I just picked up the Festool FS-WA and it won’t stay clipped onto the rail, it appears that the rubber is too thick. I clip it on and if I hold it down it will stay on and if I let go it just slips off. I called Festool and they were no help other than to tell me to return it which I will probably do, just seems kind of silly if that little rubber piece could just be replaced plus there aren’t any in stock locally. Anyone else seen this, it would be helpful if they sent a small manual out with it. Thanks
Festool FS-WA not clipping to rail
- Thread starter Siskiyou
- Start date
mino
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- May 5, 2016
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- 1,984
Can you specify what "rubber piece" you mean ?
There are no rubber pieces on the FS-WA to my knowledge.
IF the issue is with the clip, then the holding part is hard metal that cannot be repaired once bent and must be replaced.
If it does not hold, it means the clip assy needs to be replaced. When handled wrongly (think: "stepping on it with clip opened type wrongly" ...) it can get bent or you could have a faulty clip that slipped through QA.
No matter what the cause, it would have to be replaced and I am sure Festool will want the original for analysis as a whole.
One thing to note ref these:
The FS-WA and the FS-WA/90 are, in effect, *precision instruments*. Thy must not face rough handling. The are made to very high accuracy standard, up to 0.001" accurate style. So even when they "survive" abuse, they become worthless once bent even by 0.005". This is kinda the same as with the rails. Some tool dealers may not realize this ... and not take adequate care.
There are no rubber pieces on the FS-WA to my knowledge.
IF the issue is with the clip, then the holding part is hard metal that cannot be repaired once bent and must be replaced.
If it does not hold, it means the clip assy needs to be replaced. When handled wrongly (think: "stepping on it with clip opened type wrongly" ...) it can get bent or you could have a faulty clip that slipped through QA.
No matter what the cause, it would have to be replaced and I am sure Festool will want the original for analysis as a whole.
One thing to note ref these:
The FS-WA and the FS-WA/90 are, in effect, *precision instruments*. Thy must not face rough handling. The are made to very high accuracy standard, up to 0.001" accurate style. So even when they "survive" abuse, they become worthless once bent even by 0.005". This is kinda the same as with the rails. Some tool dealers may not realize this ... and not take adequate care.
It isn’t damaged, the clip that grabs the rail has a rubber coating on it apparently to keep the clip from damaging the rail. This rubber coating is very thick down in the J part and when I go to latch it it just pops up because it doesn’t go around that piece of aluminum. I will see if I can get a picture of it later.
mino
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- May 5, 2016
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No need, -I- would not call it rubber, it is some silicone stuff. But with my chemical engineering background I am no sane person to begin ... calling it "rubber" is absolutely fine in the normal world.Siskiyou said:
As mentioned, the rubber-ry coating cannot be fixed/replaced itself. It is applied by submerging the clip in the non-reagent plastic and letting it cure. The "whole" clip must be replaced. It is a separate part so that is easy.
Though it is best to return the whole unit to Festool. It will help them to see where the problem was and, hopefully, improve their QA so that a faulty clip does not get to the customer the next time around.
FYI:
That specific clip design is patented by and licensed from TSO Products. Though, unlike for the FS-WA/90, these clips are not manufactured by TSO themselves. Looks like Festool did not iron-out the manufacturing /and the QA needed/ for such a clip design. The FS-WA is their first product using these license-made clips. TSO was very proud of that design, including the details and how they had hundreds of designs before getting it "just right". Now we can see why ... not everything looking simple is necessarily simple. Even when you are provided the documentation on how to do it ... [smile]
I ended up doing what Festool told me to do which was take it back. The dealer is Fasteners Inc and turned out they had just the unit in stock not the kit so he swapped it for me. We tested the unit he had before I left the store which worked perfectly and tried my original one and it would not stay clipped. I am a happy customer now both with Festool and especially Fasteners Inc.
