Mafell on sale by Timber Wolf tools

[lshah72414]

I have the same as Tom, except my batteries are 4.0 ah and only one extra blade. Closes without a problem.

 

[JimmyFord]

It does work with Festool rails. There's a black Delrin insert held in with 4 screws that needs to be removed first.

I'm curious if the Mafell can be adjusted relative to the Festool splinter strip and if it can also be adjusted for fit on the Festool rail.

So here's the skinny with photos.

A photo of the sole plate of the MT 55 with the black Delrin insert still installed.

[attachimg=1]

A photo of the sole plate with the Delrin insert removed, this will now ride on the Festool rail. The remaining black Delrin piece in the photo is an adjuster in the neutral position to fine tune the fit for use on a Mafell rail or a Festool rail. It's a rather clever twist.

[attachimg=2]

One edge of the adjuster contacts the Festool rail while the other edge of the adjuster contacts the Mafell rail. Obviously one size doesn't fit all. [smile]

Here the adjuster is tweaked slightly, potentially applying pressure to both the Festool rail slot on the bottom and to the Mafell rail slot on the top.

[attachimg=3]

And finally, here's the adjustment screws that will position the Mafell saw closer to or further away from the splinter strip. Again, one size doesn't fit all.

In my situation, I'll probably just adjust the MT 55 to fit the Festool splinter strip so it will work with the TSC & the HKC.

I'll then purchase a Mafell rail to use with the P1cc and the MT 55cc and the Mafell will cut the splinter strip as it is won't to do.

As a side note, the track engagement adjusters on the Mafell are really slick. They're detented so that each adjustment is a positive step and you can go forwards or backwards one small step at a time. Pretty slick.

As noted before, this saw really raises the bar on most every item.

The MT 55 blade spins at 6250 rpm vs the TS 55 blade at 5200 rpm.
The MT 55 blade has a kerf of 1.8 mm vs the TS 55 blade of 2.2 mm.
The MT 55 draws 1620 watts vs the TS 55 at 1200 watts.

The only nit I can pick is that the MT 55 does not have a riving knife. I'm thinking however, that the combination of the increased blade speed, decreased kerf thickness and higher amperage draw will negate the advantage of a riving knife as it will continue to soldier on cutting through the wood when the TS 55 has stalled out. We'll see...time will tell.

Its got an electronic riving knife, if the saw starts to kick it shuts off- I havent tested this on mine, but jeff from timberwolf told me about the feature. I guess it was a very very big deal to get a saw like this in Europe made without a riving knife, so the technology was thoroughly tested by the “warning do not place plastic bag over head and seal the opening- you could suffocate” people.

 

[JimmyFord]

Anyone who picked up an mt55, I highly recommend trying the mafell rails, they are super nice. I got a 3ft section just to try out, then I quickly ordered 2 more 5.2ft sections. The rail connector is absolutely brilliant, and changing the splinter strip is very slick!! Ive heard the bosch rails are the same, but I cant confirm that as I have only used the mafell branded ones, it looks the same but qc and/or overall build quality could possibly differ.  Anyway, just thought I would share. After I picked up the mt55 a couple months back I heard from a few people I should try the rails as well, glad I did.

 

[jeh]

The rails are very well-designed and worth migrating away from the Festool rails if only for the connector.

 

[Knight Woodworks]

Mine came with 5.5amp batteries.

Do you guys have the Flexirail in there too?
With the Flexirail it seems like not enough space but I didn’t push too hard.

Okay, I pushed pretty hard. It’s not going to fit with the Flexirail

Be sure to lower the saw to its lowest plunge depth and check that the crosscut rail is on the insert properly. It should fit with the flex rail.

John

 

[Cheese]

Its got an electronic riving knife, if the saw starts to kick it shuts off- I havent tested this on mine, but jeff from timberwolf told me about the feature. I guess it was a very very big deal to get a saw like this in Europe made without a riving knife, so the technology was thoroughly tested...

Found this on jlconline.com. Someone from the FOG contacted Mafell and asked them about the lack of a mechanical riving knife on the MT55. This is Mafell's reply 7 years ago.  [eek]  It seems like their electronic riving knife has some pretty good service history behind it.  [cool]

PRESS RELEASE
Safer sawing without a riving knife

MAFELL MT 55 cc plunge-cut saw with kick-back protection

In its new MT 55 cc plunge-cut saw, MAFELL has combined the benefits of enhanced active safety, improved handling and enhanced cut quality – without a riving knife. According to the manufacturer, active kick-back protection averts the danger of recoil when the blade enters the work more effectively than a riving knife. In addition, design measures introduced alongside standard EN 60745-2-5, which entered force in 2007, have increased the passive safety of saws that dispense with a riving knife.

