Beginner plunge saw / track saw tips!
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- čas přidán 5. 06. 2024
- In this video I'm giving you six and a half random Festool track saw / plunge saw tips, all based around my Festool TS55 track saw. These are from the perspective of a relatively new track saw user so if you've been using one for years you'll probably already know most of these but hopefully you can still pick up something useful from it and, as an added bonus, you get to see my lovely face. These are mostly relevant to Festool plunge saw users but should also apply to other brands such as Makita, Dewalt etc. If you've got any extra tips or tricks pop them in the comments! Thanks for watching, please like, subscribe and share! For more ramblings follow my Insta @GosforthHandyman. Cya!
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Festool TS55 REBQ-Plus Track Saw (240V): gosforthhandyman.com/uk-links... (UK)
Festool FS1400/2 Guide Rail: gosforthhandyman.com/uk-links... (UK)
Festool FS800/2 Guide Rail: gosforthhandyman.com/uk-links... (UK)
Festool D27 x 3.5m Anti-Static Dust Hose: gosforthhandyman.com/uk-links... (UK)
Festool TS55 REQ-F-Plus USA Track Saw: gosforthhandyman.com/us-links... (US)
Festool 55" Guide Rail (FS1400): gosforthhandyman.com/us-links... (US)
Festool 32" Guide Rail (FS800): gosforthhandyman.com/us-links... (US)
Festool D27 x 3.5m Anti-Static Dust Hose: gosforthhandyman.com/us-links... (US)
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Tip #1 I learned on my first project the hard way but it’s good you covered it.
Just received my Makita track saw.......cutting templates time !👍👍👍...keep up the great vids !
# 1 Track on the keeper side of the wood
# 2 Clean tracks with air and tape
# 3 Framing square for square cuts (or I'd use a rail square, new more affordable option from Taiga Tools available -- I'll have mine tomorrow! :-) )
# 4 Keep power cables and dust hose together
# 5 Keep both sides supported (keeper and waste side)
# 6 Hang the guide rail to store it
# 7 Attach dust extraction
I'm so happy my TS 55 was delivered today and tomorrow is my birthday.
As one who is just thinking about getting a track saw, I find this very useful. Much more useful that the reviews of various brands by everybody and their mother-in-law.
I don't have a track saw (yet... so many options) but I loved your tips - clear delivery, uncomplicated explanations. Thanks
Great tips. I’m using my Bosch tracksaw for the first time today. I’ll definitely be using the advice
Recently got a TSC55 from a deal I found online. Appears to be very similar to the corded model. This video was great.
Wish I would have found this video prior to using my festool 55 for the first time. Great advice!
New subscriber dude! Nice channel, I’m in the trade and just love seeing what others are doing! Cheers pal, Marc
Welcome to the channel Marc - good to have you on board! 👍🛠
Great useful tips, thanks for sharing this with us 🙏🏼
I recently bought an 8x4 x50mm sheet of insulation board and cut on the patio now. Yes I confirm it is a great tip
Thanks a lot for this tips, they’re very useful 😁👍🏻
👍🛠
Brilliant video, thank you for sharing your tips, very helpful 😃
Great tips thank you. Best track saw please for Home garage work
Brilliant stuff GH.
Thank you so much for sharing these tips! I’ve recently bought the Festool track saw and been too scared of stuffing up to use it. These are great tips for someone like me starting out. Thank you!
here are two more tips
czcams.com/video/y1-ssqG6hd0/video.html
Just get on and use it... perhaps something small at first to get the hang of it... but as long as you store it away carefully to avoid accidental damage, you really can't ruin the tool.
@@007JHS I have now, (commented a year ago) and I love it! Much more confident of how to use it. Such a great tool to have!
@@foodislife3390 Good on you.
Have a Makita track saw and have power cord and vac hose suspended from above. The vac hose is suspended on a long arm swivel. Works well with both the short and double length tracks. Love your 6 1/2 ideas. Thank you.
Cheers Tom! 👍
.
Great tips! Thank you!
“ Risk damage to yourself and more importantly your saw.” Spoken like a true tools lover like myself. 😂
Andy, The older Festool hose with the squashy end was made like that so it could flex to fit the OVAL dust port on their router. I just got my first tracksaw ( Makita ) which is great and use an excellent Nilsik vac - the vac comes with a squashy end which goes straight into the saw. Good vid as usual. Thanks.
What's your vacuum model please?
