ts 55 cut quality suddenly very poor

[hbdontcare]

Hi, all

I have been gleaning lots of information from this site for quite some time
and have found this forum to be very helpful. I want to say that my festools have
never let me down and I really enjoy using them.  [big grin]

However, I went to cut some 3/4" inch oak ply with my ts55 on the mft and  my cut came out extremely ragged.
The quality was so poor that you would never now I had used a ts55.
Just the day before I cut a bevel on the end of a stick of solid white oak and it came out fine,
it was only about 5/16" thick though.
I bought the saw used a year ago and still have the original splinter guard and
blade that came with the saw. Will getting a new backup blade fix this problem?

Thanks, Craig

 

[Steve R]

Did you have the top splinter guard  in contact with the top surface?

What about the bottom MDF top of the MFT. If the sacrificial material is not in contact with the edge of the cut will will be ragged.

A picture of the material cut might help us understand what you mean by ragged.

Cheer,
Steve

 

[ccarrolladams]

Hi Craig,

First, a huge welcome to FOG.

Second, although you bought your TS55 used, you are still entitled to discuss problems with Festool USA tech support. The toll-free number is in your owner's manual and at the top of this topic. Lester and everyone at Festool HQ are nice and know their tools.

Third, since the problem of ragged cut is so sudden, my first guess is that a carbide tip came off a tooth. You mention it is the blade on your TS when you bought it a year ago. Probably you have not had this blade sharpened and might not have removed it to clean it. My suggestion is to remove your blade from your saw to clean and inspect it.

One of my several TS55 is the first I bought in January 2006. It was new from my dealer and the TS55 had not been sold in the USA very long then. That same TS55 has been in use at least 5 days a week since. Sure I swap blades frequently because I believe in sharpening blades before they affect the cut quality. However, that saw has not needed service. Neither have any of my newer TS55 saws.

One of the best features of plunge-saws is the blade protection. That is a safety consideration for the operator of the saw, but also protects the blade. Still, carbide tips can come loose. It has not happened to me, but did for a good friend earlier this year. Sort of like you, my friend stopped work on a home project to have dinner. The next morning he cut some scraps of 18mm plywood to make fixtures. He only noticed the ragged edge when he returned to working on high-quality plywood. Sure enough, a carbide tip was missing. He put on his spare blade and the cut-quality was fine.

 

[hbdontcare]

Steve,
Yes the top splinter guard was in contact and the material was
laying flat on the Mdf top. I took some pictures, not sure how to load them here.

Carrol,
Thanks for the welcome. I have cleaned the blade but not sharpened.
I went to look at blade and all teeth are still there and look good.

Maybe a call to festool is in order, or sharpen my blade see if results are better,  unless someone else has suggestions for me.

 

[Steve R]

Steve,
Yes the top splinter guard was in contact and the material was
laying flat on the Mdf top. I took some pictures, not sure how to load them here.

To learn how to upload images go to http://festoolownersgroup.com/gallery-attaching-images/testing/

and  [welcome]

Cheers,
Steve

 

[Jesse Cloud]

Good advice above.  Call Festool service - they are top notch.  And whatever the cause is, get a backup blade - you will need it when you get the other blade sharpened.

 

[woodguy7]

Welcome.

Which edge was ragged ?  The top & bottom face under the guide rail should both be clean.  If the underside is ragged then i would say it is your blade.  If the top side is ragged then it could be that you need to replace the splinterstrip.  Do a test cut & before you move anything, check to see if the edge of the splinter strip is flush with the cut.  If not replace it.  Unfortunately when you change strips you will have to put the horrible clear strip on.  It will start peeling from the ends but there does not seem to be an easy fix for this, unless Ive missed something on here ?

Blade or strip is the obvious 2 for me.

Woodguy.

 

[jmbfestool]

Welcome.

Which edge was ragged ?  The top & bottom face under the guide rail should both be clean.  If the underside is ragged then i would say it is your blade.  If the top side is ragged then it could be that you need to replace the splinterstrip.  Do a test cut & before you move anything, check to see if the edge of the splinter strip is flush with the cut.  If not replace it.  Unfortunately when you change strips you will have to put the horrible clear strip on.  It will start peeling from the ends but there does not seem to be an easy fix for this, unless Ive missed something on here ?

