Festool tracksaw t75 just stopped working mid cut

[andrew whicker]

Figured it was a heat overload. Compressed air and minutes of waiting.. nothing.

I googled a bit and this seems to just happen and now it needs to be repaired? Anyone with experience that can chime in?

[andrew whicker]

Called team Festool and they said it has a thermal overload but if doesn't turn back on in 15 minutes consider it broken and send it to Indiana to get fixed

[andrew whicker]

Is there any legitimate reason to get this fixed vs getting the makita version? I understand the festool thrusts the blade (via angled gear teeth) in one direction to make a better cut. I like that idea a lot.

But I'm also so over this brand. Thanks for the thermal overload that doesn't protect the motor I guess?

I can literally pull a saw out of my collection that my grandpa used and it still works but I guess a 750 dollar saw can't work for 6 years. I don't even use the thing that often

[andrew whicker]

Called back and they have no average cost of repair.

Insane. If you Google this other people have this problem. Someone was apparently quoted 280 plus 80 in shipping on 2019.

[mike stenson]

My ATF55 has hit thermal a few times in the almost 20 years I've owned it. Still works fine.

I take it yours didn't recover and you don't want to have it repaired, then go get the makita. I guess?

[andrew whicker]

I guess it's worth repairing even though I am in no way wanting to support such a lame company?

I'm so angry I want to drop them out of spite.

[Malcolm McLeod]

I have a Domino (700) and never registered it for warranty. It quit 4-5yrs back, so I panicked at the thought of repair cost! I contacted Festool (USA), sent it to them, they repaired and returned. Only cost was my shipping it to them. Symptoms seem a bit familiar, but it was ultimately such a non-issue that I've forgotten.

Sounds like you may not get 'such a deal', but here's hoping...

Good luck with it/decision.

[andrew whicker]

Did it the old fashioned way.. muscle and table saw

517582

[Rich Engelhardt]

Question?

Were you using dust collection on it when it quit?

Per Swenson has a post here somewhere that said Festool track saws are designed so that the air flow from the dust collector cools the motor and without using the dust collector you risk ruining the motor.

It's something I always had in the back of my mind when I made a cut without using DC when I had my TS55EQ.

[Brian Holcombe]

I would open it up and inspect the brushes. My little Mafell tracksaw was acting up last year and simply cleaning the brushes solved the issue, one of them was wearing weirdly and so I repaired it. I would start there and just inspect a few things long before buying a new machine.

[Jimmy Harris]

It sounds like you've had enough of the Festool. I'd just sell it "as-is/for parts" and let someone else try to fix it and buy a Makita. If you factor in the costs of shipping and repairs for the Festool, you'll probably come out about the same.

[Richard Coers]

I guess it's worth repairing even though I am in no way wanting to support such a lame company?

I'm so angry I want to drop them out of spite.
Perfect, I'll send you a private message to take it off your hands. I have no problem replacing a thermal overload switch. Edit; Message sent, I'll pay for shipping.

[Bill Dufour]

Easy enough to jump the overload and see if the motor still runs. You should be able to replace the overload with a generic one if you can not source the original make. Klikon is a common make in the USA.
BilL D

[Mike Cutler]

Andrew

It sounds as if it's out of warranty, if so, there is nothing wrong with turning it over to many of the small motor repair shops available.
The electronic circuitry for a Festool is a little more complicated than some others, but it's not rocket science. Speed and load controllers are pretty simple circuits, and if it is, as Bill suggests, just a simple overload, that's even easier.
I have the same saw, so I understand your frustration. For that kind of $$$$ it should last long time.
I'll take second in line behind Richard if you get to the point of launching it into a dumpster. ;)

[Michael Schuch]

I have never owned a Festool anything. The ones I have used seem WAY over priced for what you get. They seem more like prestige tools than actually superior tools.

For a home shop the Makita seems like a sweet spot for capability vs price. I have a 60" sliding table saw and a 24" cross cut radial arm saw so I seem to only use my track saw for the initial break down of whole sheets. After I can move the pieces around easily I don't have any more use for a track saw.

I would certainly find out how much it will cost to repair your T75. If you do decide to get rid of it out of disgust you will be able to sell a working T75 for a lot more than a non-working one! It sounds like there are some on this thread that are anxious to buy your non-working T75, send it off to be repaired and turn a quick buck from your misfortune.

P.S. I talked myself into buying a Mafell track saw. While it is a fantastic track saw it doesn't do anything (or do anything better) than my neighbors Makita which was less than half the price. My Mafell track saw has a brushless motor. Does the T75 have a brushless motor?

[Derek Cohen]

I read the original post and my immediate thought was "check the brushes". Classic symptom. I note Brian also said this. We are the two greatest minds here, so do it! :)

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Becker]

Does the T75 have a brushless motor?
No. The TS75, even to this day, is a brushed motor. As both Brian and Derek mentioned, brushes would be the first thing I'd check. When it was introduced, it was pretty much the only game in town for larger depth capacity in a tracksaw. Mafell and maybe a few others have addressed this competitively at this point, however.

