TS 55 Blades - the Current Information

[tbellemare]

In another thread, earlier this evening, it became apparent that there are some misconceptions about the current technology relating to blades for the TS 55, Plunge Cut Saws.

The chart at the end of this post displays a description of the current and past technology of the blades for the TS 55.

Please note that the blade that comes with the TS 55 has always had a 2.2mm kerf. Now, all the other blades have the same kerf, 2.2mm.

This is potentially important, depending on how you use your guide rails and which blades you use with those guide rails. Blades with varying kerfs can, potentially, change the shape of the splinter guard on your guide rails.

Tom

[attachimg=#1]

 

[vkumar]

Tom is this true with the TS 75 blades as well?  Do you have  a similar table for the TS 75 blades.

Thanks

Vijay

 

[Bob Marino]

Tom is this true with the TS 75 blades as well?  Do you have  a similar table for the TS 75 blades.

Thanks

Vijay

Vijay,

I'm not Tom, but the answer is this is not true of the TS 75 blades. Not as yet anyhow.

  Bob

 

[tbellemare]

Thanks, Bob.

Vijay, there are new and old numbers for the TS 75 blades but to my knowledge there was no change in the actual blade, just the packaging. My memory tells me it was a labeling/liability/insurance thing.

BTW: Did you ever work for PTC?

Tom

 

[vkumar]

No but I use their product every day for the last 20 years.

 

[mouppe]

I just picked up a new 28-tooth blade for my TS55 and noticed that it has a 2.5mm kerf. Must be old stock. I thought about returning it, but really is it worth it? The new kerf will take an extra 0.15mm off my splinterguard. Hardly noticeable. I am changing from the 48-tooth blade to the 28-tooth blade because I always use a sander or a hand plane to bring the wood to a final dimension so I do not need the finish-ready cut of the 48-tooth blade.

Someone let me know if I am missing anything.

 

[Corwin]

I just picked up a new 28-tooth blade for my TS55 and noticed that it has a 2.5mm kerf. Must be old stock. I thought about returning it, but really is it worth it? The new kerf will take an extra 0.15mm off my splinterguard. Hardly noticeable. I am changing from the 48-tooth blade to the 28-tooth blade because I always use a sander or a hand plane to bring the wood to a final dimension so I do not need the finish-ready cut of the 48-tooth blade.

Someone let me know if I am missing anything.

Nope.  The only little thing will be when you decide to put a different blade that doesn't cut as far to the left the splinter guard may not work as well -- but then, you're only talking about a small amount...  At worst, you will want to replace your guide rail's splinter guard.  And, those are a consumable, aren't they?

 

[Ken Nagrod]

Well, actually doing the math on the blade difference, by using a 2.5mm kerf blade where you previously used a 2.2mm kerf blade, the saw cuts into the strip another 0.006" which is less than 1/128".  Looking at it this way it doesn't seem like a big deal and my previous post about having my 2.5mm blades side ground to 2.2mm seems ridiculous.

So, thanks to Richard and Corwin for inadvertantly putting things into perspective for me.  [thanks]

 

[ccarrolladams]

Well, actually doing the math on the blade difference, by using a 2.5mm kerf blade where you previously used a 2.2mm kerf blade, the saw cuts into the strip another 0.006" which is less than 1/128".  Looking at it this way it doesn't seem like a big deal and my previous post about having my 2.5mm blades side ground to 2.2mm seems ridiculous.

So, thanks to Richard and Corwin for inadvertantly putting things into perspective for me.  [thanks]

Ken, I believe you understand the situation. As it happens I only have used the Festool fine 2.2mm kerf blade on all my TS55. When I am using hand circular saws when not breaking down sheet plywood no more than 31mm, I use other saws.

Besides my cabinet shop I am a partner in a precision metal fabrication firm. That custom builds aircraft size mechanical structures with tolerances of 0.001mm over 20m. When using tool steel and stainless the material does not expand or contract much.

