TS55 REBQ - major issues when bevel cutting

[Gregor]

Gregor - I've done some tests checking the advice offered.

I also did, this is coming freshly from my cellar:

It's a Festool 1400 rail I use. Out of interest I measured the thickness of the rail at the splinterguard edge, mine came out at around 4.3mm.

When you measure the middle of the left side green slide strip to the black anti-slip on the bottom you should have a tad over 5mm, while in use the top of the green strips should be 5mm above the workpiece.

The saw should exclusively ride on the two green strips, as it seems it's best to apply downward pressure on the saw between the left strip and the rail (on which the saw sits on with the groove in the baseplate).

I was able to reproduce you issue on a 45° cut (not binding as I used MDF for the test, but a visibly unclean cut) when I handled the saw mainly with the right hand (at the handle with the power switch) and applied downward (as in toward the floor, not toward the bottom of the blade) pressure there.

In general applying more force than needed to hold the saw in position seems to lead to less good results.

The issue went away when I used the right hand to only hold the saw power switch and the blade at the plunge depth but used the left hand fingers on the baseplate (center of pressure roughly over the channel in the baseplate) to hold the saw down (so it won't tilt) and move it along the rail.

I was also able to reproduce the issue with the offset (minus binding and burns) even with that technique by setting the rail onto an already existing edge (instead of doing the 90°, taking the saw off and setting it to 45°, then doing the bevel), this went away after I peeled off the splinter guard, reattached it ~1mm outward and freshly cut it in with the saw in 90°.

Before a fresh 90° kerf was tight at the splinter guard edge, afterwards the splinter guard side was perfectly flush with the left wall of the kerf. The issue with kerf positioning on 45° bevels also improved greatly afterwards. Seems that there is a reason for the splinter guards being rated as a consumeable (instead of just being a replacement part in case you accidently rip it off or something).

All in all, flushly aligning the renewed splinter guard on an existing 90° edge and then doing a 45° bevel (while holding down the saw at the baseplate only) I managed to be left with a 90° 'problem' leftover (on the top of the workpiece) that was just 1/10mm or less - I can live with this as a safety feature so I won't cut myself on the resulting sharp edge...

I also checked the blade position after a full length cut and the front was tight to the edge of the workpiece. The rear of the blade was away by about a paper thickness. I've read in the manual that's a good amount.

Yes, I also read that. Idea behind is seems to be that the good side of the cut will only make contact with the front of the blade.

Measuring the blade position after a 45 degree cut was harder to verify, but I think that it was tight at the front and almost scraping the cut surface at the back of the blade. That might account for some of my burn marks I think.

In case the back of the blade is a bit out at 90° it shouldn't be able to be in (compared to the front) when the saw is tilted for a bevel.

 

[peter halle]

If I were the guy on the end of the phone in customer support to who, you had sent images of your most recent cut, I would ask you select a board where you could apply your rails and clamp it down.  Make one cut at 90 degrees.  Without unclamping anything, then make a cut with the bevel at 45 degrees.  If the resulting image looked like the one you most recently posted, I would ask that you send it in to be checked out.  It appears that you are under warranty.

Peter

 

[Roseland]

I've seen this problem too, and don't really understand what causes it.  I think the biggest improvement I got was after I flipped the MFT top over, so that instead of being slightly bowed downwards it was slightly crowned.

I'm travelling at the moment, but will have another look when I get home next week.

Andrew

 

[Simo_Petar]

When you measure the middle of the left side green slide strip to the black anti-slip on the bottom you should have a tad over 5mm, while in use the top of the green strips should be 5mm above the workpiece.

I Just checked mine and that's about the same amount. I hadn't considered that it's 5mm offset from the green rails either.

I'm pretty happy that my right /left hand technique is similar to your approach. It's definitely improved the burning binding issue, though it still feels a little unpredictable.

All in all, flushly aligning the renewed splinter guard on an existing 90° edge and then doing a 45° bevel (while holding down the saw at the baseplate only) I managed to be left with a 90° 'problem' leftover (on the top of the workpiece) that was just 1/10mm or less - I can live with this as a safety feature so I won't cut myself on the resulting sharp edge...

I'll try shifting the spinterguard and re-cutting to see what happens - I'm sorry you had to rip a new edge on the splinterguard just to prove that :-[

 

[Simo_Petar]

If I were the guy on the end of the phone in customer support to who, you had sent images of your most recent cut, I would ask you select a board where you could apply your rails and clamp it down.  Make one cut at 90 degrees.  Without unclamping anything, then make a cut with the bevel at 45 degrees.  If the resulting image looked like the one you most recently posted, I would ask that you send it in to be checked out.  It appears that you are under warranty.

