TS55 set up from scratch?

[windmill man]

Hi

Has anyone out there got a procedure for setting up, saw alignment from scratch. ( not resetting it to another guide rail but from scratch).

A great clod-hoping tosher (clumsy painter) decided to drag my TS55 down a flight of concrete steps. It is now totally out of wack [sad] and is cutting like a %**^"%%. Checked saw and blade all ok but the alignment is pants [sad]

Thanks John

 

[Guy Ashley]

EEEKKKK!

John, you are not pretty at the best of times but I bet you communicated your displeasure with such style and grace that he thought he had wished he had taken out a funeral plan.

I am suprised I didn't hear you ripping him a new one from here!! [eek] [eek]

 

[joiner1970]

john

http://www.festoolusa.com/media/pdf/ts_55_eq_us.pdf

bloody painters

chris

 

[windmill man]

Evening Guy,

I am surprised you didn't.

He was not bothered at all.

As they say, revenge is best served cold. After I counseled him, he was not impressed. He did get a little emotional as i cut two of his "purdy" paint brushes in half.  [big grin]I can state for the benefit of other FOG members that the Kapex gives a really top class cut on brush handles. The discussion went on a little more but peace was eventually declared.

Well it was my last day there. i would like to be about when he is glossing tomorrow as it will go on like roughcast, that saw dust gets every where [smile]. They also do a bit of plastering and they are putting a gauge on a stud i put up. I have helped there efforts by adding a small coca cola bottle of urine to their gauge water. Hope they can work fast. [big grin]

Never the less i have a poorly TT55 .  [sad] HELP

 

[windmill man]

Thanks Chris,

The manual only gives you adjustment for toe in/out or matching guide rails. Mine is totally out of wack. the only thing i can think of is trial and error , to put it right . Some one might have a more scientific method.

Yep Bloody painters , he came very close to being one. He did not give a whatsit, he should not have even been there. [mad]

 

[dwh87]

Even though it was your last day there, go back tomorrow and cut up a load of mdf
Over his gloss work like you said.  [big grin]

 

[EWTHeckman]

The big question is, exactly how is the saw out of whack?

There are a bunch of set screws on the saw. For example, setting the zero for the angle adjustment, setting the depth pointer, setting the distance for the front and back of the blade (independently) relative the foot, and I think one or two others. When you're trying to get the saw back into whack, I suggest focusing on one variable at a time. (Squareness, then angle, then depth)

But, if the foot plate is no longer square, or set screws aren't able to adjust enough to correct, or other parts are bent, you will need to get new parts.

It's a shame that your Festool tech support isn't as good as ours. It's a very comforting feeling to know that if something damages my tools, I will be able to trust them to fix it right. Still, I think it might be worthwhile to call call them.

i would like to be about when he is glossing tomorrow as it will go on like roughcast, that saw dust gets every where . They also do a bit of plastering and they are putting a gauge on a stud i put up. I have helped there efforts by adding a small coca cola bottle of urine to their gauge water. Hope they can work fast.

I can certainly appreciate a desire to get back at the unthinking clod who did this, but I strongly suggest that you avoid harming the customer. Instead, you should definitely make the painter pay for the repairs. (Cutting up a few paintbrushes was a nice touch, but does hurt your ability to charge him for repairs.)

 

[EWTHeckman]

One more thought. You might also want to take a good close look at the pieces which connect the footplate to the rest of the saw. They're what allow you to set the cutting angle. They're heavy duty plastic, but a trip down some concrete stairs could have broken one or both of them. If one is broken, your saw will wander, no matter how well everything else is adjusted.

 

[windmill man]

Hi
The sole is  flat and all other setting seem to be ok . it is the toe in/out adjustment that is off . I need to know how to establish the initial alignment and then from there i can adjust the toe in/out.

Ideas anyone?

You have know idea about some of the people who masquerade as tradesmen over here. An offer to pay for any damage caused would not be forthcoming . This guy would not even mutter "sorry" This guy should not even have been in that part of the site, we think he was "Shopping" When challenged as to why he was there and that he had just dragged a £500 saw down the concrete stairs  , he just shrugged. He was dam lucky to get away with what he got.

 

[BJM9818]

It's bad enoughy when you do something stupid but some one else really pisses you off.  I know your pain. Five years ago I was helping my dumbass brother and friends give a facelift to a bar they were opening. His partner knocked my Makita 10" slider off the sawhorse. The slide was tweaked and didn't feel right. Finished the project and sent the saw to a Makita service center. They had a factory repair guy eveb look at it and said it would be to much money to repair.  

If the saw is as you say it is I would send it back to Festool and see what they have to say.

