Trion 300 EQ woes

J

Jay Knoll

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2007
Messages
132
Hi everyone

I don't use my jigsaw very often but when I have it has worked flawlessly, until the other day,  I was cutting a sink counter to length, using a piece of wood as a guide.  The saw was cutting along, then about halfway through the cut I saw sparks!  Shut down and pulled the saw out of the kerf, the blade had bent significantly.  Took it out and put a new blade in, ran fine just holding the saw in my hand, no sparks.  But same result when I tried to continue the cut, another ruined blade and a bad cut -- the bent blade resulted in a cut that wasn't square.  I was running the saw at the "0" pendulum setting

Any ideas what is going on and how I can correct it.

Thanks for the help.

Jay
 
Where did the sparks originate?  Is it possible that something was embedded in the counter substrate?  I have hit screws or metal before that was formed into the particle board or plywood.

Peter
 
Ditto to what Peter just said.
I have read (maybe here on the FOG somewhere) that plywood from China has all sorts of surprises embedded.
Tinker
 
Tinker said:
Ditto to what Peter just said.
I have read (maybe here on the FOG somewhere) that plywood from China has all sorts of surprises embedded.
Tinker
Click to expand...

Ditto that, the plywood from China is pure junk and good luck trying to cut a piece that stays flat.  I would look for some sort of embedded metal perhaps a connector between a plywood joint.

Jack
 
Hi Jay!

Are you "using a piece of wood as a guide" to keep the cut straight? For that to work the blade kerf has to be parallel to the side of the shoe. I've never seen a jig saw that actually worked that way. Even if it worked with one blade the next blade might track differently. You might be good for a few inches but the blade gets more twisted and rubs harder against the guides the farther you go.

The blade guides on the Trion will produce a lot of friction if too tight. You get the same result even with properly adjusted guides if the blade is pushed laterally against the guide, as when the saw is tracking differently than the blade.

The result of too much friction is a bent blade. You might think starting with a fresh blade at the same point where the previous blade failed would allow you to continue but if you put the new blade back into the already twisted kerf you're starting off with a high friction condition and the new blade will fail sooner than the old did.

One reason I like to cut "upside down" is that I watch only the blade track and can keep it straight within it's kerf. There is no need to see the track of the Trion, it's the track of the saw blade that counts and it's easier to see the back of the blade when the saw is upside down.

You have a similar problem with ordinary circular saws. The shoe is seldom parallel to the blade so if you try to use a straight edge as a guide there is a good chance the blade will burn on one side adn/or pull away from the guide. At least with the circular saw blade you can feel when you are not tracking right down the middle of the kerf and if cutting freehand can make adjustments on the fly. A jigsaw provides relatively little tactile feedback and the next thing you know the kerf is out of square or the blade is burned/bent.

And, it is possible that there was a bit of scrap metal pressed into the particle board.
 
I believe Michael nailed it.  When I first got the Trion I tried to use it on a guide rail with exactly the same results as your having.

When I follow a straight line free handed, it becomes obvious that the blade and base are not perfectly parallel.  Its no problem to me because it I need a really straight cut I will use the Ts55.
 
If the problem is that the blade and shoe aren't tracking, it would seem like more eccentricity (pendulum action) would try to straighten things out. The pendulum action should be following the body of the saw.

That's just me thinking - I haven't tried it...

Tom
 
First thing to do is determine if this problem is unique to this piece of material. If it is junk in the plywood, the problem won't occur in a good piece of plywood.

Other possibilities are:

Blade not parallel with base as mentioned above.

Blade stabilization arms are clamping the blade too tight and overheating the blade. This is why I prefer the automatically adjusted mechanism on the Bosch 1590/1591 over the manual mechanism on the Trion.

Material too thick to use 0 pendulum setting. Does the waste material have room to exit the cut? I'm assuming it isn't real thick if it is just a single layer of plywood. Maybe try a blade with more tooth set or step up pendulum action to a small amount.
 
Don't use a guide with a jigsaw.The blade needs to be parallel to the shoe of the saw and there are no way of making sure that it is.
As for the sparks,it is most likely from the carbide guidance system.You trying/forcing the saw to go straight and the blade wants to go left or right.Intense friction.
When cutting a counter top,i allways use the #4 setting in orbital.
I rarely use the 0 setting.
 
Thanks guys!

I was cutting one of those prefab counter tops for a friend.  I think you all nailed it with the comments on the guide.  I ended up cutting it on my table saw, and finishing the cut on the backsplash with a pull type hand saw.

Jay
 
I am really surprised at all these "no guide"comments. I thought the jigsaw was meant to work together with the guide rail. You know, this whole "system approach" thingy Festool is so in to.

For instance, my old Metabo saw cuts just fine with a guide, I do it all the time and get perfectly straight results. You'd think the Trion was also fit for that.

 
Alex said:
I am really surprised at all these "no guide"comments. I thought the jigsaw was meant to work together with the guide rail. You know, this whole "system approach" thingy Festool is so in to.

For instance, my old Metabo saw cuts just fine with a guide, I do it all the time and get perfectly straight results. You'd think the Trion was also fit for that.
Click to expand...
Alex
depending on how accurate the foot of the saw is installed parallel to the blade,some saws might be just fine.but after a while/wear/adjusting the foot,that setting will be lost and i just don't know how can anyone really adjust the foot to be parallel to the blade.
I do sometime use a small square to do some small cuts but the saw does not want to stay with the pencil mark that i put with the same square.
However,i do remember when i first got my trion,it did cut straight with a guide.
But i don't think a jigsaw is to be used with a guide anyway.You want a straight cut?  Use a tracksaw/table saw.
 
[/quote]
But i don't think a jigsaw is to be used with a guide anyway.You want a straight cut?  Use a tracksaw/table saw.
[/quote]

If that's true, then why does Festool make guides for their jigsaws?
 
my trion sparks when i force it, its the blade rubbing against the guide jaws
 
But i don't think a jigsaw is to be used with a guide anyway.You want a straight cut?  Use a tracksaw/table saw.
[/quote]

If that's true, then why does Festool make guides for their jigsaws?
[/quote]
Don't know.
Bosch used to make one,i had one.They don't make it anymore.
Not a big seller,that should tell you something
 
I thought I was adjusting mine properly,found out the right way,all sparks disappeared,no matter how I cut
 
==>I thought I was adjusting mine properly,found out the right way,all sparks disappeared,no matter how I cut

could you point up to the solution... I have the same sparking problem
 
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