Hi Andy. You have a new subscriber. Good job👍
As for the Festool extraction connectors, it's a simple one. Older tools and extractors (pre-2017, I think) came with that standard friction connection on both the tool and the extractor. Newer tools come with the bayonet fitting, generally if you order any new Festool (that uses extraction), it will come with a free connector thrown in, for you to replace the old friction connector on the extractor. Word is, in the trade, people are finding the new connection system more irritating than the old one!
Cheers Neil. There we go, knew someone would be a lot more knowledgeable on this than me 😀- comment pinned! My only concern with the friction one is does it not wear out over time or is that rubber fairly robust? Perhaps I should leave it plugged in and unscrew the actual connector instead... 🤔
Gosforth Handyman No, the old type fitting is way. Better, and harder wearing! It’s a nicer rubber, they’ll last forever!!
Neil Snape definitely more irritating! Glad I’m not the only one thinking this.
hm... I have bought 3 Festool machines in 2018 and 2019 - none of them came with a free connector, though (of course) all 3 have the new bayonets. And as you said, imo the new system is not a step forward
new guy here, also a handyman and have my own workshop no idea how to make video's, yours are great
Welcome to the channel! Cheers for the kind words bud! 👍🛠
The FOAM! what a brilliant idea!!!!!
I have been saving to purchase the TS55 festool, and I'm going for it now.
Awesome saw! 👍
Festool changed the fittings for the extractor hoses in late 2016/early 2017. When they upgraded the RTS/ECS/DTS sanders in an attempt stop the hoses from coming out in use. The older TS’s have a nice round barrel which is a much easier fitting for the smooth hose ends.
(Old his into new fitting is a pain!) Not sure if they still do, but many of the tools were coming out with the new type hose fittings included.
Mine must have the new fitting on the saw but old hose. I'll look out for the old style fitting for my saw as that would make much more sense. Cheers for the info.! 👍🛠
good tips ,i like to cover the side accsess port of ths saw with tape it increases the suction
👍🛠
I’ve got an older Ts55 that has the socket for the smooth hose and its so much easier and works well with the smooth adapter that I have on my nilfisk vac, also the bayonet fitting does not work well on the old Festools that have an oval dust port.
Great information. Thanks!
Thanks Andy 👍
No worries Gary! 👍
Tip #6 3/4: The Festool splinter guard fits nicely on the old Bosch FSN 70 / FSN 140 tracks as well.
I needed a replacement for mine, but the original Bosch part is no longer sold in Denmark, and I didn't want to bother with foreign web sites. I found out that the Festool guard has the same thickness (2mm) as the bosch, the only real difference is that the Festool guard is harder than the Bosch one. Oh, and the original Bosch is black rubber.
I bought a 5m package at a local hardware store for considerably less than it would have cost me to get the original.
Oh, and I have a set of Festool speed clamps in order to replace the screw type Makita ones I use now. Bosch only makes speed clamps for their new type tracks...
Very interesting and helpful. Thanks
Cheers Bulwul! 👍
You probably know that all of the Makita dust and track stuff is interchangeable with the FT stuff, but sum of the FT stuff will have to be modified to fit the Makita track. Makita stuff is much less costly than it counterparts in the FT line. DeWalt's clamps are also great to have on hand and fit the tracks of FT and Makita. Great vid. B
Great info! Yes, I'm very tempted to get some of the DeWalt clamps. They look a better design than the FT ones. 👍
I have the Makita mains track saw, it does everything that the FT does but each to their own.
Really helpful ! 👍🏻
very good explanation.. thank you..
Tip #7 tape up the hole on the side for changing the blade. This improves dust extraction just like the Mafel saw. Very important to do this if you are working with cement based products.
Tip#8 Plunge the saw before cutting into the material. This will help stop kick back and also gives a better starting cut. Buy longer tracks to do this. I recommend 3m and 1.8m tracks for sheet material.
Good tips! I use a 1.4m and 0.8m together at the moment - didn't know they did 1.8m tracks! 👍
Gosforth Handyman best to buy 2 3m tracks then cut one down to 1.8m and use the left over piece for short cuts.
Genius! 👍👍
New tools should have come with the new hose adapter. When I got my Domino, it came with a new end for my D27 hose for the CTL 26 dust extractor and that was a couple of years ago as I ordered it on my honeymoon (was on special at Axminster).
Mine was from Axminster and didn't come with one. 😢😢
I use even my festool plunch over my head.
Just make a few tiny holes in the rail, screw it on your workpeace, put on safety glasses and you can saw above your head.
But, if you do it, be careful. It is'n easy to do.
