 

[Ken Nagrod]

maybe the next ts caould tilt in wards so that the weight is still over the rail.

Where do you leave the motor?

if the motor come out and when back at 90 degrees it would free up some space for it to tilt in.
maybe mount the motor at 45' and higher  and use a few gears to bring the power down.
im sure they could come up with something.

while we are at it i would like it to tilt both ways

Then maybe you should just ask them to make it worm drive with the motor facing backwards towards the user like a Skil saw?

 

[Rick Christopherson]

I hear people bringing up the Makita anti-tilt feature quiet often. What many of them don't realize is that this feature serves a purpose only when you are not using the saw. It stops the saw from falling over if you walk away from it. It doesn't serve a purpose during the cut. That's because if you let the saw ride against the anti-tilt rib, your bevel angle will be off. The absence of downward force on the rail will make this worse in the middle of a long cut. Knowing the way that Festool engineering thinks, I suspect that this is the reason why they have never incorporated an anti-tilt feature.

I know what the anti tilt is for to stop my saw from falling of  nothing more   

but your basically saying Festool thinks we (TS users) are idiots and are unable of knowing what the anti tilt is for so to avoid people calling up saying the saw doesnt cut at the correct angle unless I hold it down my self etc....     

so  Festool thought to avoid TS users (idiots) calling!  they decided not to bother adding the anti tilt to avoid this hassle.   

umm... yeah thats the reason why festool didnt stick the anti tilt on.

I didn't call you or anyone else an idiot. I said that the anti-tilt feature works only when the tool is not being used. Most people that do not have the Makita saw don't realize this. They think it functions while the saw is in operation. As you said previously, you dropped your saw once. If you had said that you repeatedly dropped your saw, then maybe I might have called you....ummm....spatially challenged?  [big grin] [big grin] 

 

[Ken Nagrod]

No Rick.  Butter fingers.  [big grin]

 

[ART at WORK]

I very much Like the ideas JMB. Especialy the vacume rail.
I would like the saw to have a LED light on it to light up that little mark on the side.
Also to help you see the marks on the wood to line up the rail in low light places.
It of course can be turned on or off.

 

[fdengel]

maybe the next ts caould tilt in wards so that the weight is still over the rail.

Resulting in the blade pointing toward the user?

 

[RC]

How about laser lines that dynamically adjust to the depth of the plunge and mark where the front and the back end of the blade run at any given plunge depth?

This would blast away the static markings on the side of the saw (like Mafell has) that define where the blades extents are at full depth plunge while doing holes in the middle of a table top.

 

[fdengel]

How about laser lines that dynamically adjust to the depth of the plunge and mark where the front and the back end of the blade run at any given plunge depth?

At the top or the bottom of the workpiece?

Or maybe use different colors of lasers to show the extents at the top vs. the bottom?

 

[RC]

Well, I would presume that the top width would be most beneficial. Of course more the merrier =)

 

[andvari]

hi there
given the reaction to the new ts55r
what features would you think the next one should have

A slightly longer standard guide rail. The 1400 guide rail isn't long enough to cross cut a 4x8 sheet of plywood without the guide gibs coming off the rail.

 

[Brice Burrell]

A slightly longer standard guide rail. The 1400 guide rail isn't long enough to cross cut a 4x8 sheet of plywood without the guide gibs coming off the rail.

The 1400 rail will work, you just need to plunge the saw at the beginning of the cut.  I do agree a longer rail is good idea, I'm thinking a 1500 or 1600 rail would be much better.

 

[andvari]

A slightly longer standard guide rail. The 1400 guide rail isn't long enough to cross cut a 4x8 sheet of plywood without the guide gibs coming off the rail.

The 1400 rail will work, you just need to plunge the saw at the beginning of the cut.  I do agree a longer rail is good idea, I'm thinking a 1500 or 1600 rail would be much better.

