Fellow NCWW member Joe Scharle recently acquired the Scheppach CS55 track saw, and he brought it by my shop yesterday in order to compare it to my Festool TS55.
At first glance, it appears that the Scheppach system is a clone of the Festool , with enough modifications to the design to prevent them from running afoul of copyright laws.
The tracks – although similar, are not compatible. The Scheppach track is about ¼” wider between the guide rail and the edge of the track, which means that a Festool saw will not work at all on the Scheppach track. Additionally, the spacing is different between the two guide ridges, preventing one track from being attached to the other.
The Scheppach saw will glide down the Festool track; however it overhangs the side of the track by ¼”, negating the benefits of the rubber strip that reduces tear-out. The size difference is depicted in the photo below.
The photo below shows the Scheppach saw sitting on the Festool guide rail. Note the gap between the saw blade and the rubber anti-tear out strip.
From a size and handling perspective, the two saws are very similar. They both cut through a 6/4 white oak board w/o any problems; however there was a noticeable difference in the smoothness of the cut between the two saws. While neither saw left any kerf marks, The surface left by the Festool saw was noticeably smoother than the cut left by the Scheppach (which left some minute kerf marks on the cut).
[EDIT: I just inspected the cut left by the Scheppach more closely, and some minute kerf marks are visible. Each saw used the blade that was supplied with the saw].
The price of the Scheppach is fantastic though, and unless you need the utmost in quality on your cut it is a worthwhile track saw to consider.
At first glance, it appears that the Scheppach system is a clone of the Festool , with enough modifications to the design to prevent them from running afoul of copyright laws.
The tracks – although similar, are not compatible. The Scheppach track is about ¼” wider between the guide rail and the edge of the track, which means that a Festool saw will not work at all on the Scheppach track. Additionally, the spacing is different between the two guide ridges, preventing one track from being attached to the other.
The Scheppach saw will glide down the Festool track; however it overhangs the side of the track by ¼”, negating the benefits of the rubber strip that reduces tear-out. The size difference is depicted in the photo below.
The photo below shows the Scheppach saw sitting on the Festool guide rail. Note the gap between the saw blade and the rubber anti-tear out strip.
From a size and handling perspective, the two saws are very similar. They both cut through a 6/4 white oak board w/o any problems; however there was a noticeable difference in the smoothness of the cut between the two saws. While neither saw left any kerf marks, The surface left by the Festool saw was noticeably smoother than the cut left by the Scheppach (which left some minute kerf marks on the cut).
[EDIT: I just inspected the cut left by the Scheppach more closely, and some minute kerf marks are visible. Each saw used the blade that was supplied with the saw].
The price of the Scheppach is fantastic though, and unless you need the utmost in quality on your cut it is a worthwhile track saw to consider.
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