Sawing 2x10 Treated Lumber

[skipclemmons]

I have a remote outdoor project building a bridge and will need to cut treated lumber up to 2x10 for flooring and rails for a 30 foot bridge based on utility poles for the span.  I have a Milwaukee saw with an aftermarket Teflon coated blade.  It works pretty well, unlike the uncoated blade which bogs down quickly in the treated lumber.  Is there a Teflon coated alternative for a Festool TS55?  I can use the Milwaukee and did on the last one, but this project will require a lot more cutting and I was thinking the MFT would be a big help.  But I fear junking up my Festool blade and overworking the TS55. 

Does anybody have any experience with treated lumber on one of these saws?

 

[score0matic]

The  55 with an Oldstile panther (the only one I own)  rips wet treated lumber like butter [thumbs up] [thumbs up] [thumbs up]

Craig

 

[bionicus]

As an alternative to buying a different blade, there's an aerosol lubricant called DriCote made by Bostik that bonds to metal blades and cutters. I've found that it really helps with demanding cuts and also prevents resin buildup. It might be worth looking into anyway.

 

[Frank Pellow]

I have cut a great deal of 2-by x presssure treated wood (enough to build 2 small buildings, 6 sheds, 4 docks, and some other things that I can't remember) with 2 different Festool saws over the last 6 years and have never had any problems.  Mostly, I have used what Festool calls its Standard blade for this application rather than the Universal blade that comes with the saws.  In the case of the the TS55, the Standard blade has 12 teeth rather than 28.  In the case of the TS75 the Standard blade has 18 teeth rather than 36. 

I have also ripped a lot of pressure treated wood and, for this application, I have used what Festool calls thier Panther blades.

By the way, although most of the time I utilize a rail, I have found that the saws work quite well when not using a rail and just following a pencil line freehand.

 

[spikfot]

Get the panther, I own one for every saw: They rip like nobody's bidness. The dri-coat actually makes for a noticeably smoother cut on PT
In the mid '90s i used to buy Panther blades for my worm drives. At the time Panther was sold by Black and Decker and cost me around 9 to 11 USD. With the Festool stamp, they cost 4 to 5 times as much today. Exactly the same blade, big beefy tc tips and aggressive angle.
Go Figure.

 

[BMH]

TS 55 with panther blade never had a problem. Recently used the Trion with S145/4FSG blade to crosscut and notch PT 4x4, 4x6 and 4x8 for a deck frame and was amazed how easy it was. The Trion permitted me to do all of my cuts in a single pass without having to move beam in a very tight space.

Bruce

 

[skipclemmons]

I won't be doing much ripping.  Just a whole lot of cross cutting.  Still need the Panther or is the Standard the one to get? 

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I won't be doing much ripping.  Just a whole lot of cross cutting.  Still need the Panther or is the Standard the one to get? 

I would not use a TS saw for crosscutting PT lumber that size.

All you need is a circular saw, it is too much work to keep re-setting the rail for a 9 1/4" cross cut.

 

[Frank Pellow]

I won't be doing much ripping.  Just a whole lot of cross cutting.  Still need the Panther or is the Standard the one to get? 

Get the Standard.