Festool routers on 3 Makita/Triton Rails

[Steven Owen]

Has anyone ever tried using their Festool router and track guide stop with the other vendors tracks?

Makita and Triton have rails that mirror most of the design elements of the Festool rails.  Do you know if the accessory guide stop for the OF 1400 will work on Triton’s or Makita’s rails?

 

[mrboult]

I've not got that router so I can't tell you for certain, but . . .

Makita rails have an extra little lip in on the inside of the outer most 'accessory groove' (the one where the slot faces upwards) that provides an anti-tip feature with the Makita saws. .  So this is the only difference that could affect the use of the 1400 guide rail adapter.

I have not yet seen the Triton rails in person.

See the makita rail lip in this picture

 

[Steven Owen]

I've not got that router so I can't tell you for certain, but . . .

Makita rails have an extra little lip in on the inside of the outer most 'accessory groove' (the one where the slot faces upwards) that provides an anti-tip feature with the Makita saws. .  So this is the only difference that could affect the use of the 1400 guide rail adapter.

I have not yet seen the Triton rails in person.

See the makita rail lip in this picture

I would think the guide stop for the OF 1400 would fit the Makita rail.  I know I plan to get a OF 1400 router.  My decision on the brand or Track Saw is a toss-up between the TS 75, Mafell, or Makita 18V X2. 

It would be interesting to see if the OF 1400 could fit the Makita rail.

 

[bnaboatbuilder]

I believe the extra lip on the Makita rail which allows their saws an anti tip over feature will prevent the Festool guide stop from fitting from everything I have seen. I have Festool rails, the guide stop, an OF1400 but no Makita rails so I cannot check for you.

 

[Steven Owen]

I believe the extra lip on the Makita rail which allows their saws an anti tip over feature will prevent the Festool guide stop from fitting from everything I have seen. I have Festool rails, the guide stop, an OF1400 but no Makita rails so I cannot check for you.

The Triton has an identical anti tip lip to the Makita.  I think they both use the same third party to manufacture their tracks. 

I have doing a lot of home work on the Mafell track saw and how it stacks up against the TS 75.  I haven’t made a decsion for or against the TS 75.  It’s a good saw.  I have to decide if it’s worth getting murdered on the tariffs and brokerage fees trying to purchase a Mafell track saw from the US.

It sucks to have buy and store two different track designs for the same purpose.  Regardless I may have no other option but to go with the TS 75 to accommodate the OF 1400.

 

[lwoirhaye]

When I first bought Festool equipment I got a saw and later a router with the rail guide.  I tried the rail guide maybe once or twice.  You can't use the rubber strip to line up router cuts, you'll just tear it up.  You still have to calculate your cutter distance from the straight edge whether you use a Festool guide rail or any old piece of straight material clamped to the work. What's the advantage of using the rail system if you can't put the rubber edge where you want the cut to go? 

It's just fussy to set it up imo and offers little benefit over cobbled-together shop-built solutions.  I built a book case using my Festool router to cut dados and used a 12" speed square to guide the base against. 

 

[peter halle]

I am sorry to see that you didn't get the experience you desired with the router on the rails.  There is no way that using a router bit (which are available in many diameters could be indexed to the rail like the saws could.

You seem to have a strong opinion against the Festool approach which is different in that it is designed to operate on the center axis of the bit and when on the rail with the adaptor can not veer off in a direction opposite a straight edge guide only on one side, so I wish someone had the opportunity earlier in your Festool router usage to give you some tips and tricks.

Peter

 

[Michael Kellough]

I've made mistakes calculating the offsets of router/bit diameter so I changed to a simpler more direct way of ensuring that the bit is over the center line. (laying everything out by center-line is the best procedure IMO).

What I do now is put a Festool brad point dowel drilling bit and set the fine center point over the center-line. No more calculation mistakes.

 

[Steven Owen]

The other alternative on the market is the Bora system for routers.  It’s using a guide bushing that limits the size of bits you can use to rabbets and dado. If you wanted to use it to create an edge profile it would not able to fit the wider bits.
http://www.boratool.com/bora-router-guide

I always shake my head at Festool track pricing.  I can’t really see any difference in quality between the Festool and Makita rail that would justify the price of the green rails.  Maybe I’m missing something that isn’t easily visible unless you can compare a Makita and Festool rail in person.

 

[mrboult]

I always shake my head at Festool track pricing.  I can’t really see any difference in quality between the Festool and Makita rail that would justify the price of the green rails.  Maybe I’m missing something that isn’t easily visible unless you can compare a Makita and Festool rail in person.

I'm not saying it justifies the price, but one thing to note is the green/blue glide tape on top of the Makita tracks is actually quite abrasive, and will eat into the base of the saw slowly slowly, but to the point that 2 years medium/heavy use you'll have 0.5 - 1mm deep grooves in the bottom of the Makita saw. I've watched this happen to two Makita saws.
The Festool track tape does this too but much much slower, at least half as quick. . .

I've owned both saws and tracks for years, I know of what I speak

 

[blaszcsj]

When I first bought Festool equipment I got a saw and later a router with the rail guide.  I tried the rail guide maybe once or twice.  You can't use the rubber strip to line up router cuts, you'll just tear it up.  You still have to calculate your cutter distance from the straight edge whether you use a Festool guide rail or any old piece of straight material clamped to the work. What's the advantage of using the rail system if you can't put the rubber edge where you want the cut to go? 

It's just fussy to set it up imo and offers little benefit over cobbled-together shop-built solutions.  I built a book case using my Festool router to cut dados and used a 12" speed square to guide the base against.

Why don't you just do everything on centerline and use the mark on the base to align to the center of the desired dato.

 

[lwoirhaye]

Why don't you just do everything on centerline and use the mark on the base to align to the center of the desired dato.

That works fine too in a lot of situations.  It's not much trouble to mark and index a dado cut either way but it's certainly faster to clamp a square to a side than mess around with guide rails, imo. 

 

[fshanno]

It's true that the edge guide is faster but I like the security of the guide stop.  The router isn't going anywhere but down the line, no left or right.