Popular Post Chestnut Posted July 5, 2018 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 5, 2018 So i have a slow day at work, FINALLY!, so i figured I'd share with you guys my thoughts on the festool saw i purchased. This is not only a review of the Festool TSC 55 Li REB + Airflow Batteries but als a review of the festool recon webstore. I went though some of this in my shed build but figured i'd condense it and add some more info. A while ago i was told about festool's recondition website. It operates like woot! where a recon tool is offered until it sells out then they move to the next one. I bought the saw through that website and it shipped and was at my door in 4 days. It said reconditioned but it arrived looking brand new. The sander i had bought previously had the cord wrapped up so tightly it ended up turning into a 1980s phone cord which was annoying. So far so good for Festoolrecon. Features: The saw came in it's systainer and had the blade installed and everything was in place. For all i know it was a brand new saw and if you told me it was a recon I'd have no idea. Notable feature differences between the TSC 55 and my other saw the TS75 is the fine tune depth adjustment. There is a threaded knob on the top of the depth adjustment so you can fine tune the depth if needed. The other thing that is note worth is that it uses batteries and comes with a dust bag. The dust bag is nice and I'll cover that later. At first i didn't realize the saw didn't come with batteries and a charger. I was bummed that this would make it cost more but in fact it didn't. The cost was about the same as buying the unit with batteries and a charger except now i get new batteries not recon ones. The saw came with a 48 tooth blade which is good for ply but probably not the best for solid wood. The saw can supposedly be run with all festool batteries the 15V included. You can even mix and match. It also runs off one battery but i don't suggest it the power and blade sped is on the lower side. Batteries: The batteries i got are the 18v air stream versions that are newish. They pair with a charger that has a fan that moves air through the battery as it charges it to keep the cells and electronics cool. It does this to be able to increase the charge rate to charge the 5.2 A/hr batteries in 30 min. As typical for my Li-ion batteries i usually don't discharge them fully before charging them. The tech in Li-ion is a bit different than the old nickel batteries from 15 years ago. Li-ion doesn't develop memory but instead has a limited number of full cycles. From research it was determined that charging the batteries more frequently helps prolong the life of the battery. I've found this to be accurate so far with my electronics so i utilize the strategy with my tools. Charge time: After cutting roughly 200 lin ft of 1/2" ply the batteries each dropped to 1 bar took about 10 min to top off. That is absurdly fast. The cut power doesn't decrease as the batteries drain but instead they hit the end and just stop. I like this especially for saws. I did fully drain the batteries once and it took 30 min per battery to do a full charge which is still absurdly fast in my opinion. It takes my 3 A/hr cell phone battery 2+ hours to charge from fully dead. Power: I was very surprised with the power of the unit. I was able to crosscut 2x6s pretty easily. On my shed build i lined a bunch of the material up and made the cuts all in 1 go. I was able to feed the saw as fast as i would on 3/4" ply which is pretty dang fast. Total cut time for the 7 2x6s was probably 15 seconds. When running a single battery it's a lot easier to stall the saw. but i still could cut 48" of 1/2" ply with 1 battery in short order. Dust Collection: I have yet to run this saw with a CT vac and honestly won't. The dust bag collects almost all of the dust. The dust that does escape isn't any more than what escapes my TS 75 That only gets run with the CT vac. The bag isn't large and does fill fast. I could cut about 50 feet of ply before i'd need to empty it. When you do over fill the bag it becomes very apparent how well the bag is doing it's job. Dust goes everywhere. In the picture below you can see how much does comes out after cutting the 2x6s. I had the area swept clean before the cut. This area is where i give the saw it's first knock. The bag and how the handle is laid out on the saw tends to make a mess. When you hold the saw by the handle 1 handed the noes goes down and the bag dumps into the body of the saw. Worst case this clogs the dust port, but usually saw dust just falls out of the saw through where the blade cuts. They have a handle on top for carrying it that solves this problem but I'm not always carrying the saw that way. Weight: The other question people are going to have is with 2 batteries how much does the saw weigh? It weighs a bit less than my TS 75. So more than a typical TS 55 but it's not unmanageable. I messed up some sheathing on the shed and had to use the saw on a ladder above my head and it was manageable. I chose using this saw and not a regular circular saw 1 because battery powered and 2 because of the design you can cut closer to an edge. Conclusion: Expensive but worth it. Great dust collection, great power and fast charge time. Batteries are interchangeable with other festool tools. Built to the standard you'd expect from Festool. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wdwerker Posted July 6, 2018 Report Share Posted July 6, 2018 I run my 56 v - 7.5ah lawnmower battery down to 1 bar and get a full charge in about 45 minutes. It's got a cooling fan too. If I run it until the safety cutoff point it takes well over an hour. Protected Li-ion cells circuit prevents over charging and discharging beyond set points. My 18650 flashlight rechargeables have protection on each battery. Battery packs tend to have protection for all the cells on one board. Dead battery packs may only have one bad cell but the connections can't be soldered , only welded under certain conditions. Glad you are happy with the saw ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 7, 2018 Report Share Posted July 7, 2018 Great review. Very though. Maybe I missed it but why now to track saws? Ts75a bit big for general use? