Gecko

[Lou Miller]

No, not Geico my car insurance is really low already, but Gecko...http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/...d=5015fde44698acbe337e4f6975308dc1&pid=493507

Anyone have one? I have a job that I'm starting tomorrow morning where I have to cut a lot of window sills without removing them from their openings. Long story, but I'm installing new windows in a customer's house and the openings have to be altered a good bit. So I bought an 800mm guide rail and a Gecko. I'm hoping to be able to attach the Gecko and the rail to the sills and use them to make all of my cuts. The sills have a very nice clear coating of some kind on them, but I'm not sure what it is. I'm guessing its a varnish. The sills appear to be Elm and they are awesome, so I don't want to use any type of fasteners to attach a straight edge. Regular clamps might work (not sure about that), but they'd probably be a real pain in the neck since I have so many to do.

Anyway... I tried the Gecko out on my bench (which is hardboard on the top) and was dissapointed with how well the Gecko held. I cleaned the top with a vac, then I also wiped it down with some naptha (so it would dry fast). It takes very little force to be able to shift the rail and the Gecko no matter what I try. I'm hoping that its the hardboard, because the rail doesn't even hold any. I'm making all of my cuts with a router (OF1010) and a straight bit. If I were just using the TS55, I probably wouldn't be as concerned.

Does anyone else have one of these (I don't suspect that many people do, but you never know), and how's it working out for you? Any cleaning process that you've found works better than another? I'm hoping that the sills I plan to use it on will have more bite than my benchtop does. If you have one, please post your experiences with it.

Thanks.

 

[Bob Marino]

Lou,

Any small void in the surface reduces the suction power of the Gecko's by enough to be unsteady. TheY shine on very smooth surfaces - melamine, glass, solid surace, etc. lesser so on wood. Try it, if it works, great, if not.....you know where to send it;>).

No problem at all taking iot back - no worries. Just let me know.
  Bob

 

[Lou Miller]

Bob,

I tried it out on the sills. It holds pretty well. Certainly much better than it did on my hardboard top. I can't use it for this particular job though. It has nothing to do with the Gecko though. The OF1010 used with the rails is a very very bad choice for this job. The shape of the router makes it almost worthless to use when combined with a rail. Its because I'm using the router in a closed space and need to get as close as possible to each of the the side walls with my cuts. The handle/cord on one side, and the knob on the other just don't work well. I rigged up a guide of my own and I'm just letting the OF1010 run along that instead, but its turned 90 degrees so the handle and knob aren't a factor. The way it works out is I only have about 3/4" to chop out with a chisel this way. With the rail its like 3" on one side, and something like 8" on the other.

I'm keeping the Gecko though. I'll probably use it for cutting openings in counter tops and stuff like that. It just won't be all that often. Its coming in handy for carrying the windows around that we're setting though. It does seem pretty well made, so I'm happy with it.

 

[Dave Rudy]

Lou, I'm having trouble understanding why you cant do with the Festool rail what you are describing with your custom made rail -- maybe it's because I'm not visualizing it correctly -- do you have a pic or two?

Dave

 

[Lou Miller]

Lou, I'm having trouble understanding why you cant do with the Festool rail what you are describing with your custom made rail -- maybe it's because I'm not visualizing it correctly -- do you have a pic or two?

Dave

No pics, sorry. Let me try and explain it better...

I'm replacing windows in a customer's house. Its an old stone home and the windows are set in what I call wells. Basically, the window is even with the exterior of the wall. Each window has a sill that is roughly 20" from its face to the window. There are small walls on either side of the window that run from the interior of the main wall, to the inside of the window. The existing sills go right up to sashes in the existing setup. The new windows don't allow for the sills to go all the way up to the sashes, the sills have to stop shy of them. So I have to cut off about 1-1/2" on every sill to allow the window to fit properly. The cut is a trapped cut. Its trapped by the two small walls. The shape of the OF1010 won't allow me to make a cut that is close enough to the small walls if I use the guide rail. By turning the router 90 degrees, and using my own setup, I can get a whole lot close to each small wall and then just finish off the cut with a chisel.

That make it any clearer?

 

[Brice Burrell]

  I think this is what Lou is talking about, there is just not enough room to allow the router to make it all the way to the end of the sill before the router hits the wall.

 

[Dave Rudy]

Much better.  I got the picture now.  Thanks

Dave

 

[richard.selwyn]

FWIW I have a couple of Geckos
(I bought them for handling double glazing panels when renovating windows - I could have bought far cheaper ones but hey, I'm addicted to that green.)
They stick very well to any gloss painted surface, melamine, smooth anodised aluminium (the slider on my table saw - and the machined cast iron surface for that matter) and the sides of the Sysport (for storage)

 

[justinh]

Lou.
If you have a picture of the set up you are using or have the time to describe it I'd love to see it.  I have done several installs similar to what you are describing and would like to be able to use the dust collection that the 1010 has to cut down on the mess.  In the past I have rough cut shy of the line with a trim saw and used a router,pattern bit,and 1/2" mdf staight edge for the most of the finish cut and a laminate trimmer with offset base to get within about +/- 1/2" from the ends,finishing with either a chisel or multimaster. 

Thanks.
Justin

 

[Lou Miller]

Justin,

What I'm using is pretty low tech. Just three 1x4s fastened together with pocket screws. One that the router base runs along, and two that are perpendicular to that one. I just clamp the assembly down the the sill and rout away. Due to the nature of the openings I'm dealing with, I end up with about 3/4" to finish off with a chisel on both ends.

Dust collection is minnimal while the router is cutting. However, I just make one final pass with the router after its done cutting material and it sucks up almost all of the chips. I assume it doesn't work too well while the router is cutting because I'm hogging too much off and the vac can't keep up.