TS55 Blade Alignment

[NineFingers]

I've had some issue trying to get my saw to make a perfectly vertical cut.  I sent the saw in to Festool for repair, and it seems to have come back to me in no better adjustment. 
I'll try to explain --
If I do a cut, rotate one piece 180 degrees and put the cut lines against each other, it leaves a very visible gap between them (using 3/4" material).  If the joint is pressed tightly together, the bevel causes one piece to be about 1/8" above the surface of the table at a point about 2" out from the joint.  The variance is certainly way more than I would accept from a normal table saw making the same cut.  Am I expecting too much? 

 

[grbmds]

If I understand your problem right, it is caused by the blade not being a perfect 90 degrees to surface you are cutting. Correct? Try to search on the FOG under zero degrees or perpendicular. There are several threads relating to this topic. The solution is to set the stop and to lock down the bevel control knobs by locking the rear first then the front (without putting any stress on the saw frame). The adjustment process is also in a thread on the FOG (or more than one). Sorry,  but I can't find the exact threads I'm looking for right now or I'd post the links. IT's my understanding that Festool has modified the stop set design in the newest version of the TS55 but it is quite expensive to retrofit the older model TS55REQ. How old is you saw. If it is less than 30 days old you might want to return it and get one of the newer models.

 

[NineFingers]

Yes, you understand correctly.  I'll try to find the link you're speaking of.  If somebody knows the link, please feel free to paste it here.

Thanks!

 

[DzordanoBruno]

http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=36561.0

Try this

 

[ear3]

Yeah, this is the great bugaboo of the TS55.  Really no excuse for it, but I'm glad they fixed newer versions with the positive stop in the front.  Unfortunately, you can't retrofit older versions with the new positive stop.  Here's some links:

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/how-to-set-ts55-bevel-to-0/msg330761/#msg330761

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-problems/ts55r-not-cutting-square/msg213209/#msg213209

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Keep in mind that you calibrated it on a flat surface, but are using it on a guide rail.

 

[NineFingers]

... which means the only way to adjust it is to cut/adjust/cut/adjust/cut/adjust....    It'd be great if there was a positive stop at zero.  I'm going to try the grub screw adjustment that is mentioned in one of the above threads.

 

[rst]

I glued shims in the cavities of base cast on mine that way whenever I come back to zero there is no chance of of error.

 

[grbmds]

Keep in mind that you calibrated it on a flat surface, but are using it on a guide rail.

[member=191]Rick Christopherson[/member] I'm not really sure that this makes any difference. At least it didn't in my case. I calibrated it on my MFT and it was perfect on the guide rail (which I am using on the MFT but didn't see a difference even off the MFT. If this made a difference, it could never be calibrated accurately.

 

[DzordanoBruno]

Flat surface=better result

 

[Holmz]

Flat surface=better result

You say it like the guide rails are not a constant thickness?

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Flat surface=better result

You say it like the guide rails are not a constant thickness?

They're not. They have foam strips.

 

[NineFingers]

It's starting to sound like I should have just gotten a table saw!

 

[DzordanoBruno]

Ts55 is portable solution. This solution isnt absolut dead on and perfect like expensive table saw, but it is close)

 

[NineFingers]

also space-saving, which is why I migrated from a table saw.  I've got a small garage to work in... I'm always tripping over things as it is.    [crying]

 

[grbmds]

My experience with the TS55 is that it is very accurate, both from the standpoint of cutting on a line and its vertical alignment. The vertical alignment and its return to 0 degrees from a bevel angle is a little tricky and, after some time, it appears Festool agrees as the new saws have different stop adjustments. However, once I got my TS55 at a perfect vertical cut, I have not had problems since. The foam strips on the bottom of the rails certainly make some slight difference in depth of cut as you compress them across a cut, but that would be minimal. However, making a difference in whether the cut is vertically square with the face, if there is some effect, I cannot notice it.

 

[Gjarman12]

When did this subtle fix happen? If I went to the store tomorrow to buy the TS55, how would I make sure I got the most precise version?

 

[Holmz]

Flat surface=better result

You say it like the guide rails are not a constant thickness?

They're not. They have foam strips.

^Good point^.
I have a different track saw and different rails, so my o-rings are about 100-mm apart, and < 0.5-mm high.
Compressing one would give ASIN(5e-3), which is negligible. However there is a clamp slot on the cut side as the o-ring, which is ~40-mm back from the splinter guard... so it is possible for the track to be canted.
Even though I have not seen an issue with non-square edges, I can see that using 2 clamps would be preferable.

(Thanks! - [note to self] there is always something I am learning to improve the processes.)

 

[grbmds]

When did this subtle fix happen? If I went to the store tomorrow to buy the TS55, how would I make sure I got the most precise version?

[member=52895]Gjarman12[/member] I'm a little confused myself and, in reading recent past posts now think that it is the TSC55 which comes with the newer stop setup. I did ask about retrofitting the TS55 REQ and it can be done but it will likely cast $200+ to buy the parts required. I am now not completely sure that the TS55 REQ (electric) is now being sold with the new stop mechanism. I cannot find the exact thread, but you can always ask in the Ask Festool section or call Festool to ask. I lost interest because my TS55 REQ is relatively new and I have spent too much on both Festools and others over the past year already.

 

[HDClown]

TS55 REQ does have the new stop setup.  Shane posted about the update on 6/10:  http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-sales-dealer-area/ts-55-req-update

I purchased a TS55 REQ from Tool Nut on 6/9 and the in-stock saw they shipped to me had the new stop, so Festool started shipping this revised model to dealers prior to 6/9.