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 7, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2018 5 hours ago, Brendon_t said: Great review. Very though. Maybe I missed it but why now to track saws? Ts75a bit big for general use? Why 2. I wanted the cordless so when i break down sheets in the garage i don't have to drag the ct vac the house the cord up stairs. Basement shops have awesome climate control but the material loading stinks. As far as in the shop i oddly prefer the ts75. It seems to handle better with the vac hooked up. I sprung for it with birthday cash and for the shed build. It's paid for it's self on the shed build alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 15 hours ago, Chestnut said: Why 2. I wanted the cordless so when i break down sheets in the garage i don't have to drag the ct vac the house the cord up stairs. Basement shops have awesome climate control but the material loading stinks. As far as in the shop i oddly prefer the ts75. It seems to handle better with the vac hooked up. I sprung for it with birthday cash and for the shed build. It's paid for it's self on the shed build alone. That's awesome. I really, really like my 55, Even after the shop fire, kissing the case but have on occasion lusted the ts75 cut depth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 8, 2018 Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 Another reason I need to stop by, to check out this saw. I have thought it would be nice to have a cordless version since I cut sheet goods out in the driveway so not having a cord would be nice but I always wondered about the power of the saw running on batteries. The other thing I was curious about was the batteries holding a charge. I don't use that saw everyday and it would stink if the day I needed it the batteries were dead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 8, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 8, 2018 7 hours ago, Brendon_t said: That's awesome. I really, really like my 55, Even after the shop fire, kissing the case but have on occasion lusted the ts75 cut depth There is a large statement there that i'm curious about but afraid to ask about. The depth of cut is nice but i can't tell you how many times I've needed it as I've never maxed out the TS75 and the tsc55 only cuts ply. I have cut some 2x4s with it and i guess that gets close to it's capacity but there is still a little more that I've never used. I'll have to pay attention to how many times the ts75 goes over 55mm my guess is very infrequently. I just walked over and noticed that the dept of cut is at 65mm so i guess it does happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 Yeah long story I don't think I told. My shop caught fire last year. Damage was contained but my sysainers all burned and the tools were some untouched, some a bit melted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted July 9, 2018 Author Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 22 hours ago, pkinneb said: Another reason I need to stop by, to check out this saw. I have thought it would be nice to have a cordless version since I cut sheet goods out in the driveway so not having a cord would be nice but I always wondered about the power of the saw running on batteries. The other thing I was curious about was the batteries holding a charge. I don't use that saw everyday and it would stink if the day I needed it the batteries were dead. After i bought it and used it a few times it sat for a couple months batteries on the saw and didn't appear to lose any charge. I'm sure it lost a bit but nothing like batteries and tools from 20 years ago. 9 hours ago, Brendon_t said: Yeah long story I don't think I told. My shop caught fire last year. Damage was contained but my sysainers all burned and the tools were some untouched, some a bit melted. Well it seems like other than some melted plastic everything is good. Hope that it stays that way for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Chestnut said: After i bought it and used it a few times it sat for a couple months batteries on the saw and didn't appear to lose any charge. I'm sure it lost a bit but nothing like batteries and tools from 20 years ago. That's good to know I will have to start watching for one to come up on the recon emails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Chestnut said: Well it seems like other than some melted plastic everything is good. Hope that it stays that way for ya. On the saw, a few plastic pieces melted down, still works and cuts great. Sander handles are a bit tougher now but the Domino was untouched. I was very lucky! During a social party at my house,a kid that isn't mine smelled smoke early and found me. That saved the entire house. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkinneb Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 1 hour ago, Brendon_t said: I was very lucky! During a social party at my house,a kid that isn't mine smelled smoke early and found me. That saved the entire house. No kidding! That sounds like it could have been much worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 9, 2018 Report Share Posted July 9, 2018 7 hours ago, pkinneb said: No kidding! That sounds like it could have been much worse. It could have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coop Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 So, no more adults only parties? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brendon_t Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 50 minutes ago, K Cooper said: So, no more adults only parties? No more smoking in the shop during adult parties.. shavings under the bench are kindling.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chestnut Posted February 25, 2019 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 Posts about track saws made me think about this review. I wanted to update with more information. The power of the saw has caused some issues at times but i don't relate that to a lock of power in the motor and more the wrong blade for the job. I was trying to rip some 1.5" thick hardwood and the saw just could not handle it. With a 48 tooth blade on the saw it's like using an 80 tooth blade in a table saw to do a rip cut. This just isn't efficient. I need to buckle down and buy a rip blade for the saw and see how it works BUT i generally just use my TS 75 cause it's right there. The batteries continue to astonish me with how fast they charge. I'm not sure this is a good thing in the end but it's nice for the moment. I can have the batteries charged from 1/3 depleted to full in 20 min. This is generally the amount of time it takes me to get joinery done and get something in clamps so theoretically i don't have any down time to charging. I hope the lifespan of the batteries isn't shortened as a result. My Li-ion batteries i bought for my dewalt drill in 2007 are still going strong some 12 years later, i hope that's the case with these festool batteries. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleedinblue Posted February 25, 2019 Report Share Posted February 25, 2019 I dig the idea of this now. I tend to break down sheet goods on the floor outside of my main work area, so stringing a power cord and vac hose to the location isn't ideal. You've put this on my radar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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