What all of us who love working with wood know is that we deal with a living material. Why sweat 0.15mm difference on a piece of plywood which could expand or contract by more than that in an hour?

Personally I have never asked my tool grinding vendor to re-engineer Festool blades. If I were not confident in the way Festool designed their blades I would by blades I like better. But that is just me. I own fixed saws, including a large slider table saw and a pressure beam saw that are used on many kinds of material. Each of those materials require a different blade. Each of those fixed saws has computer technology able to keep track of the measure kerf of every blade by SN to make parts accurate when sawn to 0.1mm  The difference between those machines and a TS55 on a guide rail is the beam saw costs USA$100,000+ and requires a large building. The slider saw costs over USA$70,000.

I am confident that if Festool decided to design and sell machines that expensive they would deliver even better accuracy. In my shop we constantly find there are plywood parts requiring miter and bevel we routinely make as accurate and with faster set-up using TS55 and guide rails instead of the slider saw. On the other hand, when all the angles are square, using the beam saw is more accurate and a lot faster.

 

[Mavrik]

Just from a practical point of view it is nice when you can cut along a line exactly with the rail.
Irrespective of practicality, it gives boyhood pleasure to be able to draw a pencil line and then split it with a blade.

And yes ... my Panther ripping blade and aluminium cutting blade did mess that up.
It is nice that they have rectified this ... but I won't be able to justify replacing those two blades for this reason alone.
As discussed already, it doesn't make a material difference.

 

[junk731]

The one point had hasn't been made, is that as the blades are sharpened the kerf is always decreasing and moving away from the splinter guard. Festool has engineered in another couple of sharpening cycles.

John

 

[ccarrolladams]

The one point had hasn't been made, is that as the blades are sharpened the kerf is always decreasing and moving away from the splinter guard. Festool has engineered in another couple of sharpening cycles.

John

See, John, each of us has a different experience. When I bought my first TS55 in January 2006 (can it really be just a few days short of 5 years?) the Festool information said with care the blades could be sharpened 5 or 6 times.

At that time Los Angeles Grinding had been handling the metalworking bits and blades for my other business for many years. A fellow with a small shop in Pasadena had sharpened by woodworking bits and blades since 1954. When I bought the TS55 I had not done enough woodworking personally in the previous few years to require sharpening. Yet with my brand-new TS55 and a spare blade I drove to my friend's small shop to show it to him. Unfortunately he had retired and moved. The sharpening shop was a different business.

On my way back to my condo I stopped at LA Grinding, which is on Victory just south of Magnolia in Burbank. They assured me they also sharpen woodworking bits and blades.

I like my blades very sharp, so I tend to have them sharpened sooner than necessary.  Bottom line is that the fine cut blade that came with my original TS55 has now been sharpened by LA Grinding 14 times. Its kerf is still closer to 2.2mm than 2.1mm. With woodworking I do not get into more exact measurements. A good friend who is a talented hobbyist bought a TS55 the week after me. He let his blade get dull enough it was not cutting right. He took his to another grinding service, who managed to make the blade worse.

Maybe not all sharpening services are equally talented or caring. My grandfather taught me to consider the person sharpening my tools as a partner, not just a vendor. Certainly I feel that way about Eagle Tool, my Festool dealer and Bonhoff, my primary lumber dealer.

 

[junk731]

I agree with you 100% about sharpening sooner than later but unfortunately that's not the norm for most people. Most contractors I know haven't taken the time to understand blade geometry and tooth patterns versus the material they are cutting, they just go out and buy whats on the shelf at the Big Box store and cut until the blades really dull. When its time for sharping the sharpener has no choice but to grind both face and side grind the tooth, hence my statement about losing kerf. I have all my blades sharpened by Leitz and they sharpen like your shop, I also keep 3 blades in rotation just in case. In the past, before I found Leitz, I tried a few shops with a good reputation but was always disappointed with the sharpening and blade life. Most of the time I find blades cut better and stay sharper longer after their first sharpening from a high quality shop.

John