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Festool TS 55R EBQ-Plus Plunge Saw

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After reading Roberts thread on the Aldi track/plunge saw and following the link to Peter Millards series on track saws I'm seriously considering spending the extra and buying the festool. It will save me the space and money I would be using to buy a decent table saw (it would only be a site one), I have a number of projects at home I can use it for as well as other reasons.

The best prices I have seen are this from screwfix:(£419)

https://www.screwfix.com/p/festool-ts-5 ... lsrc=aw.ds

and this one from Axminster(£450)

https://www.axminster.co.uk/festool-ts- ... w-ax875885

I would also then need to buy track rails . There was a link in Roberts thread to a kit from Evolution on Amazon , 2x 1.4 rails, clamps and bag for £72. Will these work with the festool or am I just as well buying festool?

Any where else I should look for tool?

Thanks
 
Buy second hand on eBay!!

I got a second hand TS75 (the big brother) in good nick for £330! They are always for sale on there.
 
N&B power tools are Festool specialists, they have the saw combo you mention for £420 also. I’ve had all my Festool gear from them, great delivery and service.
 
Personally if you’re wanting in part to use the track saw in place of a table saw I would be looking at the Bosch or Mafell, I have a Festool TS55 & the tracks biggest failing is the clamping distance from the cut to the centre of the clamp which is 128mm. The Bosch & Mafell is 21mm a massive difference meaning with either of these you can clamp the track to far smaller sections of timber.

The ts55 is fine for cutting faced boards though the Mafell is better at this as it has a scribing feature, also the blade change is considerably easier, & whilst it doesn’t have a riving knife I’ve never had an issue with with that.

The only advantage I’ve found with the ts55 over the Mafell in all the time I’ve had them is when making rough cuts where I don’t use the clamps the Festool track provides more grip but as it’s very rare I cut without clamping this isn’t really an issue for me.
I also add as a safety tip the only time I’ve had blade come in contact with track was when I was using the saw without clamping the track, it’s not a pleasant experience so I don’t tend to use the track unclamped unless I have no other option
 
If you decide to go for the festool and want some clamps I will happily sell you mine because unlike doug I never use them. Admittedly I do have a panel saw, but even ripping 8x4 panels I never bother.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
Doug - yes I'm goign down the track saw route instead of having a table saw. I already have a decent compund mitre and am going to complete the cutting tools in y workshop with a track saw and a bandsaw.

As per the thread I've been looking at the festool and like the look. The Mafel I've just been looking into and looks good , motor more poowerful for about £600 I think you get 2 x1500 tracks with clamps and bag along with the saw, I suppose by the time you've bought the saem sort of kit the festool price will be near to that?

The only concern I have about the Mafel(apart from price!) is the lack of a front handle, just looks a bit awkward tto handle in the videos I've seen.

I'm planning on buying the small Titan bandsaw and upgrading the blade and fence. Hopefully that mix should cover all my cutting requirements?
 
tabs":7bjk1upn said:
Riving knife?

Whats the purpose of this?
Click to expand...
Riving knives are there to prevent kickback which happens when the material you are cutting pinches the back of the blade due to internal stresses. Less common in man made boards but can still happen.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for the info.

Going to be ordering the saw this week but still not fully made up my mind although I'm leaning towards the Mafel as it has the more powerful motor and does scribing cuts. Also the package I'm looking at does 2 x 1600 rails with clamps and a spare saw blade for £515 which seems a good deal? Similar package for the Festool is about £100 cheaper but only has 1400 rails. I'm still concerned about the lack of a second handle on the Mafel, has this been a problem for anyone who has the Mafel?
 
tabs":2f0i28mh said:
Thanks for the info.

Going to be ordering the saw this week but still not fully made up my mind although I'm leaning towards the Mafel as it has the more powerful motor and does scribing cuts. Also the package I'm looking at does 2 x 1600 rails with clamps and a spare saw blade for £515 which seems a good deal? Similar package for the Festool is about £100 cheaper but only has 1400 rails. I'm still concerned about the lack of a second handle on the Mafel, has this been a problem for anyone who has the Mafel?
Click to expand...


Two 1400 rails are fine for a sheet of 8 x 4.

I reckon a second handle is hard to beat TBH. Much better control.
 
I had to go and look where the second handle on the TS55 is. I don't think I have ever used it! When running on the track there is no need to provide any directional control. I often use it left handed, depending which side the waste is on, without any problems.
 
Quiet honestly I hadn’t noticed the lack of handle :shock: clearly not a biggy for me.

What I would say on the tracks is the connectors for the Festool are pretty poor, most folks I know who have the ts55 end up buying the 2.7m or 3m track I certainly did.
The Mafell/ Bosch track connector is far superior & locks with a simple 1/4 turn of 4 cams & both tracks are perfectly inline, I’m sure there will be a you tube video of it well worth looking at.

The big advantage of have a simple yet very accurate joining system is I don’t have to lug around a long length of track
 
I agree with Kevin. While it's clearly handy (no pun intended) I have probably only ever used it once and that was just to see whether I needed to use it.

If the rails are clamped down and you adjust the cams on the base of the saw to remove slop then there's no need for two hands. Unless you have grip issues, then I could see if being handy (pun again!).
 
For narrow boards if you cut to width before you cut to length is it possible to screw those festool tracks to the wood? Then trim off the screw holes when you cut to length.
 
I agree with Mark about the poor joining roods on the Festool tracks. They do work accurately but they are a bit of a pain to fit as you need just the right size screwdriver and the screws are sometimes a bit stiff. I have ended up with three tracks joined together which was a bit difficult turning it over for the screws on the bottom.

I have never used the Mafell so cannot comment on their version.
 
There's a great side by side review of the mafell and festool, on youtube on a channel called "Skill Builder". Well worth watching.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
 
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