TS55 Garage

[fshanno]

I'm lazy.  I admit it.  I'm sick and tired of lifting the saw off the track between cuts.  So here's a little garage thing I cobbled together.  Let's you leave the saw on the track between cuts. 

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I just clamp it down to the end of the track.  I keep a 55 on for crosscuts in the other direction on the MFT so I decided to utilize the extra space.

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A nice feature is that you can balance the track half way up.  Now I rarely lift it all the way up during a cutting session.

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The way it counter balances you can push the saw through the cut and go ahead and lift the guide with the hand that's holding the saw in one fluid motion.  In fact you can cut a piece, dock the saw and lift saw guide and all just with the saw handle, remove the piece, put down another piece, grab the saw handle, lower and seat the guide leveraging the saw handle, slide the saw back to the start and make the next cut.  All without ever touching the guide.

Obviously no part of the stock system was designed with anything like this in mind but I've tried it for a couple of days and it seems to work.

 

[ajones]

iI like that a lot [thumbs up] [thumbs up]

 

[Nigel]

 
   Me too,very cunning.I shall try that.Thanks fshanno.

 

[harry_]

[thumbs up] too cool! [thumbs up]

 

[score0matic]

Very good MOD  [cool]
Craig

 

[dogutsukawu]

The garage is a good example of thinking outside the box.  Great idea and a real time and effort saver.

It's such a good a idea that I made my own version.  It's a minimalist version with just enough to hold the saw in place.  Since my version looks more like a carport than a garage, I propose that we relabel both as "docks".  You dock a boat in the summer and store it in the winter.  Likewise, you dock the saw when you're using it, and store it between uses.  One example of a saw storage is my "holster" described in another post.

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[jvsteenb]

It?s definitely good thinking - creative, and out-of-the-box, although the TS55 may feel a bit more restricted.
I do however feel a slight uncertainty here - will the pivot point and the clamping point be able to handle the bigger mass ? The clamp is adjustable, but the pivot point was meant to handle a guiderail. It may be overengineered strengthwise, but somehow that just doesn't seem "Festool".  I would worry about the extra stress and the possible wear and/or flex it might cause.
Then again: parts are replacable and these parts wouldn't be the most expensive ones.

Nice mod!

Regards,

Job

 

[fshanno]

You dock a boat in the summer and store it in the winter.  Likewise, you dock the saw when you're using it, and store it between uses.  One example of a saw storage is my "holster" described in another post.

Your holster was the inspiration for my original idea.  I'm going to make another one that doesn't require clamps and I may do what you've done here and support the handle instead of the blade guard.

So, what do you think about the concept?  How is it working for you?

 

[fshanno]

I would worry about the extra stress and the possible wear and/or flex it might cause.
Then again: parts are replacable and these parts wouldn't be the most expensive ones.

That is the concern.  That's what I was thinking about the whole time.  You don't want that hinge to suffer unusual wear and get loose because it's part of the accuracy of cuts.  Also of concern is the stress on the guide, tilting it with the weight on it.  The biggest concert is the saw falling off.  That's the scary part.  That's the reason I went with two clamps instead of a system that uses the channels.  But dogutsukawu has kindly volunteered his saw as a guinea pig for that concept.  If it works for him my second generation will look like his. 

It's such a pleasure to not have to lift the saw off.  It feels squirrely at first but you soon learn to appreciate it.

 

[dogutsukawu]

The dock I proposed fits the guide which comes standard with the MFT.

I'm thinking that a dock will reduce wear-and-tear on the guide and saw.  I know that I bang my guide often when mounting the saw.  And moving the saw off and on the guide increases the chances that I'll eventually drop the saw, maybe on top of the guide.

Based on concerns railsed about wear on the hinges, I'll take mine apart and grease the hinge pins.

 

[RONWEN]

Not to mention those are easily replaced (hinge) parts if need be...

 

[dogutsukawu]

fshanno:

I think the garage is a great idea.  It makes the saw and guide work like a chop or radial arm saw.  I haven't had a chance to use it since I made it.  Afater some use, I'll try to remember to post a followup.

I took the hinge apart to grease it.  It comes greased already from Festool.  The pin is not a simple bolt.  It's a nicely machined bolt with large diameter (about 1/4") part next to the head and a small diameter threaded part.  This means that the weight-bearing part of the hinge pin is larger than it appears from the size of nut.  This is another example of good engineering by Festool.