Especially when entering the workpiece, the blade of conventional plunge-cut saws can easily jam and thus cause a kick-back. The MAFELL MT 55 cc plunge-cut saw significantly reduces the likelihood of this effect occurring. Thanks to the CUprex Compact motor driving the sawblade at a maximum of 6,200 rpm, the cutting speed is 20 per cent higher than usual. The teeth of the carbide-tipped sawblade thus remove less stock per revolution, which appreciably reduces the risk of jamming.

The probability of a kick-back arising from sawblade jamming is much lower while sawing is in progress as well. The high speed enables the blade to cut itself free more effectively. Additional safety is afforded by the automatic isolation of the power supply to the motor if the blade jams.

"The active kick-back protection provided by the high speed and automatic power supply interruption offers greater safety than a riving knife, which does not protect against the kick-back effect when the blade enters the work and can be a nuisance for the tradesman," comments Ralf Kohler, head of sales and marketing at MAFELL. Josef Riederer, a tradesman of Unterneuhausen, vindicates the manager's claim, "I feel safe when working with the MT 55 cc."

The passive safety of the MAFELL MT 55 cc plunge-cut saw is also enhanced by the strict provisions of EN 60745-2-5 for saws without a riving knife. In the event of a kick-back, the standard requires that the sawblade fully retracts inside its housing within just 0.3 seconds. In compliance with the standard's provisions, MAFELL tested this safety feature more than 50,000 times.

Dispensing with a riving knife makes the saw much easier to use. When changing the sawblade, for example, it is no longer necessary to change the riving knife according to the blade thickness and adjust it to suit the blade diameter. This not only accelerates the blade changing operation, but also reduces the workload when working with a variety of materials. Tradesmen are also delighted that the absence of a riving knife protects sensitive surfaces against the risk of scratch marks.
Media contacts:

Volker Simon​Ralf Kohler
Tel.: ​+49 711 248922-169​Tel.: ​+49 7423 812-135
Fax: ​+49 711 342185-32​Fax: ​+49 7423 812-218
E-mail: ​volker.simon@lmpr.de​E-mail: ​ralf.kohler@mafell.de

LässingMüller Public Relations GmbH ​MAFELL AG
Gerokstrasse 8​Beffendorfer Str. 4
70188 Stuttgart​78727 Oberndorf
Germany​Germany
www.lmpr.de​www.mafell.de

 

[Svar]

I guess it was a very very big deal to get a saw like this in Europe made without a riving knife...

Not at all. In Europe smaller circular saws up to 210 mm typically don't have riving knives.

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

The electronic rising knife is great. I’ve only activated it a couple times, but it’s interesting to hear the saw just start to bog down, then the blade just slams to a stop, zero kick-back. Nifty.

 

[Svar]

The electronic rising knife is great. I’ve only activated it a couple times, but it’s interesting to hear the saw just start to bog down, then the blade just slams to a stop, zero kick-back. Nifty.

I think mechanical riving knife has benefits. In a pinching situation it actually holds the kerf open and prevents the blade from gouging the martial too deep. Riving knife is thicker than blade plate, so it starts working before the blade is pinched and you can keep cutting instead of having the saw stalled.

 

[blues]

Nothing. It's a joy to use mt55. I have not used my ts75 since. It's going on Ebay soon.

 

[DeformedTree]

The passive safety of the MAFELL MT 55 cc plunge-cut saw is also enhanced by the strict provisions of EN 60745-2-5 for saws without a riving knife. In the event of a kick-back, the standard requires that the sawblade fully retracts inside its housing within just 0.3 seconds. In compliance with the standard's provisions, MAFELL tested this safety feature more than 50,000 times.

Hang on, are they saying on a MT 55 if the saw experiences kickback the blade retracts? De-plunges?  That sounds saw stop like.  I wasn't aware of this going on?

If this was a great tech (electronic riving knife) then why doesn't the Erika have it?  I don't think any of it hurts, but it does ask the question "Why not both?" 

Electronic stuff is nice, but you know the mechanical knife will be there, if you leave it off, it's your own fault, not the fault of some circuit inside.

