Last weekend I bought the TS 55 EQ with the original justification of ripping and crosscutting pieces of plywood which were too big for my contractor sized table saw.  My task for today is to rip some shelves from a piece of plywood, all the same width and while I can do it with the table saw I'd rather use the new toy.  With the table saw I'd just set the fence to the right width and send the plywood through, but probably with some minor issues with the wood steering away from the fence.  It appears that with the Festool saw you've got to measure/mark the width for a piece, put the guide rail in place, make the cut, then start measuring again.  Is there a faster way that avoids measuring each piece individually?  I don't have the parallel guide.

There are three options:
1. Mark each strip individually
2. Buy Festool parallel guides. (Tool nuts is very close to you)
3. Make your own parallel guides.

Cheers,
VictorL

  to The FOG, Sprior,

Before Festool introduced the Parallel Guide Set with Extensions, I routinely needed to turn sheets of plywood into shelves of identical width using a TS55 and a Guide Rail. Although I now own a large shop with a Pressure Beam Saw, I still use my trusted method when the shelves need to be beveled.

Since normally plywood shelves are made with the veneer grain running the long way, I start breaking down the sheet of plywood by carefully cross-cutting the sheet into pieces with parallel cut sides the length of the finished shelves.

Step 2 is to use a sacrificial surface set at a convenient working height. At the end where I want to work I fasten a piece of scrap the same thickness as the shelves about the width of the shelves. Along the start end of the cut I fasten a long 4" wide piece of scrap at an exact right angle to the other piece of scrap but separated from the end scrap by just over the width of the shelves. At the far side or end of the cut I fasten still another long 4" wide piece of scrap, also separated from the end piece by just over the width of the shelves, at an exact right angle to the end scrap, but far enough from the start edge scrap the blank shelf plywood slides freely.

Step 3 is to place a shelf blank sheet on the surface, snug to the start end scrap. Measure from the end scrap the width of the shelves, plus 2.2mm to allow for the kerf of the TS55 saw blade. Mark that at on both the start and finish end pieces of scrap. That mark is where the splinter guard of the guide rail needs to be. Clamp the guide rail so it stays on that mark.

Step 4 is to fasten a small scrap of 12mm material to the start and finish long pieces of scrap snug to the far side of the rail away from the splinter guard.

The way I use this fixture is to position a fresh shelf blank snug against the start scrap about 12mm beyond the rail's splinter guard. I make a clean-up cut of that factory edge of the blank. Then I move the blank's clean edge snug against the end scrap. From then on I hold the rail's far side against the small blocks make a cut and remove the new shelf. Then I keep doing the same thing until the remaining shelf blank is too narrow to support the guide rail.

I solve that issue by using either the next blank or a finished shelf to support the rail and at the same time hold the last bit of blank snug against the end stop.

Probably it has taken me longer to explain this fixture and method as it does to finish a batch of shelves. Long before I bought Festools I would use either double-headed nails or dry wall screws to temporarily fasten cleats and stops to my sacrificial surface, I continue to do so even when using guide rails, so clamps do not get in the way of using the TS55. Each time I set up this sort of fixture I place the end scrap a different distance from the end of the sacrificial surface, so the groove from the saw blade is not in the same place.

Just a quick note on John's site, unfortunately, it's not longer up.

You can use a combination square (or two) to assist you in placing your guide rail on your workpiece.  Measure from the back edge of your guide rail to the cut edge of the splinter guard to get the width of your rail, then set a combination square to the difference between that measurement and the width you want for your shelves.  If you have a second combination square, use the first one to set the second to the same setting.  Now you can use the combination square(s) to locate the back edge of your guide rail in relation to the edge of your material.  This is a simple method to use until you make or buy some parallel guides...

You could always see if you can get a hold of John's cd with the whole site's posts in PDF.  Not sure if I'm allowed to copy mine for others, so if there's an attorney on the FOG, speak up.

I'm calling dibs on halfinchshy......

Yeah, I did see that the DVD is for sale there and definitely that's a good thing for the family.  I think Woodcraft could have maintained the site and put the DVD's ad there instead of pigeon-holing it behind a sidebar link.

Once I'm gone, Brice, you can have HalfInchShy!  The rubber chicken on the bench, though, goes to Ken.

Keeping this thread on track...  I've been searching around on this forum and found at least 4 strong contenders for homemade parallel guides, but because of the way these discussions go it can be hard to follow and really determine what ultimately happened.  Is there any agreement on what the top one or two designs are (with parts available in the US)?

Apparently there is no consensus about home designed alternatives to Festool Parallel Guides with Extensions.

Many of us have provided details our the approach each of us takes.

Based upon your OP my impression is that you had a short deadline to make a batch of shelves. That being the case, my suggestion is to go to a local Festool dealer who has a Parallel Guide set in stock and purchase that. If the shelves are narrow, then you will need the extensions. The method I suggested to you can be built in minutes with the equipment you stated you already have available.

Hi Sprior, it is good to know you made all the shelves you needed. Now that you measured each individually and obviously cut carefully, you will better appreciate Festool solutions that are as accurate and also more time efficient.

Although a lot of people have found home made solutions, so using expensive purchased components, I encourage everyone needing accurate repeated parallel pieces to seriously consider that set from Festool. Also, do not forget the extensions, because there is a savings buying them included. And, it might turn out the first job after buying the parallel set needs pieces so narrow the extensions are needed.

I have a Fastcap metric/standard tape that makes the conversion from inches to metric to set your parallel guides a no-math no-brainer.  I have actually started to work in metric full time and it is much easier.

http://www.mcfeelys.com/product/FSC-403/FastCap-MetricStandard-Tape-Measures

I use the TS55 to break down the sheets into manageable pieces for the tablesaw so I usually cut everything slightly oversized with the TS55 and then use the tablesaw to get them exact.

Metric is the better system so one might as well learn to use it. 

You will find 100's on Amazon.

I think you will also find the one from FastCap which has metric in both directions.