New to the site and not pleased with TS55 dust collection. Need help

[rst]

I have the side opening closed to help with dust collection.  I also use the green splinter guard and when edge cutting I attach a two inch painters tape to extend below the piece being cut to cut down on the dust being spewed from the side, also do that when cutting plastics.

 

[Svar]

... and when edge cutting I attach a two inch painters tape to extend below the piece being cut to cut down on the dust being spewed from the side, also do that when cutting plastics.

I do that too. Helps a lot, especially on plastic and aluminum. For ages I wanted to do a permanent attachment that would slide up and down, perhaps a sweep with bristles (similar to what they put on CNCs).

 

[mrboult]

I have the side opening closed to help with dust collection.  I also use the green splinter guard and when edge cutting I attach a two inch painters tape to extend below the piece being cut to cut down on the dust being spewed from the side, also do that when cutting plastics.

That’s a good tip

 

[rst]

Svar, I have a 1" National Guard Product brush on my corded 55.  They make brushes up to 4"...have those on my table sae over arm guard.  They also have different height aluminum flanges.  One of my to dos is to replace my present 1" flange with a deeper on with slots so the brush can be lowered and raised.

 

[Michael Kellough]

I have the side opening closed to help with dust collection.  I also use the green splinter guard and when edge cutting I attach a two inch painters tape to extend below the piece being cut to cut down on the dust being spewed from the side, also do that when cutting plastics.

I use a stiff strip of cardboard from a cereal box and hang it with tape so it skims the sacrificial surface when trimming an edge. The farther forward the better. For regular cutting the cardboard skims the work surface.

When doing plunge pocket cuts the cardboard is stiff enough to accept sharp pencil marks to indicate the beginning and end of the kerf.

 

[gunnyr]

Smart A@@ response alert....

Using your previous saw do a full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it.

Using your TS55 remove the dust hose completely and do a second full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it. 

Reattach the hose and use the tool as it is designed (No tape over the saw window).  Perform a third full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it. 

Reattach the hose and use the tool with tape over the saw window.  Perform a fourth full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it. 

Post these quantifiable results and let us know which you like best.

Seriously.  We are woodworkers.  I LOVE making saw dust.  I love how the Festool system greatly reduces the flying dust but I think it is too much to ask that it be totally eliminated.  I agree with what others have said; perhaps your expectations need to be reset.

 

[usernumber1]

I have the side opening closed to help with dust collection.  I also use the green splinter guard and when edge cutting I attach a two inch painters tape to extend below the piece being cut to cut down on the dust being spewed from the side, also do that when cutting plastics.

I use a stiff strip of cardboard from a cereal box and hang it with tape so it skims the sacrificial surface when trimming an edge. The farther forward the better. For regular cutting the cardboard skims the work surface.

When doing plunge pocket cuts the cardboard is stiff enough to accept sharp pencil marks to indicate the beginning and end of the kerf.

haha, are you... me? what brand cereal lets compare

 

[usernumber1]

Snip.

Ratchet back your expectations a bit. It's a good system but it's not perfect.

Ron

This line of thinking certainly will help after trying the suggestions seen here (larger hose, deeper cuts, side cover plate, etc.).

Of all the Festool machines I've used (a lot!) or owned (a few, including at one time a TS75), only the domino joiner is dust-proof -- if you see dust in your mortises, something is wrong somewhere.

all true . i think the 850 planer is close second, but they're more chips less dust

 

[Mario Turcot]

My TS55 is absolutely fantastic for capturing the dust. I have a Milwakee M18 that is semi-retired since I use the TS55  [tongue]

Things I consider to capture most saw dust;

Sheet goods: Have it fully supported (MFT3 or foam board),
Ripping: Use the proper blade,
Blade Depth: 2-3mm under stock,
Edge prep: remove at least 6mm - 1/4"

As for the hose diameter, it is true that 37mm help. I am wondering why most CT comes with the smaller hose size. It would be more of a system, if all tools were made to accept the 37mm hose. Do the sanders would suffer from using a bigger hose???

 

[gunnyr]

As for the hose diameter, it is true that 37mm help. I am wondering why most CT comes with the smaller hose size. It would be more of a system, if all tools were made to accept the 37mm hose. Do the sanders would suffer from using a bigger hose???

The only time I have noticed improved dust collection when using a larger hose is when using a router.  I've not noticed with the other tools and prefer the smaller hose for its flexibility. 

 

[SteveL]

Smart A@@ response alert....

Using your previous saw do a full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it.

Using your TS55 remove the dust hose completely and do a second full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it. 

