Ripping, cross cutting or a combination of the two require different blades. In this video I explain the reason and show the 3 types of blade suitable for cutting wood.
I always enjoy referring back to your videos, very informative, thanks for your time.As an aside, I'm just about to change my 48 teeth fine cut ts55 blade,has been in the saw for 10 years ! Cutting mdf and ply- a testament to the blade itself, its actually still good just needs a sharpen.
Thank you Peter. I appreciate the setups you went through to produce this video. I know its a few years old but I am heading out to pick up my TS55 and now I know I need to also pick up the 24 teeth universal blade. Thank you again for all your dedicated efforts to help your fellow woodworkers.
thats the best explanation of why different blades are made that ive seen. i know i have to buy certain blades for certain things but, didnt truly know why. not that i was dwelling on it but, good to know.
Thanks again Peter for another very informative and professional video. As far as cleaning circular saw blades of any type or size, the easiest way I've found is to put the blade in a plastic garbage bag and spray both sides well with oven cleaner. Seal the bag closed. Leave it for a few hours or overnight and remove the blade, rinse well with warm water and dry thoroughly (a hair dryer works great). The blade will be spotless and you won't have to scrape any resin or risk damaging the carbide teeth. Cheers! Thanks again. Richard
Very informative. Best thing about a plunge saw - laying the saw back on the table immediately after the cut, without repeatedly having to wait until the blade stopped. Cool integrated graphics.
Very good explanation of use and demo... Most people do not understand how much you're cutting efficiency will improve with the correct blade, changing the blade on the TS 55 is so easy, always make sure you are using the correct blade for your cutting task.
I must have watched this video a while ago and didn't listen because I see I already liked it. I have been using the fine blade since I have owned my tracksaw mainly for construction. Needless to say my rips were taking forever. I had some 3/4 plywood to to break down for a flooring repair I can not explain so I broke down and bought the 28 tooth recently. OMG! What a difference! I was flying through that plywood. I can not believe how long I've been suffering and burning and dulling my blades. Not to mention sharpening costs. I'll be adding the panther to the collection too. Nails? All I ever make is reclaimed wood things. The wood has to be in horrible shape for me to use it. I hit so many nails with my Kapex I could see you having a heart attack Peter. 😂😂 If I put a blade down after every nail I would be living on the streets. The key is to (if you have that feeling you're gonna hit metal) go REALLY SLOW through it and cringe the whole time. Your jig for making 20 mm holes is on my list. I have to make some cutting tables to leave all over the place and for my 2nd paulk total station. My first pts (which was my 1st woodworking project) doesn't have 20 mm holes. I cant use most of my clamping devices. Kills me. 👋
Hello again Peter. Something caught my eye at the 7:10 mark that caused a problem for me a couple of weeks ago.. I noticed you had the green splinter guard on and it was that particular item that caused a problem for me... I was at a friends house adding a couple of cabinets to his kitchen that just had new cabinets installed. After using the kitchen for a couple of weeks they decided to add the two cabinets and the cabinet maker wanted a ridiculous amount for two cabinets. So I offered to make them if he would supply the materials and hardware and he wanted to help and wanted to learn how to use the TS55 tracksaw. I showed him how everything worked and told him to let me know when it was time to make the bevel cut...so I could show him how to unscrew the splinter guard and make the cut. He forgot and did the bevel cut without me and of course with the splinter guard on. The saw turned left going down the track and cut through the track and plywood..... There was not any blade damage but the track and plywood were chewed up. I tried to get the tracksaw tig welded but the cost was almost triple the cost of a new rail section. My friend had used circular saws, etc before but had never used a track.... And I should not have left him alone with a strange system while he was cutting. He replaced the track section and a new piece of plywood. And he bought me a new blade even though I told him he didn’t need to. The moral of the story? Don’t leave someone alone to operate a tool they are not familiar with and remove the splinter guard before they make that angled/mitered cut! 😊 my apologies for the long winded explanation 😊😊😊😊 Ron
Thank you for your interesting video. However, according to the title I was expecting all kinds of blades, not only limited to wood. I was missing Festool TF blades. Anyway, absolutely super duper.
Yet another superb video, done eloquently by a "clone" of Norm Abram for sure (LOL). Such that you "cut to the chase", and present instructions and procedures without boring your listener/viewer to death; what with a myriad of nonsensical wastes of time. Not to mention that you USE a "lavaliere" type mic which totally eliminates "echo"; which is very hard on the ears for sure; and all too common on RU-vid. Keep up the great work dear friend.
