55" Track

Worm Drive

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Joined
Dec 19, 2013
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128
With my 55" track, I can't cross cut 48" plywood without having to plunge into the plywood, at the beginning of the cut. The 106" track works fine for ripping 96". I have my 55 REQ set for 15/16" depth of cut for 3/4" plywood. Am I missing something here?  It seems like the 55" track should be about 3" longer. Thanks, Welton
 
You can crosscut the 48" without a plunge cut, slide the rail to the start edge. Both gibs on the track are more important at start than finish.

Tom
 
It takes a little practice to learn to quickly position a 55" (1400mm) guide rail when making a 48" cross-cut with a TS55,

Trust me, hundreds of thousands of Festool owners do this routinely.

My suggestion is to place an index mark on your rail as soon as you find the magic place to start the cut. My other suggestion is to use the clamps to hold the guide rail in place when making such long cross-cuts. Actually, it is policy in my cabinet shop that the rails always be clamped. None of my employees disagree. The few seconds it takes to set the clamps is well worth the effort. If we were to miss-cut not only would we have spoiled raw material, we waste time. Even our basic pre-finished maple plywood has value. Some of the exotic veneer plywood we use costs more wholesale than a TS55REQ.
 
Another suggestion, if you have a MFT to joint the rail that comes with the MFT with the 55' rail.

It will give you plenty of length
 
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