Ripping blades for TS55

[live4ever]

I'd like a blade for ripping/jointing hardwoods.  I mostly use 4/4 material, typically Af. mahogany, walnut, cherry, maple.  Since I'm not using thicker woods, do I really need the 12 tooth ripping blade, or will 28 teeth be good enough?  I'd like the edge to be as good of quality cut as possible. 

Also, what's the proper updated part numbers for either the 28tooth or 12tooth blades with 2.2mm kerf?  Amazon's product descriptions are confusing me...not sure if they are selling old stock or whether their product info is incorrect.

I'd consider the Oshlun 28tooth blade at half the price but I don't think they've updated it to 2.2mm.

 

[ccarrolladams]

I'd like a blade for ripping/jointing hardwoods.  I mostly use 4/4 material, typically Af. mahogany, walnut, cherry, maple.  Since I'm not using thicker woods, do I really need the 12 tooth ripping blade, or will 28 teeth be good enough?  I'd like the edge to be as good of quality cut as possible. 

Also, what's the proper updated part numbers for either the 28tooth or 12tooth blades with 2.2mm kerf?  Amazon's product descriptions are confusing me...not sure if they are selling old stock or whether their product info is incorrect.

I'd consider the Oshlun 28tooth blade at half the price but I don't think they've updated it to 2.2mm.

Part of the confusion starts with the Festool USA 2011-2012 Catalog. It has some serious editing errors. Possibly the largest concentration of mistakes is on page 62, which is all about the Festool blades for the TS55.

Although Page 62 starts off with "Standard Saw Blade" with 12 teeth and a 2.5mm kerf, that blade had been discontinued long before 2011.

The second blade listed is the "Panther Saw Blade" with 14 teeth. That is correct, but the kerf and cat number are wrong. Current starting before 2011, the Panther blade has a 2.2mm kerf, which is the Festool standard for the TS55. The correct current cat number is 496 305 and it has 14 ATB teeth.

The third blade listed is the "Universal Saw Blade" which has 28 ATB teeth. The cat number shown (496 304) is correct. However by 2011 the kerf is 2.2mm

The fourth saw blade listed is the "Fine Tooth Saw Blade" cat 495 377 which has not changed in a long time. It has always had a 2.2mm kerf and 48 ATB teeth.

The fifth saw blade listed is the "Solid Surface/Laminate Saw Blade" which has 48 TC teeth and cat number 496 309. There is a mistake about the kerf, which is actually 2.2mm.

The sixth and final TS55 saw blade listed is the "Aluminum/Plastic Saw Blade" which has 56 TC teeth and cat number 496 307. There is a mistake about the kerf, which is actually 2.2mm

Chances are some dealers still are selling off older stock of Festool blades for the TS55, which had various kerf. The cat number for the "Fine Tooth Saw Blade" supplied with the TS55 was not changed, since it already was 2.2mm kerf. As Festool changed blade design to 2.2mm kerf, they changed the start of the cat number to 496. So always double check that the cat number is current before accepting a TS55 blade.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Carrol outlined the issue with part number confusion so I'll address your question.  My suggestion would be to try the 28 tooth universal blade.  This blade works pretty well for ripping 4/4 hardwoods and it leaves a much better quality cut than the panther blade.  Still, don't expect glue joint cuts, you may find some of the cuts ready for glue ups but probably not all of them. 

 

[adare88]

  I used to use the 28 tooth in a TS55 for ripping my rough stock, mostly maple and cherry. The blade struggled at times. Decided to try the panther and have not looked back, much easier going. Like the prev poster stated neither are glue joints. I use it when milling rough stock so I will be passing it over the jointer anyway.

  Just my experience, yours may vary  [smile]

 

[MarkF]

I like my Tenryu 12 tooth ripping blade PSW-16012CBD2.  http://www.tenryu.com/ps.html 
Clean cuts, long life and great price.  2.2mm kerf before Festool offered a 2.2mm kerf ripping blade.

 

[Nick C]

I too recommend the ripping blade for hardwoods. Without it, your feed rate will be so slow you will find it difficult to avoid burning. And I agree that none of the Festool blades will deliver an acceptable glue-line cut in hardwood. The Tenryu might be another story, but I have not tried it. I have a jointer in the shop, but for site work I use a very sharp handplane to clean up the edge.

 

[peter halle]

I recently learned first hand the benefit of using the variable speed of the TS-55 while ripping maple with my 28 tooth blade.  Turned it down to the 3 - 4 range and what a difference.  I had always used it full speed and didn't like the results.  You might want to experiment.

Peter

 

[ccarrolladams]

I recently learned first hand the benefit of using the variable speed of the TS-55 while ripping maple with my 28 tooth blade.  Turned it down to the 3 - 4 range and what a difference.  I had always used it full speed and didn't like the results.  You might want to experiment.

Peter

Very true, Peter,

With the TS55 the name of the game is the glue-ready cut. This is where experience, training and feel for the work comes into play. Usually when ripping solid wood there is a particular pace of movement by the saw that is ideal. Same goes for the RPM of the blade to provide the appropriate tip speed. The advantage of the TS55 is that it retains the same power through most of its speed range. Virtually all the TS55 blades are 160mm dia, so that is constant.

Lessons learned using the TS55 and a guide rail pay off when programing CNC beam saws and also powerful sliding table saws. The TS55 and the beam saws hold the wood still while moving the saw. With each the RPM can be programed. You feel your way pushing the TS55. With the beam saw the speed of cut is also programed. It is less critical than when ripping solid wood, which is not done on a beam saw. With the slider saw the RPM is programed. We clamp one side of solid wood to the sliding table. Then it is over to the feel of the woodworker to feed the wood into the blade, which in our case can be as large as 550mm dia. Having 12 hp driving the main blade and 2.5hp on the scoring blade means we do not need to consider available power when deciding on RPM and feed speed.

See, without experience doing these tasks by hand, programing the CNC machines is not practical and effective. The added skill is translating whet we do by feel using a TS55 into meters per second on the beam saw.

 

[mouppe]

Much good advice previously mentioned.

I went on a different tack yesterday when I was ripping 4/4 Peruvian walnut with the original blade. I simply made the cut in two passes, the first was about half-way through and the second took me all the way through. I wasn't concerned with a perfect glue-ready edge (as I always follow up with a #7 jointer plane and create a slight hollow along the length for a sprung joint) but if you are, move the guide rail over fractionally after the first pass and you will half a very good edge resulting.

 

[live4ever]

Thanks all, lots of great info.  I didn't realize the confusion originally stemmed from the Festool catalog.  [eek]

I think I'm going to give the Tenryu 12T a whirl...I'm not married to Festool at all when it comes to blades, and the Tenryu's priced attractively.