Cutting narrow board with TS55

[livingthedream]

Hello everyone, I am new to the Festool line and I own a TS55 and the MFT/3 table. I am making some furniture and I wish to rip down some 1x3 to 1x2. The problem I am having is because the 1x3 is narrower than the guide rail the board wants to move once the TS55 comes in contact with it. To be more specific using the MFT/3 and the TS55 with a 43" track how do you rip a 1x3x 32" down to 1x2x32" without the board moving once the TS comes in contact with it? Thanks,

 

[tbellemare]

If I understand you correctly, you have to support the guide rail on the left side with similar thickness material.

Does that make sense?

Tom

 

[Bob Marino]

  Second to what Tom said. I would snug the scrap piece up to your workpiece and simply rip away.

  Bob

 

[livingthedream]

Hi guys, I tried supporting the guide rail with a second board of the same thickness even using one that was much wider so I could clamp it to the table and butt my target piece against it and then rip but what I find is that the target board (in this case 1x3x32") has a tendency to move ever so slightly.

 

[tbellemare]

Is it moving forward or twisting?

Tom

 

[Bob Marino]

Hi guys, I tried supporting the guide rail with a second board of the same thickness even using one that was much wider so I could clamp it to the table and butt my target piece against it and then rip but what I find is that the target board (in this case 1x3x32") has a tendency to move ever so slightly.

Did you snug the scrap up to your workpiece? Cut slowly, dont rush - maybe my wording  above was wrong "rip away" which may have been misinterpeted to rip fast; go slowly into during at at the end of the cut.

Bob

 

[livingthedream]

moving out, away from the guide

 

[mouppe]

Try this...

 

[livingthedream]

Thank you, I will give this a try.

 

[RONWEN]

On small, thinner work pieces it also helps to sandwich the piece to be cut between the guide rail and a work mat.

http://www.woodcraft.com/Catalog/ProductPage2.aspx?id=2003174&ProdId=2077&

 

[sancho57]

I dont know if someone else already posted this but this is a good idea from oneof the members here

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/how-i-rip-ff-and-door-pieces/

 

[Eli]

If it's a really really thin rip, maybe half the width of yours,
it helps to secure an equal thickness piece to the worktop at the destination end of the rail, perpendicular to the ripline.

Cut it sacrificially, so that your hero piece can't slide while you're cutting. You can pin nail it in or clamp it, depending how precious you are about your worktop.

 

[Tinker]

I have done projects with some strips as narrow as 1/4".
I place a wide board, same thickness as the strips I am saving, under the guide bar and place the narrow edge i am saving between the wide board and the blade.  As Eli has stated, i place a narrow sacrificial piece in crosscut position at end of the piece i am cutting.  I sometimes clamp a straight piece aganst the off side of the piece I am cutting.  This piece, I keep moving in as the piece i am cutting keeps moving towards the blade.
I don't have t put any pressure against the piece I keep moving.  It just has to fit against.

If I don't use the sacrificial piece at end of cut, i will have a search and find project as the saw finishes the cut.  A lot of times, i may be just cutting a wide board with a thin strip being cut off.  If the board is short, i use the sacrificial cross cut board to keep the off cut from flying into space. In that case, I clamp the off cut end of the sacrificial piece while the section under the board gets thrown away after the first cut.  In my shop, a flying piece might still be close by as the wall is only about 3 feet from the end of the cut.  That piece has never come close to coming back to bite me  [scared], but whatever it might collide with, the noise can be quite scary.  The Festoy system of guide bar, saw and clamping devices does have the tendency of making the small shop a much safer place to be if one makes use of all parts to the "system".
Tinker