DISCLAIMER: This is more or less a rant.

A little over a year ago, I purchased my first Festool - a TS55 track saw. I have only used this saw about 7 or 8 times since then. The second time I used it, it bogged down cutting through some 1" pine stock - I know, weird... Anyhow, since then, the TS55 has never impressed me. I buy the most expensive tools for my shop because I don't want problems, but this tool just doesn't measure up. My PM2000 and Ceros impress me(for reference). Anyway, fast forward to last week. I was trimming a rustic table top to size, and the top was made from 100 year old Poplar which is 7/8" thick. The saw bogged down, and then quit running. I called Festool and spoke to their tech department. The guy first asked which blade I was using, to which I replied "the one you shipped the saw with", and I read off the part number. He asks how long the board was, and I told him 7ft. At this point, I could only describe the next part of the story as a fountain of B.S. spewing from his mouth. He first tells me that this is the wrong blade. Then, he proceeds to tell me that with this blade, I can only rip 4ft or so of stock, and that I need -wait for it.....- a different blade! Yep, I need a 12 tooth ripping blade for any rip over 4ft long. After that, he then tells me that the saw has a thermal overload protector, and that it shut itself off by design. He says that in 15 minutes, it will come back on. Well, it had already been almost an hour, so I plugged it in, while on the phone, and nothing. He tells me to plug it into a different receptacle(like I'm an idiot), and so I did - nothing. At this point, he informs me that the motor must be burned up. OK, well so much for a "thermal overload protector". While he's giving me instructions to send the saw in for repairs, he mentions that.... OK, this one is going to BLOW your minds. He proceeds to tell me that "you should never have this plugged into and extension cord if you want full power. It must be plugged directly into the wall outlet". HOLY SMOKES FOLKS! Well, there you have it Ladies and Gentlemen. Be sure not to plug your portable circular saw into an extension cord. Are you serious? Are you kidding me? Alright. Now it's time to be completely fair. Let's just saw that I rewire my entire shop so that there is a receptacle every 12 inches around the perimeter of the room. What do you suppose those yellow romex wires have in common with extension cords? They're both just wire? The hell you say.

OK, I'm going to take a breath.

So, I ended up finishing the table using my $60 refurbished Hitachi Circular saw(with original blade from 5 years ago), plugged into an extension cord. If that isn't pathetic enough, allow me to inject this anecdote into the story. 6 Months ago, I replaced my kitchen floor with hardwood. To get rid of the multiple layers of subfloor and linoleum, I went to Home Depot and purchased a throwaway saw. I bought a $39 Ryobi corded circular saw. Then(with an extension cord) I sliced my kitchen floor, cutting through staples and cleats, from left to right over and over until I had 1ft thick strips. Then, I cut them the other direction, essentially making 1ftx3ft strips of flooring which I could pull up and discard. The saw was literally smoking at times as I rammed it through the nails. I never ended up throwing the saw away, because it still works fine.

On the other hand, I have a $660 "best tool money can buy", and it has to have a special blade to cut poplar and can't be plugged into an extension cord. Why did I buy this saw again?

OK, my rant is done. I'm ready for the support of those who have had bad Festool experiences, as well as the thrashing from the loyal Festool enthusiasts.