Yes, that's what I have been doing. The problem with that is that you get a bit of a kickback when you plunge, and there isn't space for the stop, or the cord/hose guides on the end of the rail in this application. It may be a bit picky but this is a Festool so I feel entitled to be this way about it.

The more I think about it the more I think the 75" rail should be standard with this saw.

 

[jmbfestool]

How about laser lines that dynamically adjust to the depth of the plunge and mark where the front and the back end of the blade run at any given plunge depth?

This would blast away the static markings on the side of the saw (like Mafell has) that define where the blades extents are at full depth plunge while doing holes in the middle of a table top.

Yeah I like that idea!!!!  You set the depth of your blade and the lasers automatically adjust  so you know when you plunge your blade where it starts and ends! 

... Im liking tha idea!!!

JMB

 

[Captainwrinkles]

I'd like an exact opposite of the saw ( a mirror image of the current ts55r) i.e. a saw that slides down the track the other way. A few times that would have come in really handy (like trimming the side of a countertop that had a solid edge on the front). And also being right handed, it might make it easier for me to use.

 

[andvari]

Continuation of my theme that the 1400mm rail is too short for basic use, today I went to cut down a 4' wide sheet of plywood into shelving using the parallel guides.

The 1400mm rail is too short for this purpose! You cannot get both of the outside brass screws on the rail if you have a 4' wide piece of wood between the rails. And it's close too. Another inch and it would work.

I ended up dragging out my 3000mm rail - but there really shouldn't have been a need to do that. 

 

[jmbfestool]

Continuation of my theme that the 1400mm rail is too short for basic use, today I went to cut down a 4' wide sheet of plywood into shelving using the parallel guides.

The 1400mm rail is too short for this purpose! You cannot get both of the outside brass screws on the rail if you have a 4' wide piece of wood between the rails. And it's close too. Another inch and it would work.

I ended up dragging out my 3000mm rail - but there really shouldn't have been a need to do that. 

I wish it was the same length as the Mafell rail which comes with the saw! When using the Mafell saw for a little bit I found the extra length rail was really handy but didnt cause any inconvenience due to it being slightly longer.  So I dont see why festool dont make it 100mm or 200 mm longer. 

JMB

 

[flair woodworks]

2. Using your CT vac to create suction on the rail so no clamps need for certain applications.  Once you stop cutting vac shuts down and rail can be lifted off

JMB

The only problem with this is that, assuming that the TS controls the vacuum, you need to align the rail, then turn on the saw without bumping the rail.  I think that a vacuum-clamping rail would be better with a separate on/off vacuum switch.

 

[fdengel]

One problem with plunge cuts using a circular blade is that the width of the cut (front to back) changes with depth, making it hard to accurately place the saw for the start and end of the cut... plus the surface the saw/track sits on will be cut further than the bottom surface, so if you try cutting a square out from the middle of a piece, assuming you somehow manage to place the saw correctly, either the top will be cut further than the edges of the square, or the bottom will need additional cuts to be made to finish taking the square out.

How can we resolve these deficiencies?

That might make a saw worthy of upgrading to...

 

[ama]

maybe the next ts caould tilt in wards so that the weight is still over the rail.

Don't forget that you need to pivot around the bottom of the strip if you want the nice right-on-your-pencil-line cut that we all know and love. Tilting the saw inwards would cut into the strip. How does the R manage its -1 degree?

 

[Alan m]

maybe the next ts caould tilt in wards so that the weight is still over the rail.

Don't forget that you need to pivot around the bottom of the strip if you want the nice right-on-your-pencil-line cut that we all know and love. Tilting the saw inwards would cut into the strip. How does the R manage its -1 degree?

thats a good question. i never thought about it. it must move the bottom of the blade away or something. or maybe we just dont notice it.
tilting inwards should work. it is only the botom edge of the splinter guards that we need, if the top is angled in from cutting it shouldnt matter. althow it might weaken the strip reducing the ability to stop chips. probably need a stronger stripping