Hey guys, recently got my first festool, a ts55REQ. I was disappointed it didn't cut at 90 degrees out of the box. Did a lot of searching and finally found some info to adjust using the two screws at the back of the saw. Now I get 90 degree cuts but the angle gauge at 90 degrees cut does not point to zero (maybe points to 0.5 degrees). Emailed festool and they said the gauge is not adjustable. When cutting other than 90 or 45, will have to remember to fudge for the misalignment. Is this common and what you al have experienced? Seems odd a $600 saw would not be able to have the gauge match the angle.
Ts55 REQ angle gauge
- Thread starter 808
- Start date
Others will probably chime in here. I had problems with setting my TS 55 REQ to 90º until I discovered thru another FOG thread that i had been adjusting wrong, as you had discovered. With proper adjustment, I am now dead on with the 90º adjustment. I have not had occasion to try cutting at 45º yet, but I have a dim memory from way back when the saw first appeared that you should not look straight down at the gauge when adjusting. You have to look at it from an angle.
Of course that does not seem very logical to me. There is really no precision to how one looks at the dial from an angle. You might be seven feet tall. I am only 3 feet tall.(Actually, i was seven feet tall until I became a mason contractor. when my chin started bumping my knees, i had to retire from that trade) You may have great eyesight and wear no glasses. Me, I have double vision. I'm left handed but right eye dominant. OOH! that can be all sorts of problem. What is your unreliable angle for looking at the dial. I am pretty sure it is far different from mine. Niether one of us uses the same angle as the guy who did the original design, and certainly not the same as the guy you talked to at Festool, who certainly had nothing to do with the original design.
When i used to hunt, all of my shots were set up using what we called "Kentucky Windage." especially with a moving target. Me, I just used a shotgun. that covered a whole lot more situations that a direct aim with a rifle. I think that is what Festoy expects for bevel cutting. :
Tinker
Of course that does not seem very logical to me. There is really no precision to how one looks at the dial from an angle. You might be seven feet tall. I am only 3 feet tall.(Actually, i was seven feet tall until I became a mason contractor. when my chin started bumping my knees, i had to retire from that trade) You may have great eyesight and wear no glasses. Me, I have double vision. I'm left handed but right eye dominant. OOH! that can be all sorts of problem. What is your unreliable angle for looking at the dial. I am pretty sure it is far different from mine. Niether one of us uses the same angle as the guy who did the original design, and certainly not the same as the guy you talked to at Festool, who certainly had nothing to do with the original design.
When i used to hunt, all of my shots were set up using what we called "Kentucky Windage." especially with a moving target. Me, I just used a shotgun. that covered a whole lot more situations that a direct aim with a rifle. I think that is what Festoy expects for bevel cutting. :
Tinker
benwheeler
Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2014
- Messages
- 164
Tinker: [emoji23]
808: Yes, I found that I could set the saw to 90° but not adjust the gauge.
808: Yes, I found that I could set the saw to 90° but not adjust the gauge.
ear3
Member
It's probably noted in the other forum threads you've read, but just a reminder to make sure to lock the back knob first then the front. You've also experienced what I find to be a bit incongruous given Festool's otherwise precision engineering and stellar customer service, which is that they don't appear to acknowledge that the adjustment problems on the 55 are even an issue. Given the number of posts on the FOG about the problem, I'm hoping they will come up with some sort of fix in the future.
808 said:
It looks as if i am stuck here in the house until i have to go out plowing snow later in the day. (plowing snow = pushing gold dust). I have not checked to see if i can set my TS 55R to cut accurate bevels yet. It was a PITA to hold the saw to the guide rail with my ATF 55. I just figured to have the same problem with the TS55R. I had no problems the few times I cut a bevel with the ATF, but decided, after learning of the problem described in this discussion, to keep the old saw. I think I will try, while waiting for the gold dust to pile up, to make a couple of cuts at 45º bevel.
So far, i have been going by what others have been reporting. I remember some, in the past have related that they finally could get the saw to cut at 45º but then could not get any other bevel setting to work. Really not the type of reports we usually get about other Festoys. I have several (???
)scraps in the shop and I need to get rid of so I can move around [eek].I will report back when i have tried.
Tinker
So far, i have been going by what others have been reporting. I remember some, in the past have related that they finally could get the saw to cut at 45º but then could not get any other bevel setting to work. Really not the type of reports we usually get about other Festoys. I have several (???
)scraps in the shop and I need to get rid of so I can move around [eek].I will report back when i have tried.Tinker
Stephen B
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2013
- Messages
- 2,749
Edward A Reno III said:
[size=14pt] I too follow the back to front method, but also support the motor housing with a hand underneath between it and the base plate before I tighten the front. [size=16pt] Otherwise the gauge pointer can still dip before front is tightened. [size=14pt]Also if the work is supper critical, cross check with small square after disconnecting power and lowering the blade.
FinishingCanuck
Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2014
- Messages
- 103
rst said:
You had to glue a shim to a $750Cad saw to make it work right?
I was the quickest, easiest, and permanent way to solve the problem. I own most of the tools known to modern man and quite a few most modern men do not know of and I have modified almost all of them to work to my specs. I'm comfortable with electronics, wood, plastic and metalworking, so modifying the saw was no big deal. I also adjusted the blade so it was parallel to the base...this was a recon saw but looked brand new.
rst said:
I've read on here that the blade isn't supposed to be parallel to the base. The factory sets a slight toe in on the leading edge, can't remember the exact reasoning, but it is supposed to be slightly askew from the edge of the saw.
