Cutting along 8 foot sheet?

[Jimmy69]

Hi,
I'm about to start making some plywood kitchen base cabinets so I'm after some advice on the best methods to cut along 8 ft sheet.
The cabinets are all the  same depth so keeping that consistent across all the sheets will make things like the dado for the backs less prone to human error, at least that's the theory
I know the obvious answer is to get a 3000 rail and do it  in one go but I don't have anywhere to store such a beast. Next option is to join 2 1400 rails together. I already have a 1400 and an 800 so all I'd need to buy was another 1400 rail and a connection kit - that should be long enough for a TS55 and a benchdogs rail square.
Problem is, I'm probably only going to do this the once , maybe twice and buying a second rail is not very exciting when I have a long list of other stuff I want
So I'm wondering are there any other techniques for cutting along 8 foot sheet accurately?
Any advice is much appreciated for such a noob question [wink]

 

[afish]

Is your current 1400 rail a holy rail?  sell the 800 and get a 1400 holy rail instead that way you have both the ability to cut down full sheets and with the addition of LR 32 kit the ability to drill for hardware. 

 

[AstroKeith]

Is your current 1400 rail a holy rail?  sell the 800 and get a 1400 holy rail instead that way you have both the ability to cut down full sheets and with the addition of LR 32 kit the ability to drill for hardware.

Don't know about Jimmy69 but my 800 rail is the one I use the most! Wouldnt part with it, ever.

Another option (which I did) is to buy a cheap Evolution 2 x 1400 track. I got my pair off Amazon for £70 inc a bag, and its Festool saw compatible (but wont connect to a Festool track). I now throw this pair in its bag into the wagon when I'm off to do a job elsewhere and dont need all the Festool track niceties. That way my expensive Festool track stays in my workshop and doesn't get knocked about.

Or if its just a couple of cuts, do it the old fashioned way and find a long enough straight piece of timber and just run the saw up the side of it.

 

[afish]

I agree with getting some cheaper rails is a possibility. I typically use Makita rails and happy with the performance. I might even say happier since the rubber splinter piece is always trying to fall off the festool rails  [mad] I guess it all comes down to what you cut most of the time.  For me 1400 is the shortest rail I need sure its longer than I need sometimes but its not so long its hard to manage, store, or transport like a 118"er.  I think if space and budget is a concern as original poster mentioned then 1400 rails strikes the perfect balance and all around single best rails to own.  One 1400 will crosscut or put 2 together and rip an 8' Having one as a holy rail will open up a whole new world to him for making cabinets.  He can buy 2 powertech rails for 125ish but then he would have 3 1400 rails which is redundant. For 145 he can get one more holy rail which is only 20 more than the powertechs and have future 32mm drilling capabilities. The festool rail will also have higher resale if he ever decides to sell it.  Since an 800 wont even be long enough to cut down all doors im curious as to what people are using the 800 for so much?  I understand that everyone has different needs but I struggle to see what an 800 is so valuable for. I have never wished that my 1400 rail was 800 long if anything I wished it was 1500 or 1600 However its good to know there is a good market for 800 rails if he wants to sell it. 

 

[rst]

For the first couple years I joined a 55 and 75 in order to cut 8'ers.  I fianally gave in and bought the 3000 which I would not have to take the two apart to crossct sheets.

 

[Jimmy69]

I was scratching my head there for a minute thinking " what does he mean - holy rail"? Divine, Sacred? [laughing] then the penny dropped. Great idea as it's on the wish list and not a duplicate. I can use it for the shelf holes too!
The 800 came with my OF1010 router kit and is great because I have a ridiculously small work space. No bigger than the 8x4 sheets we're talking about [eek] so it works well with my Paulk style MFT
Holy rail it is then and some Makita connectors.

I did wonder if the parallel guides could be used to accurately cut one length in 2 parts i.e cut half way then move the guides and continue the cut but too much room for error I guess.

Thanks

 

[cpw]

I would either buy a bigger rail to join (I have a 3000, and 2 1400s that I join when not at home in the shop); or go with the old fashioned method of getting a straight piece of lumber and building a guide.  I would not try to restart a cut after beginning it.

If you are trying to split the sheets in half to get your cabinet depth, and use the old fashioned straight edge, you have the possibility of drifting into the offcut, because you are only registered against the "fence" on one side.  If you have to special order the sheet material, the delay there can be expensive and frustrating making the proper track worthwhile.

 

[afish]

The holy rail is one of those things that makes me wonder why Festool even bothers making a rail without the holes?  They dont hurt anything being there so I ask why Festool?

and also yes I would not trust parallel guides to rip a full sheet accurately enough for case work.  Im not a big fan of parallel guides to begin with.  They tend to make a long rail unwieldy especially if its a 2 piece long rail.  For doing multiple smaller crosscuts a stop on the MFT bench will work just as good for a lot less money and you can use those funds towards LR 32 which will be money better spent in my opinion. 

