PaulW said:
I just got home from my 2 hour round trip to Woodcraft in Toledo Ohio to joyfully unpack the new TS 55 I bought there.
It looks like a few parts didn't get put on the bottom of the saw where it rides on the guide rail.
To the best of my knowledge a glide strip is missing and the two black plastic pieces that ride against the green adjustment knobs as well. :'(
I have included a pic of the bottom of the saw.
As Brice says, the baseplate of the TS55 has been modified. There are photos of the pre-modification saw (which I bought in March 2007 in the UK) in the saw section of the FOG Gallery, and I've reproduced them here for convenience:
Have a look at the bottom of your saw for comparison, as I suspect you have one of the pre-modification saws. If so, it was supplied like that from the manufacturer, and one FOG member certainly reported getting a pre-modification saw as recently as December 2007. Also check out the thread on the modified TS55 baseplate at
http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1042.0;all
Perhaps spurred on by customers complaining that they'd been sold saws with old-style baseplates, Festool gave this
article in their FAQ database:
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Question :
Is there a new improved base plate for for TS 55 EQ?
Answer :
In the next few months any new production of the TS 55 saw will have a slightly different version of the base plate installed. This new base plate will have replaceable inserts at the slide surfaces, so that if these areas wear, the slide surfaces can be renewed without changing out the entire base plate. Wear is not an issue under normal use.
The improvement was made for specific customers that are cutting hundreds of feet of solid surface and granite composite countertop material on a weekly basis. The abrasive dust created by solid surface materials wears out the base plate along the slide surfaces prematurely.
This has never been an issue when the saw is being used to cut wood. Again, let me emphasize that premature base plate wear is not an issue under normal, daily use.
If the base plate of the current model saw wears out prematurely and the saw is sent in, it will be replaced with the new base plate at no extra charge under warranty. Please consult our service department prior to sending your saw in, as Festool will not automatically replace the current base plate with the new version of the base plate at no charge unless it does wear out prematurely.
There has been lot of hubbub over the new version of the base plate. Again, it is only when the saw is being used for cutting solid surface materials under extreme conditions that this has ever been an issue.
Premature wear resulted from shops using the saw to cut hundreds of feet of solid surface material every week. There is no benefit to the new base plate other than this simple modification. On the newly designed base plate, if the small black plastic parts wear out, you simply exchange them rather than the entire base plate.
I trust this clears this matter up. This change is for the TS55 only. Nothing has changed with the base plate of the TS75. The saw with the new base plate will begin shipping soon.
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It grinds when you push it on the rail.
Since the pre-modification saw doesn't have these inserts, there will be more metal-to-metal contact between the baseplate and the guiderail, and the old model may therefore be a little noisier when it runs along the rail than the new model. I wouldn't describe it as grinding, but noises are rather subjective. I'd suggest dusting off the baseplate and the guiderail to make sure there's no debris getting in the way, then examine both to see if there are any burs or swarf. Does the amount of grinding change as you tighten/loosen the green adjusting camps on the saw? Can you see any scratches on the rail which might indicate unusual wear?
Forrest
