TS 55 REQ and MFT/3 out of square

[Ntex]

Hi all,

Need some help troubleshooting out of square cuts...I've been having trouble getting square cuts from my MFT and TS 55 tracksaw.

The table was setup according to the Festool manual, and I used Greg Paolini's great videos found on youtube:



The only change I made to the youtube video methods shown are that I used an Anderson Plywood square (triangle) instead of a Woodpeckers square.

The Anderson Plywood square was checked for orthogonality by tracing a line, and rotating it 90 degrees to reproduce the line. It matches up perfectly. For a sanity check, I did use a Woodpeckers 6 inch square to verify the MFT fence and guide rail are 90 degrees square.

Using 3/4 MDF, I cut down a few inches off each side of a 48 in x 48 in work piece (4 cut method).

The first cut is out of square by ~2mm, and of course the problem is amplified by the time I cut the last side.

The cut tapers wide to narrow from the start of the cut to the end of the cut.

Here is the start:

View attachment 1

And here is the end:

View attachment 2

The MFT arrived with some pretty serious shipping damage, enough that one of the aluminum extrusions on the front profile was replaced.

What I didn't notice/expect was that the front hinge plate (with the tab that sticks into the recess on the guide rail) is not square and definitely bent. Doesn't look like I can attach photos (yet?), so imagine this. You are looking at the front of the MFT, and the metal portion of the front hinge plate slopes from the left to the right, so that when the guide rail rests on the tab, it is not fully supported on the right side by 1/4 inch or so, where the splinterguard is.

View attachment 3

Other than cutting out of square, the saw makes clean cuts, does not burn wood, and seems to perform just fine.

Before I started adjusting toe-in and other items, do you think the bent front hinge plate is the issue?

One last thing I should mention, I took the Festool cabinet class in N. Carolina (highly recommended). All of the cuts came out square and my boxes came out 90 degrees, so I doubt it's technique.

Hopefully the brain trust has some suggestions to help me fix.
Thanks!
Chris

 

[NL-mikkla]

Difficult, it is obvious you know what you are talking about.
If you checked the 90 degree and it was oke, it can't be the hinge, right?
Is there any notable slob in the hinge/rail connection?

 

[Ntex]

Thanks for the reply and good point about the hinge.

It might be hard to tell but I purchased and installed one of the plastic bushings (slop stop?) in the rail to keep the rail from moving.

And when you check the fence/rail for 90 degrees, a side to side motion of the guide rail has a very small amount movement, but the real direction that the rail can move is in torsion.

Basically, the splinteredge guide side of the rail can move down a few mm compared to the left side of rail because it's the right side of the hinge plate that is bent up.

But I don't know if that would cause the out-of-square since the downward force of the saw should be constant.

The strange thing is, I can get very repeatable results, but it's always off by 1.5-2mm.

Maybe I'll look at the toe-in next?

In any case, I'll call the dealer/vendor when they are open and see what they say.

 

[Corwin]

...
Other than cutting out of square, the saw makes clean cuts, does not burn wood, and seems to perform just fine.

Before I started adjusting toe-in and other items, do you think the bent front hinge plate is the issue?
...

With your saw performing 'just fine' I see no reason whatsoever to adjust the toe-in on your saw.

I would definitely replace that bent bracket before looking to 'fix' anything else.

One problem that many seem to have is setting their MFT's fence square with the guide rail first and then raise the brackets to set for the thickness of the material -- while raising the brackets it is rather easy to set them out of square. You can raise and lower the brackets accurately if you pay close attention, but errors are likely if you do not. Might be best to square the guide rail once your material is in place.

 

[mo siopa]

...
Other than cutting out of square, the saw makes clean cuts, does not burn wood, and seems to perform just fine.

Before I started adjusting toe-in and other items, do you think the bent front hinge plate is the issue?
...

With your saw performing 'just fine' I see no reason whatsoever to adjust the toe-in on your saw.

I would definitely replace that bent bracket before looking to 'fix' anything else.

One problem that many seem to have is setting their MFT's fence square with the guide rail first and then raise the brackets to set for the thickness of the material -- while raising the brackets it is rather easy to set them out of square. You can raise and lower the brackets accurately if you pay close attention, but errors are likely if you do not. Might be best to square the guide rail once your material is in place.

My thoughts exactly.  Considering hinge is bent, the bracket may not raise straight up but angle slightly forward or back.  Try cutting just a kerf in the table with nothing under the rail.  Is it square?

 

[Gregor]

The oversight in both of the videos is that he takes the position of the stops (in the t-slots) to slide the rail holder against as given-good - should these be not positioned correctly and you setup the rail holders against them you'll introduce the error.

Correct alignment procedure to alleviate that problem:

1) Remove the stop blocks in the t-slots
2) Setup back fence with protractor and additional holder, align it in parallel to the table edge (measure distance on both sides)
3) Slide in the back rail holder into t-slot to where you want to have the rail positioned
4) Slide in rail into the back holder without tightening it to it, lay rail flat on table top, tighten backholder in t-slot with the knob only
5) Square the rail against the back fence, then clamp the rail to the table (using two clamps, light pressure) to keep it from moving
6) Tighten the rail to the back rail holder, then lock the handle of the back holder.
7) Slide in front rail holder into t-slot, adjust it so that the support is snugly fit to the rail, tighten it to t-slot with handle and knob
8) Insert the stop blocks, register them againt the front and back rail holders, tighten them
9) Remove the clamp from 5, release the height locks on the rail holders, lift the rail, put it down flat on the table, engage the height locks the rail holders, check for squareness of the rail against the back fence.
10) In case of 9 failing: repeat procedure.

What also is possible to set the angles in 2 and 5 is to use bench dogs and registering the fence and the rail against them.

Remeber to, when using the rail, always support it over the whole length with material the same height as what cut (cutoffs work fine), lay down the rail flat on the material first and then engage the height locks on the rail holders. This should (after above alignment) guarantee square cuts.

Gregor