Parallel Guide Help...

[darita]

My table saw is down for a while and I need to rip some 8' ply for cabinets. I do have my Festool, 8' guide. How straight does it really cut? If I add a parallel guide system, how would I make sure everything is square? Sorry...it's been a while since I've used my MFT and guides.
Also, I want to rip some 3" stiles down to 2 1/2".  Can this or another accessory help me do this?
One more thing...will my AFT55 work with the Parallel Guide?

 

[builderbob]

First off, the parallel guides are attached to the rail & as far as I know the ATF plays no harm in getting in the way (correct me if I'm wrong).

I use the parallel guides all of the time for ripping down 8' sheets as I only have a small jobsite table saw.

As long as your stops are equidistant from the cutting edge of the saw, the board will remain parallel to your opposite edge. Once you have your rip cut, assuming your MFT fence is square to the rail, you can cut the piece down and all should be pretty darn square. This is my method for breaking down sheet goods!

As far as smaller rips (under 7" or the size of the guide rail) you need the parallel guide extensions...those mount to the right side of the saw/rail and serve the same purpose just in a thinner rip!

Hope this helps!

Bob

 

[MrToolJunkie]

Bob summed it up nicely.  The only other thing I would suggest is ripping a small strip off of on edge of the plywood first to get a truly straight edge.  You will then reference the guides off of this clean edge for your parallel rip cuts.  Once the rips are complete, switch to the MFT/3 for your cross-cuts.  Properly set up and I achieve square cuts of .001 - .002 over 16 + inches on my MFT/3.

Scot

 

[Julian Tracy]

I'm not sure how you can get much more than +/- 1/32 of an inch in accuracy with the oddly super rough (very poorly designed: reference mark is quite far away from the ruler it references...)pointer/cursor reference that you are supposed to use on each parallel guide .

Trick with the MFT is super accurate alignment of the rail to the back fence.  Test cut until you achieve a perfect 90 - may take some continued tweaking before you get the stop just perfect.

Some here have referenced using dogs of some sort with the actual mdf holes as 90 degree setup reference - I've not tried that.

Also - to achieve the type of accuracy the poster above mentioned, you've got to take care of the silly slop that is designed into the front guide rail support.  There's an aftermarket accessory for that, or wrap a bit of tape around it in a pinch.

Without some sort of solution, there's a good 1/32" of play in that "connection".

JT

 

[ericbuggeln]

The number one tip for using parallel guides is to to ditch the scales supplied by Festool and use a folding rule. Place the rule on the stop and bring it out to lets say 18". Make sure the edge of the splinter strip is at 18", do the same for the other side and cut. You get dead parallel cuts everytime. Basically just using folding rule as the scale. Also dont have to convert. Folding rules are very handy around the jobsite and in the shop. Eric

 

[MrToolJunkie]

I'm not sure how you can get much more than +/- 1/32 of an inch in accuracy with the oddly super rough (very poorly designed: reference mark is quite far away from the ruler it references...)pointer/cursor reference that you are supposed to use on each parallel guide .

Trick with the MFT is super accurate alignment of the rail to the back fence.  Test cut until you achieve a perfect 90 - may take some continued tweaking before you get the stop just perfect.

Some here have referenced using dogs of some sort with the actual mdf holes as 90 degree setup reference - I've not tried that.

Also - to achieve the type of accuracy the poster above mentioned, you've got to take care of the silly slop that is designed into the front guide rail support.  There's an aftermarket accessory for that, or wrap a bit of tape around it in a pinch.

Without some sort of solution, there's a good 1/32" of play in that "connection".

JT

I agree that the MFT/3 needs to be properly set-up.  I think that one of the biggest issues with the rail alignment slop you mention is that the two nuts that tighten the rail to the guide supports are tightened too much and it causes the rail to tweak out of square.  You should be able to raise and lower the rail with one finger and it should literally drop over the tab on the front support with no side-to-side movement.  The key to tighten the rail is to loosen both bolts where the rail connects to the back support, get the rail close to being aligned, then tighten the lower screw first.  Raise and lower the rail to see how if it lines up with the tab and then tighten the top bolt.  The top bolt should be tightened slowly and just an 1/8th of a turn or so once it is snug.  I know that I have had the tendency to overtighten things thinking more is better, but this is not the case with the MFT/3 rail.  Snug and just a little bit more is all it takes..  There are also some little allen screws on the plastic of each connector that can be snugged to eliminate any minor slop on the MFT/3 front and back rail.  Finally, the stop on the fence that connects the fence to the rail at the end of the fence needs to be tightened in order -- first to the fence and then the little lever on the rail.

In regards to the Parallel guides, I use a razor blade to align the pointer to the scale and find that this helps with accuracy.  I can get extremely accurate cuts pretty quickly.  Granted a table saw fence is faster, but I find the PGs work well for me and can be just as accurate. 

Scot

 

[festooltim]

Do you have the new style rail? I don't think the guides will attach to the old style rail that came with the ATF55.

 

[tjbnwi]

See these two, quick and easy;

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/rip-cuts-in-the-field/

http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-jigs-tool-enhancements/how-i-rip-ff-and-door-pieces/

Tom