Best tip: If you're right handed, stop buying right blade track saws.
Bosch has a 7-¼" Circular saw (Plunge/track compatible) Strongarm coming to the US next year!!
I've been waiting for a larger track saw with left blade, for sooo long. I'm so grateful it's Bosch as well. Bosch has jumped up exponentially as of late.
They also sell those new connectors and all my new sanders actually came with one in the kit. Probably their way of telling me to change my hose connector :-)
Ha ha - probably! 👍
Tie power cable to dust hose with garden tree and shrub ties - vast array of options
Never considered using a vacuum cleaner as a dust extractor before...have our old one in my garage/workshop...found it fits my drop saw perfectly... Not yet bought a tracksaw...am leaning toward the budget range... the Erbauer as it has a larger diameter blade 185mm.
That's a good size, mine is the 165mm blade....it'll never be big enough of course.
@@diggerdave.6587 I did buy the Erbaur... and it has been invaluable... Soon it will be put to work again precision cutting plywood sheets to build a modular entertainment, computer storage and recharging storage and display system for our lounge room.. 4 floor to ceiling modular units that will fit together for our new look lounge that has been redecorated and has new carpets, lounge suite and soft furnishing... I'm using A B graded ply rather than mdf or veneered chipboard. I've esteimated about 6 sheets of 2.4m x 1.2m x 12mm (8' x 4' x 1/2").... so it will probably take 8...heh heh heh.. But waayy cheaper to build myself to fit the room rather than have it made or pre-made... if you could get suitable sized units.
What thickness of celotex do you use for your sacrificial support board?
Came in here cause I thought I saw Ed Norton doing a circular saw review on my TL, lol.
Hi Andy, love your videos mate. I'm about midway through a workshop build project and will be looking to kit it out at some point soon after completion. I'd like a bit of advice to help me decide what order i purchase the larger (more expensive tools). My question is what would you recommend i buy first, i'm looking at a festool track saw or a carbatec cabinet saw. My woodworking goal is to make cabinets and basic furniture at some point. Would love to have your opinion. Thanks mate.
Have you seen my recent vid on track saw vs table saw? 👍
@@GosforthHandyman I have now mate, thanks so much.
Gosforth Handyman tracksaw versus table saw
I believe the new ends are available as a replacement part. i think the site is ekat or etak from the festool site. I know the old ones were. The rubber ends don't play nicely with the saw blades. (Want to ask me how I know that?)
👍😂
Perfect timing mate! My next tool on the wish list....hopefully a Christmas present! 👍🏻 was thinking about Makita dual battery version but really want a tool for life....and am worried they’ll soon change battery design.
Cheers! 👍🛠 My track saw has to be the best purchase of the year... are Makita changing their battery design soon? Hope not! 😣
Gosforth Handyman not that I know of dude but just scared as I’m a DIY’r and have built up a healthy collection, would be a struggle to do it again. Question for you, why would you but the festool if you already have a makita? Is it flawed in some way, should I save more and buy the festool?
To be honest I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about! 😃 It's a great saw but I'd be equally happy with a Makita or Dewalt. If it was battery I'd have probably gone Makita.
Gosforth Handyman thanks for the reply mate! I’ll carry on then 👍🏻👍🏻
Festool. It's like disney started making tools (outlandishly expensive)! Ok, they have a reputation for being very precise and great tools. One day maybe I'll be able to afford their tools :-)
Thank You
good vid. have been suggesting for a while we get a track saw for our shared workshop as we don't have space for a bench saw. not sure we can stretch to a festool though. Anyone get any recommendations for a cheaper brand that still does the job ?
I really like the look of the Dewalt with the double sided track - if I was buying again it would be a serious contender. The Scheppach looks canny for the price!
hi makita sp6000 is a good saw but I have a festool ts 55R ebq now
The Makita has been on sale as a package recently in the U.S. It looks good from what I've seen. Don't know if they will do coupons around Father's Day and the holidays, but that's something else that can help.
A makita circular saw with the track adapter gives perfect cuts cheaper and can be used for other jobs as well as cutting deeper with more power. Down side is they aren't plunge saws.
The Makita SP6000J1 track saw is definitely a Plunge saw, and very well regarded in comparison to the Festool. Makita, Triton and Festool tracks are interchangeable. It's $409 US with 55" track and storage box. The 36volt cordless is $499 with saw, 2 18volt batts and dual charger, and two storage boxes, small for batts and large for saw, but no track.
