Festool FS Guide Rail vs Mafell F Guide Rail

[Lbob131]

There  is  nothing  in the  KSS 80  manual  to suggest  there  is  an adjustment.
Which is rather  disappointing.

 

[Lbob131]

The KSS saws (K85) does not allow any adjustment for slop

Thats  the answer  I received  from a  K85 user  on utube. [sad]
Looks  like  its..
Festool = 1
Mafell  = 0
[cool]

 

[ScotF]

The KSS or K series saws do not allow for adjustment. But, this has never been an issue for me. You tend to push against the rib if the rail when ripping and in practice, there has never been any discernible difference in cut quality or accuracy. FWIW, the plate/shoe is pretty big and the saw fits pretty tightly to the track.

 

[Lbob131]

So Mafell is not so precise as Festool.

That  would  seem  to be  the case.
When  I  swap  my HK85  from  the fsk  rail  to the fs  rails  I know  that  the machine  will  sit accurate  without  lateral movement.
IMO  that's  important  if  you don't want  to start  chewing  off  the  rail  splinter  guard.

 

[ear3]

[member=6605]ScotF[/member] How much precision cutting do you do with the K85, or KSS80 if that's what you have?  Just took receipt of my K85 yesterday and was very surprised to find that there was a bit of slop between the rail and the base, and without any means to adjust it, though I have yet to do some real world testing of the accuracy.

The KSS or K series saws do not allow for adjustment. But, this has never been an issue for me. You tend to push against the rib if the rail when ripping and in practice, there has never been any discernible difference in cut quality or accuracy. FWIW, the plate/shoe is pretty big and the saw fits pretty tightly to the track.

 

[ScotF]

Uber accurate...as in I built an entire set of Maloof inspired dining chairs and did all of the ripping for the seat blanks with it and had glue-ready cuts with the 24T blade. I too was concerned about it, especially coming from a Festool ecosytem. It honestly has not been an issue for me. Now, I also bought the roller edge guide for narrow rips (highly recommended) and do most ripping without using the guide rails. The edge guides are really good - easy to adjust accurately and repeatable. I did some You Tube videos that might be useful. Below is one ripping said seat blanks using the edge guide. Some had a bevel and others were straight 90 degrees. Worked perfectly. I have had my saw for 6 -7 years now and love it. You get the better value now with the K85 since you get the
L-Boxx case and adding the 370 cross cut rail is the same cost as the KSS80 that does not come with the case.

 

[ear3]

[member=6605]ScotF[/member] That's good enough for me as an endorsement, thx.  What is the difference between the roller guide and the parallel fence that comes with the saw?  Is it just the capacity to do narrower cuts?  Or is the overall design better even for cuts which might also be done by the parallel guide?

Uber accurate...as in I built an entire set of Maloof inspired dining chairs and did all of the ripping for the seat blanks with it and had glue-ready cuts with the 24T blade. I too was concerned about it, especially coming from a Festool ecosytem. It honestly has not been an issue for me. Now, I also bought the roller edge guide for narrow rips (highly recommended) and do most ripping without using the guide rails. The edge guides are really good - easy to adjust accurately and repeatable. I did some You Tube videos that might be useful. Below is one ripping said seat blanks using the edge guide. Some had a bevel and others were straight 90 degrees. Worked perfectly. I have had my saw for 6 -7 years now and love it. You get the better value now with the K85 since you get the
L-Boxx case and adding the 370 cross cut rail is the same cost as the KSS80 that does not come with the case.

 

[ScotF]

The roller guide goes under the saw's base plate you can get  narrower rips and work from narrow stock. The standard guide is good for wider rips or as an out rigger support. I use the roller guide for 90% of my cuts.

Oh, I have also used the 52T blade on plywood with good results (and using the track). I also have cut 12/4 with a guide rail and 12T blade without issue. I used the guide rail in that cut because the slab was in the rough. It powered through the cuts in a single pass, which was amazing.

 

[ear3]

Got it, thx.

The roller guide goes under the saw's base plate you can get  narrower rips and work from narrow stock. The standard guide is good for wider rips or as an out rigger support. I use the roller guide for 90% of my cuts.

Oh, I have also used the 52T blade on plywood with good results (and using the track). I also have cut 12/4 with a guide rail and 12T blare without issue. I used the guide rail in that cut because the slab was in the rough. It powered through the cuts in a single pass, which was amazing.

 

[ear3]

One of the things I appreciate about the Mafell rail relative to the Festool one is the ability to clamp close to the cut line.  I do a lot of trimming with boards trapped in the wagon vise on my bench, and so with the Mafell rail I only need a small amount of additional overhang to clamp the rail to the board.

[attachimg=1]

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When trimming with the TSC55, normally I would not even need to clamp the rail for this sort of cut, but with the larger size of the K85, I have found it prudent to clamp whenever feasible.

