Alignment of Attached Guide Rails

jacko9

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Apr 21, 2010
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Hello people,

I'm looking at getting a track saw to break down 4' x 8' sheets of plywood with dust collection but, I don't have room for the longer guide rails so I thought about buying two 55" rails and attaching them together for ripping the 8' length.

Can anybody tell me if there are any issues with keeping the two sections in alignment moving them around the shop all day while cutting up sheet goods?

Jack
 
jacko9 said:
Hello people,

I'm looking at getting a track saw to break down 4' x 8' sheets of plywood with dust collection but, I don't have room for the longer guide rails so I thought about buying two 55" rails and attaching them together for ripping the 8' length.

Can anybody tell me if there are any issues with keeping the two sections in alignment moving them around the shop all day while cutting up sheet goods?

Jack

In 2006 when I was thinking about going back into the cabinet making business, I expected I would need a large sliding table saw, which would require I lease a big building. I also did not then own a truck.

A trusted dealer who in the past had sold me a lot of conventional table saws with power feed and sliding tables listened to me and showed me the then new TS55 with rails. I liked the glue-ready cut quality and the fact that I needed to rent so little space. I was shown how to connect 2 1400mm rails to make the 8' rips. Then my dealer recommended that I buy another extra 1400mm rail. That way I could keep 2 connected and use the single rail for making cross cuts, eliminating the need to disconnect the rails except for transport. Also, and very important, that extra rail served as the straight edge to ensure alignment of the connected rails.

Crazy as it sounds I made good money with the CT-22, TS55 and an OF1010 router to drill shelf-pin holes. Back then the 1400mm rails were not available with holes, so I bought a 1080mm holy rail. Only when I needed to build a bunch of 7' tall pantries did I buy the 95" holy rail, which my dealer delivered for free. A few weeks later I was confident in the cash flow from making cabinets I bought a decent used truck. That day I drove to my dealer and bought a 3000mm rail. I still kept the 3 1400mm rails for work on sites where it was inconvenient to maneuver a long rail.

Can you break down several sheets by yourself in a day with a connected rail set-up? Back then there were many days I broke down 10 sheets with the three rails, the TS55 with CT-22, two saw horses and a sacrificial sheet of shop grade 19mm plywood, which also served as my assembly bench.

Frankly using the rails and TS55 was easier on me physically than breaking down sheets using any sort of table saw by myself.

Sure, 3 1/2 years later I used my profits to buy a 20,000 sq ft industrial building, along with a pressure beam saw to break down sheets under CNC control. I also invested in a new fork lift to move full lifts of sheet goods and a Schmalz vacuum lift to move sheets from a stack and position them on the beam saw or the adjacent CNC router.

It can be done while making a profit.
 
Jack,
    I don't have room to use and store a 3000mm rail. although I'd love to have one.  Consequently, I use two 1400mm rails coupled together frequently.  I use the Betterley Straightline Connector to align the joined rails and have these screws in the connector bars to avoid dimpling the rails.  I find that the nylon tips don't seem to slip, so the rails stay aligned.  If I forget to take the Betterley along, I can always use the 4' level that I always travel with to set things right. 
 
Sparktrician said:
Jack,
    I don't have room to use and store a 3000mm rail. although I'd love to have one.  Consequently, I use two 1400mm rails coupled together frequently.  I use the Betterley Straightline Connector to align the joined rails and have these screws in the connector bars to avoid dimpling the rails.  I find that the nylon tips don't seem to slip, so the rails stay aligned.  If I forget to take the Betterley along, I can always use the 4' level that I always travel with to set things right.

Thanks Willy, I have a few straight edges and a precision Starrett to make sure that I'm always using a non-damaged straight edge.

Jack
 
I've connected rails to rip up to 10' material using a straight edge connected with 8020 parts.  I use the Makita rail connectors as they do not mar the track and give much more clamping pressure than set screws alone.
 
rst said:
I've connected rails to rip up to 10' material using a straight edge connected with 8020 parts.  I use the Makita rail connectors as they do not mar the track and give much more clamping pressure than set screws alone.

The Makita rail connectors fit into the Festool rails?
 
