Essential track saw accessories (e.g. for Festool TS55)

[gmgmgm]

hi everyone,
I'm about to take the "plunge" on a TS-55, but I'm struggling to see what I should get in the way of accessories/kit on day 1. While I'm getting the TS55, this question is probably relevant for other marques.

I know I'll need a selection of rails (and there are plenty of posts on which mixes of rail lengths to get, or LR32). And a vacuum.

=> But what other accessories/kit should I get to be able to carve up boards with ease, and get square cross-cuts? Parallel guides? MFT-style-top? Just a very big square?

I'll be using it for cutting down ply/MDF to make simple structures- book shelves, chicken coop etc. Domestic use. I want to make carving up boards a pleasure, with square cuts from day 1. My other tools are mostly hand-tools. Thank you!

 

[Wuffles]

Rule stop (about £6) from Axminster so you can turn any steel rule into a story stick.

Rails, depending on your budget and mobility, 1400, 800 and 3000.

MFT style top if you want, does depend on how much you are going to use it and whether you already have a bench? I've had and then sold on the parallel guides, bit too fiddly for me.

Obviously a compatible vac, Fein, Metabo, Festool, all have same size vac input and power take off. You can get cheaper if you want, up to your budget.

A boom arm can be replaced with some elastics and a ceiling to stretch them across, plus the boom arms only fit the CT26 and above - they also make your vac impossible to move sensibly outside of a workshop, so for mobility you'll then end up buying another smaller vac.

Hope that helps.

 

[shed9]

If you don't have MFT type bench, get a few Parf dogs and a 20mm cutter.

Also, I assume it's on your list but if not, get some rail clamps.

 

[Adam9453]

the lidl vacuum cleaner with power take off fits perfecty onto the ts55 so you don't 'need' anything more expensive regarding a vacuum.
you'll need the clamps for the rails as despite what some do, I prefer to clamp my rails down for every cut to ensure its absolutely accurate (or at least it stays where i put it). A lot of people don't use clamps but I don't know what tolerance they work to.
a couple of kick back stops are very useful if you want to use it to plunge through material to cut out a section (like a cut out for a sink for example), you use the stops to stop the saw kicking backwards during the plunge down and to stop you accidentally pushing the saw too far and overrunning the end of your cut.
In terms of cutting square, i'd recommend buying a decent quality large square which has a certified accuracy level (boule sell these for the glass cutting industry and they work very well). You can of course using maths to mark out the square or Steve Maskery's gadget (theres a thread on here somewhere), I find the large square is very quick and requires no thought (which is nice when you are tired).
Regarding rails, I found i got the best deal by buying the saw with the 1400 rail as a package, I then bought the 2420 LR32 rail plus the 300mm clamps as this best fitted my intended use for it. I have thought a couple of times though that the 3000mm rail would be useful as it would make cutting full 8x4 sheets easier (my 2420 rail is basically the same length as the sheet so it doesnt have the run on/run off area required without moving the rail which is a faff).
If you don't have a table saw then i think some kind of MFT style top and parallel guides would be a worthwhile investment as they will mean you can do most of what can be done on a table saw in terms of dimensioning sheet materials.
Also you can always make your own large square from MDF without too much difficulty, you just need to take a bit of time making sure its right, then you can use it until it falls apart.
I'm sure you won't regret getting the TS55, the quality of cut is superb and with the extracting running, there is very little dust.

Final tip, make sure you have a sacrificial board under the edge of the rail when you are doing your first cut of the splinter guard and try and cut it in one long continuous movement without stopping so you get a nice straight smooth edge to your splinter guard. its important as that is what you line up with where you want to cut.
Have fun

 

[Lonsdale73]

I bought one of the third party MFT tops off ebay that came with a set of six parf dogs (Two tall, four short) and incorporated it in to a design based on Timothy Wilmotts. With the two tall dogs used to line up the 1400mm rail and the shorter ones to line up the board I am now getting consistently better results than I was with my table saw (although in all fairness that too has improved following guidance freely given on here). Such a set up seems fairly reliable but I still clamp it down anyway.

