Minimum length for rail for 8' sheets?

[Alpinist]

I have just bought a 3m rail for my ts55, as the 2700 was not available localy. This is mainly for cutting down doors and sheet goods. However i have nowhere to store it, and want to cut it down- obviously, the shorter the rail, the easier to handle and more useful the offcut will be, so 2500?

 

[jonny round boy]

Don't cut it down, at least not to 2.5m. 2.7 is just about long enough with the TS55, and not long enough for the TS75 (for an 8'x4' sheet).

No offence, but if you have nowhere to store it, why did you buy it? Instead, you could have got 2x1.4m rails & a couple of joining bars. Much easier to transport & store, and it would have been cheaper too!

I guess from your post that you needed it urgently, so assume that you've used the rail? If not, I'd return it to your dealer & swap it for 2x 1400 rails.

 

[PaulMarcel]

Definitely don't cut it down.  I have a TS-75 so I needed the 3000 to do 8x4 sheets.  I believe the 2700 rail is intended for 8x4 sheets with the TS-55 so any shorter and you've lost all advantage.

I don't know where your shop is, but mine is in my garage.  I know I got the idea here so kudos to the suggestor I cannot recall, but I hung mine on my garage door.

I put it on the bottom segments of the door so when I work with the door closed, I can easily get at them (although I tend to use the 3000 on the driveway with sheets).

[attachimg=1]

When I work with the door up, I can still easily reach these on the bottom segment.  I also like that when the door is up, the bottom segment still angles upward so these rails have nowhere to go.  By "rails" I mean the 3000 in the back and 1900 in the front.

[attachimg=2]

 

[jonny round boy]

Nice idea Paul, but here in the UK you'd struggle to find a garage door wider than 8'.... [eek]

 

[paul_david_thomas]

Sell it and buy 2x1400.... Not ideal, but you can take them with you...

I've got both and I'm lucky I can put my 2700 upright in one of my kitchen cupboards... I had to build the kitchen extension to ensure if fitted... Kinda like a very expensive tool bag !

 

[upscale]

No offence, but if you have nowhere to store it, why did you buy it? Instead, you could have got 2x1.4m rails & a couple of joining bars. =

He could still cut it in half and purchase a pair of joining bars to connect them. And, if he goes that route, I'd suggest cutting it into two uneven lengths to sizes more convenient for regular use.

 

[jonny round boy]

No offence, but if you have nowhere to store it, why did you buy it? Instead, you could have got 2x1.4m rails & a couple of joining bars. =

He could still cut it in half and purchase a pair of joining bars to connect them. And, if he goes that route, I'd suggest cutting it into two uneven lengths to sizes more convenient for regular use.

True, but a 3000 rail here in the UK costs £225.24, whereas the 1400 rails are £73.08 each, or £146.16 for a pair. That's a saving of £79.08, or over 35%...

 

[upscale]

True, but a 3000 rail here in the UK costs £225.24, whereas the 1400 rails are £73.08 each, or £146.16 for a pair. That's a saving of £79.08, or over 35%...

Sure, he could save some money that way, but the downside is that for cutting smaller lengths of wood, a 3 meter rail would/could be tremendously awkward. I can just see him trying to use it to cut a 1/2 meter length of wood.  [laughing] And don't forget, he already has the 3m rail, so there's no need to spend more money except for buying a pair of joining bars. And just possibly, he has used the 3m rail already and returning it might be difficult.

I'm of a different mind. If I've spent reasonably large amounts of money on a quality tool such as Festool, I'd prefer as many aspects of it to be as convenient to use as possible. This type of problem would be one of those aspects. That's just me though.

 

[Alan m]

the way i see it there are a few options
1 keep 3m rail and buy a 1400 rail
2 sell 3m rail and buy 3 1400 rails ( 2 joined and one for crosscutting at the same time)
3 cut the rail and join back toghether and buy another rail for crosscutting..

the way  went was to get two 1400 rails and 1 1400 lr32 rail. i did this so that all my rails will fit in the bag. i will probably buy a smaller rail soon for cross cutting 600 mm material

 

[upscale]

3 cut the rail and join back together and buy another rail for crosscutting..

??? ???
Why would you have to buy another rail for cross cutting? You could cut the existing rail to a suitable length for cross cutting and just leave the other piece at whatever length it happens to be.

When you use the joining bars to connect rails, they don't have to remain that way. You'd simply connect or disconnect them as needed.