 

[Svar]

The passive safety of the MAFELL MT 55 cc plunge-cut saw is also enhanced by the strict provisions of EN 60745-2-5 for saws without a riving knife. In the event of a kick-back, the standard requires that the sawblade fully retracts inside its housing within just 0.3 seconds. In compliance with the standard's provisions, MAFELL tested this safety feature more than 50,000 times.

Hang on, are they saying on a MT 55 if the saw experiences kickback the blade retracts? De-plunges?  That sounds saw stop like.  I wasn't aware of this going on?

Let's not confuse the matter. There is NO active retraction mechanism on MT55. It just has to unplunge in certain amount of time when you let it go. I.e. the spring has to be of certain stiffness. Knifless Bosch and Makita have to comply with the same standard.

 

[Cheese]

Hang on, are they saying on a MT 55 if the saw experiences kickback the blade retracts? De-plunges?  That sounds saw stop like.  I wasn't aware of this going on?

I think it's best to reflect what [member=2726]Tom Gensmer[/member] stated. He has first hand experience with the Mafell while the rest of us are still plucking the bubble wrap from inside the Systainer.  [smile]

It appears there's no retraction of the blade, but rather just a stoppage of the blade. That works for me...more importantly there appears to be at least 7 years of Mafell MT 55 production in the market place to vouch for its effectiveness or its ineffectiveness.

However, if the later was a reality, I think you'd hear about it on the internet or through law suits.

 

[ScotF]

The electronics stop the blade and since it is a plunge saw (like all other plunge saws) the blade goes back in the housing if an issue.

This could replace a TS75 except for depth of cut.

Bosch rails are identical to Mafell - just cheaper and blue splinter guard and Bosch branding vs. red and Mafell branding.

Hopefully TSO will come out with an adapter for the rail square to work with Mafell rails. 

 

[Jiggy Joiner]

There is no retraction of the blade with the electronic cut out, well at least not on my MT55 (corded) but, I bought it a fair while back, not sure about the very latest models but, I’m almost certain they feature just the cut out. Which in my opinion, is all that’s needed.

My cordless Makita also has the same, or very similar feature. When using either of these saws, I’ve experienced this, it is literally an instant stop to the motor. Things that trigger it are as you’d expect, like ripping pressure treated timber that’s still wet, when the kerf tightens from warped timber etc, and when plunge cutting too fast.
To anybody thinking about Mafell rails, I would recommend them. When I bought my MT55 I bought a kit that included two rails. Using Festool rails is fine but, using the Mafell rails feels like the saw is almost gliding on air.

As the majority of our mobile and site tools are cordless, I am hankering for the cordless MT55 but, would like a side by side power comparison with my Makita. Bearing in mind the Mafell is 18 volt and the Makita is 36 volt. The Makita is very powerful, so I obviously don’t want to step back in the power dept. I don’t know anybody that has both saws for a comparison though.

My rarely used almost mint conditioned TS55 was sold a while ago, so I have a bit of stake money burning a hole in my pocket.  [wink]

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

As stated above, when the MT-55cc experiences a binding situation the blade just stops (fast!!), but there is no automatic blade retraction.

 

[jeh]

The electronics stop the blade and since it is a plunge saw (like all other plunge saws) the blade goes back in the housing if an issue.

This could replace a TS75 except for depth of cut.

Bosch rails are identical to Mafell - just cheaper and blue splinter guard and Bosch branding vs. red and Mafell branding.

Hopefully TSO will come out with an adapter for the rail square to work with Mafell rails.

You don't need a rail square with the Mafell rails as they are self-aligning due to a different rail profile and rail connector design.

 

[Cheese]

Hopefully TSO will come out with an adapter for the rail square to work with Mafell rails.

You don't need a rail square with the Mafell rails as they are self-aligning due to a different rail profile and rail connector design.
[/quote]

I think ScotF was referring to this item...

[attachimg=1]

 

[JimmyFord]

Would you consider it a replacement for the 75 as well?  Besides the extra cut capacity would you be losing out on anything?

Thats why I got the mt55 actually, I needed the power of the ts75 for purpleheart and ipe etc- didn't want the added weight. Jeff from timberwolf said the 120v corded mt55 has a 1620w motor- just a bit more than the ts75 iirc. For me, its the ideal saw- power of the ts75 but smaller

 

[Michael Kellough]

If you need 75mm cut capacity how can you consider a saw with only 55mm capacity to be equivalent? Let alone better...