 

[ChuckM]

One school of followers says if the purchase solves the immediate problem you have even if it's a one-time issue, it's worth it. I don't belong to that school, unless my plan is to sell it after the project (and with no anticipation of a huge loss). I like lean and clean.

If your shop is small and the longest rail is meant to be left unused for ages (only you can define it), I'd suggest buying something that can solve your one-time problem. but will get used again and again for other projects. I'm talking about the TSO guide rail square (or the Festool licensed version):https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...1280-grs-16-pe-guide-rail-square?item=86N5402

Use the square to cut on one side and move the square to the other side to finish the rest. Much like cutting a board on the miter saw that is beyond the cutting saw's capacity. (I'm assuming the long rail you have is long enough to make such cuts.)

The guide rail square (which I have never used) has a good reputation, and it can be used for any projects that require breaking down the sheets. It definitely has a smaller footprint than the longest rail.

 

[demographic]

I use two 1400 rails joined together for eight foot sheets but am also finding that a Japanese Inkline is handy for marking long straight lines.
Far thinner mark than a chalkline.

Or if its repeat cuts I make a couple of spacers up to ensure the cuts are always the same size.
I've done this on repeat cuts across a board then measured the smal offcut and after five cuts its been 1 mm or less.
I can live with +/- 0.2mm for each cut.

 

[TwelvebyTwenty]

Unless I'm missing something and being thick... Put a few marks down for the width you wish to cut, make a decent size cut with the 2200mm available to you (1400+800) and then slide the rail along and realign using a combination of the kerf that has been made and the remaining pencil marks. It may possible be a couple of thousand of an inch out compared to if you had one big rail - but this isn't an interference fit for the space station we're talking about.

 

[TSO_Products]

Holy rail it is then and some Makita connectors.

I did wonder if the parallel guides could be used to accurately cut one length in 2 parts i.e cut half way then move the guides and continue the cut but too much room for error I guess.

Thanks

- with so many custoemrs replacing their MAKITA and FESTOOL rail connectors with the TSO GRC-12, you may want to look into that . . .

- and repositioning any parallel guide, including the TSO, would not be our first choice either!

all the BEst with your project!

Hans

 

[woodferret]

I'd second the TSO connector.  I used the triton ones which are the same as the makita.  Pretty good at the time but requires a straight edge to align.  I got tired of fiddling with it and got the TSO.  I still keep a straight edge as a final check but so far its cut down on the amount of readjustments to almost zero.  Only time was due to poorly cut ends on a new track.

 

[fshanno]

Buy a 106" and save the box?

Just base cabinets?  No wall cabinets?

 

[mkasdin]

One school of followers says if the purchase solves the immediate problem you have even if it's a one-time issue, it's worth it. I don't belong to that school, unless my plan is to sell it after the project (and with no anticipation of a huge loss). I like lean and clean.

If your shop is small and the longest rail is meant to be left unused for ages (only you can define it), I'd suggest buying something that can solve your one-time problem. but will get used again and again for other projects. I'm talking about the TSO guide rail square (or the Festool licensed version):https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...1280-grs-16-pe-guide-rail-square?item=86N5402

Use the square to cut on one side and move the square to the other side to finish the rest. Much like cutting a board on the miter saw that is beyond the cutting saw's capacity. (I'm assuming the long rail you have is long enough to make such cuts.)

The guide rail square (which I have never used) has a good reputation, and it can be used for any projects that require breaking down the sheets. It definitely has a smaller footprint than the longest rail.

agreed. Tso guide rail square and the longest track. The TSO GRS will take up about a foot of track length so for cabinets the 1400 Festool track is useless. For ripping a full sheet I would get the 3000? But I think the 1900 would work you just have to rethink your work flow. Measure twice, cut twice. Stick to  5x5 sheet Baltic birch.  Other than ripping a 4x8 sheet the 3000 guide rail Track is way too long. Push comes to shove you could always pay a cabinet shop to make 5-10 rips on A full length sheet 4x8 sheet of plywood

 

[Jimmy69]

One school of followers says if the purchase solves the immediate problem you have even if it's a one-time issue, it's worth it. I don't belong to that school, unless my plan is to sell it after the project (and with no anticipation of a huge loss). I like lean and clean.

If your shop is small and the longest rail is meant to be left unused for ages (only you can define it), I'd suggest buying something that can solve your one-time problem. but will get used again and again for other projects. I'm talking about the TSO guide rail square (or the Festool licensed version):https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/sho...1280-grs-16-pe-guide-rail-square?item=86N5402

Use the square to cut on one side and move the square to the other side to finish the rest. Much like cutting a board on the miter saw that is beyond the cutting saw's capacity. (I'm assuming the long rail you have is long enough to make such cuts.)