 

[Sparktrician]

The one thing I would mention is that when using two sections of rail joined by connectors, it's a very good idea to use a straightedge (I use a 6' straightedge) to ensure that the rails are lined up perfectly before tightening the connector screws.  I discovered that my two 1400mm sections just don't automagically line up perfectly of their own accord.  Right now, the two 1400mm sections and the 1080mm section serve me just fine with the above caveat.  At some point, I'll acquire a 3000mm section, but only after I rebuild my shop and provide a means to store it without damaging it.  The garage door trick mentioned is a good one.  I was planning on installing a lumber rack on one wall, with a special narrow set of brackets underneath, specifically for the 3000mm section.  Just a thought... 

[smile]

 

[upscale]

The one thing I would mention is that when using two sections of rail joined by connectors, it's a very good idea to use a straightedge (I use a 6' straightedge) to ensure that the rails are lined up perfectly before tightening the connector screws. 

I do the same thing, only a little differently. I always use a straightedge to draw a pencil or score line and then line up the rail (or rails in this case) to the line. Works out to the same confirmation. I know if there's multiple cuts to make, the pencil line takes a little longer, but I'm somewhere of a perfectionist, (even with the occasional screwup skewing my perfectionism [laughing]).

Maybe when I've used the TS55 a little longer, that might change, but not for now.

 

[Alpinist]

Thanks for the replies but you are missing the point! Several friends have the dual rail system and all of them said it was less convenient than a single rail.
I work in Central London often in very tight spaces, or involving lots of stairs so portability is a big factor. In fact I know someone who uses a 2400 rail for this work.
Obviously I would prefer not to cut it down but...needs must.

 

[jonny round boy]

Several friends have the dual rail system and all of them said it was less convenient than a single rail.

...

I work in Central London often in very tight spaces, or involving lots of stairs so portability is a big factor.

The two are mutually exclusive. You can't have the convenience of a single long rail and the portability of two shorter ones. It's just not possible.

You just have to decide which is the most important for you.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Thanks for the replies but you are missing the point! Several friends have the dual rail system and all of them said it was less convenient than a single rail.
I work in Central London often in very tight spaces, or involving lots of stairs so portability is a big factor. In fact I know someone who uses a 2400 rail for this work.
Obviously I would prefer not to cut it down but...needs must.

I think you're finding out that isn't true after all, I mean if you can't store, transport or have the space to use the long rail, it isn't very convenient. [big grin]

 

[ajones]

Hi I will swop your for two 1.4,s a 800 two conectors and a guide rail bag [big grin]

 

[Wonderwino]

Can you take it back to the dealer under the 30-day return policy?  Do they have that in the UK?  You may be able to trade for 3 shorter rails and joiners.

I would NOT cut the rail.  IF you do, the cut must be absolutely square; you will also have cut your resale value by 90%.  [scared]  If you need to sell it, who would buy a rail that was cut in half?

 

[BobKovacs]

Thanks for the replies but you are missing the point! Several friends have the dual rail system and all of them said it was less convenient than a single rail.
I work in Central London often in very tight spaces, or involving lots of stairs so portability is a big factor. In fact I know someone who uses a 2400 rail for this work.
Obviously I would prefer not to cut it down but...needs must.

Well, if you can't get a long rail up the stairs, you're not getting long stock up there either, so it's kind of a moot point, isn't it?

The only time joining rails is a PITA is if you're breaking down sheet goods and need to make a few long cuts, then a few short cuts, then a few long cuts, and so on.  Then you're constantly joining/dejoining the rails, which is a pain.  Otherwise, it's not really a big deal.

 

[Corwin]

Can you take it back to the dealer under the 30-day return policy?  Do they have that in the UK?  You may be able to trade for 3 shorter rails and joiners.

I would NOT cut the rail.  IF you do, the cut must be absolutely square; you will also have cut your resale value by 90%.   [scared]  If you need to sell it, who would buy a rail that was cut in half?

With all due respect to Alex, this is not necessary.  If you do elect to cut your FS3000 in two, the cut need not be perfectly square as you can join the two sections with the factory ends together and the newly cut ends on either end.  Joined rails should have an ever so slight gap between them when joined to prevent an imperfect factory end  from throwing off the alignment.

 

[spikfot]

I'm waiting for the banked curves to come out so I can hook them all together for some TS/OF time trials.