Reattach the hose and use the tool as it is designed (No tape over the saw window).  Perform a third full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it. 

Reattach the hose and use the tool with tape over the saw window.  Perform a fourth full length rip cut on a sheet of plywood.  Collect all the dust and weigh it. 

Post these quantifiable results and let us know which you like best.

Seriously.  We are woodworkers.  I LOVE making saw dust.  I love how the Festool system greatly reduces the flying dust but I think it is too much to ask that it be totally eliminated.  I agree with what others have said; perhaps your expectations need to be reset.

I appreciate the response but I don’t think that I find the problem bad enough to waste perfectly good plywood for the test. As I’m new to this, I am just looking for guidance from the vast wealth of knowledge here to make my Festool experience as pleasurable as possible. So far I love the TS55 and will eventually end up with a dedicated mft table of some sort but until then, I just want to make sure that I’m doing as much as I can to reduce the amount of crap to clean up. I have used a table saw with a central vac system and hand tools for the past 40 years and just now stepping in to the 21st century of tools. I’m much more used to sweeping up shavings instead of vacuuming up dust. I have to admit that there are a lot of tempting things out there so I’m trying not to waste $$$ on my misguided impulses. Heck, I haven’t even gotten a rip blade for it yet.

Cataract surgery is now complete so I will do some experimenting in a few days with some of the ideas shared so far and see what happens. Thanks

 

[TinyShop]

Surprised no one's mentioned it, but a shop-built shroud (w/ or w/o additional active dust collection) makes all the difference:


...and [skip ahead to 1:23]:

 

[mcooley]

.
I appreciate the response but I don’t think that I find the problem bad enough to waste perfectly good plywood for the test. As I’m new to this, I am just looking for guidance from the vast wealth of knowledge here to make my Festool experience as pleasurable as possible. So far I love the TS55 and will eventually end up with a dedicated mft table of some sort but until then, I just want to make sure that I’m doing as much as I can to reduce the amount of junk to clean up. I have used a table saw with a central vac system and hand tools for the past 40 years and just now stepping in to the 21st century of tools. I’m much more used to sweeping up shavings instead of vacuuming up dust. I have to admit that there are a lot of tempting things out there so I’m trying not to waste $$$ on my misguided impulses. Heck, I haven’t even gotten a rip blade for it yet.

My two cents on the MFT is look at the alternatives like Rob's Dashboard etc. The MFT is an okay table but it is still very heavy and not very stable. The supports which cost an extra $100 do help but you wouldn't like it for hand planing etc. It's a bummer a table at that price point isn't rock solid. I would not buy another one. And as a note the cross supports can get in the way of the clamps when near the front edge of the table. Again an after thought on the part of Festool for sure. I assume getting two pairs would help more but then you'd be interfering with where the vac can go or not go under it, meaning, it would have to stay in the middle which is probably fine in most cases. I just couldn't get myself to spend $200 more on an already expensive table. Maybe I will end up putting the supports just on the rear etc. It all feels very "goofy" to be saying all this when talking about German engineering! 

 

[SteveL]

I have the side opening closed to help with dust collection.  I also use the green splinter guard and when edge cutting I attach a two inch painters tape to extend below the piece being cut to cut down on the dust being spewed from the side, also do that when cutting plastics.

I use a stiff strip of cardboard from a cereal box and hang it with tape so it skims the sacrificial surface when trimming an edge. The farther forward the better. For regular cutting the cardboard skims the work surface.

When doing plunge pocket cuts the cardboard is stiff enough to accept sharp pencil marks to indicate the beginning and end of the kerf.

Thanks for this tip. I cut up a Rice Chex box to make a full side cover that rests on the surface of the piece being cut and it has drastically reduced the amount of chips and dust getting out. Three small pieces of double stick tape hole it on. Based on this test, I will hopefully get around to making something more permanent and adjustable out of plexi.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

As for the hose diameter, it is true that 37mm help. I am wondering why most CT comes with the smaller hose size. It would be more of a system, if all tools were made to accept the 37mm hose. Do the sanders would suffer from using a bigger hose???

The sander itself wouldn't "suffer", but it may cause two things to happen.
1. The sander may be harder to handle with the stiffer/heavier hose.
2. You will probably have to turn the extractor down even more. Sanders don't like too much suction.

My experience is much like gunnyr, the only place I see any benefit to the larger hose is with the  OF1400. It really helps with deep grooves  and pockets like Soss hinges. I did a big job last summer with a bunch of them on some really tall doors. I struggled through the first one and swapped to the bigger hose to solve the problem.
I've never tried it with the OF1010, and wouldn't see the point anyway.