Tip 6.5 - you get a new connector instead of buying a new hose. My TS55 had no bayonet connector (14 years old) and yes you can buy a connector with bayonet.
Does the track work for different models of festool track saw, like the 75, or 85
it works for every Festool/Festo saw build in the last 40 years (and Makita, Mafell etc. saws as well)
And when the splinter thingy on the track is ruined and can’t be used as a guide to line up the cut. Measure 18,5 cm back and you can line up with the back of the track.
Buy a replacement splinter guard strip and replace it instead. only costs 10-30 £ depending on track length.
This is a nice little tip.
Hi…..I have a 4 x 8 sheet of unfaced foam board insulation. Would that work for a cutting surface?
Absolutely, but wear a mask, cause gawd knows what's in it. I use soft wood panels that I found at Lowes. They're 48" x 16" and I don't bother with a mask, as my dust collection grabs the brunt of the dust. About $7 each, and they last for months.
Subbed brother 👍👍👍👊😘
Welcome to the channel bud! 👍
You can upgrade both connection ends for models until mid 2016. No need to buy a hose. Part numbers 202096 and 202346 (27mm) and 500670 (36mm). Great video, thanks!
Did you do Durham Lumiere ??
As a chippy .
No - I wasn't at Durham Lumiere! 👍
Why do you have a police truncheon on your tool wall? Great vid by the way...
I learned tip 1 the hard way :) lol
I found that keeping the air hose and the power cable together with zip ties is a recipe for catching on everything possible. I also found that cutting off the loose ends of the zip ties gives you something with an edge which goes through skin with a tearing effect :-( I'm thinking of giving gaffer tape a go.
Need one of them hose jacket things. 👍🛠
Another option are velcro ties they lay flat and are cheap on Amazon. www.amazon.co.uk/Pasow-Reusable-Fastening-Adjustable-Management/dp/B01CHT7SYW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1534973171&sr=8-10&keywords=green+velcro+cable+ties
I use strips of Velcro and they work very well. Nothing to cut or scratch like the head of a cable tie. It's also easy to move and reattach them.
Just wrap the power lead around the dust hose about five turns. Keeps them together and out of the way nothing extra to buy or snag on.
I'm so close to buying the festool track saw but just can't seem to make a decision , the problem is I already have a homemade plywood track that I use with a circular saw ( fitted with a really good freud blade ) my concern is that it wont be any better and ill have spent loads of money unnecessarily . Decisions decisions 🤔.
It's a tricky one and something I might make a vid on at some point. The proper guide rails are very accurate, can be joined together into LONG tracks, have the 'sticky' undersides and can be clamped from underneath, which are all nice features. The saw itself has excellent dust extraction, depth stop and obviously the plunge capability... plus some other stuff. Generally it's just quicker to use than a home made track... but then I would say that after shelling out for one! 😂😃👍
Do it, you will thank yourself. I agonized for months over the same thing and over which brand, but in the end broke down and bought the TS55. Best tool I own, I use it all the time and I get perfect results every time. Time is money, and my TS55 saves me both in the end.
Dale Brown you've given me the push I needed , will be investing in the new year 😀
Gosforth Handyman would be a great video to watch. 👍
ebay has tons of new and used TS55 REBQs. Make sure you get one with a systainer. 2nd hand ones can give you a bit if discount compared to new - thats how i got mine. Just don't pay more than the best brand new on-line deals, some Festool auctions go crazy. As the vid says, they work like an abs treat cutting down high gloss end panels.... just done a kitchen and a kitchenette.
Hi, do you know if the Festool saw will fit on the Makita's tracks? Mine will need upgrading one day but prob won'y be able to afford new tracks also thanks
Umm... I *think* so - sure someone mentioned this in the comments not long ago. 👍
Yes and I think the makita ones are stronger. Also the makita saw can be used on walls by fixing the track to the wall then using the track lock on the makita saw to help hold it in place. If you let it go it will fall of as only one side of the saw locks on.
Thanks, I've had the Makita a while now but never had the need to use it on a wall, I guess that's useful on US plywood walls?
Gid joiner I've done it on feature walls eg cedar or like you said ply and mdf.
Gid joiner Another thing if you haven't done it when you need to replace either the slides on top of the track or the splinter guard use the festool ones as they are better.
Kreg plung saw is left hand
Personally, I wish I had the "Doggie" smooth hose rather than this connecting type I do have. My hose is such a pain to fit either into or on top of, the appropriate nozzles. The fit is so tight and stiff, I am worried I will break something, and I wrestle to attach and detach my hose.
