TS55 v TSC55…?

[constuctionman]

Hi All,

Im taking the plunge (ha ha) from Makita to festool and wanted a little advice. I have been using all the cordless tools from Makita all 18v and love the cordless simplicity hence the question as the title says.

My questions are:
Has anyone used the cordless TSC55 and found it heavy?
I see its only half a kilo heavier than the plug in version. Is it powerful enough?

Is the power as good as the electronic version?
Im sure it is.

Are there any disadvantages of the battery version?

Im buying quite a few tools to replace my Makita range so any advice would be much appreciated. List included.

Chop Saw:Kapex KS 120 E GB.
Plunge Saw: TSC 55/TS55 Plunge cut saw.
Jig Saw: Carvex PSBC 420 Li 18
Guide Rail FS 3000/2 £259.56
Lever Clamp FS-HZ 160 £48.12
Table and side extensions
Stand UG Kapex
Festool Crown Stop
Router: OF 1010 GB 1/4
Drill: T18 impact drill driver
FS rapid clamp

N

 

[D1llig4f]

I can't help you much on your question as I don't have the tsc55 just the ts55 and I couldn't do without it.

Reading through your list I just wanted to point out that the crown stops won't work with the ug stand. The alternative is to purchase brackets from multiblades.com http://multiblades.com/kapex/ka-ugbracket.html

These connect to the ug wings and imo is a much better solution than the crown stops as it provides support across the workpiece.

 

[Birdhunter]

Please clarify the comment about the crown stops not working with the UG stand.

 

[D1llig4f]

The crown stop and the ug wings both clamp onto the v groove on the kapex. If you have the ug wings installed you are unable to use the crown stop or vice versa.

 

[Kev]

The TSC is noticeably bulkier than the TS (but hey ... no cords!)

The TSC will chew through the batteries, but it does have heaps of power - I was very pleasantly surprised.

 

[mac sparrow]

I opted for the TSC55; this was from a position of not having a circular saw period.  With hindsight, it would have been a better idea to have gone for the TS55.

How do you intend to use the saw?
Might sound silly but if you always plan to use the saw with a dust extractor then it makes perfect sense to go with the TS55 because you are already dealing with an "umbilical chord" so by adding an extension chord along with the dust extractor hose, it's no big deal.  You can use insulation tape or something to attach the cable to the dust extractor hose thus limiting the entanglement issue.

If you plan to use the saw as a genuinely cordless device by utilising the dust bag then the TSC55 is the one to go for.

Having had time to digest my purchase and use the TSC55, I can see it's a wonderful saw that cuts just as well as the TS55.  If you/I intend on having only one circular saw then the TS55 makes more sense - the TSC55 is great as an addition to the TS55 for tradesmen especially who work with wood all day every day and need to make quick cuts in a loft or to do a small job in a house to save lugging the dust extractor inside.

Much the same way owning a Senco fusion gun is great for small jobs to save lugging a compressor to the job but I'm less sure you'd want it as your primary nailer, maybe if you had multiple batteries it becomes feasible but it's yet another battery platform.

The TSC55 does eat batteries in my experience and you need 4 to use it comfortably all day.  My comment is based on cutting 18mm plywood and wishing I had 2 more batteries.

Another consideration is if you plan to buy into the Festool 18v battery platform?  If the answer is no perhaps the TS55 is a better choice but if you plan to buy a couple of 18v Festool drills then it might help your decision because like with your existing Makita tools you can cycle the batteries between any of the tools in that range.

No one solution, have a think about how you intend on using the saw.

Thank you

 

[constuctionman]

Hi All,

Thank you for all your helpful replies.

I do intend to buy into the cordless Festool range (see list) so the cordless saw is right up my street. I work at the moment with the Makita 18v cordless range and find them really good but looking forward to the Festool range. A couple of mates that work in the area have the Festool range of tools and they used to use all the Makita range and have never looked back.

Having trouble in the UK to get all the kit I want…ill keep you posted.

Items wanted:
Chop Saw:Kapex KS 120 E GB
Table and side extensions
Stand UG Kapex
Plunge Saw: TSC 55
Jig Saw: Carvex PSBC 420 Li 18
Guide Rail FS 3000/2
Lever Clamp FS-HZ 160 £48.12
Router: OF 1010 GB 1/4
Drill: T18 impact drill driver
FS rapid clamp

 

[neeleman]

On the items wanted list there is a T 18 impact drill driver.
I think you mean T 18+3 drill driver. And that is a very fine dill but NOT an impact driver!

Festool did have an TI 15 Impact driver but that's recently been discontinued.
And the Festool PDC 18/4 is only a light percussion drill.