Hi Jack,
Perfect timing. Just started a project that needed 7 sheets of 3/4" MDF ripped down. I use 2 1400mm rails joined together with the Makita rail connectors. These connectors are much better then the Festool connectors. I have both and the Festool ones are collecting dust. Now I also use the Betterley straight edge connector and a 4' level to get the rails perfectly aligned. When I move the rails around my shop, a double car garage, I connect the Betterley connector before moving it. This keeps the rails aligned while moving them around and I have never had an issue. Works great. I would recommend the 2 rails, Makita rail connectors and the Betterley Straight edge connector and a 4' level and you won't be disappointed.
Cheers,
JC
 
The 3000mm guide rail is the way to go if you have the room.  I have a tiny shop in the basement, but use my garage  or driveway to cut down sheet goods with the 3000mm rail which is stored in the garage.  Otherwise, two rails connected together works fine, especially if you do it the way JCLP and Sparktrician recommend.

However, 2 rails, Makita rail connectors, the Betterley Straight edge connector and a 4' level comes close to equaling the cost of a 3000mm rail.

3000mm rail = $345 in the USA. 

Betterley $100 + Makita rail connectors (x 2) $60 + quality 4' level $100 + additional 1400mm rail $130 = $390
 
JCLP said:
Hi Jack,
Perfect timing. Just started a project that needed 7 sheets of 3/4" MDF ripped down. I use 2 1400mm rails joined together with the Makita rail connectors. These connectors are much better then the Festool connectors. I have both and the Festool ones are collecting dust. Now I also use the Betterley straight edge connector and a 4' level to get the rails perfectly aligned. When I move the rails around my shop, a double car garage, I connect the Betterley connector before moving it. This keeps the rails aligned while moving them around and I have never had an issue. Works great. I would recommend the 2 rails, Makita rail connectors and the Betterley Straight edge connector and a 4' level and you won't be disappointed.
Cheers,
JC

JC, Thanks, just what I was looking for and I have the same two car shop (no cars in there for the past 35 years).

Jack
 
If I had the room, and a spare $515.00, I probably would have a 3000mm. It would save me time as well.
 
Jack,

Great responses so far.  But I have to offer this thought:  If you have room to have a sheet of plywood in your shop to cut and you still are able to walk around to cut it, then you have the room for a rail that extends a foot or so on both ends.

I use my 2700 all the time and wish that I had the 3000 except that will not work when I transport.

Peter
 
Peter Halle said:
Jack,

Great responses so far.  But I have to offer this thought:  If you have room to have a sheet of plywood in your shop to cut and you still are able to walk around to cut it, then you have the room for a rail that extends a foot or so on both ends.

I use my 2700 all the time and wish that I had the 3000 except that will not work when I transport.

Peter

Peter,

Yes I have a 3' x 7' assembly table that I can cut on but, there is not a lot of spare room and year after year I keep stuffing more stuff into my tiny shop.  Heck, one of the reasons I bought the Kapex and UG stand is that it was 1/2 of the area of my DeWalt and Bosch Gravity Rise stand (which was a lot more stable).

I can just imagine a longer track getting banged up one day as I heft oversized timbers around by myself (banging into stuff).  My last project I had a few timbers of 12/4 Brazilian boxwood 10' long that I had to get cut and then resaw on the bandsaw and that could have been a disaster moving those around in a small space.  I think I'm getting too old for those kind of timbers ;-)

Jack
 
Jack,

A lot of excellent replies and recommendations above!  If you do decide to buy the TS-55, it comes with the FS1400 rail, and many places will allow you to swap that rail out for a holey rail which will lead you into the LR32 system.... 

I think the best arrangement, if you can find the room inside or outside, would be to buy the FS300 rail for the long cuts, and you will use the FS1400 for the cross ways cut.  As pointed out above, once you buy the Betterley, connectors (x 2) and the extra rail, the costs aren't that far apart going with the long and short rail.

Gary
 
My tracksaw is yellow and my long track is 102 inches (about 2600mm) so my situation is a bit different.  I store the long track on the shallow top shelf my lumber rack, however.  I built it with a shelf 6 inches lower than the ceiling just for this track and for an occasional piece of plumbing pipe.  I'm sure two tracks will work but it's nice to have the long one.  My other track is 59 inches (about 1500 mm) and is a bit long sometimes but very usable.  Two short tracks are more portable but one long and one short works very nicely.
 
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