Festool PD561556, PM561556, PI561556, PD561432 user manual Plunge Cutting, General Procedure

Plunge Cutting

CAUTION! Never make a plunge cut without a limit stop. The back of the sawblade will lift the saw off the guide rail, and will result in a kickback situation.

Plunge cutting is used when the cut does not start at the edge of the workpiece. Instead, it starts in the middle of the workpiece, and may continue to the end, or may stop short of the end. There is a wide variety of applications for plunge cuts. Some examples include cutting a countertop for a sink or appliance, cutting a hardwood floor for inset tile, slotting a cabinet frame for a pull-out bread board; just to name a few.

Notes

►► Always use the limit stop when making a plunge cut to prevent an unexpected kickback (see page 14).

►► Whenever possible, put the guide rail on the side of the cut that will be saved. If the guide rail is placed on the offcut side, you must remember to account for the blade thickness when positioning the guide rail (typically 2.2 mm).

►► Whenever possible, set the saw depth to its maximum setting to minimize the amount of material that is not cut by the blade. Make sure there is nothing below the cut that you don’t want to cut into.

►► To control the position of the saw at both the beginning and end, you may use a second limit stop (part number 491582) at the front of the saw, as shown below.

	Front blade
Rear blade
position at	position at
full depth.	full depth.

General Procedure

1.	Using pencil lines, tape, or some other means, mark the
	beginning and end of the cut.
2.	Place the guide rail on the cutline.

Full Blade

Depth

Manually cut the corners.

Shallow

Blade Depth

3.	Place the saw on the guide rail, and position it at the
	start of the cut.
4.	Install the limit stop on the guide rail, slide it up to the
	back of the saw, and lock it in place.
5.	If an optional second limit stop is used, set its position in
	a similar manner.
6.	With the saw firmly seated against the beginning limit
	stop, start the saw and slowly plunge it down.

►► Mark the beginning and end of the cut (blue tape in picture below). If the blade is at full depth, there are index marks on the saw that indicate where the blade is positioned.

►► For 4-sided cuts where the center section is removed, support the offcut piece before cutting all four sides to prevent it from breaking the corners. Trim the corners with a handsaw.

7. Advance the saw through the cut until the end is

reached.

►► Hold the saw fully plunged until the blade comes to a complete stop.

►► Never back the saw up, as this can result in a kickback.

Optional 2nd

Limit Stop

Limit

Stop

Splinter Guard

Mark the beginning

and end of cut.

18 TS 55 REQ