We are all waiting on a TI 18 Impact Drill but may be that's wishful thinking?

 

[fshanno]

One of these days one of the big tool makers is going to break down and offer a battery emulator for their cordless tool line.  Plug in the emulator and the coal pile down at the power plant becomes your battery.  That's a lot of amp hours. 

That would pretty much make your question disappear.  You buy the cordless of course.  Heck, Festool could offer the emulator and simply stop making the corded saw.

I'm surprised some enterprising outfit hasn't done this already.  They could offer a unit for each of the major cordless tool manufacturers.  It's not trivial but certainly doable.  I can see someone like Fluke in that game.  Their parent, Tektronix has all sorts of heavy weight capability in it's various companies and huge stable of patents to boot.

 

[Mavrik]

Shew. That's a good idea. Isn't it as simple as providing an 18v DC source? Having a unit shaped like a battery, but actually a power supply with a plugit socket in it

 

[adcolor]

Now that's funny.  An emulator.

Coming from a different direction I did just that a few years ago.  The idea came from an Instructables article.
I had an old Porter-Cable 12v drill (remember Magnaquench?).  Great in its day, but not worth new batteries. I took and old battery pack, a ~20' extension cord, and a connector for the trailer port on my truck.  Worked great for drilling holes in a new fence I was putting up.  It works for about any DC powered tool, as the truck supplies more current than any of the battery packs do.

It's not a large stretch to make a battery pack with a rectifier and voltage regulator that would work.  Might be a bit heavier, but a lot cheaper than battery packs when you need extended run time.

Oops-- there you have it!
Until one of the major tool brands does it, then within a year they all will.

 

[David Miles]

Hi, I also have a mix of Makita and Festool, a TS55REQ and a Makita SP6000 I like the Makita saw much better it is smoother, easy to use, more power, to me all round better, 1mm score cut very good, Better tracks and the bag is very much better padded and tougher.  Dust collection is also good. It is good to have a mix of tools. Regards.

 

[ach_78]

Since that's a TS55 v TSC55 thread, I would be curious to learn about the TSC55 motor noise versus the funky TS55 "rattle" noise.

Is the TSC55 sound smoother ? Louder or softer ?

 

[Mavrik]

The "rattle" noise isn't a problem; it's the speed control in action. Having said that, because it "feels" the same as something broken it is hard to persuade the brain that something isn't broken

 

[Larso]

I have both and would buy both again but the batteries dont last as long as they should imo and it can bog down in a cut pretty easily.No big deal but worth considering and if you can only have one or the other i would stick with the plugged version.
I only carry the cordless in my work truck and it has more than earnt its space in a pretty short time.

I also use the Makita  18V cordless range and would not be without them,the new brushless tools are excellent.You can even get an adapter for the circular saw to run on the track which is really handy.
The brushless jigsaw is equal to or better than festool one.I have both and like them both but if i had to choose one the makita would be the one.

 

[constuctionman]

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Interesting that you have both Makita and Festool Larso, The Makita tools are very good too…Ill let you all know how I get on. Still waiting for the order [huh]

 

[constuctionman]

On the items wanted list there is a T 18 impact drill driver.
I think you mean T 18+3 drill driver. And that is a very fine dill but NOT an impact driver!

Festool did have an TI 15 Impact driver but that's recently been discontinued.
And the Festool PDC 18/4 is only a light percussion drill.

We are all waiting on a TI 18 Impact Drill but may be that's wishful thinking?

Thanks for your reply. Yes I did think this was an impact driver with in the drill package. Wonder why they discontinued the T15…?

 

[tino_ale]

Hi all,

The TSC 55 has now been out for a while, I'd be interested to have feedback on side by side comparison between the cordless and the corded version (TS 55 REBQ)

- is the cordless version as powerfull as the corded (when two 18V batteries are in)
- does it sound different, better, quieter ? (maybe because of the brushless motor)
- is the electronic brake as efficient as on the corded version
- how does the bag dust collection compares to a dust extractor connected to the corded version

I have a TS55REBQ and might have an opportunity to upgrade to the cordless version and I would be using it with the dust bag. I would like to know exactly what I might regret...

Thanks

 

[nclemmons]

Can't answer your power question.  But I can answer my experience with the bag.

I have the bag retrofit option on my TS55 and find that it does a good job.  Not quite as much collection as a dust collector, but much better than no bag or collector at all.  I do like the flexibility of not having the hose in the way on some cuts, however. 

 

[Holmz]

The "rattle" noise isn't a problem; it's the speed control in action. Having said that, because it "feels" the same as something broken it is hard to persuade the brain that something isn't broken

The Iranians thought the same with their stuxnet virus.
It doss not sound great to rattle the speed.