Oh my goodness! You mean you are going to say "Pok the Cah" instead of "Park the car". And "Cuber and Afriker". And what about "Rabbit" instead of Rebate, etc? LOL Oh my goodness. You have a wonderful diction. NEVER change it. It is what makes many of us admire and respect you so much. I personally cant wait for each new video you produce. They are awesome. I love Norm of course; and treasure meeting him several times in person; but I also feel the same about you and Steve Maskery to name just a few. If I ever go back to the UK, I will try my best to meet you and Steve if possible. In the meantime it is my desire to watch EVERY video you have made. It is taking time of course, because there are so many, but very educational and informative each and every time. Truly!
Gosh - thanks. I will stay the same don't worry. I envy you having met Norm. He is a hero of mine even though I don't have a big table saw any more (but I do have several brad nailers !). Cheers. Peter
Peter, Your "nailed" blade can be saved by a good sharpening company. They can braze on new carbide teeth to replace the broken ones. Given the cost of F'tool blades it's worth doing. My local (New England) sharpener charges $5.00 US a tooth. Of course that depends on how many carbides you gave a trim to.I have many F'tool blades for my T55 and T75 saws. I also like other manufacturer's efforts. Both Freud and Tenryu make track saw blades and may have options in style and type of tooth geometry that more suit your particular task at hand. IE., I have a Freud rip blade for my T55 and it works like a champ.Other things to think about; Positive or negative hook tooth blades. Negative hook teeth work better in sliding miter saws and radial arm saws and can give superior results with less chip out when exiting the work piece as the teeth are leaning away from the direction of the spin of the blade. Most tablesaw blades have positive hook blades, even if the hook is only 5 degrees.The height of the blade over the work, over; as in a tablesaw cut, or under the work piece as in a track saw. Freud, if asked; will tell you that they design their tooth geometry to give you the best quality cut when the height of the blade is set about even with the bottom of the gullets in between teeth. This puts about 2 to 3 teeth in the cut and gives your teeth the best angle of attack on the wood. Blades set too high dramatically change the geometry of the tooth's attack on the wood and the amount of teeth in the cut.Blade cleanliness is also important because there are chemicals created when pitch and resins are burned that when stuck on to the teeth, help destroy the metal binders in the carbide. I enjoy rip blades a lot because they do what they do very, very well. Big teeth, big gullets mean fast rips with little to no burn. Rougher surface yes, but I'll take that trade off.Crosscut blades with lots of little teeth and little gullets cut slow, so speed of the feed of the wood through the cut becomes important, especially in wood prone to burning like Cherry.I find multipurpose blades to be MU (mostly useless), as they do most things poorly. That said the Freud Premier Fusion general purpose blade comes the closest to making me like a GP blade . High quality Freud made carbides, large-ish teeth with deep-ish gullets, wicked tall ATB (alternate top bevel) tooth geometry the severs surface fibers like a hot knife through butter. Side relief grinds on the teeth with the front of the tooth wider than the back. And, it's the only blade I have ever taken out of a box that came with an instruction manual in which the first instruction is to tune up your saw. Also with instructions for the saw sharpener to follow to give you the best quality sharpening. (No, I am not a paid Freud spokes model ! I just like Freud). According to a F'tool rep that I was badgering with questions about Kapex blades not only did F'tool want an ultra smooth crosscut they also wanted a tooth geometry that created an air vortex around the blade and help throw the wood dust into the dust chute. As of 3 years ago, F'tool said that saw blades were the only thing that they farmed out to an outside supplier. The rep wouldn't give up the name, saying only it was another German company that made the blades used on the big European horizontal sliding table saws. F'tool is the only tool company I can think of that would have air vortex creation as a design criteria for a saw blade.I have yet to try a Tenryu on the T55 but I would expect a lot from a commercial/industrial Japanese manufacturer of saw blades.G.
