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Post by chippiegary on Nov 10, 2017 3:39:31 GMT -5
Sorry henrun meant to say main thing for me on mt cordless will be dust extraction and power “although mostly use my corded mt for sheet work thanks Gary
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Post by henrun on Nov 10, 2017 12:32:36 GMT -5
Well, it took a little while before I came to my conclusion and once I did I do feel at ease, it feels like the right choice for several reasons. Knowing my typical workflow the KSS40 will do 90% (!) but I am thinking the MT55 18 bl will bite into those 90% and even out the workload. Images:       Forgot to rotate the last image prior to upload - sorry for that! They are remarkably similar for being so different. I weighed the MT55cc in at 4.7kg and the MT55 18 bl at exactly the same - with a 5.5 LiHD battery - so the MT55cc with cord would weigh slightly more than the battery version. Scale has only 0.1kg resolution so they could differ a little in weight but in hand they feel the same. I had to look down to see which one I was holding. Overall balance and handling feels the same between the two. This is a great job by Mafell! |
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Post by chippiegary on Nov 10, 2017 12:38:11 GMT -5
I must say when I tried both corded and cordless at a show they seemed identical in power “made a cut with both on same material “ it’s not the same as trades people using daily plus you always give excellant reviews henrun
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Post by henrun on Nov 10, 2017 13:05:44 GMT -5
The not so great with the MT55 18M bl (which I will refer to as the MT55/18 from now on): Plastic machine insert is awkward. I bought the speed charger from Mafell - it kicks 6.5Ah into the batteries (!) so it will probably charge a lot faster than I am used to. But, it doesn't fit in the insert. Saw does not fit with the charger in place. The charger is a lot bigger than the other two I have. Only one of the chargers fit "ok" in the Systainer but it is a bit of a chore fitting the batteries. I can't fit the saw with a battery mounted anyway I tried it. I must be stupid. Anyway I ripped that insert out and put a foam in the bottom instead. Now I can fit everything I need: two spare blades, the saw - with battery mounted - spare battery, charger, parallel fence and plunge depth indicator thingy. Also a small pouch with recoil stop, stubdriver for rail connectors and two rail clamps - and the Dustbag. Funny thing is that it is the same Dustbag as for the KSS50 - but it seems to attach better to the Mt55/18. I haven't had time to run the saw yet but if it comes to that I have a spare Metabo Dustbag on order anyway.  I hope it cuts as well as it handles. I forgot to bring it to the workshop today so I used the MT55cc and it is a remarkable saw - super smooth cutting in birch ply with zero tear out. For the MT55/18 I picked up two Festool blades: the 18T and the 12T Panther blade. I am very tempted to rip me some near frozen pressure treated wood with the 12T blade and see what happens... I might pick up some specialty blade with higher tooth count, just need to check my priorities as I have several very fine blades for the MT55cc so I won't spend more money on blades. For the time being I will keep the MT55cc in the workshop. If the MT55/18 is almost as good as I might sell it off - I love the saws but once you start collecting saws that run on different blades you are on a slippery slope. I would still bet the MT55cc is the very best saw in the line up still - but since I use mine very sparingly it would make sense to go all in on the battery saws. Even in the workshop. |
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Post by henrun on Nov 10, 2017 13:12:09 GMT -5
Chippiegary: thanks! I don't go all in on the reviews but I do try to tell it straight, and from a practical perspective. Will complete some bespoke furniture in the workshop this weekend and we have a huge amount of scrap sheetgoods and timber so I will definitely do a little shoot-out with the two. I am curious to see how far one LiHD 5,5 gets me. I am rebuilding my work bench / corner and making some tool inserts and will pretend the huge Felder Format 4 isn't there and cut everything with the MT55/18 and see how it goes. Hopefully it will match up with the rubber strip on the MT55cc rails.  |
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MT55 18 bl
Nov 10, 2017 13:29:16 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by chippiegary on Nov 10, 2017 13:29:16 GMT -5
I’m guessing if you use the panther blades they won’t line up with existing mt splinter edge
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Post by henrun on Nov 10, 2017 13:50:21 GMT -5
Hmm, it should, as it is the Panther blade for the HKC 55 so 1,8mm blade thickness, same as the Mafell.
Or, did I miss anything!?
EDIT: are you thinking of the "regular" Panther blade for the TS55 which is 2,2mm?
I believe the older Panther was a 14T blade and had a whopping 2,5mm kerf.
