Narrow crosscut with TS55 + guide

[russ_1380]

HI

New to this site, and new to Festool.

I really like Festool, bought a Domino and 3 weeks later bought a TS55 and guide!  Wow, what a tool!

Anyway, I have a quick question.

How do I crosscut narrow material whist using the guide, say 1/2inch x 6 inch planks?  I am having trouble mounting the guide to the work piece (guide is far too long for a narrow work piece).

Any tips for this?

Thanks

Russ

 

[robtonya]

I always set scrap wood of the same thickness under the rail when the rail itself is too big for the part being cut.

 

[russ_1380]

Cheers Robert.

I think I'll have to do that.  At the moment the rail is slipping around as the piece is too narrow.

I will also buy some Festool clamps to secure it.

 

[paul_david_thomas]

don't worry about clamping, just slide some spare material of the same thickness under guide as already suggested...

 

[russ_1380]

Cheers guys.

I will give it a go.

In the mean time I can save for a Kapex  (I wish!)

 

[Kristian]

Hi Russ

You might also want to consider buying the 800 mm guide rail. I bought this about a year ago and it's perfect for doing cross-cuts since it smaller and therefore easier to handle. Back it up against a try square and you will get a true 90 degree cut. But yeah, on very narrow pieces you still might need to support the guide with pieces of scrap wood.

- Kristian

 

[russ_1380]

Thanks Kristian,

I may do that, but funds are tight at the mo!  I might keep my eyes peeled on ebay for a used guide (perhaps a longer one that is damaged, cut the bust section off and keep a small straight section for crosscuts).


I was using a scalpal to score boards today, I found it a bit easier than pencil line as it was thinner.  My eyes are good so I can get a fairly square cut, or at least as square as I need.  However it still amazes me and frustrates me how much a small fault is magnified when you build something that relies on 90 degree corners (e.g basic cupboard). 

 

[russ_1380]

Thanks for the tips lads.

I used the offcut technique with good effect.

I discovered a good tip here, if anyone is interested.

When I was working on white melamin, I found even with scraps on each side the melamine tended to slip under the guide rail (I guess because the white plastic melamine is so smooth). 

I found the simplest way to resolve this was to stick some double sided sticky tape to the underside of the piece i wanted to cut.  This was then stuck to my bench, and voila!  The board stayed rock steady, and yet was easy to remove with no damage to either my piece or bench ;D