Vecturo: is there a blade for long cuts in plywood?

[Rsaygv]

I tried the round wood blade(500139) on my brand new Vecturo to attempt a long vertical cut through plywood subfloor under a toe kick. I was unable to cut 2" without being enveloped in a cloud of smoke. I tried very shallow cuts and tried setting the speed on 1. I got less smoke but I could never get it to cut without smoke. The smoke made it impossible to stay in the room. Festool says this about the 500139: "Use for long, straight cuts, or for making cut-outs in installed flooring." I thought that was exactly what I was doing.

I need to make a flush or near flush cut,  about 16 feet long, through 18mm plywood, along a toe kick without damaging the toe kick board. I have 3-4" of vertical clearance under the toe kick.  Am I using the wrong blade or the wrong tool altogether? I'm pretty disappointed in the performance and I hope somebody has a better suggestion.

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This is what I envisioned. My picture would have looked just like this, except with a billowing cloud of smoke coming from around the blade and nearly obscuring the Vecturo. That probably wouldn't have been as good for marketing purposes though.

 

[tjbnwi]

My guess is under the toe kick the blade is bending and binding.

I would try a short straight (500128) set on the saw at an so the saw body is horizontal and the skewed down about 30º.

Tom

 

[RKA]

That blade doesn't do well with wood.  And certainly not 3/4" ply.  I tried the same with a similar fein blade on my super cut, same result even with 1/4" luan.  I would try the 500131 if you can fit it under the toe kick.  Angle the blade so the leading edge is just above the surface you're cutting and the back edge of the blade is at the depth you need.  Make the running cut that way.  Tape the toe kick to prevent the blade from marring it.  You'll still need to be careful the teeth on the leading edge of the blade don't dig into the toe kick.  Now that I think about it, a thin aluminum sheet might be better for protecting the toe kick, just do 1 ft sections at a time and reposition it as needed.

 

[Birdhunter]

When I was a Boy Scout, we were taught to make a fire by rapidly twirling a printed stick into a block of wood to create a smoking ember. The ember was transferred to tender and blown on until there was a flame. Friction was the trick.

The Vecturo creates an immense amount of friction, heat, and thus, smoke. I have had some success in cutting with the Vecturo by entering the cut, moving into the cut, and then withdrawing to let the blade cool off. Then, repeating the process.

 

[Shane Holland]

My favorite use for the round blade so far has been cutting drywall. For flooring, I think it might work ok on laminate, but not solid hardwood flooring. But, I admit I haven't tried.

I'd go with Tom's recommendation of the 500128, or my recommendation which would be the plunge blade 500129.

Either way, use it angled like Tom suggested.

If you want a second opinion, give my friend Brent a call at Festool. He'll give you excellent advice, and it's free.

Shane

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

For the task you are describing, you will ultimately be best served by cutting most of the subfloor with a toe kick saw (the Crain 775 works great for this), and using the Vecturo to complete the cuts at the ends.

Most rental places should have one of these little saws available.
http://www.craintools.com/saws/toe-kick-saw

 

[Crox G]

I've used the Vecturo to cut out a section of 3/4" pine tongue and groove flooring.  I ran the circular blade along a batten, taking a shallow cut, then a deeper cut, and finally switched to a universal blade, following the groove, for a faster cut to final depth. You can use the depth stop to keep from going too deep. 

In addition to what birdhunter suggests, one of the keys for minimizing smoke is to give the sawdust a place to go, rather than trapping it under the cutting edge of the blade.  For the circular blade, I had the best luck rocking it slightly back and forth.

 

[Rsaygv]

The Toe Kick Saw looks perfect for my application. I can't believe I didn't think of Crain. I use my Crain 825 quite often and I should have known they made something to solve this problem.

I think I will still call Brent tomorrow and get his input to give closure to the original topic of this thread. I may suggest that they change the 500139 description to: Use for long, straight cuts, or for making cut-outs in drywall [wink]

 

[Rsaygv]

Okay, I talked with Brent this morning and he agreed that the round blade would not function in plywood, especially 18mm thick plywood. He felt that the glues between the layers were probably the source of the smoke. His best suggestion was the 500132, used at an angle as suggested above. We did discuss the fact that finding a nail would probably mean the end of this blade (or any other wood only blade), which is not a surprise.
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