I've had my TS60 for several months, upgrading from my third worn-out TS55. Here's my take so far if this helps;
1 - It's a truly lovely saw. There's a very perceptible feel of increased power right out of the box, and although I'm not convinced that an 0.4mm reduction in blade kerf makes that much real-world difference, it definitely doesn't struggle as much when making rip cuts in harder material.
2 - It's way, way smoother and quieter than the TS55. As mentioned above, I've had three, and they all sounded like someone stirring a bucket of nails.
3 - Although a 5mm increase in cut depth may not seem like much - take a look at the original TS60 thread, where I posted some pictures of a countertop replacement job I'd done which involved a 45-degree waterfall bevel at one end of the run. The TS55's bevel cut depth wasn't quite enough, leading to a time-consuming fix- so those few extra mm sure come in handy when you need them.
4 - It feels more robust than the TS55. I can't explain exactly why - it just does. A little more like a football player, rather than a ballerina. The TS55 often felt like that it was right on the edge of its performance envelope somehow, and although I've never had a single site failure since buying my first one in 2004, the new machine doesn't give me 'the fear' in the same way as the old ones often did. It also seems to sit more solidly on the rail.
5 - I absolutely LOVE the fact that the saw will sit on its side whilst changing the blade. 19 years doing a 3-handed balancing act was enough for me. The price of OEM blades is looney-tunes though, and I'm eagerly anticipating good aftermarket ones becoming available. Since I can often wear the edge right off a TS55 blade inside a week, you'll understand why the 160 x 2.2 Trend ones ($13 a pop, and no perceptible difference in cut quality or longevity) were so appealing to me.
6 - Although some guys on here have reservations about the lack of a riving knife, the anti-kickback works great. The saw stops dead its tracks with the tiniest amount of rear-end lift. I have, though, a three-decades-long habit of inserting wedges behind the cut - especially when ripping hardwood with that application's frequent release of tension in the material, and the possibility of the cut closing up on me.
7 - Only two downsides - the same ridiculous floppy hose connector (I replaced it on day #1 with a rigid aftermarket 3D printed item taken off my TS55), and the fact that I've had to modify some of my van racking to accommodate the new 'improved' Systainer3.
Apart from that - nothing. I really like it, and it's a very worthwhile upgrade. With regard to a US release date - the 110-volt version just appeared on the UK website two weeks ago. For those of you who don't know - although we run at 230V, all equipment used on construction sites over here has to run on 110v via a transformer - it's regarded as being less lethal in the event of an accidental cable cut. So the motor's ready and it's in the pipeline. I have no idea what testing and safety hoops Festool have to jump through before releasing a product in NA, but my guess is towards the end of the 3rd quarter this year.
Kevin