 

[EWTHeckman]

Rick Christopherson has produced some excellent supplemental manuals for various Festools:

http://www.waterfront-woods.com/festool/

The manual for the TS55 includes instructions on how to adjust the saw:

http://www.waterfront-woods.com/festool/TS_55_EQ_US.pdf

HTH

 

[ajones]

Hi
The sole is  flat and all other setting seem to be ok . it is the toe in/out adjustment that is off . I need to know how to establish the initial alignment and then from there i can adjust the toe in/out.

Ideas anyone?

You have know idea about some of the people who masquerade as tradesmen over here. An offer to pay for any damage caused would not be forthcoming . This guy would not even mutter "sorry" This guy should not even have been in that part of the site, we think he was "Shopping" When challenged as to why he was there and that he had just dragged a £500 saw down the concrete stairs  , he just shrugged. He was dam lucky to get away with what he got.

John overhang the cutting side of the track off a flat surface loosen fron and rear move saw away from spinter guard and plunge the saw
move the saw back in towards the splinter guard and then toe out the rear by the thickness of a piece of paper should be good to go

 

[tiralie]

Ideas anyone?

The only one I know is trial and error.
I would start with putting the saw on your rail with some scrap under it to raise the saw up, and then loosen the screws in front and rear hinge blocks the back and the front and with the blade lowered and the teeth lined up to touch the splinter guard push the blade against the guide and tighten the rear and front hinge block. Now that the blade is relatively straight relative to your rail you can make your toe in adjustments and do some test cuts.
I would also test for 90 degrees as well by making some test cuts and flipping the off cuts over and matching them up to the just cut side to see if there is any gap in the top.

Not sure this is the best way, but it works for me after my saw tried to escape my clutches and bounced off the floor.
Tim

 

[windmill man]

Thanks chaps.

the manual only shows how to adjust the toe in/out relative to a reliable fixed datum. I need to know how to establish a start point as the guide rail in use at the time has been cut by the out of wack saw , (splinter guard) so loosing the fixed datum.

I am considering stripping the splinter guard of the rail tightening down the rail gibs until solid. then clamping saw to rail , engaging the fast fix . then with digital gauge measuring from edge of metal rail to tooth front and back . setting this parallel, test cutting then adjusting toe in/ out. Thoughts any one?

 

[jmbfestool]

You cut his Purdy!   A painter had a Pudry!  Only ever met one painter owning a Purdy thats like Festool in paint brushes for them!     I have a few love them nice brushes  I would be upset if u cut them and im sure a painter who owns a Purdy would be VERY upset.  

JMB  

 

[Corwin]

My suggestion is to place your guide rail on a piece of sheet goods that has one straight edge, align the guide rail's splinter guard with that straight edge and clamp the rail in place.  Now you can proceed with the instructions on the bottom of page 12 of the supplemental manual linked to above.

 

[tiralie]

the manual only shows how to adjust the toe in/out relative to a reliable fixed datum. I need to know how to establish a start point as the guide rail in use at the time has been cut by the out of wack saw , (splinter guard) so loosing the fixed datum.

Now you tell us  [big grin] [big grin]

I am considering stripping the splinter guard of the rail tightening down the rail gibs until solid. then clamping saw to rail , engaging the fast fix . then with digital gauge measuring from edge of metal rail to tooth front and back . setting this parallel, test cutting then adjusting toe in/ out. Thoughts any one?

Sounds like a plan.
Let us know how you get on.
Tim

 

[windmill man]

Thanks chaps,

Because the splinter strip is no longer a reliable refference. feel i need to refference off the metal of the rail. Because as it stands now i do not know if i have to move toe in or heel out to correct the poor cut.

JMB oh he was upset but not as much as i was. thats what you get for being a 8888. Cut brushes

You guys type to fast  [big grin] i am here typing with one finger doing an impression of a woodpecker on speed [big grin]

 

[EWTHeckman]

It seems to me that the exact distance between the aluminum portion of the rail and the blade only really matters if you're also using other saws on the same guide rail or this saw on other rails.

If you're using another saw too, replace the splinter guard, cut it with the other saw, and use it as the reference. If you have a friend with a TS, you could get their help if you really, really want it "just so."

If you're using other rails, use one of them to reset your saw.

Otherwise, just pick a distance and set it there. You'll still get consistent cuts.

For the record, my freshly cut splinter guard is a hair over 2 mm from the aluminum.

 

[GhostFist]

Seriously what is with painters? nearly had my systainers hosed down with blue paint on friday. How about a warning? luckily i was just going to grab something from my kit as they were just starting to spray. I would have been changing their flesh tones to black and blue had they given it a full go.