 

[Roughcut]

You haven't said what your budget is? :lol:
But for starters I would say an MFT or MFT style top for crosscutting with complimentary Parf Dogs (2 large, 2 smaller).
A Parallel Guide System, however Wuffles suggestion of a story stick is a good one if you are on a limited budget.
A couple of Festool ratchet lever clamps.
A vacuum of some description.
Maybe a couple of rail dogs.
Possibly Festool rail connectors.
Festool Guide rail deflector/s.
And then on it goes........

 

[gmgmgm]

Huge thanks for the tips so far.

No, I didn't have clamps on the list but now I do!. From this forum thread, it seems the Festool quick clamp is the one to get- so I'll add that to my list.

I was thinking about one of the MFT tops off ebay- good idea to get the dogs etc at the same time. And a 20mm cutter for the router for future use. Thank you for the PMs also, Lonsdale73.

Adam9453, thank you for the tip on the kick-back stops for plunging jobs- now I understand what they are for. I looked up the Bohle squares and will consider what I need to add to my kit. I already have various squares- I was hoping someone would say there is a magic Festool gadget, but it seems the main options are 1. MFT 2. squares or 3. a piece of MDF glued to a rail.

Roughcut, I don't have a specific budget. I could push for all of these items if I needed but there are many other things to spend it on, so I'm looking for the necessary/efficient items to make the tool work for me. For example, the 3m rails would be an unnecessary luxury.
You're the first person though to support the "Parallel Guide System" - they seem handy for turning an 8x4 into e.g. four 8x1 strips repeatably.

 

[Wuffles]

Huge thanks for the tips so far.

No, I didn't have clamps on the list but now I do!. From this forum thread, it seems the Festool quick clamp is the one to get- so I'll add that to my list.

I was thinking about one of the MFT tops off ebay- good idea to get the dogs etc at the same time. And a 20mm cutter for the router for future use. Thank you for the PMs also, Lonsdale73.

Adam9453, thank you for the tip on the kick-back stops for plunging jobs- now I understand what they are for. I looked up the Bohle squares and will consider what I need to add to my kit. I already have various squares- I was hoping someone would say there is a magic Festool gadget, but it seems the main options are 1. MFT 2. squares or 3. a piece of MDF glued to a rail.

Roughcut, I don't have a specific budget. I could push for all of these items if I needed but there are many other things to spend it on, so I'm looking for the necessary/efficient items to make the tool work for me. For example, the 3m rails would be an unnecessary luxury.
You're the first person though to support the "Parallel Guide System" - they seem handy for turning an 8x4 into e.g. four 8x1 strips repeatably.

Turning an 8x4 into 8x1 sheets? Save your money. Buy a 3000 rail and a steel rule with one of the Axminster rule stops I suggested. Trust me, it's less fiddly.

If you're going to get any kind of MFT style top, get the longer Festool screw clamps, more uses than the shorter quick clamps.

I speak from experience on these things, but you can do your own thing.

 

[Phil1975]

I have to say that I agree with everything Wuffles has said above (also from personal experience).

I have the Mafell MT55 & am just about to buy a couple of decent steel rulers (30cm & 100cm) & some ruler stops. It's a quick, easy & accurate setup.

I bought a CNC Festool style Perforated top off eBay, but these eventually get damaged so I have just bought some Parf Sticks to make my own. They'r a bit pricey, but will pay for themselves in time.

Any decent dogs will do the job. Also long clamps are useful, it's surprising how many times I have had to clamp larger pieces to whatever I can get them clamped onto!

A dust extractor is pretty much essential. Doesn't need to be Festool, you can buy the Festool rubber adaptor fairly cheaply & attach it to whatever extractor you have. I have built a Thein Seperator, which is the way ahead!

 

[petermillard]

I'd add braided sleeving - like this - makes the ribbed vac hoses far less prone to snagging.

And some sheet material to cut up, of course

HTH Peter

 

[Marineboy]

Can thoroughly recommend the lookalike MFT top, no less accurate than the Festool original. I've just cut up a 2440 x 1200 sheet of 12mm ply to make kitchen drawers, using Parf dogs, took me longer to work out my cutting list than actually cut the sheet, all beautifully accurate and square.

