Guide rail splinter guard

[ForumMFG]

Well, I just bought my TS 55 and it came with the 55" guide rail.  I noticed on all the guide rails I have seen before that the splinter guard was black.  Mine came with a clear splinter guard.

I would like to hear from you guys that have the clear or the black.  I would like to know if you have the clear one, does it make it hard to line up the splinter guard with your pencil line and the same thing goes with the black?  My dealer only sells the black replacements so I could switch them out if it becomes a problem.

I have not used it yet but It was something I was thinking about last night.

-Dave

 

[Mike B]

The clear splintergurard is supposedly the new and improved version. I have the black ones on my rails and would consider changing to clear only when these ones wear out.

If they really are clear, I can see the benefit of being able to see a pencil line through it when lining it up for a cut.

 

[ForumMFG]

Mike,

FYI, They really are clear as day.  I'll take a picture and post it sometime this coming week.

Thanks for you comments.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

From the May 2009 edition of our email newsletter, SysNotes:

If you recently ordered a new guide rail, you may have noticed something new. Recently, we have begun shipping our guide rails with a newly designed, semi-transparent splinter guard. The new Splinterguard offers several advantages over previous versions.

• The semi-transparent material provides improved visibility for alignment with marks.
• The new material is more robust and rigid.
• The new adhesive has been used to make removal easier, without residue.

We will be offering new semi-transparent replacement Splinterguards made of this new material beginning Summer 2009 in two sizes only. Please check with your Festool dealer for availability. All guide rails sizes will feature the new semi-transparent Splinterguard. Please note that some Festool dealers may still have guide rails in inventory that use the previous black rubber-like splinter strip.

495207	55" Semi-Transparent Replacement Splinterguard	$16.00	Available Summer 2009
495209	197" Semi-Transparent Replacement Splinterguard	$30.00	Available Summer 2009

 

[Brice Burrell]

Shane, do you have a better ETA of the new splinter guards than summer 2009? Is this going to be a August first release?

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Brice,

I don't have a better ETA at the moment.  I can check on Monday to see if I can get an update.  I believe I heard a recent discussion that they are in stock at our location.  It may just be a matter of dealers ordering them at this point.  I'll try to get some info and post a follow up.

 

[ForumMFG]

I can say that they are released in the USA because I just purchases one. 

Are you guys speaking of a release date in Europe?

 

[rnt80]

Brice,

I don't have a better ETA at the moment.  I can check on Monday to see if I can get an update.  I believe I heard a recent discussion that they are in stock at our location.  It may just be a matter of dealers ordering them at this point.  I'll try to get some info and post a follow up.

Not to hijack this thread but as long as we're talking about release dates, when will we see the new Centrotec set in NA?

 

[ForumMFG]

And I will second that.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

@ForumMFG: The guide rails with the new clear splinterguards are already being shipped to dealers and have been for a couple of months now.  We are referring to replacement splinterguards for people who want or need to replace their current splinterguard with the clear version.

@rnt80: I don't have information regarding a new Centrotec set.  I believe there was one recently introduced in Europe but each division of Festool handles their promotions separately.  It may be worth having someone start a new thread with comments about what promotions you guys would like to see.  I can't make any guarantees but we're always interested in hearing what our customers want.

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

Just a quick follow up... I confirmed that the new clear version is now available purchase and this was communicated to dealers back in April.  I would recommend that you contact your dealer of choice to check availability.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Just a quick follow up... I confirmed that the new clear version is now available purchase and this was communicated to dealers back in April.  I would recommend that you contact your dealer of choice to check availability.

Thanks for following up on this Shane. I'm going to need a couple of new splinter guards soon so I'm going to try to get the new ones since they should be available.