Hi George, War and Peace and a very detailed and useful bit of work - brilliant. I think that you should do a saw blade video. It would be very useful and I am sure that it would be popular. Many thanks. Peter
Super informative video, as someone who is TOTALLY new to woodwork I often wondered what the differences were in the blades. I also didn't realise they needed cleaning :) but as the saying goes, every day is a school day! Can I ask where you get your blades sharpened, I have never heard of this as a service before? Also how many times, on average, do they need sharpening and how long will a good blade last? My Festool Track Saw is due early next week, I am beginning to wonder if I didn't waste money purchasing the Table Saw seeing just how versatile the Track Saw can be! Just one last question is it possible to put a metal cutting blade into this saw and cut metal? Not that I would be doing this, just wondering if there such a blade and if the saw (TS 55) is actually up to this task?
The interval between blade sharpening will depend on use and, to an extent, how you use it. I do a lot of cutting and do not sharpen mine more than once a year. I use take my saw blades to my nearest Axminster store as they have a really good rate and excellent service. Check the Festool web site for a metal cutting blade - they will not cut steel or other hard metals. Aluminium and brass is about as hard as you can go and I would prefer to do that sort of cutting with my Kapex. Peter
Very useful and clear information. I wish I viewed your video yesterday. I had smoke coming out of my saw while cutting with the grain on a long pice of hard-wood skirting board. I think I've destroyed my blade. I'll be sure to get the universal blade next. Is the ripping blade more prone to kickback because the teeth are larger? Thank you for sharing your experience :-)
I am sorry about your blade but it should be fine. Clean it with methylated spirits (denatured alcohol) or anything that helps to get the marks off. The Festool blades are very robust. I am not sure if kick changes with tooth count. To avoid kickback start the blade with the saw retracted and then gently bring it down to start cutting. Peter
Enjoyed your very detailed video, Peter I'm having a problem, ts75 blade vibration the right side of cut will throw chunks of partical board leaving a rough edge on the off-fall piece. Blade is tight, was using the 36 tooth blade, changed to the 12 tooth blade, lowered speed trying to find a smooth cut 4 seems to be better, slowed up my feed, nothing seems to stop the vibration, extremely frustrating
This sounds very odd. I would have suggested a blade change but that seems to make no difference. Is there a chance that the saw has been dropped in such a way that the blade or blade securing nut has taken the force? If the saw is within the 3 year warranty period then I would not hesitate to send it back for repair. I am sorry that I cannot be more helpful. Peter
New Brit Workshop Peter, thank you,, saw is about 6 months old, never dropped, I truly believe it has done this since taking it out of the systainer but I've been cutting 2" thick red oak not noticing the wood edge being rough, but have always thought my dewalt saw actually ran without the chatter, I'm close to beaver in St Louis I'll take it to them this week. Oak is more resilient than particle board. Thanks again, I'll let you know the outcome. Paul
Peter, just to give you the update on my ts75,,,I went to festool website, filled out repair request, printed the shipping label, provided by festool, put my saw in a box, placed packing around saw took it to UPS,,, Saw returned to my front door about 1 week, saw seems to run perfect now, still hear what I would call a vibration, but it does cut perfect, sure did miss the saw while it was gone was forced the drag out the old Dewalt and a strait edge,,,,festool paid for everything at no cost to me, Refreshing thank you Peter
Hi Paul, That is a brilliant outcome. The Festool saws may exhibit what appears to be a small vibration from the motor as the on board electronic speed control switches in and out. It is something that one easily gets used to and not something to worry about at all. I am glad that you are now happy. Good luck with everything. Peter
thanks peter for the demo off the different blades for the TS 55 just one question did you say its a good idea to keep your blade sharpened is there a company where you can send your blade to be sharpened in the UK many thanks Harry
Hi Harry, If you do a Google search for "Saw Sharpening" then you should find someone in your area. If you live near enough to an Axminster store then check with them as I am sure that they used to offer a sharpening service. I do not know of any sharpening service by post but they must exist I suppose. Good luck. Peter
I've used these guys for blade sharpening in the past www.tewkesburysaw.co.uk/ when I asked a while back they said they were happy for me to post stuff to them for sharpening as long as I paid the postage, probably best to ring first though.
Hi Peter, I hope you and yours are well and safe. I wondered if you had a recommendation for a festool track saw blade to cut 30/60 min fire doors that are nothing more than chipboard at its core wrapped in stripes of hardwood? I also cut counter tops that again are only chipboard at its core. Thanks Peter
Best way to clean a saw blade is to use a non corrosive soap, and brass brush, I use Simple Green, don't know if that is around in the UK. There is also a cleaner that is sold at most of the stores like Rockler. Be careful using anything that is excessively harsh since it affects the bond between the blade and the cutting tips.
