My TSO GRS is making me feel like a moron. Help?

[sansbury]

It's rare that a tool makes me feel like an idiot, but right now my new TSO GRS-16 PE V2 is doing just that.

I've gotten back into woodworking after a long hiatus, and picked up this GRS because I have a long list of projects that start with breaking down sheets of plywood. I thought this would make that easier and more accurate, but instead I am fighting the temptation to whip this thing into the woods with great enthusiasm. I can't see any way for the tool to be at fault so I feel like I must be doing something wrong. I can make 8' rip cuts accurate to a millimeter using a pencil and a guide rail, but when I try using the GRS, my squares often end up... not quite square, to the point that it's obvious on my 8x12" square.

Where I feel like I'm missing something is that I am having a hard time sliding the guide rail to align with my cut mark while also keeping the GRS in full contact with the perpendicular edge. The guide rail has a lot of drag against the board, so I have a hard time getting the square aligned with the cut mark while also keeping the guide rail on the cut mark. If I try pushing the square into place I lose the cut mark while if I try to pull it in with the rail it is ends up almost but not quite sure. With a longer guide rail (e.g. 1400+800) this gets particularly bad.

Tons of people buy these things and seem to like them, so I must be the problem. What am I missing? As it is I have a far easier and faster time simply laying the guide rail along two or three pencil marks.

 

[camhabib]

I’m having difficulty using mine with any accuracy as well, though being quite new to woodworking, assumed this was more on me than the tool. Would love some tips as well on what the key is to getting good results with this are.

 

[Hipplewm]

2 things...

Put something in one of the holes that is flat and goes over the board, so prevent it from dipping - let me see if I can find something....

TSO Guide Rail Square Anti Tip Support Tab

Anti-tip support tab for TSO guide rail square Guide rail squares are great accessories for any track saw user, allowing you to quickly and easily align your rail to your workpiece at a perfect 90…

toolcurve.com

Secondly, when you get the GRS square, kinda pickup on the track gently about 1/4" and let it flop - it will flop down like it is a pillow of air and fall into place - you much hold the GRS in position while doing this....if you watch YT videos you can see them doing this, it just looks so natural it is hard to pick up on

 

[camhabib]

2 things...

Put something in one of the holes that is flat and goes over the board, so prevent it from dipping - let me see if I can find something....

TSO Guide Rail Square Anti Tip Support Tab

Anti-tip support tab for TSO guide rail square Guide rail squares are great accessories for any track saw user, allowing you to quickly and easily align your rail to your workpiece at a perfect 90…

toolcurve.com

Secondly, when you get the GRS square, kinda pickup on the track gently about 1/4" and let it flop - it will flop down like it is a pillow of air and fall into place - you much hold the GRS in position while doing this....if you watch YT videos you can see them doing this, it just looks so natural it is hard to pick up on

Do you have a video example of what you mean? Not sure I follow exactly and I watched a few videos but couldn’t pick up on any such actions.

 

[Hipplewm]

Do you have a video example of what you mean? Not sure I follow exactly and I watched a few videos but couldn’t pick up on any such actions.

This clip shows the anti tip plate - the woodpeckers come with it, but you can add one to the TSO GRS -

This clip shows hm flopping the rail at this point and then later you can see him flexing the rail from the end to get the whole thing to move - they don't slide well, so I generally use mine and flip the end so it looks like a fish out of water and sneak it around and it settles in a "square" position naturally. the longer the guide rail the more you have to do this, my 1400 is generally just square.

 

[woodferret]

The GRS is actually easier to use without the anti tip since you tip it down which alleviates the friction on the underside of the rail. You can then easily scoot the assembly left or right without bending the rail while at the same time maintaining right angle contact on typical 3/4 boards. Just level it back out to engage the friction strips.

 

[sansbury]

So far I've learned two things:

1. I'm not the only person who has challenges with this, which is reassuring
2. Long rips are not really its forte

Since I'm a glutton for punishment I decided to order a pair of the TSO 30" parallel guides to see if that gets me to plywood-slicing nirvana. By the time I'm done I'll have spent as much as I would have for a real table saw but it's still a much more compact setup so there's that going for it.

 

[Hipplewm]

The GRS is actually easier to use without the anti tip since you tip it down which alleviates the friction on the underside of the rail. You can then easily scoot the assembly left or right without bending the rail while at the same time maintaining right angle contact on typical 3/4 boards. Just level it back out to engage the friction strips.

IMO, that depends on length - 1400-1900 yes, I agree
2700-3000 - I usually like it installed and do my "fluff" from the other end and pull it into place instead of trying to force 2700mm from the end with the square

 

[ReneS]

So far I've learned two things:

1. I'm not the only person who has challenges with this, which is reassuring
2. Long rips are not really its forte

Since I'm a glutton for punishment I decided to order a pair of the TSO 30" parallel guides to see if that gets me to plywood-slicing nirvana. By the time I'm done I'll have spent as much as I would have for a real table saw but it's still a much more compact setup so there's that going for it.

You might find the parallel guides nice for long rips and the rail square nice for cross cuts.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

IMHO, this is just a case of "wrong tool for the job".
The GRS16-V2 is a fantastic piece of equipment, but expecting it to be able to control the opposite end of a rail that long, is just asking for trouble.
A guide rail square is essentially a cross-cut device. You cut your parts to width with "Parallel Edge guides" (or a table saw) and then a GRS to cut the ends square.
I love mine, using it far more than I ever did the Woodpeckers one that I have had for years. To be fair, I specifically bought it for the angular adjustability. It does a great job of that, but that adjuster mechanism adds considerably to the weight, which makes it cumbersome for square cuts. As a cabinet shop pro, I can justify having both though.
They are both fantastic, for their particular tasks

Bottom line, stick with the GRS16 for crosscuts and you'll be happy with it.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Here is my take. Been using the GRS since it launched. Had growing pains like you to start but I have pretty good luck with it now. I learned a while back that plywood is pretty straight and parallel on the long sides but sometimes not so good on the short ends. When I got my GRS I thought too - make an 8' rip with it but in reality it won't be that accurate. Even a speck of sawdust will give you problems. So like others said get the parallel guide system for the long rips and use the GRS for cross cutting. What helped me a lot on cross cutting accuracy was a user here that did beta testing for TSO (sorry can't remember his name) said to wiggle the rail up/down a little to make sure the GRS is tight against the edge of the wood.