New TS 55 REQ owner. It seems like there's something wrong with my saw.

[Vanquish]

Hey guys, I just got my first Festool today and I was super excited. The fit and finish is excellent, but I was pretty surprised when I turned it. It sounded, vibrated and cut like a $30 Harbor Freight saw with a bad bearing. I read online that the noise on start up is normal, but didn't see anything about it being constant before and while cutting. It's so loud that you can feel it vibrating up through the handle.

If you adjust the speed dial, you can find a few spots where it briefly starts to sound like a normal saw. The grinding is just as loud, but more intermittent. Like silent for a second, then loud for two, silent for half a second, loud for 3 etc. Sounds like a bad bearing with no grease.

But the sound issue aside, the cuts look terrible IMO. Especially for a 48 tooth blade. Does this look normal? My fingernail catches on the blade marks it so bad. This was just in regular pine, one 3/4" and the other 1 1/2" thick. I made the same cut with my battery circle saw with a 24 tooth framing blade just to see how it compared and to be honest, I think the DeWalt cut as good, if not better. And my regular circle saw definitely cuts better than the TS 55. Not at all what I was expecting from a nearly $600 saw.  :-\

Is the sound and cut quality normal, or is mine defective?  I'm probably going to box it back up when I get back home tomorrow, the question is should I ask for a refund or replacement?

Here's the pictures:

Edit: looks like a can't post pictures yet.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Welcome to the forum, I wish it were under better circumstances that you joined us.

You should be able to find some videos online to compare the sound.

I sounds like there's likely a problem with your saw. If you bought it locally and it's convenient, you could return to you dealer and ask to compare one of their other units. Or, just swap it under our 30-day return policy for a new one. If you want, I could have our service department contact you for assistance if you send me your contact information.

You should be able to post images after your first post. If not, feel free to email them to me at sho@festoolusa.com and I'll post them on your behalf.

My apologies for the bad initial experience but I'm sure we can get it resolved quickly and to your full satisfaction.

Shane Holland
sho@festoolusa.com

 

[Jaybolishes]

The sounds are probably normal as I thought the same when I first used mine.  My saw cut so well out of the box I used it to joint together an oak table top I made, and you couldn't tell I didn't use a jointer the joint was so tight.  If you give up on getting a ts55 and return it before making sure it's not user error, you'll be making a huge mistake because that saw has been a revolution in how I do woodworking. Many will post on what to do so sit tight. Welcome to the Fog and I hope you get it sorted. Keep using it, you've got 30 days! A rough edge may be blade too slow or fast, or dull blade.  Try those out first.

 

[peter halle]

Shane beat me to it.  Welcome to the FOG but sorry about the nature of your post.  I would offer some thoughts, but honestly I would suggest that you call Festool so that you can experience the troubleshooting skills and advice that come along with the purchase of your tool.  They listen and are amazing in their ability to help.

Peter

 

[Vanquish]

Thanks Shane. I checked out several you tube videos and I know that some noises don't sound the some on video, but from what I can tell, mine doesn't sound like the ones I heard.

Let me try the pictures again.

Cut quality doesn't seem to change much at full speed vs lower speeds except the blade marks are spaced out a but further at lower speeds.

 

[Jaybolishes]

There's a toe in adjustment that could be off, but that's probably not the case.  Your jibs, the green knobs that tighten the saw to the rail may be loose.  And if you are torquing the saw left or right with your wrist a little that will happen as I've been there done that. Tighten them until the saw is about to start sticking when you push the saw on the rail.  You should have no slop at all left or right when the saw is engaged with the rail.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

The sound could be a mechanical issue with the saw that's producing the poor quality cuts. Those cuts are what I would expect if the saw had been dropped (not accusing you of that) and the blade was knocked out of proper alignment or the saw was loose on the rail. The cuts should be much smoother.

As an aside, always cut with the speed at 6 in wood. Slower speeds are for other materials, like metals or plastics.

Would you like me to have someone contact you? You didn't say if you had purchased locally, but I think you have 3 dealers nearby from what I can tell. Hopefully it's not too inconvenient to exchange it. Again, sorry for the trouble.

