2 Guide Rails vs. 1 Longer Guiderail

[tallgrass]

The TSO works perfectly..... I have a large number of rails and I have tried it and measured them. Just to make sure so I would not get bit by assuming they worked. They worked beautifully and painlessly. They kill the problem of the problem associated with connecting rails. I have tried the others. festool and Makita. The TSO connectors are simple and effective.

 

[Michael Kellough]

The TSO works perfectly..... I have a large number of rails and I have tried it and measured them. Just to make sure so I would not get bit by assuming they worked. They worked beautifully and painlessly. They kill the problem of the problem associated with connecting rails. I have tried the others. festool and Makita. The TSO connectors are simple and effective.

That’s a pretty unequivocal positive testimonial! Thanks.

 

[tallgrass]

It is always a nice thing when you can put a pet peeve to bed. The connection of the rails has been a sore spot for me for quite some time. The only down side is that I have festool connectors, makita connectors that have now have no place to go..... I guess I will put them in my metal stock bin for future projects....

 

[Cheese]

The only down side is that I have festool connectors, makita connectors that have now have no place to go..... I guess I will put them in my metal stock bin for future projects....

That's exactly what I did...I pulled the few remaining set screws  [eek]  from the Festool rail connectors and placed the connectors in the steel stock bin for possible re-purposing. One less annoyance in life. [smile]

 

[joemodern]

I bought the TSO connectors after reading this and am quite happy I did- they work great and the screws, not slotted like Festool's, make it even better. Any one need a Festool connector?

 

[Ebuwan]

I know it's an old thread, but i'm buying the 3000 rail as soon as I can swing it.

I've got the older Festool connectors and the newer ones.

I will have a perfect 8ft cut on a piece of ply, then next cut will be out almost 1mm along the length.

I know, thats not a huge deal over 8ft, but man, as stated earlier in this thread, i'd take rails apart, then realize i need another long cut, such a pain.

I mean, you can always make more money, but can't make more time. Since kids, every minute counts and time/frustration spent on connecting and disconnecting rails stinks.

I'm even on the fence about another Parallel guide setup so make my life easier lol.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

A one-piece rail is always better, far easier to handle. The only drawback is storage. If you don't have space for it, joining shorter rails will work.

 

[luvmytoolz]

I'm hanging out to get a 2.7m rail for cutting large sheets, the only reason I haven't yet is the cost is so high in OZ, same price as the ETS sander!

I hate how we get screwed for everything in OZ!

 

[Jeff Zanin]

I eventually got the 3000 rail and made a set of holders for it on a garage wall.  It is great for breaking down sheets at home, but not portable, so I have the joiners for the shorter rails. 

In one of his videos Sedge shows how to use the base of the track saw to align the rails, this is a good trick along with NOT butting the ends together, instead leave a small gap because the ends are not necessarily square.

Moving the joined rails around for multiple cuts can also throw them out of alignment, best to re-check after moving.

 

[Ebuwan]

I eventually got the 3000 rail and made a set of holders for it on a garage wall.  It is great for breaking down sheets at home, but not portable, so I have the joiners for the shorter rails. 

In one of his videos Sedge shows how to use the base of the track saw to align the rails, this is a good trick along with NOT butting the ends together, instead leave a small gap because the ends are not necessarily square.

Moving the joined rails around for multiple cuts can also throw them out of alignment, best to re-check after moving.

Yeah, that was my thing; i joined two 1400's with the newer stile connectors ("self aligning"). Like you said, would be great for a couple cuts, but after moving a few times it would get out of whack.

I then went and tried the old method, using the saw across the small gap, and tightening down; I actually found that to work way better and kept the rails way more accurate; even with the newer style connectors.

I still plan to get a 3000 though, it's tiring to keep friggin checking the rails when you have to move it around, and a little bit of weight on the rails with parallel guides as well (I have the Woodpecker parallel guides). I'm actually eyeing to get another set of parallel guides, so i don't have to keep moving em to a smaller rail setup for cross cutting the other way; part of my issue is i've been making some deeper than usual cabinets lately; if smaller it would be more practical to just rip an edge, parallel guide rip the other side, then throw it on the MFT for the cross cuts.

 

[mino]

Sedge's tip is really for the "I have no other option" type of a situation. One should never use it if accuracy is required AND/OR better ways to align the rails are available.

The best way to join the rails /unless using self-aligning connectors/ is to use a reference straight edge.

The self-aligning connectors are the second best as they depend on the accuracy of the rail ends way more than a straight edge does.

Having a third small rail - like 800 - and a couple clamps is ideal for this in practice as no "waste" hardware is needed then.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Sedge's tip is really for the "I have no other option" type of a situation. One should never use it if accuracy is required AND/OR better ways to align the rails are available.

The best way to join the rails /unless using a self-aligning connectors/ is to use a reference straight edge.

The self-aligning connectors are the second best as they depend on the accuracy of the rail ends way more than a straight edge does.

Having a third small rail - like 800 - and a couple clamps is ideal for this in practice as no "waste" hardware is needed then.

Couldn't agree more, using something as short as a saw no matter how tight the fit to align 3m of rails is a very agricultural method indeed IMHO. I certainly wouldn't rely on it for anything requiring a high degree of accuracy. I have a long piece of office partitioning capping I know is dead straight for this very purpose.

 

[formbureau]

i use the long rail  all the time. i work a lot with 4' x 8' sheets as well as with 8'+ boards. i tend to rip boards, especially for glue-ups, rather with my ts 55 and the long rail instead of ripping on the table saw.