The guide rail square (which I have never used) has a good reputation, and it can be used for any projects that require breaking down the sheets. It definitely has a smaller footprint than the longest rail.

agreed. Tso guide rail square and the longest track. The TSO GRS will take up about a foot of track length so for cabinets the 1400 Festool track is useless. For ripping a full sheet I would get the 3000? But I think the 1900 would work you just have to rethink your work flow. Measure twice, cut twice. Stick to  5x5 sheet Baltic birch.  Other than ripping a 4x8 sheet the 3000 guide rail Track is way too long. Push comes to shove you could always pay a cabinet shop to make 5-10 rips on A full length sheet 4x8 sheet of plywood

I have a benchdog rail square which takes about 15cm of the rail.=TheWoodgrafter
leaving me with 6ft + of usable rail if I join the 1400 and 800 together. That's plenty for doing 5x5 Baltic birch. That means all I need to buy is a joining kit. The TSO ones look great and I don't doubt their superior design, but in the UK they sell for £75 and are usually sold out. That's about $95 which is interesting because the TSO rail square 16PE is only £120. That's competitive with most other rail squares in the UK.
Also, getting the supplier to cut along the length is an option. Time to measure up and do a cut list I think!

Thanks for all the help.

 

[jcrowe1950]

Hi,
I'm about to start making some plywood kitchen base cabinets so I'm after some advice on the best methods to cut along 8 ft sheet.
The cabinets are all the  same depth so keeping that consistent across all the sheets will make things like the dado for the backs less prone to human error, at least that's the theory
I know the obvious answer is to get a 3000 rail and do it  in one go but I don't have anywhere to store such a beast. Next option is to join 2 1400 rails together. I already have a 1400 and an 800 so all I'd need to buy was another 1400 rail and a connection kit - that should be long enough for a TS55 and a benchdogs rail square.
Problem is, I'm probably only going to do this the once , maybe twice and buying a second rail is not very exciting when I have a long list of other stuff I want
So I'm wondering are there any other techniques for cutting along 8 foot sheet accurately?
Any advice is much appreciated for such a noob question [wink]

Hi Jimmy,

    What I'd consider is this....two 1400s is 2800mm, or about 110" which gives you ~7" of space on each end for startup of the saw before plunging and after exiting the stock. Make sure that gives you enough space on both ends to full engage your cams on the saw before entering/exiting the sheet goods. This is one reason I do not recommend the 2700mm rail for that application as it is inadequate in that respect. Besides, the 2700 and 3000 rails present storage challenges. My solution is to use my 1900mm (75") rail from my original TS75 and the 1080mm (42") rail from my MFT, united with TSO connectors to provide a total of ~117" and around 10.5" on either side of an 8' sheet of plywood. The first thing you want to do is shave off the factory edge. This is demonstrated quite well in Youtube videos from Festool USA.

 

[sancho57]

[member=73658]Jimmy69[/member]

You may only build kitchen cabinets once but Im sure there are other projects that you will use the 2nd guide rail for.  I have a lot of guide rails some even custom sizes (500mm- 300mm) that I find a use for.

Theres no way around it if your getting into wood working and have chosen festool.

Tools arent cheap

 

[JimD]

My track saw is a DeWalt largely because I could get it, their long track (103 inches or 2616mm) and a 59 inch track for about $600.  I use the long track a lot, I used it today to cut some 3/4 plywood for an open shelving unit for a utility room.  I store it on the back of my garage door now.  There is at least one commercial arrangement for storing track this way but I just made some simple brackets out of scrap.  My garage door is only 9 feet wide so I don't think it would work with a track much longer than mine.  But on a 16 foot double door you should be able to put about any track.

If you want to join tracks, I think you will have better results with two track connectors.  I cannot do that on my DeWalt tracks but plan to try joining my long track to one of my others, probably the 44 inch, to rip glue ready edges on cherry boards 10 feet long for my new dining table.  I do this fairly regularly on 8 foot boards with my long track but I want a 10 foot table. 

I work almost totally inside my shop and for that arrangement I think a long track is very nice to have and very useful.  But if I was doing mostly site work, I would probably not want to carry the long track and risk it's damage. 

 

[afish]

If you want to try some parallel rails but funds are tight you can make some of these.  PARALLEL GUIDES DIY If you have some scrap laying around they will only cost you a few bucks. I would forgo the 3rd setting guide he made as it seems redundant but if memory serves he talks about that and just use one to set the other.  As I mentioned earlier I dont use them and dont like the kind that attach to the rail as I feel it can be a bit cumbersome more so with the long rail and even more so with 2 rails joined to make a long rail.  However everyone has their own way but I actually prefer how these are not attached.  If you wanted you could screw on a draw clamp like the one used on the GRS rail squares.  You can order them from mcmaster carr.  if you are concerned about the rail moving.