Thread: Protool saw compatible with festool guide?

Hi Justin,

The Protool saws are designed to work on Protool rails, and also don't cut on the edge of the rail like the Festool saws do.

Dust extraction is pretty though.

If you are interested in Festool gear, think about going down the path of Festool saw and rails. If you can't spring for a new Festool saw at the moment, think about picking up a second hand one and rails.

I do know cutting blue-board with a TS55 and diamond blade gives an excellent result with great dust collection using a Festool CT22 or CT33 extractor.

hi anthony, i already have the festool ts-55. i just dont want to get it covered in f.c. dust.

i dont think my warranty would be covered if i use the festool saw this way.

i am looking for a cheaper alternative, such as the protool, which i could then dedicate to cutting blueboard.

but if its not compatible, then its back to the drawing board.

regards, justin.

Originally Posted by justinmcf

hi anthony, i already have the festool ts-55. i just dont want to get it covered in f.c. dust.

i dont think my warranty would be covered if i use the festool saw this way.

i am looking for a cheaper alternative, such as the protool, which i could then dedicate to cutting blueboard.

but if its not compatible, then its back to the drawing board.

regards, justin.

If you are using extraction there is no huge problem with cutting blue-board with the TS55. The motor where most of the dust will penetrate the casing is well protected and won't suffer any wear. The bearings are something to watch out for. But regular inspection and de-dusting and check for any bearing wear and tear and you should be just fine.

I know I don't hesitate to use the TS55 on cement sheet. But it's a personal choice. If you are really worried about warranty support, double check with Festool. But I have discussed just this topic with Festool and unless owners neglect due care and maintenance there should not be a problem with warranty.

thanks anthony, ok, you have convinced me that i can use the festool saw. i have 2 more questions for you.
would you recommend using the paper bags with the ct-22 extractor or can i use my long life filter bag?
i would also like to know what you recommend for cutting f.c sheeting. in the past i have used diamond blades.

thanks, justin.

Originally Posted by justinmcf

thanks anthony, ok, you have convinced me that i can use the festool saw. i have 2 more questions for you.
would you recommend using the paper bags with the ct-22 extractor or can i use my long life filter bag?
i would also like to know what you recommend for cutting f.c sheeting. in the past i have used diamond blades.

thanks, justin.

No problem.

I would definitely use disposable paper bags.

1. Personal safety - cement sheet dust is not the healthiest thing to be emptying out (of reusable bags) and coming into contact with unless you take good precautions.

2. I have seen cement dust eat away extractor components and cause extractor damage. In one case it etched itself through the filter and killed the extractor motor.

As for blades, I use a couple of Carb-I-tool blades on cement sheet and other mineral material. Depending on the material sometimes the segmented edge ones give a better cleaner cut, and sometimes the solid continual edge ones will perform better. I think the ones I use are 115mm OD. As I am not after great depth of cut this is not big deal.

cheers mate, thank you for all the great advice.

regards, justin

we use our festool saw to ncut 9mm compressed for doing commerical cladding.

use diamond blade, with vac no issue yet. been doing it for 5 yrs on and off.

hi gaza, thanks for the info, what type of blade do you use when cutting f.c. sheeting?

What Gaza said.

I do know of TS55's that have been destroyed by cutting mineral materials, but this was not due to what they were cutting, but due to not maintaining the gear, and then ignoring sign's of wear - sound of worn bearings. What's happens is the saw eventually has a catastrophic failure. But in these cases the saws were not owner operated, but operated by less caring 'team members' who neither pay for the gear nor pay to have it repaired.

So my advise is to use the saws to cut cement sheet because of the efficiency and effectiveness of the system. But care for the tools and they will serve well.

i used to have an old festool saw which i used with a 150mm diamond blade for cutting f.c. sheeting.
at the end of each day i would blow out the saw with the blower hooked up to the compressor, there was a lot of dust blown out of the saw housing.
i put this down to the fact that i wasnt using a dust extractor at that time.
i will take on board everything you guys have told me, it sure is great having a website like this were there is a wealth of knowledge available.

thanks guys, justin.

Originally Posted by nt900

...
The Protool saws are designed to work on Protool rails, and also don't cut on the edge of the rail like the Festool saws do.
...

Anthony, I've seen the saw Justin is talking about, it came with a protool rail that is exactly the same as a festool rail (except for the orange glidestrips vs the green ones.) Protool also has a different guiderail without the antisplinterstrip, but that's for the big saws.

I was thinking of getting one for construction work, where you can use the rail for cutting osb, and easily change to cutting lumber out of hand, because it's not a plunge cut saw. And I liked the "remote control" for the bladeguard. I decided not to get it then, because I wanted a bit more capacity, but the bigger saws were pretty pricey and we have about 4 different sizes of makita saws already.

Festool also makes a saw that's made especially for fiber cement stuff, but it's not a cheap solution, it works at lower rpm with special blades and a different type of guiderail.

so i could use the protool saw mentioned earlier with my festool guide rails.
i dont know how the dust extraction will go with the protool.

i am now convinced that the festool ts-55 will work fine and as the dust is kept to a minimum with the extractor, i cant see any problems.

i have looked at the specialized saw that festool make for fibre cement sheeting, it looks great, but way out of my price range.

frank-jan, thanks for the info,

regards, justin.

try Central Saws. 03 54431877, they make a blade in the dart range that is specially designed for cutting fc, it only has about 4teeth & they are made of PCD (PolyCrystalline Diamond),they dont make as much dust as the diamond blades..another shortcut tip would be to gaffa tape the front face of your protool saw it will make the dust collection part more efficient

Originally Posted by Frank-Jan

Anthony, I've seen the saw Justin is talking about, it came with a protool rail that is exactly the same as a festool rail (except for the orange glidestrips vs the green ones.) Protool also has a different guiderail without the antisplinterstrip, but that's for the big saws.

I was thinking of getting one for construction work, where you can use the rail for cutting osb, and easily change to cutting lumber out of hand, because it's not a plunge cut saw. And I liked the "remote control" for the bladeguard. I decided not to get it then, because I wanted a bit more capacity, but the bigger saws were pretty pricey and we have about 4 different sizes of makita saws already.

Hi Frank-Jan,

The big Protool saws are sooo cool and quite easy to handle considering their size.

We don't quite have the same Protool range as you have there, you have some later products including the new rails that are the same as the Festool ones. And new models of the saws to match those rails. But it can't be long before we get the same here. The CSP56EQ Justin mentioned does not position the blade ride on the rail edge strip. I hope the new ones do.