Converting a guide rail into a Holey Rail - Anyone succeeded?

[TheTassieBFG]

Hi All

Just wondering if any one has successfully adapted a standard guide rail into one the LR32 system can be used with?

Searching the forum has given me a few discussions but nothing conclusive, I may have been using the wrong combination of words though as I am sure I have read about it and am interested in pursuing it.

any thoughts or comments from people who have tried, attempted, contemplated or succeeded doing this would be welcome.

Cheers

Andrew

 

[CarolinaNomad]

I'm interested in hearing others response.

 

[peter halle]

I haven't tried but the issue seems to have been that the indexing holes in the rail are not round.  They are a slightly elongated hole - imagine the slot that a domino fits in.  This precludes just drilling holes. 

I don't remember reading that anyone has tried it and has been successful, but I've been wrong before.

Peter

 

[Corwin]

Yes, this has been done before.  Requires a milling machine.

http://www.talkfestool.com/vb/festool-tools/1255-converting-regular-guide-rail-lr32-guide.html

 

[TheTassieBFG]

Yes, this has been done before.  ...

Thanks Corwin.. will follow that one up.

So thats one way/method, has anyone done it a different way?

cheers

 

[VesaS]

I haven't tried but the issue seems to have been that the indexing holes in the rail are not round.  They are a slightly elongated hole - imagine the slot that a domino fits in.  This precludes just drilling holes. 

I don't have LR32 rails/systems, so simple question. Does it have to be elongated hole?
Can't you modify the counterpiece to accept round hole

That modification might be good for my rails too.

Vesa

 

[greg mann]

Personally, I think the law of dimininshing returns is at play here. The cost of altering a rail just doesn't make sense to me. Even if one has access to a Bridgeport mill, which would seem to me to be about the least expensive machine capable of doing the work, it would be tedious and reasonably error prone. Additionally, most Bridgeports would not have enough travel to do the work in one set-up, so care would be necessary to maintain integrity. To be accurate only about 50% of the machine's trave should be used to avoid the effect of gravity on the table as it could be subject to sag when the table is hung out too far in either direction. For the 32mm system this isn't a huge problem in terms of accuracy but some folks here fret about a couple thousands of an inch so it needs to be factored into expectations. Also, if you get a better price from a machine shop for altering a rail, at least better enough that you consider it cheaper than buying one, then they did you a real big favor.

I work in a building with 40 CNC machines that would do this work with the same accuracy that Festool has access to and I still consider it easier and better to buy the LR rail than alter one.

 

[Sparktrician]

Given that the 55" rail price is $115 and the 55" LR 32 rail is $120, why bother???  You'd spend more than the $5 delta to machine a standard rail to LR 32 standards with the elongated hole anyway.  Just buy the LR 32 rail and be done with it. 

 

[Corwin]

I haven't tried but the issue seems to have been that the indexing holes in the rail are not round.  They are a slightly elongated hole - imagine the slot that a domino fits in.  This precludes just drilling holes. 

I don't have LR32 rails/systems, so simple question. Does it have to be elongated hole?
Can't you modify the counterpiece to accept round hole

That modification might be good for my rails too.

Vesa

A round tab fits into those holes, so no, the holes don't have to be elongated (slots) and nothing would need to be modified.  However, the slots allow for a little tolerance between plate and rail without introducing unwanted slop.

 

[greg mann]

I haven't tried but the issue seems to have been that the indexing holes in the rail are not round.  They are a slightly elongated hole - imagine the slot that a domino fits in.  This precludes just drilling holes.  

I don't have LR32 rails/systems, so simple question. Does it have to be elongated hole?
Can't you modify the counterpiece to accept round hole

That modification might be good for my rails too.

Vesa

A round tab fits into those holes, so no, the holes don't have to be elongated (slots) and nothing would need to be modified.  However, the slots allow for a little tolerance between plate and rail without introducing unwanted slop.

Actually the slots are there to prevent unwanted tightness. If a person wanted to use round holes it would make more sense to create a diamond shape on the pin, with the diamond relief perpendicular to the direction of travel and full diameter of the pin parallel to the direction of travel. But here I go, trying to give advice on an endeavor that I generally think to be a bad idea in the first place.  [unsure]

Re-read your post, Corwin, and think I wound up saying the same thing you were. My apology.

 

[jandreas]

A bigger question should be, why does Festool even sell the guide rails without the holes?  It is a matter of only a few $$$ cents extra per unit cost to them.

 

[Alan m]

on this side of the pond the difference is a lot higher

 

[Distinctive Interiors]

Alan is correct.

Depending on where you buy the two rails, the difference is between £20 to £30 ($30 to $45).

Even so, I would probably just be happy to pay the additional cost and know that I was assured of the accuracy.

Tim.

 

[Alan m]

personally i dont think it is worth drilling the rail for the lr32 (maybe if you wanted a custom series of holes then yes)
i would buy a hole rail new or second hand and then sell your other rail  to offset the cost

 

[TheTassieBFG]

Given that the 55" rail price is $115 and the 55" LR 32 rail is $120, why bother???  You'd spend more than the $5 delta to machine a standard rail to LR 32 standards with the elongated hole anyway.  Just buy the LR 32 rail and be done with it.  

Down here in Australia
FS 1400/2-LR 32 - 235,00 AUD  (Edit: the 1400 is the metric version of the 55")

FS 2424/2-LR 32  - 650,00 AUD

LR 32-SYS - in a SYSTAINER - 599,00 AUD (Includes Clamps, drill bits etc)

       LR 32 Set - in carton - 309,00 AUD (no clamps, drill bits etc)

I don't specifically need a new rail so if I can find a way of getting holes in my existing rails at a reasonable cost it would be worth pursuing. I am a hobbyist with my main time being taken up being a mature aged uni student and raising a small family. I would love to go out and just buy some stuff but at the moment the "pennies" count. America has pretty good prices on Festool products compared to the rest of the globe.. might just have to save my pennies, come over there and buy all those accessory items I dream of.. that savings would pay for the airfare. Now how do I convince my wife of that?

 

[Alan m]

if you made a jig up tat allowed the rail to slide left and rigth . maybe slide on a runner in the t track underneeth. make a jig to go over the rail at 90 degrees with an elongated hole for a guid bushing to ride in. clamp the rail and rout the slot then move the rail 32 mm (posibly with a 32mm spacer or even a pin that droped into the slot you just cut) .

 

[TheTassieBFG]

A bigger question should be, why does Festool even sell the guide rails without the holes?  It is a matter of only a few $$$ cents extra per unit cost to them.

This has been discussed in other threads I should be studying so wont find the links but if you do some digging I reckon you could find them. The upshot of those discussions went along the lines of the cost is not fully passed on so if they were going to drill holes in all the rails then those costs would increase the actual cost of the rails to consumers jump quite markedly. I do not know how factual these comments are/were but seems to be the general consensus.

In Australia the difference $40.00 rather than $5.00 in the USA
FS 1400/2            - 195,00 AUD
FS 1400/2-LR 32    -235,00

(Edit: the 1400 is the metric version of the 55")