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Post by aas on Nov 10, 2017 14:11:35 GMT -5
(Kerf - plate thickness) / 2
i.e. for the Mafell blades (1.8-1.2)/2 = 0.3mm - this is the crucial distance from arbor to splinter strip.
If the plate is 1.9mm and the kerf 2.5mm, it'll work fine.
You just need the kerf to be 0.6mm more than the plate thickness and it's the same spec as the Mafell blades.
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MT55 18 bl
Nov 10, 2017 15:00:32 GMT -5
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Post by chippiegary on Nov 10, 2017 15:00:32 GMT -5
Yes henrun sorry I was thinking of ts blades you are right hkc blades are 1.8 kerf fingers crossed they fit ok
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MT55 18 bl
Nov 10, 2017 15:07:53 GMT -5
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Post by chippiegary on Nov 10, 2017 15:07:53 GMT -5
Blades are same for cordless and corded on mt 55 I guess mafell think they are thin enough most manufacturers make the cordless a lot thinner also Festool HKC blades are 160mm I noticed to 162 on mafell again don’t suppose it will matter bit less on depth I guess probably just stating facts “I think it’s called going on too much apologies “
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MT55 18 bl
Nov 10, 2017 15:19:05 GMT -5
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Post by chippiegary on Nov 10, 2017 15:19:05 GMT -5
Clever bugger aas I never knew that , makes buying non mafell blades a whole lot easier .
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Post by skinee on Nov 11, 2017 17:28:56 GMT -5
Well, it took a little while before I came to my conclusion and once I did I do feel at ease, it feels like the right choice for several reasons. Knowing my typical workflow the KSS40 will do 90% (!) but I am thinking the MT55 18 bl will bite into those 90% and even out the workload. Images: Forgot to rotate the last image prior to upload - sorry for that! They are remarkably similar for being so different. I weighed the MT55cc in at 4.7kg and the MT55 18 bl at exactly the same - with a 5.5 LiHD battery - so the MT55cc with cord would weigh slightly more than the battery version. Scale has only 0.1kg resolution so they could differ a little in weight but in hand they feel the same. I had to look down to see which one I was holding. Overall balance and handling feels the same between the two. This is a great job by Mafell! thanks for the photos Henrik,they really are very similar in size,it will be very interesting to see if the cut on the cordless aligns with your original FSN rails. |
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Post by henrun on Nov 12, 2017 11:12:57 GMT -5
Skinee: happy to inform you that it cuts exactly like my MT55cc (and KSS40) so no need to keep track of which rails go to which machine. Did some thin pencil lines on birch ply and I could saw smack on the line with both saws. If I hid the pencil line a fraction of a mm under the lip it looked the same after cutting with both saws. Sweet!
All of a sudden I have plenty of spare rails. Like three, maybe four of them. Well, two are holey rails so they double up for the Bosch routers but they could be used just as well for the Mafell saws too.
Again, the saws feel similar in handling so whenever I pick one up I have to look at it to see which one I have picked up. Did plenty of Birch ply cutting today with the MT55/18 and it was no match for the cut capacity.
Tomorrow I will cut 21/22mm ply and rip a few oak boards and will see what the MT55/18 will do under heavier load. We took delivery of a new Felder Format 4 router and it came loaded on a huge and very thick (40mm or so) particle board attached to a few studs. I might try to chop it up on the cargo bay with the MT55/18. If it handles that it can tackle anything I need it for.
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MT55 18 bl
Nov 12, 2017 12:41:50 GMT -5
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Post by chippiegary on Nov 12, 2017 12:41:50 GMT -5
Hi henrun brilliant info as always could you make a 45 cut tomorrow to see if it cuts on the splinter strip line “ might answer a few questions going about on another thread many thanks Gary
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Post by henrun on Nov 12, 2017 16:36:05 GMT -5
Sure thing Gary, will look into it tomorrow. It is not often I make 45 cuts so that could very well be the culprit.
I think that the KSS300 might cut into the strip a little on the FSN rails at a 45 cut as it was primarily designed for the Flexirail and the "hard" cut strip on the cross cut rail is thinner. I don't know if they fixed that on the KSS 40 to be honest.
The MT55's are all designed primarily for the FSN rails so should be fine. The larger KSS saws have a rubber strip on the cross rails as you know they should also be fine.
I will see if I have a worn out rubber strip on a shorter rail so I don't cut the strip down with the KSS40 at an angle. It should pivot out "clear" as the others do.
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