Problems with my Festool saw, aaarrrgghh!

[johnelliott]

Another thing I've noticed about the new saw, it's trimming the rubber strips on my guides, so it shows that the distance from guide rail to sawblade does vary from one unit to the next.

John, this would vary depending on how you set up the cams that keep it snug to the guide rail.

Not really, the function of the cams is to keep the wear pads cast into the baseplate of the saw close against the raised portion of the guide rail. The important factor here is that the relationship of the blade to the edge of the guide isn't variable by the cams which only act on one side of the guide rail.
It might be possible to insert shims into the base against the wear pads but I can't see any way of holding them there
John

 

[Aragorn]

The important factor here is that the relationship of the blade to the edge of the guide isn't variable by the cams which only act on one side of the guide rail.

You're quite right John - should have had a second look at the setup before I posted. My apologies.

Whilst this is all bad luck for you, I'm hoping that it is a one-off!
I would not hesitate to buy the Festool saw again, but at this price, I would be hard pressed to buy a new one every few years
It does baffle me a bit that with all the attention to detail and the quality of the tool, they are putting something out with "radial play on the blade".

 

[Anonymous]

Hi John

That is bad luck indeed. I think it is really the first Festool problem on here - but then you probably use your festool kit a lot more than most.

The end play you mentioned on the new saw (and old saw) is what concerns me here. This sounds like end float in the bearings and should be absolutely zero on any medium priced or more expensive, top quality kit. What kind of play are we talking about? 0.1mm?, 0.5mm?

The reason I ask this is that I had a cheap compound mitre saw years ago that I could never, ever get to cut repeatably and as accurately as I wanted.
I tried setting it up time and time again and in the end realised that it was down to end float in the motor shaft and bearings. Relaced it with a Rexon with no end float at-all which was spot on every single time.

Maybe this was the cause of your problems?

Hope it all works out OK

 

[johnelliott]

Tony, the play is in the same direction as the blade turns in. It's caused by the drive nut (my term) which fits onto the gearbox shaft and has two flats which correspond to the flats on the shaft. The play comes from a slight mismatch between the two sets of flats. There is no side play as far as I can tell. This play was about the same for both the new unit and the 8 month old one, so I don't think it's a factor here.

I think the problem is something that is maybe not detectable when the machine is not running, and I reckon they are going to have to change the bearings just to 'eliminate them from the enquiry'

One of the great things about having bought the new unit is that I can do side by side comparisons when I get the repaired unit back. Being something of a complaints 'artisite' I intend to have the performance of the old unit restored to as-new.


Even if that was not possible (can't see that, though) I have still had my money's worth out of that machine, and if I had to buy a new one every 8 months then that's what I'll do.
It's a straight forward business decision for me. Plenty of orders on the books at the moment, most of the cabinets I make are different to standard sizes and the Festool is the ideal machine for that. I wouldn't swap it for an Altendorf

John

 

[Jake]

don't you think that the superb cut of the Festool is also partly due to the rubber edge of the guide and the plastic out-rider, which between them effectively create a zero-clearance cut?

Fair comment. My table saw has a zero-clearance insert (it's a festool), so I forgot that most don't.

 

[Anonymous]

Im getting mine in a couple of weeks, hope it's ok


Sorry to hear about yours John

Jase
Coggy

 

[Woodythepecker]

I have just spoken to the dealer and he said that as far as he knows all the plunge saws pulsate on the "1" setting, so before i contact Festool themselves can i once again check that none of your saws do this?

Thank you

Woody

 

[Aragorn]

Will check tomorrow Woody. I don't mind if you PM me a reminder :wink:

 

[Woodythepecker]

Thanks Aragorn, thats nice of you.

I want to find out if this is normal, minor,or fatal as knowing my luck because it is on the lowest speed which inever use i will forget about it until it is to late.

Regards

Woody

 

[Chris Knight]

Woody,

My Festool saw (which I have just been using this afternoon) does not seem to pulsate - but a couple of my DW routers do - on the slower/slowest speed settings. I don't think it is necessarily anything to worry about.

