Using Exaktor blade cover on Festool CMS table saw
I am quite fond of my Festool CMS table saw. But it has one major drawback: The Festool table saw cover is terrible. It can be argued that most table saw covers will be in the way and limit functionality. If you like me want to use protection, just to be safe, then you want to overcome those limitations. After having made many unsuccessfull attempts to accept the limitations of the Festool CMS standard cover, I bought and installed the Exaktor blade cover and dust collector (the Orange thing on the picture to the left, resting on the black stand)..
I could not find any good descriptions of how to mount the Exaktor table saw cover on the Festool CMS. Checking the measurement, I was afraid that it was too big for the CMS and thus the work to install it would be hard. But luckily enough, installing the Exaktor on the Festool CMS is easy, at least if you like me have two CMS side board extensions.
With the Exaktor blade cover and dust collector I see a number of really good advantages:
- With the Exaktor installed on the CMS, the air is soo much cleaner when sawing (the Exaktor dust collector is connected to my dust extractor, while the Festool TS75 saw is still connected to my normal heavy duty vacuum cleaner). This is especially noticeable when sawing MDF edges, where the dust use to be thrown out from the saw into the air.
- There is much less risk to mistakenly put a board or a finger onto the rotating saw blade, it is all under a blade cover
- Adjustments of the table saw cover is very easy, both sideways and heightwise (sideways is more or less not needed, and also heighwise is seldom needed since there are two weel on the blade cover, one in front and one in back).
- When the cover is so much in the way I want to get rid of it, temporarily moving it out of the way is very easy (sidewise, or height wise, or even dismantling it). Thus, it remains in use, and when it is not, it gets back in use again very quickly.
The Exaktor blade cover runs on wheels
The Exaktor cover has wheels in the front as well as in the back (①).
These wheels make it easy to get a piece in under the cover.
The blade cover is balanced by a counterweight, and if the controlling knob (①) is not fastened too hard, it will easily move up and down.
The wheels also make it possible to do the opposite. Place the cover on the table bottom, and adjust the knob allowing height adjustment to a hard to move setting. Then the cover wheel will exercise some downward pressure on the material when being sawn.
The Exaktor table saw cover can easily be adjusted sideways
To adjust the Exaktor cover sideways, another knob (①) need to be losened. The whole orange arm then easily slides left or right.