Rough Ripping with the TS 55 EQ

headhog70

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Feb 5, 2007
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I was ripping a piece of pine with my TS 55 EQ saw using the universal blade (28 tooth).  This resulted in a good cut, but with a rough finish.  By rough I mean constant saw marks along the whole length.  I don't know if this is normal for this saw and blade combination.  I don't expect a smooth cut like a table saw would give, but it was rougher than I expected.

It is hard to define rough.  But if I were to sand the rough edge I would start with 50 grit, or 80 grit sand paper.
 
Bob,

With the 55 and ripping with the stock blade you should

have table saw results. Better even, some table saws suck too.

What you want to check is your blade adjustment.

With the saw on the guide rail,  the front of the blade should just touch,

the rear of the blade should be a few thousands away. Business card, match book, double dollar.

I hope this helps. No, this will help.

Per
 
Thanks for the quick reply Per.

I've set the toe-in once before, but obviously not well enough.  When I got the saw it was toed-out so bad that I got snipe at the end of the cut.  I was really disappointed in the saw since I just bought the New TS 55 and gave my brother-in-law my old model 55.

My problem now is the saw seems to have a memory.  When I tighten the screws the rear of the blade moves back toward the guide rail.  I have to set the distance further than a sheet of paper before I tighten the screws.  OK, it's a little guess work.  But I have a barbecue to take care of now, so I'll post my results tomorrow.

Thanks again.
 
Hi,

    Just a note here- the Universal is not the "stock" blade on the 55. Make sure you are on the same page while trying to correct the problem.  Also when buying an extra Fine blade a couple days ago I found that Festool has changed the number of the Fine blade from 491 952  to 495 377.  Both numbers were listed on the package.

    Also when I used (note past tense) the Universal blade on my TS55 I got rough cuts too.  Since the Universal and the panther both mess up the splinter strip for the Fine blade I figured why compromise the ripping.  I now use the Panther and the Fine. For  me  the Universal  seems like it doesn't do either job well.  You're not gonna believe this but - I am getting better , cleaner cuts with the panther than the Universal!  ???

    To solve the splinter strip issue I bought another 3000 rail. I will probably get another 1900 too. It is just too much messing around allowing an extra 1/32" when going for precise cuts, and no chipping.

Seth
 
I first adjusted the saw where the back side of the blade was 0.010 out from the guide rail. I was only getting marks from the front edge of the blade.  Then I changed to a new universal blade (490 516).  The cut got much better.  I adjusted the saw again for about 0.006 out from the guide rail.  I also chose the tooth that was closest to the guide rail.  I'm not sure how tight the tolerances are on the blades, but my first universal blade went into the trash.

I think my only problems were a saw with not enough toe-in and a bad blade.  I cut a piece of oak and it only required a few minutes with 150 grit sand paper to remove the marks.
 
Bob,

I've seen a couple of mentions of folks having to adjust the toe-in, My saw (thankfully) came set up perfect and I  get no teeth marks on either side, I'm cutting mostly 3/4 plywood but have to do no cleanup for joints or edge banding (or just filling and painting for the really cheap cabinets) you might find it worth the time to tinker a little more with the alignment, it can get pretty perfect.

I always grab a piece of scrap when giving the Festool talk to visitors to the shop to show off the perfect cut edges, it's that good when set up right.
 
Bob Strasser said:
I first adjusted the saw where the back side of the blade was 0.010 out from the guide rail. I was only getting marks from the front edge of the blade.  Then I changed to a new universal blade (490 516).  The cut got much better.  I adjusted the saw again for about 0.006 out from the guide rail.  I also chose the tooth that was closest to the guide rail.  I'm not sure how tight the tolerances are on the blades, but my first universal blade went into the trash.

I think my only problems were a saw with not enough toe-in and a bad blade.  I cut a piece of oak and it only required a few minutes with 150 grit sand paper to remove the marks.

Somehow, some blades of the same type are worse than others. I get very good cuts from my Universal blade but Seth's apparently isn't as good. Some people praise the Panther blade but mine cuts rougher than a rain forrest band saw. It's tough when you have a new saw and a new blade and don't know which (or both) might be deficient.

 
Here is something else to consider. This is a post Rick C. made on the same subject
and contains a good list of factors that can affect cut quality.

"I believe these two problems are interrelated. The debris from the splinter guard
tells me that your blade is wobbling during the cut, and obviously, this will also produce saw marks.

Troubleshoot why your blade is wobbling in the cut and you will probably resolve both issues.

Some possible ideas to consider are:

Too fast of a feed rate for the type of wood and type of blade.
This will cause any blade with an ATB tooth design to wobble.

Wrong type of blade for the material or type of cut.
If the blade is working too hard to complete the cut, it can cause deflection.

Too low of motor speed for the blade and cut, causing the blade to work too hard.

Too low or too high of a blade depth. This can vary with material type,
but most often it is because too much of the blade is below the cut. Try both though.

Guide rail gibs are not adjusted properly. This could result in a slight wobble of the saw,
which will then propagate and be magnified in the blade.

Oh, one last thing, the woodgrain of the material can also impact the performance of an ATB blade.
If the points of the teeth are passing through both hard and soft portions of the wood,
especially parallel to the annular rings, it will deflect the blade."

Some of the things in the list above have a subtle but real influence.

There is one more thing to add to this list, the speed control system, aka the "growling".

Unless you are pushing the saw hard the speed control will cut the power many times
a second in order to keep the speed within the range the user has selected.
Every time the power is cut teeth on the spur gears crash and a small vibration passes
through the saw, including the blade. You not only hear the growling you feel the vibration,
and that has to have an influence on the smoothness of the cut, even if subtle.
I bring it up here because several factors in the list above can be present at the same time
and the affect can be cumulative and unavoidable.

The effect of the "growling" can be reduced by pushing the saw to the point that the
speed control system does not try to slow down the rpm. The benefit is limited though
because the blade is moving along the cut faster but the improvement is sometimes
noticeable. Most noticeable is the transition from throttled to un-throttled and vice-versa.

It's kinda weird to add this to Rick's list since he gave me grief for insisting that this is a
factor in cut smoothness way back on the Yahoo forum. The people that are tight with
Festool are sensitive about this "feature". The closest any of them got to acknowledging
it was Jerry Work who said the saw "responds well to feed pressure".  ;)
 
That's funny.

"Some people praise the Panther blade but mine cuts rougher than a rain forrest band saw"

It's funny because I have that model panther also.

But I am weird that way. Didn't think anything of it, used it once or twice,

and now it collects dust.

Maybe I should investigate.

Per
 
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