Cleaning saw blades is a boring chore, but we use a product called "clean green" - probably the same stuff - usually a bit of water is all we need and then we keep the blade oiled for storage. Nothing worse than discovering a rusty blade in storage
I agree, if I am rotating blades a lot, WD40 keeps them rust free for me. If they look like they will be setting a while I usually put a coat of wax on them, don't want the oil residue on my finished projects. I've saved a lot on sharpening costs by cleaning them first instead of just sending them off.
Thanks for the vid. The only concern regarding Festool blades is, that they have different kerf (teeth thickness) at least for TS 75 (not 100% sure for TS55). How do you get along that? It basically means you have to move splinter guard on the track or are the teeth somehow offset on the blade to get "reference edge" on all the blades on the same spot?
I only have the TS55 and so the kerf variation does not affect me. I have been told that one can adjust the saw to a kerf line but I do not know how that could be done. Peter
What blade Youre using for kapex to cut masive oak countertops ? Im using blade that kapexs came new and that blade always burning wood and Its very hard to cut wood. Blade is after sharping.
Hi Pawel, I use the fine tooth blade. If you get burning it may be because the wood is not held down during the cut and moves slightly as the cut progresses. It could also be because the saw is slightly out of square. Peter
Hi Peter. Just rewatched the video. Do you have any companies in the U.K. that will repair and sharpen the blade? There are companies here stateside that will scan/X-ray a blade, repair it and sharpen it for about $30 U.S.. Ron
The normal size of the saw blad is 160mm. Would it fit a 165mm (6-1/2") blade? I saw an interesting diablo blade, but just a little bigger than recommended.
Peter... Assuming u push the saw along the track at the same approx. speed for each blade, the feed per tooth will go up as the number of teeth gets less. This also means the tooth load goes up, given the same feed. In metal machining (my field) the tooth load & feed per tooth on slitting saw blades & milling cutters is a critical calculation to take into account. In woodworking it doesn't seem to be as important ? Why is that ? I understand wood has fibres and ripping /crosscutting is a non-event in metal.... But tooth load must be important too ?? No ..??
Hi Peter, It is not so significant with hand held saws like this but it is more significant with routers where the cutter speed (measured at the tip of the cutter) can be very high. The tooth load bit is more about the ability of the blade to take away the waste and that is why ripping blades have a larger gullet in order to remove the waste more efficiently. Peter
Thanks. If I went back and retook all those pieces where the odd word or phrase creeps in then there would be fewer videos but then that would mean less effort on my part. My old English teacher would be more concerned with the complete failure in the spelling department of many (not you) who have pointed out the same error. Cheers. Peter
Ha Ha. Just a bit of fun. Your videos are an inspiration and have resulted in vast investments in Festool and Axmnster on my part :-) I trust we will see many more great contributions from you complete with authentic "whoopsies"
I actually enjoy the odd bit of ribbing when people spot the odd error here and there - at the very least it means that they are paying attention ! Cheers. Peter
If anyone sees this by the time i do it.. Im cutting my first piece of melamine in the morning for my shop shelves. I have the 28 tooth and the finer 48 blade I think. Which blade of the 2 is best for this product. 3/4" thick.
@@NewBritWorkshop thank you sir. Im going into the shoo right after I tidy up the loose ends in the yard as we have a bit of snow coming here in Harrisburg Pennsylvania today.
@@NewBritWorkshop Heres my first cut. Its actually my only cut. I turned the tracksaw over to my friend who is in town helping me do some work because his state is just a bit worse than mine with the government playing covid games. I've been teaching him to expand his skillset from only painting. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OF6wNJBCy9A.html And the new guy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-CBSM65EX_Yg.html
Hi Ian, One does get a very tiny bit of breakout if one is in a hurry. The secret is to ensure that you do the cut on a clean sacrificial surface which acts as a splinter guard under the material. Breakout on the top of the cut is unlikely provided a sharp 48 tooth blade (for TS55) is used. Peter
The right blade, is a left blade track saw. But only one exists in the world, and its the brands only power tool, and its horribly made... The Kreg. In 20 years, righties will look at today's right blade track saws, and wonder why we put up with the right blade *Track Saws* for so long.