 

[Woodythepecker]

Chris, thanks very much, i appreciate the reply's from both yourself and Aragorn. Enough said.

I am sure you are right, it is just that the saw is so good any fault no matter how small seems to stick out.

Once again thank you.

Regards

Woody

 

[Aragorn]

Hi Woody
Just checked my saw. Didn't notice anything odd at first.
I turned the speed up to 6 and then slowly down to 1. What I noticed was that the rough grating noise that it makes at 6 was randomly pulsing in and out at 1 over the softer purr of the motor.
Might this be the pulsing sound you are refering too?
I wonder what that rough noise is? It certainly doesn't sound "right" yet it seems to make no difference to quality of cut... :?

Anyway, hope this is of some help

 

[Woodythepecker]

Hi Aragorn,

Thanks very much for checking your saw.

It certainly sounds like the same noise, but i have no idea what it is or even if it is common to a lot of their saws. It is just a pity that i cannot get any other of the Festool owners to leave their findings. Maybe if you or Chris ask the same question you might get somewhere.

i must agree that what ever the sound is it does not (so far) effect the cut.

I appreciate your help.

Regards

Woody

 

[Aragorn]

No worries Woody

Maybe if you or Chris ask the same question you might get somewhere.

:idea: Worth a try :



HEY .
Any Festool saw owners notice the pulsing sound at speed 1?
Any one know why it makes a rough grating noise at higher speeds?

 

[Chris Knight]

No worries Woody

Maybe if you or Chris ask the same question you might get somewhere.

:idea: Worth a try :



HEY .
Any Festool saw owners notice the pulsing sound at speed 1?
Any one know why it makes a rough grating noise at higher speeds?

DITTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Woodythepecker]

Talking about acting fast. Thanks to you both.

We have all paid a lot of money for these saws. We have also sung its praises, and still do, but i wouldn't like to ignore a problem if there is one, just because we think so highly of them.

Regards

Woody

 

[Alf]

It is just a pity that i cannot get any other of the Festool owners to leave their findings. Maybe if you or Chris ask the same question you might get somewhere.

Do what? :?: Since when do only the "chosen few" get an answer round here? Did I miss the memo? :? Maybe they're just all too busy in the workshop going "that's odd, why's my Festool saw pulsing like that?"? Patience, Woody. Patience. :wink:

Cheers, Alf

 

[froglet]

Woody as requested I got my saw out this evening and you are right, at its lowest speed setting it sounds as if the power is being removed periodically for a fraction of a second. I am glad everyone elses saw is as noisy as mine, it really threw me the first time I switched it on, while it does cut like a £350 saw it sounds like a £35 one.

Graeme

 

[Woodythepecker]

Alf, i could name half a dozen Festool owners who have been online while this message was posted, and not in the workshop, but that is neither here nor there, because they have got every right not to answer if they so wish.

Impatience maybe, but as i have got to use it again tomorrow to earn a crust, and cannot afford to run it into the ground if there is something wrong with it, i was hoping to find out if i had anything to worry about over the weekend. And as Festool was not open, the only way i could think of to do this was to ask other owners if theirs did the same. If a number of them did, then i could have gone to work happy in the knowledge that there was nothing wrong with it.

Finally i asked Aragorn and Chris to do it because i thought that it would get noticed, and i would hopefully get some answers.

I don't see why you have to be funny about it, as i wasn't asking you for anything. :?

Graeme, another one.Thank you for your reply. I hope that i am not talking to soon but it looks like there is nothing to worry about.

Regards

Woody

 

[Waka]

Alf, i could name half a dozen Festool owners who have been online while this message was posted, and not in the workshop, but that is neither here nor there, because they have got every right not to answer if they so wish.

Woody

I would be only too pleased to test my festool and give you the results, but I'm not home for another 3 weeks.

This thread has got me a little concerned about my own and when I do get home will take a close look at it to see if I get the same problems.