An Odd TS 55 Guide Rail Question

[JZ Bowmannz]

Dear FOG members:

I experienced an odd situation, maybe someone out there can explain that to me:

I have a newer TS55 EQ (not REQ) in T-loc that purchased sometimes last year before REQ came out, that came with the 1400/2 with clear strip. I was cutting some 4' long 1/2" plywood last night with Parallel guide (a non-Festool one), and wanted to trim off the factory edge, but didn't like to take the parallel guide off every time.

I have another guide rail that was also 1400/2 but with black strip. I figured I could just use that for trimming operation, and this was when the strange thing happened. The TS55 EQ glide on it loosely, I didn't have the measurement but it would take about 1/4 to 1/2 of turn of the small green wheels to get it with no-play fit.

If I take the saw back to the guide rail with clear strip, it wouldn't glide unless I turn the green wheels the other way about the same amount. That's telling me the channel geometry changed from one to the other.

Is that true? Or it's just me? Thanks for your help.

JZ

 

[Doug S]

Don't worry you are not alone. I have to adjust my saw when I switch between my 1.4m rail and 3m rail.

 

[rljatl]

Those are manufacturing variances.  That is exactly why the saws have the adjustment wheels in the first place. If the guide rails and saws could be manufactured to such perfectly consistent dimensions, there would be no need for those adjustment wheels.

 

[Coen]

Not only factory variances. Most materials expand with an increase in temperature, but not all at the same rate

 

[ear3]

Ditto -- which made it really annoying when I had to connect two rails together, and I could feel the passage from one to the other when the saw slide became noticeably stickier.  That plus the difficulty of getting a truely straight line with the rails connected to one another prompted me to purchase the 3000mm rail this past week.

 

[JZ Bowmannz]

Appreciated all your responses.

I would think the AL extrusion should be very accurrate to begain with. The only reason I can think of was the extrusion die tool wear. The new rail was made out of the same set of tool, but due to the tool wear, the rails geometry got bigger.

As long as there wasn't a design change that you guys knew of, we can deal with that - just buy two rails at the same time so the differences will be minimum. I think the manufacturing time of 2 - 3 years apart from each other would causing the rails to be different.

If Festool engineer is reading this, it's time to re-certify your dies.