TS 55/75 or TS

[electricald]

Hey everyone,
I do not have a table saw yet but have the TS55 and it is great.

My question is to Those of you that have a table saw and then bought the TS 55 or 75 afterwards.

Do you find that since the purchase of the TS 55 or 75, your useage of your table saw has reduced. And if so by how much? Is your table saw your new ''dust collector''?

Anyone gone to the extreme and gotten rid of the table saw altogether?

Dan P.

 

[skids]

Hey everyone,
I do not have a table saw yet but have the TS55 and it is great.

My question is to Those of you that have a table saw and then bought the TS 55 or 75 afterwards.

Do you find that since the purchase of the TS 55 or 75, your useage of your table saw has reduced. And if so by how much? Is your table saw your new ''dust collector''?

Anyone gone to the extreme and gotten rid of the table saw altogether?

Dan P.

A thread like this just went around, not sure of the title, but it discussed this exact topic. I personally can't see not having a table saw of some sort in a shop. Unless ALL you do is making boxes, even then I would want one. I have a Bosch 4100, not cabinet saw accuracy, but pretty darn good and it tucks away in a corner.

I would think if nothing else you could get a table saw, just downgrade your choice of table saw instead of eliminating it. You would also want to consider the MFT if you only want one set up to maximize that TS capability.

 

[Svar]

My table saw has less use now, but not by much.

"just downgrade your choice of table saw instead of eliminating it"

Agree with that. Downgrade to a portable model. If the work piece is small, take it to the saw; if the work piece is large take the saw to the work piece.

 

[MrToolJunkie]

Skids is right that there was a recent thread on this same topic.  Search the forum and you will find several threads related to you question too.  With that said, I bought a TS75 well into my woodworking hobby and well after my General 350 cabinet saw.  I make mostly furniture and to me having a high quality band saw is more useful.  I have not turned on my cabinet saw in two years and so yes, it has become a dust and junk collector.  I keep debating with myself to get rid of it and free up space but have not yet since I am already invested in it.  Some folks have gone extreme and gotten rid of the table saw.  With the right jigs and a little creativity you can do pretty much anything cutting wise with a TS 55 or 75 saw.  Of course it might not be as fast as just sliding a fence.  If I were in a production environment then my answer would probably be different.

My guess is that you will have 60 - 70 percent of responses pro table saw and the remaining get rid of it.  Regardless, I think your usage or reliance on a table saw will go down if you buy a 75 for cutting hardwood lumber.

Scot

 

[ccarrolladams]

Dan P,

Before I first bought my first Festools in 2006, I had been making good money building custom cabinets since 1946. In 1959 I bought an industrial building in which I ran a cabinet business with the large fixed tools of that era. I had a 14" Davis and Wells industrial table saw with a power feed for breaking down sheets. Later, as I was selling the business to my employees I purchased a portable Inca precision table saw for my condo. I used that to saw lumber and rarely plywood.

That magic day in 2006 I was planning a return to the custom cabinet business. I visited the new dealership of a trusted paly who had sold me the Inca table saw. I was expecting to buy a large sliding table saw. For that I was expecting to lease a building. Instead my pal explained Festools, especially the then new TS55 and guide rails. He told me other customers were using the TS55 to break down sheets and collecting the dust with a quiet CT.

That was what I did. In my condo I used the Inca table saw to cut solid lumber, and also when I needed to make narrow parts from plywood.

A few months later I started renting space in shops belonging to friends, where the portability of Festools was important. When the TS75 was introduced I bought one mostly to straight-line rough lumber. Then in 2010 I built my current very large cabinet shop, with several fixed saws.

I use the TS55 to make odd angle parts from plywood but I use a large Felder sliding table saw and Kapex for making lumber parts.

Perhaps a DIY could build projects without a table saw. Certainly the guide rails and a TS55 or TS75 can be efficient breaking down plywood with glue quality cuts, but those saws can be time consuming sawing smaller parts from lumber.

 

[electricald]

Hey guys,
Sorry but I missed the most recent thread regarding this [embarassed]. I'll track it down.
But thanks for the wise and kind advice. I am new to this and the best way to get a feel for this is to ask experienced hands.
I have no one around me like that so this forum helps.
By the way skids, I just purchased the MFT/3 last week and haven't had a chance to get at it yet.
Thanks again guys.
Dan

 

[Jmaichel]

I have both a TS75 and a table saw. I am just a hobbyist but I find that they two are more complementary to one another. I don't have a cabinet saw just a newer contractor style saw with a riving knife, enclosed motor and better dust collection. I bought the the TS75 first and was toying with the idea of getting and MFT or table saw as my budget would only allow one those two. I am glad I got a table saw, I use both the all the time.

James

 

[electricald]

Hey James,
Thanks for the response. I have the TS 55 and it is nice to use. But I am leaning to a TS as well.
Dan

 

[jacko9]

This question keeps popping up on the FOG but since I don't have a Festool Track Saw, my input is tainted by my use of a Porter Cable trim saw and plywood strip with a straight edge.  I recently saw a posting on Facebook where a custom shop conducted tests to see if a track saw could replace his table saw, panel saw, etc and the video looked pretty convincing.  Perhaps if I win the Festool Sweepstakes I could do a real comparison against my table saw with its sliding table [big grin]

 

[sancho57]

Hey everyone,
I do not have a table saw yet but have the TS55 and it is great.

My question is to Those of you that have a table saw and then bought the TS 55 or 75 afterwards.

Do you find that since the purchase of the TS 55 or 75, your useage of your table saw has reduced. And if so by how much? Is your table saw your new ''dust collector''?

Anyone gone to the extreme and gotten rid of the table saw altogether?

Dan P.

I make it easy on ya

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/ts55-vs-table-saw/msg22281/#msg22281

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/parallel-guide-set-or-small-table-saw/msg212949/#msg212949

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/can-a-plunge-cut-saw-truly-replace-a-table-saw/

 

[Jmaichel]

Hey James,
Thanks for the response. I have the TS 55 and it is nice to use. But I am leaning to a TS as well.
Dan

Your welcome. If your leaning toward a TS then I would say go ahead and get one, I am sure you won't regret it. Was there a saw you had in mind?

 

[leakyroof]

I find breaking down panels and sheet stock is much easier by myself since I bought a used ATF55 saw(pre-TS55 saw)
I won't give up my Unisaw, as others have noted, for quick cutting of small pieces, Dados, and other work, it's fast and easy to use.

 

[electricald]

Hello James,
My plan was to purchase a saw top. The reason for that is because I am new to woodworking, will be working alone mostly and because of that I want the protection it provides. The extra money for it is a just-in-case something should happen.
The only thing I am debating now was to get the 55" rail unit or the shorter version. And the reason for that is because of having the TS 55 I can break down the sheeting goods with it. I have used it when I sheeted in my new workshop with plywood and it certainly does the job.

Dan

 

[electricald]

Thanks sancho for this links. That was a very interesting read.

Dan

 

[Jmaichel]

Hi Dan,
Saw Stop is a good choice, I looked at the CNS model but thought it was significantly over priced. If I had 220v available I would have gone with the 3 HP PCS or ICS. I think 36" is plenty for a table saw especially when you have a TS55.