Guide rail selection FS5000 vs. (2) FS2700

[Tristan]

Hi Folks,

I need a very accurate guide rail to fit on a 14' - 6" (174" total) long table top I'm making. I will be inlaying lineally down the length of the top and want to use the guide rail to reference  a very accurate plunge trimmer to mill the series of inlay seats. It's imperative the rail is as straight as possible - due to the pattern and placement of the inlay(s). I'm leaning towards the 5000 - no joint flex, but Festool does not spec a tolerance on the accuracy of the straight edge down its length - due they tend to be very straight? 

I have a 6' starrett straight edge to set up two rails if folks think that is the preferred direction for greater accuracy - shorter pieces tend to be more accurate than one long piece - but then possibly, the joint security becomes the issue, I will be repositioning the rail numerous times as I move across the width of the top. Any thoughts or experience regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ccarrolladams]

Hi Folks,

I need a very accurate guide rail to fit on a 14' - 6" (174" total) long table top I'm making. I will be inlaying lineally down the length of the top and want to use the guide rail to reference  a very accurate plunge trimmer to mill the series of inlay seats. It's imperative the rail is as straight as possible - due to the pattern and placement of the inlay(s). I'm leaning towards the 5000 - no joint flex, but Festool does not spec a tolerance on the accuracy of the straight edge down its length - due they tend to be very straight? 

I have a 6' starrett straight edge to set up two rails if folks think that is the preferred direction for greater accuracy - shorter pieces tend to be more accurate than one long piece - but then possibly, the joint security becomes the issue, I will be repositioning the rail numerous times as I move across the width of the top. Any thoughts or experience regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Tristan and  [welcome] to The FOG!

As it happens I own several 3000mm (118") guide rails as well as one 2700mm and one 5000mm.

Besides my custom cabinet business in Burbank, CA I also am the senior partner in a Van Nuys, CA custom metal fabrication business. So the first thing I did when my then (2010) new 5000mm rail was delivered in an impressive crate was to take it to the metal shop. There we routinely use laser instruments instead of conventional straight edges for parts over 6'. Back then we found the new 5000mm rail was within 0.1mm over its entire length.

To protect this 5000mm rail it is stored on a shelf below the sacrificial surface of my 18' x 4' cutting table. Because most of the plywood I purchase is 4x10' when we use the guide rails and TS55 saws because the parts have odd miter angles and/or bevels, several times each week that really long rail is used. In September I took it back so I could re-check it using the laser system. It is still within 0.1mm over the entire length.

So far I have not coupled the 5000mm guide rail to another, but I have coupled two of the 3000mm rails, using my 2700mm guide rail as the straight edge.

 

[semenza]

Hi Tristan,

Welcome to the forum.

Tough call.  This has come up a couple times. I do not know of a tolerance stated by Festool.  I have the 5000. I would say that over the 16+' length the rail that I have is maybe  1/32" off.  This has not effected anything that I build but may or may not be acceptable for what you are doing. My 3000 rails are not more than 1/64" off.  Those numbers are guesstimates but I am sure they are close.  Personally I'd go for the single rail.  It is more of a guarantee and less of a hassle. How much off or not off may very well depend on the particular rail. In general I find the rails to be very accurate. And I would not count on the numbers I gave above to necessarily reflect all rails of a particular length.

Here is another thread on the topic that you might get some useful info from.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/acceptable-guide-rail-tolerance/

Seth

 

[Tristan]

Thank you SRS and CC for the response - I like knowing CC, that it has kept its tolerance over time, and that it was and is still within .1mm - wow, that's accurate enough. I will also dedicate a special place to store it. I'm going to go for the 5000 and agree (since they are so accurate) that one rail is better for my application - thank you both, this has helped me solidify my decision - I hope I get one with the tolerances you both state

 

[Slappy]

Thank you SRS and CC for the response - I like knowing CC, that it has kept its tolerance over time, and that it was and is still within .1mm - wow, that's accurate enough. I will also dedicate a special place to store it. I'm going to go for the 5000 and agree (since they are so accurate) that one rail is better for my application - thank you both, this has helped me solidify my decision - I hope I get one with the tolerances you both state

Festool has a great return policy  [cool]

 

[panelchat]

i had the same concern when i bought my 3000 rail, as i have some experience with ordering custom made extrusions.
i checked it immediately upon receiving it for any bow by very carefully marking tip/tail/center on a 4x8 panel, then rotating it 180 deg and comparing to see if it was bowed.
then doing it over a few times for redundancy.
it was by my rough measurement 0.5mm off at center, which was well within my needs for making frameless cabinetry.
if you check your own and find it out of true in any significant way, presumably you could return/exchange it.

its a pretty good bet considering how difficult/expensive it is to obtain any very high tolerance straight implement of any sort that is that long.

 

[amt]

If you are making cuts that long, I would try to incorporate more than 2 parallel guides, like one at each end and one in the middle.  The parallel guides can simply be story sticks that you make to custom lengths (I like to cut all of the to length at the same time with something like a miter saw).

 

[Tristan]

Good call amt, the table top will be a series of full length alternating thickness laminations which will serve as my reference for guide rail placement. They will be very straight,  I'm hoping to be able to set the rail only once per lamination width,  I could use a tensioned stick in the center of the rail length, if needed, to help align the rail with the lamination. The longest inlay mill will be 12" long, but there will be a series of these mills  (in different lengths)  down the entire 14'- 6"  length of the top- within each defined lamination width - hence the need for the fixed  guide rail for the entire length. Just for note I'm using Micro Fence products (www.microfence.com) for the trimmer plunge base and edge guide interface for the Festool rail - super accurate!

 

[semenza]

You absolutely must post this  with in progress pictures in the member projects section. Would be great to see this as it is being done as well as the finished table.

Seth

 

[JeromeM]

Hi Folks,

I need a very accurate guide rail to fit on a 14' - 6" (174" total) long table top I'm making. I will be inlaying lineally down the length of the top and want to use the guide rail to reference  a very accurate plunge trimmer to mill the series of inlay seats. It's imperative the rail is as straight as possible - due to the pattern and placement of the inlay(s). I'm leaning towards the 5000 - no joint flex, but Festool does not spec a tolerance on the accuracy of the straight edge down its length - due they tend to be very straight? 

I have a 6' starrett straight edge to set up two rails if folks think that is the preferred direction for greater accuracy - shorter pieces tend to be more accurate than one long piece - but then possibly, the joint security becomes the issue, I will be repositioning the rail numerous times as I move across the width of the top. Any thoughts or experience regarding this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

If you are connecting rails don't forget the Betterley StraightLine Connector

 

[Tristan]

... just to follow up, I received the rail in perfect shape and it seems to be quite straight - my Starrett 6' showed no gaps as I slid it up and down the proud rib of the extrusion; I wanted to flip test it and measure the difference with feeler gauges off of a flat table I have but the nylon edge prevented that. I've stored it on edge with three points of support. Thanks for the encouragement Seth, I will post some pics of that phase.