Building a better Crosscut guide FS-KS to FS-CH (Craig H)

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charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2748-other-night-there-thread-festool-owners.jpg

The other Night there was a thread on Festool Owners Group http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=7436.0
I commented on how I would build a crosscut rail. I came to the conclusion that the FS-KS is a better platform for a crosscut rail system than the parallel guide.

To start

1. It is less than 1/4 the cost of the parallel guides (would not buy them as I have a faster system for super precise ripping in the field any way)

2 It actually has a greater length of engagement and All play can be dialed out.

3 It is an accessory that I had and wasn't using

As built

1 It can be locked down as securely

2 It can be set up in 5 seconds

3 It can be stored with the tool

4 It is accurate (less than 1/64 gap cut and flip 4x)

5 When installed the rail is easy to work with and move around

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2747-donor-fs-ks-meets-trion.jpg

The Donor FS-KS meets the Trion

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2746-base-attached-rail.jpg

The base attached to a Rail

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2745-lock-knob-bar-hose-ramp-ks.jpg

The lock knob and bar are from the hose ramp. the KS body has 2 holes, you only need one.
I added a washer to the knob and threaded the bar through the forward hole.
This locked the rail tight but it was a pain to get it in the rail slot so I installed and pinned the black screw so the bar would always engage the rail but have enough play for it not to bind.

(here is how)
I slid everything into a rail and locked it down for position Then I drilled a hole through the base and into the bar, pulled the base, finished drilling the bar taped the bar with an 8 32 tpi enlarged the base hole so there was some play.

also note the blue slide has a screw and is adjustable,  by tightening, flipping, and adjusting you can take out all play so the rail engages the same way every time and if necessary you can "fine tune" the FS-CH

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2742-showing-how-base-engages-rail.jpg

Showing how the Base engages the rail

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2739-pic-shows-leading-edge-90-rail.jpg

This pic shows that the leading edge is 90 to the rail. Getting this dead on was the work of an 18" precision Square and my set of Armorers Files

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2740-base-now-engages-rail-form-bottom.jpg

The base as it now engages the rail form the bottom.
Note how the leading edge is touching the Foam grip strips.

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2738-protractor-face-did-not-occur-me.jpg

The protractor as a face did not occur to me right away the reason it was finally chosen was the "T shaped lip" covered the base so thin material would not slip between the face and the Rail

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2735-drill-relief-registration-dimple-match-bump.jpg

Drill a relief / registration dimple to match the bump from the top side of the pin

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2733-2-part-adheasive-has-15-30.jpg

The 2 part adheasive has a 15 -30 sec open time...long enough to make super certain it is spot on. It is one of the Tougher bonds available and with a bonding surface area of 8+ sq inches once it is set it is not coming apart. I used 3 kits to fully cover the area.

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2713-once-assembly-has-been-properly-set.jpg

Once the assembly has been properly set clamp the pieces together for 30 min...... full cure for this type adheasive

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2714-after-glue-has-set-holes-have.jpg

After the glue has set. Holes have been drilled to add mechanical pinning to reinforce the bond

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2715-holes-have-been-tapped-hardened-screws.jpg

The holes have been tapped and hardened screws inserted Thread locked and ground. Mechanically pinning the face to the base insuring that the assembly is precise and robust

charimon-albums-building-better-crosscut-guide-fs-ks-fs-ch-picture2717-picture-shows-you-can-crosscut-1.jpg

This Picture Shows that you can crosscut 1/2" plywood on a work surface without the gauge getting in the way

Thanks Craig

PS i had a light bulb turn on about posting images thus the edit
 
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