Best Guide Rail for wkg with plywood

[lordinteriors]

i have the 2700mm rail

 

[Mac]

It's because we just like big things here.  [cool]

Compensating for something, Darcy?  [tongue]

 

[woodguy7]

3 m rail for sure.  I have 3 wooden brackets screwed to my ceiling above my bench where it lives.  It never leaves the workshop.

Woodguy

 

[festooltim]

I have a 2700 and i cut it at 8 feet long  [scared] because it always stays in my truck. It slides under a tool box on the side then when i need it i can pull it out and attach the piece that was cut off with rail connectors and it is much easier to handle than my two 55's. Then i don't have to break it down when making cross cuts.

 

[score0matic]

I have a 2700 and i cut it at 8 feet long  [scared] because it always stays in my truck. It slides under a tool box on the side then when i need it i can pull it out and attach the piece that was cut off with rail connectors and it is much easier to handle than my two 55's. Then i don't have to break it down when making cross cuts.

That is STUPID like Einstein [thumbs up] [thumbs up]
Craig

 

[Corwin]

I have a 2700 and i cut it at 8 feet long  [scared] because it always stays in my truck. It slides under a tool box on the side then when i need it i can pull it out and attach the piece that was cut off with rail connectors and it is much easier to handle than my two 55's. Then i don't have to break it down when making cross cuts.

That is STUPID like Einstein [thumbs up] [thumbs up]
Craig

But wouldn't Einstein have started with the FS 3000?    [tongue]

 

[suds]

You should have see the reaction when I parked next to a long bed dually and we were both loading 8 ft 4x4 posts.  He freaked when the Mini swallowed both posts and I shut the hatch! 

 

[dltflt]

I don't have one yet but my plan is to get the 3000 so I can the extra room to start the cut as Brice had mentioned.  I recently used my 1900 and 1400 to straight lined some 6/4 soft Maple, it worked perfectly.

 

[CList]

I don't have a 2700 or a 3000, and I'm pretty new to this stuff, but from my experience 8' 10" (2700mm) should be the exact minimum for an 8' piece. I find you don't need more than 2" of rail overhanging the finish end of the cut and you don't need more than 8" on the start end (this with a TS75). I think I figured about 7.5" is all the rail overhang I need on the start to have the saw fully on the rail (i.e. at the cams that align it, not the whole base plate) and to not have to plunge the wood - but I could be forgetting the exact measurement, so don't take my word for it.

...it's obviously more convenient to have more overhang - but too much overhang seems like it'd just be a waste - annoying to slide the clamps all that way and annoying if the rail flexes under the weight of the saw.

Cheers,
CList

 

[Corwin]

...
It's obviously more convenient to have more overhang - but too much overhang seems like it'd just be a waste - annoying to slide the clamps all that way and annoying if the rail flexes under the weight of the saw.

Accurately placing the rail at the desired location and such that the overhangs are just right is likely more annoying.  And stopping the forward motion of the saw at the end after it has completely cut the material yet before the front gib runs off the rail is more than annoying with a rail that doesn't have any excess length.  These issues make having a little too long a rail seem more than simply a convenience.  Get the longer 3000mm rail for those 8' cuts and the 1900mm rail for the 4' cuts -- you won't regret having purchased the longer rails, but you may regret buying a rail that doesn't quite do the job. 

 

[Brice Burrell]

Accurately placing the rail at the desired location and such that the overhangs are just right is likely more annoying.  And stopping the forward motion of the saw at the end after it has completely cut the material yet before the front gib runs off the rail is more than annoying with a rail that doesn't have any excess length.  These issues make having a little too long a rail seem more than simply a convenience.  Get the longer 3000mm rail for those 8' cuts and the 1900mm rail for the 4' cuts -- you won't regret having purchased the longer rails, but you may regret buying a rail that doesn't quite do the job. 

Well said Corwin. [thumbs up]

 

[CList]

Accurately placing the rail at the desired location and such that the overhangs are just right is likely more annoying.  And stopping the forward motion of the saw at the end after it has completely cut the material yet before the front gib runs off the rail is more than annoying with a rail that doesn't have any excess length.  These issues make having a little too long a rail seem more than simply a convenience.  Get the longer 3000mm rail for those 8' cuts and the 1900mm rail for the 4' cuts -- you won't regret having purchased the longer rails, but you may regret buying a rail that doesn't quite do the job. 

I hear what you're saying, and looking at my saw today I realized my math was a little off; you need more like 4" min. on the run-out side.

I guess I'm coming from a situation where I too follow the philosophy of "get the better / bigger one - you won't regret it", but I *do* regret buying the TS-75 instead of the TS-55, but perhaps it's just buyers remorse - i.e. if I'd bought the 55 I might be wishing I'd gotten the 75. Still, the 75 is a pretty heavy hand-tool, and has been more than I need for everything I've cut with it (so far). I have no garage and my shop space is about 250 sq ft.  with a ceiling height of 6' 3" - about the same as the length of the 1900! I find even the 1900 to be a bit unwieldy in there at times and need everything to be as compact as possible while still being able to do the job - even if it takes more time. ...heh, I guess I'm not the "average consumer" in this situation and probably not the best person to listen to for advise on the subject

So yeah, probably 99% of the folks here would be better off getting the 3000!