I'm not concerned with the weight of the saw distorting the guide.  In the dock, the weight of the saw is borne mostly by the hinge and not by the guide.

Anyway, I'm old, so the guide and hinge will last my lifetime.

 

[jvsteenb]

This is another example of good engineering by Festool

I would have been shocked if it had been otherwise.
This is just "standard" engineering. Any engineer worth half his paycheck designing this hinge would have made it this way. It won't be heavier ( same amount of metal involved ) but spreads the load over a much bigger area, deminishing wear. The little extra cost in manufacturing the bolt is relatively minor in mass production. The biggest surplus in cost is probably stocking and catalogueing an extra part, but Festool is rather creative in using certain parts for multiple applications ( Guess they use a "system"  [cool] ) and that's where they shine.

I'm not concerned about the fact that Festools Engineers aren't proficient enough in their respective jobs, but they may have been TOO precise for this particular jig to be supported. A good engineer factors in a good deal of overhead in most connections that are susceptible to wear. In some cases overhead is abundant, for we (the client) wouldn't believe that a certain part (like an axle for instance) would be able to take the load, and we would subconsciously label the construction as too flimsy. But in other cases there's little reason for these concerns, and parts are engineered to spec - only "stepping up" in size when it's cheaper to manufacture : in case a product is part hand assembled for instance, it may be far cheaper to use M6 vs. M3 , as the nuts are easier to be seated by hand. Lots and lots of factors come in to play. 

I don't know the design rationale that was used in the MFT 3 hinge point. That's why I'm concerned that this hinge MIGHT not be able to take the added load of the TS55 + "garage" plus the different load pattern for a long time without sacrificing precise fit. It may very well be OK, but I don't know for sure, hence my concern, which may or may not be justified.

Regards,

Job

 

[Michael Kellough]

The idea is very good.
Similar but not as good as the original design of eurekazone's single bridge.

You can make it better if you use it for some time and see all the possible problems.
You can see the D- design in the tracksaw forum.

http://tracksawforum.com/showthread.php?t=568

I have no clue why they don't offer this tool.
I like to see a small cross-cutter  with 24" capacity and get rid of my scms.

That sounds like an MFT  ???

 

[fshanno]

The idea is very good.
Similar but not as good as the original design of eurekazone's single bridge.

You can make it better if you use it for some time and see all the possible problems.
You can see the D- design in the tracksaw forum.

http://tracksawforum.com/showthread.php?t=568

I have no clue why they don't offer this tool.
I like to see a small cross-cutter  with 24" capacity and get rid of my scms.

Well, you bring up an interesting point, sort of.  How difficult would it be to adapt the Eurekazone B-300 bridge to the MFT? 

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That bridge is pretty cool, I must admit.  The beauty is that it automatically adapts to material thickness.  I think it's within the realm of possibility to find a way to mount it to the MFT rails and to cobble together some way to mount the Festool guide.  It's a little pricey though at $175.  The thing is, I don't think I could make an effective one because it has 4 pivot points that need a pretty close tolerance to prevent any wiggle.

I ought to join that forum and rattle their chain about this.  They're the experts on the bridge.  While I'm at it I'll ask Dino if he could make a Smart Base for the TS55.

 

[dogutsukawu]

I suggest that discussion of bridges for the guide rail be put under its own topic.  It's an important topic which should not hidden under discussion of the saw garage, to which it's only tangentially related. 

 

[fshanno]

I suggest that discussion of bridges for the guide rail be put under its own topic.  It's an important topic which should not hidden under discussion of the saw garage, to which it's only tangentially related. 

True.  And I won't even do that until I get some feedback from those folks.  There might be a catch. 

Back to the garage.  Can you lift the guide half way up and sort of balance it with the arrangement you have?  I'd like to put the shorter guide back on but I really like that balancing act.

 

[dogutsukawu]

Nope, won't balance midway.  It tips over until the guide is vertical.

However, I'll be putting up a post about a guide lock handle which happens to stop the guide from going all the way to vertical.  You'll see what I mean when you see that post.

 

[RONWEN]

Very slick indeed.

 

[fshanno]

The Bridge works like it was designed for the mft.

I took a hard look at that bridge the last couple of days.  Not a good idea for the MFT.  Festool got it right to begin with.  And I think this garage idea is just icing on the cake.