👍👍👍
Boy am I glad I found you. No MFT or Kreg ACS table and Your accent is much better than Peter Millard's!!!
i can’t for the life of me get a straight cut with this thing. it’s always an 1/8th off. any advice?
Probably not allowing for kerf so got cut-off piece to your left instead of right. But...
I know someone who is right handed (track saws all designed for right handed) but leading eye is the left - explained why they always lined up wrong and tended to tip themselves over to right which unbalanced them and made their cuts veer to left (like rh cricket bowlers trying to bowl too fast and leaning over so ball goes down rh batter's leg side). Shut left eye or wear patch helped but right eye was distorted. They just had to remember and take more time setting up material, saw, and their own body position
Why do most saws have the blade on the right hand side? most people are right handed, so surely it makes sense to have the blade on the left so that you are not having to look /over/ the saw to see the line?
Good question! Might be for balance? Not sure... 👍
I think it's something to do with the direction a standard motor spins. Although some clever engineers have been able to address this in their rare designs.
It's so the larger part of the base sits on the material you're keeping and it also puts the dangerous part of the saw (the blade) away from your body when you are holding it at your side. Where I'm from we also cut from above the saw and look down when cutting framing. Left hand saws just feel more dangerous and give me the creeps.
I guess that makes sense. But if that is the case, why are some saws the other way around?
wforl it's west versus east coast thing from America. One side had hypiod saws the other had what I think they call sidewinder. So some are left and some are right. Sidewinders or circular saws generally have the blade on the right side untill a few years ago when for a reason I don't know battery saws started to have left side blades.
Celotex - Nice and cheap...
In what universe!?!?
Use 3mm mdf on your table or offcuts on your sawhorses...
still subscribed ;o)
Welcome to the channel! 👍 I sometimes use MDF under the cuts... but I just find the Celotex easier to sling on top of everything in the back of the truck. 😂
Am I the only one who has trouble with the Festool splinter guard staying stuck to the track? This becomes especially troublesome for me in the hot, humid summers in North Carolina. I did not notice the problem so much when my shop was in Northern California. Any suggestions on keeping the splinter guards from curling up and off at the ends of the track? For me, they just don't stay stuck. The first time the plastic guard comes unstuck, the accuracy and precision are lost. You can't just press it back down or re-glue it and be assured it's in the exact same location. My Makita tracks don't have that problem. I wonder why Festool doesn't use better (and less temperature-sensitive) adhesive for its track splinter guards?
Interesting - never had that problem! Defo sounds like a temp / humidity issue. :-(
Welsh Rabbit When you replace the strip make sure you clean all the residue off then clean the residue of the cleaner off as some adhesive cleaners will leave a film that keeps the tape from sticking to the aluminum. I used denatured alcohol for the final clean before I taped on a replacement cut strip. And I had no issues with it staying stuck in place even when I used it in south Texas with 100+ Fahrenheit temperatures and humidity near 100%.
04:27 What's wrong with a wet cloth?
"The saw blade will always be on the right because that is where the saw blade is." Fair enough!
I always sub a fellow Geordie
@0.51 Ife you really didn't care, then you would of went for a Triton over a Festool
Hint number one and I'm already confused.
Show, don’t merely tell.
I clicked because I couldn't remember a scene in *American History X...* where he handles a tracksaw...???
Ha - welcome to the channel! Was that a track saw or a chain saw?? 👍
It's just that the thumbnail looks exactly like Edward Norton (as he appeared in American History X)... except holding the saw! I don't think there were any saws in the movie though :)
😂😂😂
No, Makita are BEST!!
I think all the track saws are for left handers . I’ve used my mates festool was not impressed . Cack handed . It’s much better to have a saw with the blade on the other side . I made my own track using 9 mm m d f ripp of 10 ft and a dead straight piece of ally . It’s perfect and don’t get any break out on m f c .
Buy a sheet of plywood and make your own ripping jig with a circular saw you already own. Save hundreds of dollars
dropn loads so said most of the people here that bought a plunge saw till they owned one. I know I did.
Curtis Ongley idk my plywood jig is still working great i made a second already. Use it with my 36volt makita worm drive
If you are making a jig like that, give it a cross piece to rest against the sheet. Perfect 90° cutting every time.
11:30 "the best comment will be pinned"
why you lie bro
aside from cleaning, these tips are so obvious that it seems to me if you need to be told this then you shouldn't be woodworking lol
Canny tips.
i had one and gave it awy did not like it at all