Cheers,
Chris

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Just send your ts-75 to me and then I will send you my ts-55 in return.

 

[CList]

Just send your ts-75 to me and then I will send you my ts-55 in return.

...I had a feeling that was coming!

Seriously though, if yours is less than 2 mos old, and you want to include $100 for price difference, and you live in the NYC area I *might* consider it... I'd have to play with one first. In fact, I'm about to head out to Jersey right now to fondle some Festool and try and show some self-discipline with regards to the the Domino (that I "want" far more than I "need"), so when I get back I may have a different opinion on the whole 55 vs 75 thing!

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I have had my 55 coming up on 2 years, I think.

I have yet to have the need for the 75.

I would still rather have the 3000mm rail though.
It would allow for angled cuts on full sheets of ply and numerous other uses I could find for it.

 

[harry_]

Just send your ts-75 to me and then I will send you my ts-55 in return.

Darcy,

You could just about talk me into it!

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Just send your ts-75 to me and then I will send you my ts-55 in return.

Darcy,

You could just about talk me into it!

I would be more then willing if someone really wanted to and we could come to an agreement.

I used to be friends with a guy that had the 75, so that is why I got the 55.
Now I dont talk to him but, still have not really found the need for more saw.

Still say skip the 2700 and get the 3000.

I used to baby my 4 rails and worry about them well, I just found one outside today behind my garage, it was wet and covered in dirt.
I still can't remember how it got there. 
I think my 4 year old may have been behind that.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Not to derail this thread, but with respect to the TS-75 vs TS-55, I wish I got the 55 vs the 75 as well.  It was the first tool I bought so I got the bigger one thinking "I don't know what I'm going to be doing with this so I don't know if the 55's capacity is too little".

I don't mind the weight, but what bugs me is the little green chipout/splinter guard on the side.  You need a plunge depth of I think 33mm to engage it.  So when cutting 18mm ply or even 25mm hardwood on the MFT, I'd have to cut the front profile (MFT 1080) for the 25mm piece to engage the chipout/splinter guard.  I searched once for a solution posted here, but found nothing (admittedly it was hasty).  I'm in the process of experimenting with extending the splinter guard in a way to have it engage on shallower cuts.  More to follow once it's successful.

 

[CList]

Not to derail this thread, but with respect to the TS-75 vs TS-55, I wish I got the 55 vs the 75 as well.  It was the first tool I bought so I got the bigger one thinking "I don't know what I'm going to be doing with this so I don't know if the 55's capacity is too little".

I don't mind the weight, but what bugs me is the little green chipout/splinter guard on the side.  You need a plunge depth of I think 33mm to engage it.  So when cutting 18mm ply or even 25mm hardwood on the MFT, I'd have to cut the front profile (MFT 1080) for the 25mm piece to engage the chipout/splinter guard.  I searched once for a solution posted here, but found nothing (admittedly it was hasty).  I'm in the process of experimenting with extending the splinter guard in a way to have it engage on shallower cuts.  More to follow once it's successful.

Hm, that's interesting. I've recently been cutting some white oak veneered plywood which is a very brittle veneer and was having hit-and-miss results with chipping on the non-rail side, but I found that the chip guard was at times not all the way down - probably from under tightening and/or me putting the saw down at odd angles. It seemed like when I reset it to the material (after putting on the rail of course) it was fine - usually. Now that you mention it however it *was* worse on the 12mm stuff than the 18mm stuff. I'll check it out today. I can't imagine it'd be very hard (or very dangerous) to make a little foot for it out of 1/8" aluminum or acetal or mylar or something - it just might get in the way if you're using it w/o the guide rail.

Cheers,
C

 

[Corwin]

Not to derail this thread, but with respect to the TS-75 vs TS-55, I wish I got the 55 vs the 75 as well.  It was the first tool I bought so I got the bigger one thinking "I don't know what I'm going to be doing with this so I don't know if the 55's capacity is too little".

I don't mind the weight, but what bugs me is the little green chipout/splinter guard on the side.  You need a plunge depth of I think 33mm to engage it.  So when cutting 18mm ply or even 25mm hardwood on the MFT, I'd have to cut the front profile (MFT 1080) for the 25mm piece to engage the chipout/splinter guard.  I searched once for a solution posted here, but found nothing (admittedly it was hasty).  I'm in the process of experimenting with extending the splinter guard in a way to have it engage on shallower cuts.  More to follow once it's successful.

The simplest solution may be to just place a piece of sacrificial material between your MFT and the material you are cutting.  This will allow you to set the depth of cut deep enough for the right-hand splinter guard to be effective and not cut into your MFT's profile(s).

But, I will be interested to see how you are extending the splinter guard...