TS75 not cutting straight

[racer256]

Am new with TS75 and having problems with basic cut.  Unable to cross-cut glue ready straight edge on 3" wide S4S hard maple using MFT/3 table.  Most cuts have high center (front to back) or curve at the end of the cut or bowed top to bottom.  Trying to get experience making an octagon picture frame, but can't get passed creating two pieces that have glue ready joint.  Sounds crazy given all the great reviews Festool has, so I'm guessing it's my user error.

I've done the following to eliminate my errors / mistakes after much research on-line:
- initialized table several times
- checked that TS75 blade is set to 90 degrees
- had saw and rail checked at point of purchase
- varied my speed and pressure of cut
- supported rail with boards of same hieght before and after board being cut to reduce risk of rail deflection
- dialed in saw so no slop gliding along rail
- tried using finger pressure on front left of saw to prevent deflection
- boards are S4S so pretty straight
- tried contacting Festool but has been challenging to get response

Even crazier, if pass the blade fully through the board so that the back of the blade passes the board the edge is worse than if I only allow the front of the blade to complete the cut.  I thought best practice was passing the entire blade through the cut..?

Rob

 

[Birdhunter]

Try making the first cut proud (just a little bit outside the desired length). The second cut just shaves off the excesss. The second cut should be less than the saw blade width ( just a whisker). I do this even using a very large high quality table saw with a solid jig. This method pretty much eliminates blade deflection due to grain.

 

[ear3]

Is there play in the rail at the front bracket? Many people use slop stop.

Maybe test the saw with just the rail -- no mft  -- to eliminate if it's the saw.

 

[racer256]

Birdhunter, I have tried cutting just a shave off the end too, but didn't help.  I should clarify that the error in cut is minor, but noticeable when joining.  No amount of pressure eliminates the gap.

Ed, when you say front bracket, are you referring to the pin holding the rail in MFT/3 table bracket?  If so, there is minor slop, is "slop stop" a product?

 

[McNally Family]

Birdhunter, I have tried cutting just a shave off the end too, but didn't help.  I should clarify that the error in cut is minor, but noticeable when joining.  No amount of pressure eliminates the gap.

Ed, when you say front bracket, are you referring to the pin holding the rail in MFT/3 table bracket?  If so, there is minor slop, is "slop stop" a product?

This will help them see your followup question:

[member=15289]Birdhunter[/member]
[member=37411]Edward A Reno III[/member]

 

[Corwin]

...

Even crazier, if pass the blade fully through the board so that the back of the blade passes the board the edge is worse than if I only allow the front of the blade to complete the cut.  I thought best practice was passing the entire blade through the cut..?

Rob

This makes it sound as if your keeper is to the right of the cut, rather than the piece under the guide rail. I say this because the saw 'should' be set from the factory with a slight toe-in attitude, thus the back of the blade should only cut into the piece to the right of the cut -- usually the off-cut. If the trailing edge of your saw is cutting into the piece under the rail, then you may need to adjust the saw's toe-in.

Should your saw's toe-in setting be out, your saw may not track as it should.

 

[sancho57]

You didnt say whether or not you adj the gibs to fit the saw to the track. Thats one of the first things you should do.

 

[Birdhunter]

Question, if you did a test cut at 90 degrees through a maybe 5" wide 3/4" thick soft wood like pine, would you see a perfectly straight line cut on both the cut off and the keeper pieces. I am assuming the keeper piece is under the rail during the cut.

I'm still kind of stuck on the idea the combination of hard wood, maple, and the cut angle may be causing either blade deflection or moving the rail slightly.

I am assuming you have made test cuts without using the MFT and it's rail to verify the saw is cutting properly.

Also, the SlopStop gadget really does work and it's cheap.

 

[DrD]

[member=62961]racer256[/member]

Good Morning,

You asked if Slop Stop is a real product; it is.  I do not know all of the places where it is available, But, I got mine at Tool Nut.  Log on to their website and use Search function, typing in Slop Stop.  They show it this morning for $19.95.  It is well worth the price.

Keep us posted.

 

[racer256]

You didnt say whether or not you adj the gibs to fit the saw to the track. Thats one of the first things you should do.

I did.

 

[racer256]

Question, if you did a test cut at 90 degrees through a maybe 5" wide 3/4" thick soft wood like pine, would you see a perfectly straight line cut on both the cut off and the keeper pieces. I am assuming the keeper piece is under the rail during the cut.

I'm still kind of stuck on the idea the combination of hard wood, maple, and the cut angle may be causing either blade deflection or moving the rail slightly.

I am assuming you have made test cuts without using the MFT and it's rail to verify the saw is cutting properly.

Also, the SlopStop gadget really does work and it's cheap.

Thanks so much for the tips.
The keeper piece is under rail.  I will try with pine.  I will try with rail only.  Not sure how eliminating the MFT would effects things but is worth a try.  I am going to purchase the SlopStop.  I have also tried clamping keeper piece.

 

[racer256]

...

Even crazier, if pass the blade fully through the board so that the back of the blade passes the board the edge is worse than if I only allow the front of the blade to complete the cut.  I thought best practice was passing the entire blade through the cut..?

Rob

This makes it sound as if your keeper is to the right of the cut, rather than the piece under the guide rail. I say this because the saw 'should' be set from the factory with a slight toe-in attitude, thus the back of the blade should only cut into the piece to the right of the cut -- usually the off-cut. If the trailing edge of your saw is cutting into the piece under the rail, then you may need to adjust the saw's toe-in.

Should your saw's toe-in setting be out, your saw may not track as it should.

You bring up a great point.  Back of blade is cutting a visible amount off keeper piece, left of blade.  So, I will have saw checked for proper toe-in.  Not sure if that's something I can do, but will check manual.

 

[Corwin]

You bring up a great point.  Back of blade is cutting a visible amount off keeper piece, left of blade.  So, I will have saw checked for proper toe-in.  Not sure if that's something I can do, but will check manual.

Sounds like your saw has a toe-out attitude. Rick Christopherson's supplemental manual(s) may be of help. Check out page 22 of his TS55REQ manual, and page 12 of his TS55EQ manual for instructions on setting the toe-in -- your TS75 will adjust the same. See his manuals at http://www.waterfront-woods.com/festool/

You might need to modify the procedure of setting your saw's toe-in somewhat. If the splinter strip has been cut too close to the edge of the guide rail, or, since your cuts weren't coming out good, the cut edge of your splinter strip may also be less than straight, and your splinter strip may not be a good reference when adjusting your saw.  In these cases, you may want to locate the edge of a workpiece beneath the rail using the metal edge of the guide rail, as opposed to the splinter strip, as your guide -- you could set a combination square to a distance away from the metal edge you want the cut line, and place your workpiece accordingly.

You will also want to consider the splinter strip on the guide rail(s) that have been used with this saw. After you have the saw adjusted better, you may want to remove the splinter strip and reinstall it out a little further so you can give it/them a fresh cut.