 

[DiscoStu]

Acminster make clamps that are identical to the Festool ones and work perfectly. (I have both)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phil1975]

I like the look of the Axi clamps - until I saw the price.

Maybe I'm getting to be a tool snob, but I would rather have the Bessey versions, to match my existing clamps...

www.besseytools.co.uk/bessey-product-ra ... andle.html

 

[woodenstx]

I've had my TS55 for about a year now, I picked it up with two 1.4M tracks, the connectors, two screw clamps and ofcourse the saw+box.

I will admit I'm a total amateurrrr when it comes to this but its made my life infinately easier (and more fun :lol: )
For dust extration I picked up a simple 17L titan vac from Screwfix for £35, its the most reliable bit of titan kit I've had (It'll break now ), I did have to trim the solid hose down to fit the festool port though.

Other than that, I only clamp on small runs, for big sheets I just lay 3-4 lengths of crappy 2*1 down and cut the sheet as required just using the neoprene grips. Never had an issue there. For stuff where the 1.4M guide is unstable I will clamp it down.
I've looked at the kick stops, fancy edge to stop the hose catching etc and never really felt the real 'need' I'm sure they are handy and quite cheap in the festool game, I still havent relented :lol:

I'd like to think the Panther rip blade would be of use but I've still to get round to it.
I did look at the "copy" MFT tops last night off the back of this thread and I will get one of those as I dont have much in the way of work space/bench top so that would solve that issue nicely

Top tip, masking tape over the blade access hole makes the clean cutting even cleaner

 

[pike]

I got a couple of stanley folding sawhorses with the rubber grips on top. My custom 5' x 3' MFT goes on them and is really pretty solid.

I also was given a rail for free when it arrived bent, so I cut it into smaller lengths which I use all the time.

Thanks to this thread I'm also about to get a braided hose and some rule stops

One thing to look out for is if your custom MFT is too thick, the clamps won't fit through without a lot of force or chamfering all the bottom edges.

 

[Eric The Viking]

I use the Festool screw clamps with Makita rails - they work fine and I don't find them slow or awkward.

The ratchet ones (Festool, Bessey or Axminster) look fine, but I wouldn't pay the premium.

E.

PS: I completely agree with Wuffles on the Axminster rule stops - it's a really quick and silly person-proof way to get an accurately set up cut. You can slip the rule under the end of the track at a pinch, and that's pretty dashed good, but if you measure from the waste edge (up to the rubber strip), don't forget that you're including the kerf (DAMHIKT!).

Perhaps it does depend a bit on the quality of silly person you have lying around...

 

[Wuffles]

I use the Festool screw clamps with Makita rails - they work fine and I don't find them slow or awkward.

The ratchet ones (Festool, Bessey or Axminster) look fine, but I wouldn't pay the premium.

E.

Yes, from experience, the screw clamps are much less awkward than the ratchet clamps, and the 300mm screw clamps are useful for so many other things I wouldn't bother with the 160mm ones if buying again.

My Axminster clone ratchets have been retired to metalworking now, and they're still my least favourite clamp.

 

[Adam9453]

I went for the festool 300mm screw clamps and they are very useful as everyone else says

 

[Alexfn]

I have the new version on the triton quick clamps. Seem to be a copy of the dewalt. Im not keen on the screw clamps used them for a while and now use the triton ones all the time

 

[gmgmgm]

Thank you everyone. For anyone in the same boat, following the advice here, I ended up with:
[*]The larger TS-55 'kit' from N&B with 2x 1.4m rails and 120mm clamps. Also came with a bag, which is quite handy to keep the rails safely out of the way
[*]Two rule stops from Axminster - really handy for all sorts of jobs
[*]800mm guide rail for cross cutting
[*]MFT-style top and some dogs

Really impressed how easy it is to get good results with the kit. For some years I've had various holes in my workbench top for chunky dowels to aid lining up joints, but the MFT-style board and dogs are a big step forward.

Next to acquire will be some track stops and one day the "MFT-SP" fixed clamps from Festool.