TS 55 Arbor Wobble and End Play

[Dave Ronyak]

What amount, if any wobble and end play of the arbor of the TS 55 is considered normal?  Today while removing the blade for cleaning, I noticed that the arbor of my saw has both some wobble (I can tilt the arbor flange slightly and rock it slightly side to side) and some end play (I can pull it out relative to the motor housing and push it in relative to the motor housing).  I strongly suspect this is not as it should be.  Cut quality is not bad with a sharp, clean 48 tooth ATB blade from Festool, but there is some cross hatching even though the saw is properly adjusted including toe-in at the front of the blade per Rick Christopherson's manual.  I am finding that I need to joint the sawn edges if I want a truly clean glue line.

The only other Thread/Post I could find regarding a similar issue is this one.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/ts-55-end-play/

My suspicion is that my TS 55 has a worn bearing.  Has anyone any other thoughts or suggestions other than sending it in to Festool for repair?

My saw has seen a decent amount of use as an amateur, but not enough to yet need replacement or resharpening of the original 48 T blade that came with it which seems to cut nearly as well as a new blade of the same Festool Item number.

Edit -- Sorry, Moderators!  I just realized I should have posted this in the "Tool Problems" section of the forum.  This message should be move to there.

Dave R.

 

[lym]

i recently sent my ts 55 back to the factory.  there was about 9 to 11 thousands of an inch end play.  cuts were so bad that i could see the difference without a straight edge.

background:
the bearings were changed when it was under warranty.  it was changed again about a year ago, no warranty.  after getting some really bad rip cuts, i contacted festool and sent the saw back.  they told me over the phone that three (?..it was a bad connection) bearings were replaced, along with some other parts.  total cost was about $70.00, including shipping back to hawaii.

what bothers me is that my old atf 55 cut perfectly.  i gave it away to a friend so i could get the latest and greatest when the ts 55 first came out.  bad decision.

i would suggest sending it back and get it fixed properly.  the bearing changes alone were not enough to solve the problem.  i haven't gotten the saw back yet.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Thanks, Lym.  I will make arrangements to send in my TS 55 for repair by Festool.

Dave R.

 

[Chas]

How much use did it take to wear out the bearing? It would seem to me that 10 thou of runout on a bearing in a small saw just shouldn't happen. That is a lot of runout.

 

[lym]

the last repair by the dealer lasted one year.  my saw is moderately used.  that's why i elected to have it repaired by festool.  upon return of the saw, it even sounds different and feels much smoother.  i believe they replaced 2 bearings and a bearing cup, and the fan.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Festool service (Indiana, USA) replaced the arbor bearing and bearing holder, and "tuned" the saw for proper toe setting.  I haven't used it much following the repair, but all seems well.