 

[Svar]

One of the things I appreciate about the Mafell rail relative to the Festool one is the ability to clamp close to the cut line. 

Exactly! This is the only advantage that matters to me. All those ease of connecting rails etc. are non-issue. Not being able to clamp a narrow piece under FT rail and having to come up with elaborate ways to secure everything is most annoying. In every other aspect I prefer FT rail.

 

[Cheese]

I actually prefer the Mafell rails, the red splinter strip is very easy to line up with a pencil mark and being able to clamp close to the cut line is a real advantage that I use more often than I originally thought. The down side of the close clamping is that you need to be aware of the path of the blade.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[ScotF]

One of the things I appreciate about the Mafell rail relative to the Festool one is the ability to clamp close to the cut line.  I do a lot of trimming with boards trapped in the wagon vise on my bench, and so with the Mafell rail I only need a small amount of additional overhang to clamp the rail to the board.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

When trimming with the TSC55, normally I would not even need to clamp the rail for this sort of cut, but with the larger size of the K85, I have found it prudent to clamp whenever feasible.

Agree - the two clamping positions are awesome.

How are you liking your K85 saw? Hope it is living up to your expectations.

 

[ear3]

[member=6605]MrToolJunkie[/member]  So far so good, though I have yet to use it for anything that requires tight joinery.

Mostly been using it for some generously sized 12/4 walnut that was too thick for my TS75, and I've been impressed with how easily it handles.

One of the things I appreciate about the Mafell rail relative to the Festool one is the ability to clamp close to the cut line.  I do a lot of trimming with boards trapped in the wagon vise on my bench, and so with the Mafell rail I only need a small amount of additional overhang to clamp the rail to the board.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

When trimming with the TSC55, normally I would not even need to clamp the rail for this sort of cut, but with the larger size of the K85, I have found it prudent to clamp whenever feasible.

Agree - the two clamping positions are awesome.

How are you liking your K85 saw? Hope it is living up to your expectations.

 

[ear3]

[member=44099]Cheese[/member]  I was actually gonna ask if the Mafell clamps were worth the extra price over the Bosch ones I got, and now I see they perhaps aren't!

I actually prefer the Mafell rails, the red splinter strip is very easy to line up with a pencil mark and being able to clamp close to the cut line is a real advantage that I use more often than I originally thought. The down side of the close clamping is that you need to be aware of the path of the blade.

[attachimg=1]

[attachimg=2]

 

[Yoggoth]

AMS company made an improved universal guide rail.
Compared to Bosch\Mafell rail, it has advantages: it is wider, so you can use it with bench dogs; two additional t-tracks for accessories and ability to use it with Festool style clamps.
Compared to Festool rail: better splinter guard; ability to clamp near the guard if you have Bosch\Mafell style clamp; ability to use superior Bosch\Mafell connectors; but unfortunately no sliding strips; another critical disadvantage: it is 1 mm thicker than Festool rail, so Festool saw will cut into the strip when beveled.

The bad news: It is made in Russia, so you probably can not order it. You might need VPN if you want to visit their web site, and their site is in Russian.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=1]

 

[semenza]

AMS company made an improved universal guide rail.
Compared to Bosch\Mafell rail, it has advantages: it is wider, so you can use it with bench dogs; two additional t-tracks for accessories and ability to use it with Festool style clamps.
Compared to Festool rail: better splinter guard; ability to clamp near the guard if you have Bosch\Mafell style clamp; ability to use superior Bosch\Mafell connectors; but unfortunately no sliding strips.

The bad news: It is made in Russia, so you probably can not order it. You might need VPN if you want to visit their web site, and their site in Russian.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=1]

    Sounds like it would be difficult for most to obtain.

Seth

 

[Cheese]

AMS company made an improved universal guide rail.

Interesting...I wonder why they didn't incorporate a glide strip into the top surface? That really is the ONLY thing I don't like about the Mafell rails.

These AMS rails are offered in .1 meter lengths from .5 meter to 4.1 meter. That's a lot of rails. [huh]

 

[Yoggoth]

They have 9 rail types for different saws, and every type in 0.1m increments. Probably they cut long rail as needed when an order arrives. And the price is proportional to length, not to length squared as Festool do  [laughing]

 

[stefano]

AMS company made an improved universal guide rail.
Compared to Bosch\Mafell rail, it has advantages: it is wider, so you can use it with bench dogs; two additional t-tracks for accessories and ability to use it with Festool style clamps.
Compared to Festool rail: better splinter guard; ability to clamp near the guard if you have Bosch\Mafell style clamp; ability to use superior Bosch\Mafell connectors; but unfortunately no sliding strips.

The bad news: It is made in Russia, so you probably can not order it. You might need VPN if you want to visit their web site, and their site in Russian.
[attachimg=2]
[attachimg=1]

    Sounds like it would be difficult for most to obtain.

Seth

Does anyone have fond a way to buy them form internet?

Thanks