Shane

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

This video shows the technique for adjusting the saw to the rail, as well as other initial setup steps.

 

[Vanquish]

The saw was purchased the other day off of Amazon. I needed it for a large cabinet job this weekend and the Woodcraft store near me didn't have any in stock and I couldn't wait for them to order one. It does not appear to have been dropped. That would be great if I could get in touch with someone. What contact info do you need from me?

I was vary careful to adjust the green knobs to just the right tension. Almost zero play in the track. I tried it with out the blade and it's much quieter, but I can still feel like there's something not right. But with the blade off, It sounds like I think it should. Just my guess, since I've never heard another one in person.

Are you guys using Festool blades or other brands?

I ripped two 3/4" boards and put them together and the joints were not tight at all. You could stick pieces of paper between the gaps in it.  

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Send me an email or personal message with your name, phone number and preferred time for us to call. I know that the service department is back logged due to us being closed for severe weather, but I'll see that someone contacts you promptly.

Shane
sho@festoolusa.com
765-894-2172 (c)

 

[Jaybolishes]

You said almost zero play, there should be none.  That's the problem or a problem.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

You said almost zero slack, there should be none.  That's the problem.

Like Jay says, there shouldn't be any "slop". Tighten the knob until the saw won't move and then back it off until it slides. Repeat with the other knob.

 

[Vanquish]

What I meant was almost none, like 1 - 2 thousands of an inch verified by my dial indicator.

Could there be something wrong with the blade? Maybe out of balance or something?

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Could there be something wrong with the blade? Maybe out of balance or something?

Balance, I doubt it. It would be likely driving with a tire out of balance. Very noticeable I suspect.

I have heard of a blade once with a missing carbide tooth. A visual inspection would quickly identify such a problem.

 

[Vanquish]

Just checked, blade has all of it's teeth. I do have to say that the blade lock on that saw is fantastic.

I'll send you a PM with my contact info in just a minute.

 

[Vanquish]

with the blade on and tightened, can you wiggle it?

Front to back, yes. Side to side, no.

 

[Jaybolishes]

Tighten those jibs until there is no play at all.  I can't stress this enough, there should be zero, and zero is zero. Just some friendly advice, if you want to learn from my experience get the ts75.  It's not too heavy and is the only saw I use while my ts55 stays it's systainer now. 

 

[Vanquish]

Ok, so I received a call from a very helpful gentleman at Festool this morning and he assured me that the grinding sound is normal. Fair enough, I can live with that. He also said to check a few things on the saw and recommended that I pick up the 28 tooth blade for rip cuts.

Went by Woodcraft this afternoon and bought the 28T blade. I also tightened down the jibs to where the saw wouldn't move down the track and then backed them off ever so slightly till the saw started to move with minimal resistance. There is now absolutely zero play.

I checked the toe out/in or whatever it's called and the back of the blade was out from the front by .004" The guy from Festool recommended it be around .008"- .010". So I tried .006" .008" .010" and .015" just for good measure.

I ran a bunch more cuts through different materials plywood, MDO, OSB, pine and oak and trying both blades, the 48T and 28T and the cut quality has not improved.

Here's a couple pictures. Thar first one is the 28T through pine.

And just for comparison, the same board cut with one of my other circle saws.

Oak with the 28T

And MDO

So I'm not sure at this point what else to try. I've cut fast, within reason, slow, very slow, one hand two hands etc. Is it time to ship it back? :-\

I really want to thank all you guys for your input so far. I very much appreciate it! 
 

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

l'd recommend that you get the saw replaced. There's something that's not right. If it would be faster, you can coordinate with our service guys to have a return label sent to send it to our repair center in Indy. Sorry for the frustration

 

[Vanquish]

l'd recommend that you get the saw replaced. There's something that's not right. If it would be faster, you can coordinate with our service guys to have a return label sent to send it to our repair center in Indy. Sorry for the frustration

Any idea what the turnaround time would be?