Festool Guide Rail & TSO Guide Rail Square: Cheap jig for repeatable cross cuts.

[Packard]

1/4 degree at 12 inches equals 0.052 inches

1/4 degree at 96 inches equals 0.419 inches

Thanks.  I had no idea how to do the math. But your math validates what I was saying. 

If you are ripping long pieces, you cannot rely on a square alone.  You need to verify with a second measurement.

If I am using just one squaring arm, I’m using my 32” long track only, and typically cutting 12”, 16” and 22” long pieces.  The results, if I work carefully, are almost always acceptable.

I originally bought the Festool track saw as a way to breakdown sheets of plywood to manageable sizes.

If Kreg had come out with their large capacity edge guides for circular saws a few years earlier, I probably would have gone with that instead of the Festool.

I see online that people are building entire kitchen’s worth of cabinets using those edge guides. 

It was only later that I found that I could get sufficient accuracy to cut to finished sizes.

I still use the table saw if I am cutting multiple pieces of the same size.  I find it much faster than the track saw in that case.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

I have a nice table saw with an excellent fence but do not have a good outfeed table, so the Festool track saw system I bought many years ago has been a lifesaver for working with panels.

I believe that the methodical way I use the track saw provides every bit or more precision than I can achieve with my table saw setup. I spend a bit more time with the Festool system than I might with the table saw, but I prefer the results.

I am a DIY hobbyist so the extra time does not debit a business equation.

 

 

[Packard]

The reason I use the table saw for repeated cuts, is I have to be careful and precise just once for the entire production run for that cut size.

With the track saw, I have to be precise and careful with each cut.

I have two roller stands (I cannot recall the brand).  I use one for in-feed on my table saw and the other for out-feed.  The out-feed stand was retired when I built a MFT-style table to replace it and also function as a glue-up station.

The roller stand is also a boon for when I am off-loading sheets of plywood from my van onto the saw-horse supported foam panels that I use for my track saw. 

I set the roller to be slightly higher than the track.  I lift the end of the panel onto the roller stand and then onto the track “table”.  It makes life much easier.

In any case, it was a dual function roller stand, first acting as an out-feed support and then later acting as an assist in off-loading my van.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

My idea of a good outfeed table is an eight-foot by eight-foot platform covered with a slippery surface.

I have witnessed and experienced too much carnage with table saws to enjoy using them. I use table saws but do not enjoy using them.

I also acknowledge that joiners exist because table saw operations are not as precise as many would assume. A little wobble during the feed can negate the precision assumed to be afforded by the fence.

Anyways...

 

[Packard]

My idea of a good outfeed table is an eight-foot by eight-foot platform covered with a slippery surface.[…]

A roller stand accomplishes the “slippery” factor.

There is a gap between my table saw and my outfeed table of about 1 foot.  I mounted the table on height adjustable feet.  It is slightly lower than my table saw height—just enough that 1/4” plywood can bridge the 1 foot gap and not hit the edge of the outfeed table. It is probably 1/8” to 1/4” lower than the table saw.

The effect of that is to reduce the friction between the stock I am cutting and the outfeed table. 

I’m not trying to talk you into using the table saw.  (I avoid using my radial arm saw except where it is clearly the sensible tool.  It is the scariest tool in my shop.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

I have similar rollers that I use with my chop saw.

I also own/operate a Radial Arm Saw that I have, in the past, used to make rips, DADOs, and all manner of strange cuts. Despite their well-deserved reputation as dangerous tools, I have never experienced, witnessed, or heard a first-hand story about an actual accident with a Radial Arm Saw. In high school, we were taught how to protect ourselves when operating a radial arm saw. I recall the protocol every time I turn mine on.

With a table saw you are never 100% protected from a vicious kickback scenario.

Even if everything is safe and sound 99.9% of the time, I don't like the odds. That 0.1% is a real son of an emergency room visit.

Anyways...

 

[TSO_Products]

In the interest of fair play, I want to add that I just noticed this photograph at the TSO website, where I see that the TSO parallel guide can indeed be used in the manner I was interested in.

I suppose the emphasis on the product as a parallel guide system sold as matched pairs of rails distracted me from noticing the related use of a cross-cut jig and the specific mounting option available to connect their Paralelle Guide rails directly to the Guide Rail Square.

I wish I noticed this sooner. I already have another parallel guide setup, but will probably buy into the TSO system at some point now that I recognize the added value.

Thank you!

[member=70323]Woody Knotsensplintahs[/member] – and all the others who responded:
I am attaching a link to an earlier video edited to focus on just the use of the Guide Rail Square in combination with only ONE Parallel Guide T-track and FlipStop assembly:
   
       

We are always trying to find an effective and convenient way for our customers to locate helpful how-to-use information about our products. Your posts and comments encourage us to do more!

Thank you for creating this FOG thread to remind us that this kind information is helpful.

Hans

 

[GoingMyWay]

Here's the video that Hans included in his previous post.

 

[Woody Knotsensplintahs]

That seems to add a lot of value to the TSO Guide Rail Sqauer and Parallel Guide system.

Thank you for sharing the video.