I have used Festool's service for out of warranty repair and didn't find the cost to be out of line, honestly. My 2005 era Rotex 150 wasn't running correctly. They literally rebuilt it for under half the cost of a new one and it's a beast. I was actually surprised when they told me the number before sending it back to me. A lot of tools are not even "fixable" these days...

[Mark Gibney]

Andrew that's got to be incredibly frustrating for you, as I know you're in business cutting wood.
Let us know the upshot.

[Jamie Buxton]

Before I’d guess it is a bad thermal overload device, I’d look pretty carefully at the power cord and the connectors on both ends. In general, connectors are more likely to fail than devices which are soldered on to circuit boards. And for a while, there was something buggy about the twist lock.

[Paul Koenigs]

Is there any legitimate reason to get this fixed vs getting the makita version? I understand the festool thrusts the blade (via angled gear teeth) in one direction to make a better cut. I like that idea a lot.

But I'm also so over this brand. Thanks for the thermal overload that doesn't protect the motor I guess?

I can literally pull a saw out of my collection that my grandpa used and it still works but I guess a 750 dollar saw can't work for 6 years. I don't even use the thing that often

Definitely get the Maikita.. I am so over festool as well. They really aren't the premium brand they claim to be. They are about average.
Yes, the domino is cool and unique. All their other tools? Overpriced and not really that higher of quality.
I have the makita, it works great.

[Dave Sabo]

Question?

Were you using dust collection on it when it quit?

Per Swenson has a post here somewhere that said Festool track saws are designed so that the air flow from the dust collector cools the motor and without using the dust collector you risk ruining them .


Not sure this is accurate.

Festool sells collection bags as accessories for saws and those definitely don’t do anything to cool the motor. Would be curious they would sell an accessory that would be harmful to their product.

[Brian Holcombe]

Definitely get the Maikita.. I am so over festool as well. They really aren't the premium brand they claim to be. They are about average.
Yes, the domino is cool and unique. All their other tools? Overpriced and not really that higher of quality.
I have the makita, it works great.

I've narrowed down what I like from festool's offerings to their routers, impact driver, drill, multitool and their dust extractors. The routers are very well built and their battery powered drill and driver have really stood up to hard use in my experience.

I have their trim router and the of1400 and I think both are excellent. I bought the OF1400 at least 15 years ago, or so. Given the choice today, I would wait until the Mafell LO55 arrives in the US, they included all of the things that Festool has failed to update, namely LED lights. It baffles me that Festool doesn't put LED lights on their routers.

For circular saws, after going to Mafell I have not looked back. I can rip 3" thick material with the Mafell in one pass, it doesn't struggle, it doesn't overheat and stop cutting....etc. It just cuts and keeps on cutting. It also has all of the options available to it, so I got a crosscut track and attached it without needing to purchase an additional separate saw.

Festool's main point of annoyance is that they seem to design everything in a way that it requires you to buy endless $50-$100 accessories that should be part of the original tool kit in may opinion.

I have an MFT table that I bought for job sites. To be even reasonably sturdy it required two sets ($150) of struts. The dang struts have PLASTIC ends, one of which snapped off within no time and of course they are not ready to send you a replacement, they direct you to your website so you can waste your afternoon hunting down some plastic piece of junk.

The MFT is better than other job site tables, but I feel it should be rock solid and not have a bunch of plastic crap that fails in repeated use.

I also made the mistake of buying their roller cart for the toolboxes. What a piece of garbage, the entire thing is plastic and so if you actually pull it in and out of vans, or up and down stairs, the thing just doesn't hold up as advertised. I'm not sure why they can't offer a lightweight aluminum or steel cart that can survive actual use on job sites without falling to pieces.

While I'm ranting....the vacuums need larger rubber tired casters. Their back wheels are great, the front wheels should be identical but with the ability to swivel. Dragging the thing around the shop, it's fine. Drag it around a worksite and it stops on everything, falls into every crack in the floor, etc.

Mafell includes a lot of the accessories in the package so that you aren't required to buy endless little bits and bobs to use the tool.

[andrew whicker]

Thanks for all the replies. I haven't had time to look at the saw yet. I will check the brushes when my schedule dies down (ha!).

I'm not sure how emotional (angry, frustrated, etc) my post came off as, but I've been dealing with a customer that has been change ordering me to death which has me behind in two other important projects so I'm just sort of ready for a break. I think this last weekend was the first weekend I "pretty much" took the weekend off in like 2 to 3 weeks. This along with having an extremely high "hard on myself" attribute makes me grumpy at times. : )

I appreciate all the replies and was genuinely surprised that most people had something of an agreement. I figured opening this thread finally (have been avoiding reading responses until today) would be lambasting me. So that's nice.

Thanks again and have a wonderful week! I'll get it figured out.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Not sure this is accurate.

Festool sells collection bags as accessories for saws and those definitely don’t do anything to cool the motor. Would be curious they would sell an accessory that would be harmful to their product.As I mentioned - I got the info from Per Swenson (you might recall him from here).
I took his word for it since - at the time I bought my Festool TS55EQ, I'm not sure Festool even offered DC bags.
Oh well neither here nor there for me since I sold my TS55EQ a few years ago and replaced it with a Makita cordless.