Blade or strip is the obvious 2 for me.

Woodguy.

Im sure I read Peter saying the new strips stick fine now but that's across the pond! Don't know if they have improved the adhesive on them crappy clear strips I hate them! Also hate the fact new rails come with the clear strip nut they come short not flush like the old ones just looks rubbish lol

I find with my TS55 I get a far better cut on my off cut than the piece I want!  I always set mine to 6mm and run the saw backwards then adjust to the material depth and cut right through. If I look really really really really closely the blade is like of set meaning when I cut the piece of the off cut never splinters and is perfect razor sharp crisp edge. 

Jmb

 

[mouppe]

Before involving Festool customer service and losing your saw for a few days, I would take the saw to your nearest dealer and fit the blade that he uses on his demo TS55 to your TS55 and run a couple of cuts. Then you will know whether it is your blade that is the problem or not.

If not, fit your old blade back, and run the saw on the dealer's guide rail. Then you will know if it is your guide rail that is the problem.

Lastly, you will be left with the saw, and you can then send it back to Festool.

 

[ccmviking]

Unfortunately when you change strips you will have to put the horrible clear strip on.  It will start peeling from the ends but there does not seem to be an easy fix for this, unless Ive missed something on here ?

Woodguy.

I've always just used a few drops of CA glue on the ends.  I had the same issue with the black strips too (although they did seem to have better adhesive).  When you go to change the strips, the CA glue scrapes right off with a single edge razor blade or you could use the "de-bonder" if you'd like.

 

[rnt80]

Welcome.

Which edge was ragged ?  The top & bottom face under the guide rail should both be clean.  If the underside is ragged then i would say it is your blade.  If the top side is ragged then it could be that you need to replace the splinterstrip.  Do a test cut & before you move anything, check to see if the edge of the splinter strip is flush with the cut.  If not replace it.  Unfortunately when you change strips you will have to put the horrible clear strip on.  It will start peeling from the ends but there does not seem to be an easy fix for this, unless Ive missed something on here ?

Blade or strip is the obvious 2 for me.

Woodguy.

Im sure I read Peter saying the new strips stick fine now but that's across the pond! Don't know if they have improved the adhesive on them crappy clear strips I hate them! Also hate the fact new rails come with the clear strip nut they come short not flush like the old ones just looks rubbish lol

I find with my TS55 I get a far better cut on my off cut than the piece I want!  I always set mine to 6mm and run the saw backwards then adjust to the material depth and cut right through. If I look really really really really closely the blade is like of set meaning when I cut the piece of the off cut never splinters and is perfect razor sharp crisp edge. 

Jmb

Jmb, I have the same issue.  My off cut barely shows any sign of blade markings whereas the piece I'm cutting has always looked worse.  I changed blades the other day to one that I thought I had had sharpened and the cut quality was twice as bad.  Looks like I'll be picking up a new blade and replacing the splinter strip.  I always toe in the blade but that hasn't seemed to solve the aforementioned issue of a better off cut.  Does anyone else have the same issue?

 

[hbdontcare]

Hey everyone I got this problem half solved.
I talked to customer service and they thought it could be
I'm cutting too fast and
I should inspect the splinter
strip as some of you have already suggested.
Sure enough, my splinter strip is chewed up and
is no longer flush with the blade.

Simple solution is to peel it off and reposition.
Problem still remains on the bottom,
the mdf got chewed up enough to no longer be flush
with the blade there.  I thought best thing to do is
fill in the kerf with some  material and then recut.
Does anyone have a suggestion for this?

Lesson learned: haste makes waste.

 

[mouppe]

Flip the MFT top, or rotate it 180 degrees.

Problem solved.

 

[MarkF]

If you don't want to flip or rotate the top, fill the kerfs in the table with Wood Putty-Filler, Bondo, Titebond glue, Epoxy or anything that can be leveled and not damage a circular saw blade.  You can also move the pivot point over a bit to a clean area.