Festool Ts55 Where Have I Been??

mikeybobo

I saw another post today about the dewalt plunge saw, and saw people talking about the festool, so I looked it up. I cant believe I havent seen one of these before, they are awsome looking. I'm going to be building my own kitchen cabinets in about 6 months or so, and wanted to get any feedback from anyone who has owned/used these. The only material I would ever probobly use it on would be 3/4 thick max, so I was thinking the ts55 depending on the feedback I get about them. How accurate are they? In their vidio, it looked like the edge of the guide is excactly where the blade cuts, is that correct? I dont see how it could not have a space which it probobly does I think. Are they really that solid of a tool, no variations (movement in the guide, ect.?) Do the guide connectors make a solid connection between 2 guides, or should you just buy the longer guide that you need, the 106" to cut 8' sheet goods for example. I dont know where I've been, but they look like they sure would beat my bosch table saw to build my cabinets.

A W Smith

the first pass you make with a festool trims the edge of the rubber to the blade edge. So yes the cut will be exactly at the rubber guide edge. you will probably never need the larger saw. You will love this setup.

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PrecisionFloors

They are extremely accurate. Worth every penny spent. If all you will be cutting is 3/4 the 55 will be plenty. There are adjustments to tighten the saw up onto the guide rail so there is NO slop. Get the largest guide rail you can for in shop use and smaller ones with connectors for field use. I just used mine today on some solid oak stair treads.....like buttah baby! Bevels are a freakin snap, waaay easier than negotiating sheet goods through a damn tablesaw by yourself.

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Dan_Public

Mikey,

Festool tools in general are very good. In most tool categories, Festool tools are close to or at the top of the heap. While other companies rank highly ins some categories and lower in others, Festool makes consistently great tools across their line. They are the rare company that make tools that actually perform like the advertising literature claims.

Extremely accurate. Recently, I used mine to rip up a bunch of 3/8 and 3/4 ply (two layers with all sheets offset) for a bathroom sub-floor. Not much of a challenge except that I wanted ALL of the sheets to be laid out with 1/8" between them. ALL were square and with 1/64" of what I planned. (OK, maybe I'm exagerating a little. But there was no noticable difference in the gaps.)

The cuts are close to splinter free. The rail splinter guard helps does that on the inside, while the saw's green splinter guard helps on the outside.

I typically use the 28 and 48 tooth blade. With the 48 tooth blade, the results are close to being ready for glue-up.

As Al Smith pointed out, your first task with a new guide rail (or after replacing the rubber splinter guard) is to trim it with your saw. You've effective created a zero-clearance plate for your blade. That is exactly where your blade hits the wood.

With the green outside splinter guard, again your first task is to cut it with the blade. This makes it zero clearance on the outside.

One minor issue is that the rough cut 12 or 14 tooth blades have a slightly wider kerf. If you switch blades between say a 12 tooth blade and a 28 tooth blade, you'll notice that the 12 tooth blade has trimmed your splinter guards (saw and rail) to the wider kerf.

To solve this, you can limit yourself to the narrow kerf blades, or you can get extra splinter guards and rails for the times when you use the wider kerf blades. Not a big issue and there's multiple solutions for it, especially since you will probably never use anything but the same-kerf 28 or 48 tooth blades for sheet goods.

Festools in general are very solid. Far more solid than most other tools.

The guide rails typically don't move when laid on top of sheet goods because they have a sticky friction strip on the bottom. You have to lift them slightly to move them.

For extreme tolerances, you can clamp them to the work piece using one of several Festool clamps and suction cups (for melamine, etc) specifically made to work with the guide rails.

The answer is "Yes, but...". I have two 55" rails that I connect together. When you connect two guide rails, most people use a 4-6' straight edge to align them. This is pretty fast and easy, but some people don't like it. Depending on how you align them, there can be a slight bump where they connect.

Neither of these are big issues to me, but whether they are important to you will depend on a couple of factors: 1) Whether you need portability and 2) how much you use the saw to cut sheet goods.

In my case, I haven't cut sheet goods that often, so connecting two rails together isn't a problem for me. OTOH, within about three months, I'll be cutting a lot more Baltic birch and other ply. And I found a place to store a longer rail. So, I'll probably get at 106" rail.

For breaking down sheet goods, a TS55 is a far better option than a table saw, IMO. I just toss some 2" thick foam insulation on the floor, flop down the ply, lay my guide rail on top, and cut. Some people build a simple, portable cutting table and then lay the ply on top of that. On the Festool Owners Group site (www dot festoolownersgroup dot com), there are several threads that cover this topic.

Finally, I'd say that a tablesaw is still better for ripping multiple, narrow strips quickly. You can do it with a Festool saw, but it's slower. I'm looking at maybe a small portable myself - maybe a Bosch 4100 or Makita.

Besides the Festool Owners Group, Brice Burrell (a Finish Carpenter) started a nice website that covers a lot of Festool topics. He uses a combo of video, pictures, drawings and animated drawings to illustrate concepts. His website is www dot burrellcustomcarpentry dot com. Check out page 10 of his MFS review (main page --> Accessories Index --> The MFS).

Regards,

Dan.