MFT/3 and TS55 Splinterguard Question.

[lasttoleave]

Hello,

I've had a while with my MFT/3 now to get to know it, and I'm extremely happy, but I was hoping someone can share their experiences with regards to the splinterguard. I trimmed mine backed onto MDF so it was perfectly clean and crisp, and made it extremely easy to reference a cut using it as a visual guide.

Recently though I've found after making a cut on the MFT, that the splinterguard no longer lines up absolutely flush the freshly cut stock (MDF/Ply/Timber) and theres a bit of a lip between the two.

This makes no difference to the quality of the cut, but it means I no longer trust it 100% to line up with my marking lines.. has anyone encountered something similar to this?

At first I assumed it might have been the rail flexing slightly resulting in an ever so slightly radiused cut instead of dead true, as this would then ruin the splinterguard for future cuts, but I have always put stock of the same thickness under the rail when cutting small pieces, so this seems unlikely.

I've checked for play at both ends of the rail and the saw is nice and snug on the rail itself, all seems to be good.

Can anyone suggest what they think this might be and how to avoid possibly before I go ahead and move the splinterguard over and start fresh?  [big grin]

 

[rst]

The splinter guards do wear as the blade pulls chips thru,  if i need an absolute measure my saws cut exactly 3mm off the aluminum.  I've even written it on the rails and my MFT to remind me.

 

[lasttoleave]

The splinter guards do wear as the blade pulls chips thru,  if i need an absolute measure my saws cut exactly 3mm off the aluminum.  I've even written it on the rails and my MFT to remind me.

Thanks for the tip! I would be suprised if it was a case of the blade pulling chips past the splinter guard though as I literally just trimmed the splinter guard on my 1080 rail and attached it to the MFT. The first couple of cuts were perfect, and the splinter guard was flush with the fresh cut but after that I made possible 5 more cuts without checking, then I noticed it was off, enough so that I can get my fingernail on the edge of the stock beide the splinter guard.

I doubt this is the case for everyobdy as the splinter guard would only be good for a matter of 10-20 cuts before it is no longer accurate, so it must be something localized to my setup/usage.

Does anyone else notice this with their TS55?

 

[ear3]

Could it just be from slight movement on the saw as your running it down the rail?  I've noticed that if I make a cut, and then, without changing anything or moving the rail, run the saw back down the same cut, there might be one or two spots where a slight amount of additional material is removed due to my body being in a different position or my weight having shifted.  Since the splinter guard is zero clearance, it really takes only a slight amount of pressure to remove additional material.

 

[bkharman]

Make sure the grubs are nice and tight (and even) on the saw to the rail. If you have any play, you will see chipping on the splinter guard.

 

[pugilato]

Yes... I cut new splinter guards (Festool really needs to tighten up on the adhesives) with a newly sharpened blade on the TS55. They were good, but with more cuts, came more chips on the guards, but there are still straight spots and I use them until I recut the splinter guards, reusing them but with a special tape whose name I dont remember (Paul Marcel posted it once).