TS 55/TS 75 Base flatness/robustness

[vkumar]

A friend of mine recently purchased a TS 55.  He was ripping a 2 inch cherry board.  He found a lot of binding and hard to push and motor straining.

On analyzing this further he found that when he set the saw on a flat surface it rocked. He feels that the base of the saw is not very flat or robust.

He ended up returning it and buying the TS 75 which he finds to be much better.  ( I did point to him the thread about 2 weeks ago on adjusting toe-in on the saw thinking that it may have been the problem).

What is the general experience on the TS 55 vs TS 75 with regards to the above.  I want to buy one of these before the price goes up.

Vijay

 

[ohkipp]

Toe in was probably what you were experiencing. Worst case is you will have to buy just the base of the saw.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  The toe in may be the problem. But also consider the blade that comes on the TS55 is a Fine blade designed for smooth cuts in sheet goods and cross cuts, not ripping. The TS75 has more power plus comes with the Universal blade which is designed for good cuts both ripping and cross cutting . Also see this thread- http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=2455.0 

Seth

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I recommend buying the TS 55 and a Universal blade, unless you expect to need the extra capacity of the TS 75 to justify its extra price, size and weight (and more expensive blades.  I have ripped 6/4 red oak and 8/4 mahogany with my TS 55 and the supplied 48 tooth fine cut blade without problems, but after trying a 28 tooth Universal blade, I leave it on my saw most of the time, including for cutting birch plywood.  The cut is good enough to glue without further sanding if the blade is sharp and clean and the saw toe properly set.  At most only a little sanding is needed to remove the saw marks, which I generally do with my LS 130.  It truly is a universal blade.  Now I save the Fine blade for cuts that need it.  Don't forget that you can return it within 30 days if it doesn't perform to your satisfaction.

Dave R.

 

[Blouis79]

With the angle setting knobs loose, mine rocked a little because the two 90degree set screws weren't set evenly - either not set at factory or  moved in transit. Also one has to remove play in the guide rail gib cams to make the saw track straight on the guide rail. My saw has some play in the plunge hinge.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

My saw has some play in the plunge hinge.

My TS 55 does, too.  That is my major gripe about its construction.  I would have expected Festool to adopt an assembly procedure that maintains a tight tolerance on this joint to prevent the sawblade from being able to move in/out relative to the splinter guard of the guide rail.  Every poppet valve in every internal combustion engine has a lot of closely fitted valve stems in their guides, so it seems to me that Festool could reduce this hinge slop without great expense or need to invest in new technology.  The University of Aachen has a metal working shop filled with 600 people dedicated to finding better machining ways, if Festool doesn't already have the needed resources.  I don't think there is any equal to it elsewhere in the world.

Dave R.