TS55 Motor Upgrade?

[Rick_Rock321]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum. I own a TS55 with the CMS table and the TS55 module mounting unit.

I bought the gear for the flexibility of having a plunge saw that I could convert to a table saw - as it was designed! Additionally I own a bosch plunge saw that I bought many years before buying the festool.

I find the TS55 to be under-powered, certainly compared to the bosch when ripping sheet materials, joists and floorboards so as such it doesn't really come out of the cms setup and is primarily a portable table saw.

My question is whether it is possible to upgrade the motor of the TS55? I still find it troublesome using the TS55 when ripping down large joists to custom widths etc. So am often forced to make multiple shallow cuts to get through 2" joists which effects on site productivity significantly. I have six 60 tooth Swedex blades that I rotate and sharpen regularly which help but none-the-less the problem persists and I would prefer not to have to get rid of the gear in place of an out and out portable table saw. With this is mind, I have been comparing the TS55 and TS75 and wonder if it could be possible to replace the armature and field assembly of the TS55 with those of the TS75? I haven't been able to compare the individual parts to check sizes only to have stood a TS55 and TS75 side by side in a wholesalers and the motor housings look similar in size......

Does anyone have experience/tried this? Can you think of any reasons why this won't work? Would I need to replace any other parts to facilitate the 'upgrade?'

Thanks for your time reading this.

Rick

 

[live4ever]

I don't know about the feasibility of swapping out the motor of the TS55 with something more powerful (realistically I doubt it would be very easy), but ripping floor joists in one pass with 60T blades is definitely going to be a struggle.  Why not try a rip blade (12T or 18T) and see how that does for your thicker applications? 

By the way, going to a 28T blade on the TS55 doesn't affect cut quality on sheet goods THAT much but makes for a much easier cut, especially if you're talking about general construction rather than finish quality cuts.

I think part of the problem is you're using 60T finish blades for tasks that are better suited for lower-count blades.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  Welcome to the forum!

Under powered or not I agree that a 60T blade is probably not designed for rip cuts. Try a blade for ripping. The motor swap doesn't sound especially feasible to me.

Seth

 

[AlexThePalex]

Does anyone have experience/tried this? Can you think of any reasons why this won't work?

No one here has experience doing this. You need to be a mechanical engineer to even know what you're doing. Unless you are one, I'd forget about this idea.

I also find, like many, that the TS55 is underpowered. Luckily for me it is only one of three saws I have so I can choose an alternative if needed. Seems to me the best option. 

 

[Svar]

Even if you are an electrical engineer and have a well equipped shop/lab at your disposal, simply upgrading to a more powerful TS75 will be much cheaper than upgrading TS55 motor. TS75 will still fit into your CMS unit.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

I also find the TS55 under powered.  I also own the TS75 and it’s too big to use all day long,  so I bought the Mafell Mt55.  It has plenty of power!  I doubt it will fit your table though. 

 

[Stephen B]

https://www.festoolusa.com/accessory/500463---160x1,8x20-pw12-usa#Overview

Is solution.

 

[Cheese]

https://www.festoolusa.com/accessory/500463---160x1,8x20-pw12-usa#Overview

Is solution.

Amen...

 

[Stone Message]

In the UK, an I am sure in the US and elsewhere, the TS55 comes with the fine tooth (48) blade. That is not a ripping blade. The Panther (12) is too coarse for general use in a table saw and so I use the Universal blade (28) which is brilliant.

I rarely cut any sheet material on the CMS TS and cannot remember doing any cross cutting on solid wood. I use my CMS TS for ripping solid wood, mainly oak, walnut and maple. I rip a lot of 45 mm thick oak with no problem at all. I accept that the feed rate has to be slightly slower than one might use of a big table saw but not much slower.

The CMS TS is a portable solution that is surprisingly accurate with excellent dust collection and allows the TS to be removed or reinstalled in under 2 minutes should one need to cut sheet goods with a guide rail. I do not own one but the TS75 can be part of a CMS TS setup and it has 1600 watts compared to the 1200 watts of the TS55.

Peter

 

[Rick_Rock321]

Hi,

Thanks for all the comments/suggestions.

Trying a courser blade with fewer teeth is an easy option to test so I will try that. As for using alternate machines I am only interested in using the TS55 in the CMT as a table saw so looking at alternate machines isn't the direction I want to go in as it's not applicable and as I said I already have an alternate plunge saw that I use on site and is more than satisfactory in it's performance. But yes if I were looking to get a 2nd plunge saw to use on site, as a plunge saw, I wouldn't be getting a ts55 or ts75.

My main query is whether it is feasible to install the motor and field assembly from the ts75 into the ts55. I accept this isn't the norm. I'm not looking to replace the ts55 and cmt insert as that is a pretty expensive route. If I were to look at the option of spending that kind of money I'd probably be better placed to buy stand-alone table saw with much more power than 1600w and would still probably work out being more cost effective than getting a ts75 and new cmt insert. What drew me to the ts55 in the first place was it's extended ability when combined with the CMT and it's portability and alternate tool extensions and that is still of use/interest to me. I am really looking at a possible option to increase it's power and improve it's use/speed on site.

So looking past the suggestions of electrical engineering degrees as a requirement. Does anyone think this could work?

Rick

 

[Rick_Rock321]

I also find the TS55 under powered.  I also own the TS75 and it’s too big to use all day long,  so I bought the Mafell Mt55.  It has plenty of power!  I doubt it will fit your table though.