As for the OP's issue, can't help much. I'm busy trying to figure out my Kapex issues.....lol
FinishingCanuck
Member
- Joined
- May 22, 2014
- Messages
- 103
Johnny5 said:
That can't possibly be true. Most likely just another fanatic lying to you and themselves about a faulty saw
ear3
Member
That would regularly show up on the end of the cut if that were the case, provided you didn't push the saw all the way past the workpiece, which is often the case if you only have a few inches overhang of rail at the end of the cut). This is exactly what happened to me the first few times I tried to cut with the 55, before I knew about the adjustment issues. I set it to what I thought was 45, but when I looked at the cut, on the final 2 inches the wood jutted out slightly from under the splinterguard and was frayed -- it looked almost as if the saw had started veering to the right. What was wrong of course was that the front of the saw -- without the benefit of a positive stop -- was at something like 45.5 or 46 degrees, while the back of the saw was at true 45, so it had been able to correct the excess angle for most of the cut, but not the last couple of inches. I thought I was going crazy when it kept on happening, but then I checked into the FOG and realized what was up...
Johnny5 said:
FinishingCanuck said:
Yes, that is the correct adjustment for the saw. It is well documented in the supplemental manual.
Supplemental Manuals
Seth
Tinker,
Are you using a Mac by chance? If so I think that the issue might be with the way that Safari is interacting with it. Go to Rick's website and when you get to the manual right click on it (or two finger click) and download and save the file. Then open that file on your computer. I suspect you might have more luck.
Let me know if that helps. I can also email you a copy of the one's that you need.
Peter
Are you using a Mac by chance? If so I think that the issue might be with the way that Safari is interacting with it. Go to Rick's website and when you get to the manual right click on it (or two finger click) and download and save the file. Then open that file on your computer. I suspect you might have more luck.
Let me know if that helps. I can also email you a copy of the one's that you need.
Peter
ear3
Member
I had a similar problem -- though I'm using Chrome. The simple solution was just to download it and open it up through Acrobat/Adobe Reader, rather than try to view it through one of the browser windows.
Tinker said:
Peter Halle said:
Yes, i am using a mac.
So far, all of the manuals i have needed I haveha my daughter go to rick's site, she downloads and sends to me for me to print.
She has recently switched to mac for her personal computer, so I am not sure if she will be able to do that now.
Of course, both of our kids are older than I, so they are much smarter about these computer things. If all else fails, we all go to our 16 yr old grandson. He hasn't been around long enough to get his head all cluttered up with distractions. :
Thanks for the offer Peter. I will keep you in mind. Once grandson gets his drivers license, he will become quite useless, i am sure.
that is when we will all need help.Tinker
If these are pdf files I had similar problems with a MacAir. When downloading pdf files, they cannot be saved via the File>Save As menu choice in Safari. If that is used, they will not open again. After downloading and opening a pdf from the Download folder (if that is where you download your files to), put the cursor toward the bottom of the screen and several buttons will appear. One is a Save button. Another is a Print button. Using these will permit you to reopen the file later with either Preview or Acrobat. I don't know why i works this way but it's just another instance of Apple and Acrobat(pdf) files not really working well together I guess.
grbmds said:
After the exchange between Peter and myself, I went to Rick's site. I have the site saved on my desktop as an alias so i can get to it any time. Sorry, i don't think of the site name right away, but that can be quite common with me. I tried to bring up the page for Domino which i have already printed out anyhow. As stated above, I could get to the home page of the site, but the Domino page turned black.
I then started going thru all sorts of maneuvers to bring up the page. Finally, i switched over to Firefox and could not immediately open the page. I went thru several contortions, all of which I don't really know, they just sort of evolved, and finally i was able to open the page. I am not very good at reading and remembering specific directions, but do have fairly good abilities to follow instinct if logical. to me, computer talk does not seem to follow logic. I cannot fix it by batting away with a heavy hammer or a machine that has levers to run hydraulics. I just keep pecking away at keys until something happens, sometimes something not so good.
I have run into several other sites where the same problem has happened. I am not putting Rick, or any other sites down. grbmds has come up with a direction i have not yet seen for his problem for which i will try. He is correct about the apple & acrobat disfunction. Early on, i had gotten a message telling me acrobat was not allowing me access but showed me some sort of list whereby i could make choices and hence, be allowed. Once allowing, the entire site disappeared and the message has never come up on the screen again. grbmds is correct in that once the action has occurred, the file cannot be opened again. somehow, even when going to Firefox, it gets more difficult with each attempt. I will try grbmds' method later today.
For now, i am running late already as i have an early appointment with another that i can understand. i have to go to my dentist as her first appointment of the day. She is easy to figure out. She aims me at a chair. i sit in the chair, lean back, close my eyes. She asks me a question. i open mouth to answer. The answer never comes out as right away my mouth becomes full of unpleasant tools. None of those tools are green and blue, but damned expensive. Eventually, the tools are put away, I am given a paper cup and told to rinse. I go to the desk where i am handed a bill and another piece of paper with a date to return to get another mouthful of tools. And the cycle is repeated. That, I can figure out. Plus, the dentist is rather cute, so I don't complain ;D
Tinker
Oh, BTW, you can tell my wife about my last remark. She just laughs anyhow.
