Track saw splinter guard alternatives

[Gregor]

Way back when most of the alternative TS55 blades did not have a uniform 2.2mm kerf, as do all current Festool TS55 blades.

Blade thickness shouldn't matter at all (unless it's so thin that it'll bend) as the 'inside' (toward the guild rail) side of the blade is always positioned identical to all other blades: position is defined by the position of the arbor.

 

[Stone Message]

Hi [member=11438]cfullen[/member]

If you are able to preserve your splinter guards and you have taken the effort to get all your saws matched to the rails then it may just be a training issue for your employees.

It is unlikely that you will find a solution that will cost you less than $14 every couple of months and so maybe you should live with it.

Peter

 

[Corwin]

Way back when most of the alternative TS55 blades did not have a uniform 2.2mm kerf, as do all current Festool TS55 blades.

Blade thickness shouldn't matter at all (unless it's so thin that it'll bend) as the 'inside' (toward the guild rail) side of the blade is always positioned identical to all other blades: position is defined by the position of the arbor.

No, it's just not that simple. Not only do those older blades differ in the width of the blade body, but they also vary in how far the carbide tips extend beyond either side of the body of the blade. The kerf sizes for the older blades varied -- some are 2.2, some 2.5 and the laminate blade is 2.6mm. Therefore, the splinter guard was further cut with the larger kerf blades than with the smaller. All of us that had saws back then were well aware of this issue, as this had been the topic of many of threads here. This problem is the best [and likely only] reason for Festool to have changed to all 2.2mm kerf blades.

 

[GlenC]

Way back when most of the alternative TS55 blades did not have a uniform 2.2mm kerf, as do all current Festool TS55 blades.

Blade thickness shouldn't matter at all (unless it's so thin that it'll bend) as the 'inside' (toward the guild rail) side of the blade is always positioned identical to all other blades: position is defined by the position of the arbor.

No, it's just not that simple. Not only do those older blades differ in the width of the blade body, but they also vary in how far the carbide tips extend beyond either side of the body of the blade. The kerf sizes for the older blades varied -- some are 2.2, some 2.5 and the laminate blade is 2.6mm. Therefore, the splinter guard was further cut with the larger kerf blades than with the smaller. All of us that had saws back then were well aware of this issue, as this had been the topic of many of threads here. This problem is the best [and likely only] reason for Festool to have changed to all 2.2mm kerf blades.

It's not so much the kerf as it is the relation of kerf to plate size/thickness....  If you have a blade with a 2.2mm kerf and a 2mm plate, and a blade with a 2.6mm kerf and a 2.4mm plate, alignment of cut edge will be the same.  However if the 2.6mm blade has a 2.2mm plate, the cut will be .1mm more to inside...