Yes I was recently turned on to Mafell and they have some great machines. I would probably look at one of these if/when the Bosch kicks the bucket!

 

[Rick_Rock321]

In the UK, an I am sure in the US and elsewhere, the TS55 comes with the fine tooth (48) blade. That is not a ripping blade. The Panther (12) is too coarse for general use in a table saw and so I use the Universal blade (28) which is brilliant.

I rarely cut any sheet material on the CMS TS and cannot remember doing any cross cutting on solid wood. I use my CMS TS for ripping solid wood, mainly oak, walnut and maple. I rip a lot of 45 mm thick oak with no problem at all. I accept that the feed rate has to be slightly slower than one might use of a big table saw but not much slower.

The CMS TS is a portable solution that is surprisingly accurate with excellent dust collection and allows the TS to be removed or reinstalled in under 2 minutes should one need to cut sheet goods with a guide rail. I do not own one but the TS75 can be part of a CMS TS setup and it has 1600 watts compared to the 1200 watts of the TS55.

Peter

Hi Peter, thanks for your comments. I was recently looking at your Parf Guide System at axminster.

  I may not have given enough info but we don't use the ts55 for cross cutting joists we have 2 chop saws and 3 handheld circular saws on site so have that function covered well. To expand, my future application of the ts55 and cmt is to build my own portable workbench/table that we can transport from site to site and setup and dissasmble quickly and easilly. I am designing it around the cmt so that I can use the ts55 and also the other inserts for the cmt. I want a table where 1 man can rip down 8'x4' sheets easily by himself. these days we make and fit lots of custom skirting and architrave profiles on site and rip down sheets to the required height. We have also started making our own door casings from 25mm mdf sheets on site as in older properties a brick wall with render is thicker than a 4" stud wall so all off the shelf door frames (138mm) aren't wide enough for purpose as we often need anything from 150-180mm wide casings. Often we end up splicing 2 frames together to get them to the desired width and that becomes very time consuming when working in a property with 15 frames to fit..... So to have a large table where we can cut down full 8'x4' sheets to custom widths and then profile them as required is very useful to us. And for that the ts55 and cmt is a perfect fit. At the moment we make the rip cuts with our bosch plunge saw which is more than suitable but again when ripping down 5 sheets to 150mm lengths with a guiderail becomes a lengthy process when on site. To be fair making rip cuts with the ts55 in 18mm mdf is no problem at all. A bit slower in 25mm but again it is acceptable for that. But alongside this kind of work we also do a lot of framing with 4x2 and 5x2, fitting new 9x2 floor joists and installing flat and pitched roofs with 6x2 joists etc. Again when matching up to older properties we find ourselves ripping down new joists to match older joist sizes and this is where we have the most difficulty with the ts55. The machine heats up quickly when we work it this hard. Joists with lots of knots and sometimes a little wet cause the blade to get stuck often too. Now I accept that we are probably overworking the machine here but a little more power would be great which is why I posed my question. Again it may be that I have to accept that I need a stand-alone tabel saw in it's own right with more power however that will change my whole approach to the site table I want to build so at this stage I want to try and make everything work with what I have.

I hope this helps shed a bit more light on the thread

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Rick

Many thanks for that very detailed explanation of your current and proposed setup. My only comment is that I find it easier to move a guide rail and a saw to cut sheets rather than move the sheet through a table saw. I like the idea of a large working surface which makes material handling easier and safer.

Do PM me if there is any help that I can give in relation to your on site work.

Peter

 

[Cheese]

Just curious, you mentioned trying a rip blade on the TS 55. Have you done that yet & if so, what were the results?

 

[grobkuschelig]

Just curious, you mentioned trying a rip blade on the TS 55. Have you done that yet & if so, what were the results?

Hi Cheese,

I am also using the Panther blade on rips with the TS55.
I was blown away by the difference and like it very much! Great cut quality as well, at least in the roughly 70 meters of maple I did with mine recently..

 

[Michael Kellough]

Hi,

  Welcome to the forum!

Under powered or not I agree that a 60T blade is probably not designed for rip cuts. Try a blade for ripping. The motor swap doesn't sound especially feasible to me.

Seth

It's absolutely not designed for rip cuts, except in plywood. A saw is only as good as it's blade, and the blade should be designed (chosen) for the task. One size does not fit all.

 

[Shadytree]

I know a number of electrical and mechanical engineers & I don't think that either title makes you any more qualified for changing a motor out on your Festool saw. I'm not saying that it is a reasonable idea. It's one of those questions that is answered by the mere fact that it was asked.
-Mitch

 

[AlexThePalex]

I know a number of electrical and mechanical engineers & I don't think that either title makes you any more qualified for changing a motor out on your Festool saw.

You know there goes quite a number of calculations into making a motor fit in a tool, right?

 

[Maximus]

For starters, watch the dreaded BOLTRE Youtube video to see how fiendishly complex it is to even open up a TS55, let alone modify the motor configuration.

Secondly, if you begin playing with armatures (even if possible) have you considered that this motor is controlled electronically to a very high degree.  You'd need to swap that control system too.  These are not simple tools by any means, either mechanically or electronically.

In conclusion, it's my belief that your quest is an interesting thought, but ultimately a waste of time and a non starter.  As others have said, the answer is to use a more suitable blade and / or change to a TS75 - for all the effort and time you face it's very much your cheapest option in the long run.

 

[Svar]

I don't know about the size of rotor and stator windings, but the motor shaft on TS75 is definitely different from TS55. The former is mounted on three bearings, the latter on two. Gears are also different.