Peter

Thank you. Well that's exactly the technique I used to produce the edge seen in that photo. I'll send it to Festool UK on Monday to check their advice.

 

[Simo_Petar]

I've seen this problem too, and don't really understand what causes it.  I think the biggest improvement I got was after I flipped the MFT top over, so that instead of being slightly bowed downwards it was slightly crowned.

I'm travelling at the moment, but will have another look when I get home next week.

Andrew

Thanks, I'd appreciate that.

 

[Gregor]

I'll try shifting the spinterguard and re-cutting to see what happens - I'm sorry you had to rip a new edge on the splinterguard just to prove that :-[

That's ok. It was the rail on my MFT and the strip had seen quite some use, it was due to be maintained anyway.

If I were the guy on the end of the phone in customer support to who, you had sent images of your most recent cut, I would ask you select a board where you could apply your rails and clamp it down.  Make one cut at 90 degrees.  Without unclamping anything, then make a cut with the bevel at 45 degrees.  If the resulting image looked like the one you most recently posted, I would ask that you send it in to be checked out.  It appears that you are under warranty.

Thank you. Well that's exactly the technique I used to produce the edge seen in that photo.

The only thing I see that could happen is that the saw isn't riding on the two green glide strips but tilted to the right and sitting on the right strip and the end of the rail (near the splinter guard). As the rotation is only minimal this wouldn't be noticed when checking the angle of the cut, but by moving the blade pivot axis downward slightly this could move the kerf outward and produce the edge on the photo. Should only happen when the saw isn't held down enough on bevels though.

I'll send it to Festool UK on Monday to check their advice.

Good plan, that's what the service is for. I would be interested about what they say about their findings.

 

[ArtisanWoodworksAndDesign]

This applies to any Festool TS 55 or TS 75 track saw.

First check and adjust the basics of the saw:

    Clean sharp blade with no damage and runout 0.003" or less

    Use the stock 48 tooth blade for plywood or if you find it necessary, the 28 tooth blade or other appropriate blade for the material being cut

    Blade should be adjusted with toe-in (blade towards guide rail strip) at the front of the saw so that the saw blade at the rear of the saw is toed-out (blade away from guide rail strip) by the thickness of a business card difference front to rear (just barely that much of an angle front to rear) (adjustments for this are done at baseplate mounts on front and rear)

    When setting any angle (even 0), tighten the rear locking knob first, then the front

    Adjust the two green wheels (cams/gibs) on the baseplate, one at a time starting with both turned to loose setting, so that the saw slides snug but freely on the guide rail and do that for each guide rail

    Always make sure the guide rail is flat on the workpiece and REMAINS flat on the workpiece throughout the cut, being careful that your body movement/arm movement doesn't change that

    It's best to plunge the saw before entering it into the workpiece during your cut, if you can

    When cutting any workpiece, it's always best to make the cut in a complete, jerk-free smooth continuous cut and don't force the workpiece or the tool through the cut

    Festool track saws are designed to pivot exactly in relation to their 0 degree setting so that only the angle on the workpiece gets cut without any change to the width of the workpiece if you don't change anything other than the cut angle

    Festool track saws are heavy when in an extreme bevel position throwing off their balance, which creates a tipping issue while on the rail, so you must hold the baseplate with one hand while holding the handle and pushing the saw with the other

    Set your saw blade so the depth of cut allows the teeth to fully protrude through the complete thickness of your workpiece allowing the gullets of the saw blade to extract the sawdust and cut through more easily

    Make sure your adjustable green plastic splinterguard piece is not in the saw while bevel cutting and not changing the position/flatness of the saw as it rides the guide rail during a 0 degree cut

    Make sure you have sufficient voltage and current and dust extraction at the saw

 

[Simo_Petar]

I thinks that's a very concise yet complete summary of all the important considerations. I'm fairly confident I've got most of them checked already, except for the points about the guide rail remaining absolutely flat during the cut.

Festool track saws are heavy when in an extreme bevel position throwing off their balance, which creates a tipping issue while on the rail, so you must hold the baseplate with one hand while holding the handle and pushing the saw with the other

I think the wording of that is important - I've noticed that the cuts burn less if using the left hand to move the saw forward along the rail, whilst using the right hand to only keep the plunge lever down.