Parallel guide set question
- Thread starter JerrySats
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Dongar
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Brice Burril extended his with the short cut extensions. The method is covered in this thread. http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-how-to/key-additions-to-the-festool-fs-pa-and-fs-pa-vl/
sancho57
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JerrySats said:
You dont have a guide rail longer then 25.5 inches???
650mm= 25.59 " so dont understand your issue?
check out Joes cabinent making videos. He doesnt use the parallel guides but shows ya how to break down sheet goods and cross cut them using the MFT 3
Maybe this will help.
I think that this might be the video which is part of a series:
Joe Fusco - Making Cabinet Series Part 1
Peter
Joe Fusco - Making Cabinet Series Part 1
Peter
GPowers said:
I used to cut sheetgoods (plywood) to size right off the tailgate of my truck. I, at first, thought it was ok doing it that way. When i would get the parts inside to my shop, i found slight errors. mostly, a touch up with hand plane or RO 150 would suffice but later, i decided to go back to my pre-Festoy methods of cutting everything close (1/4 to 1/2 inch over) and then make my exact cuts on the MFT. I really do not have enough space to use my parallel guides in the shop, so sometimes i take them to the truck and do the width cuts out there and then cut to length on the MFT. If I do it that way, I can do all of the widths exact out at the truck and either bring full length sheet inside or cut the lengths to 1/4" over size or less before moving to MFT.
At first, i was quite frustrated with the P-guides with such difficulties walking/working around them inside. When i finally thought things out and did some of the breaking down at the truck and doing the widths exact out there, it changed the game.
Tinker
sancho57 said:
I have a 55" rail , that isn't the issue .
The parallel guides only allow you too make a 650 mm cut using the stops . So when I cross cut a plywood sheet to get my cabinet sides I can't make a 30" cut using the Parallel guides. Hope that clears things up for everyone .
I don't have an MFT , I break down my sheet good using this table . The sides fold out and a grid to support the sheet rests on top .
rmwarren
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JerrySats said:sancho57 said:
I have a 55" rail , that isn't the issue .
The parallel guides only allow you too make a 650 mm cut using the stops . So when I cross cut a plywood sheet to get my cabinet sides I can't make a 30" cut using the Parallel guides. Hope that clears things up for everyone .
I don't have an MFT , I break down my sheet good using this table . The sides fold out and a grid to support the sheet rests on top .
Sounds like it is just a matter of what order you make the cuts in? I believe most folks use the PG to rip material down to 12" or 24" first, then crosscut to length. I am guessing the PG was envisioned to be used in conjunction with the MFT.
RMW
ccarrolladams
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JerrySats said:
Hi Jerry, I make a lot of cabinets, including base, uppers and tall pantry styles for kitchens. So possible I can offer you some suggestions based upon my own experience.
I have tried to read all of your posts on this subject of using your new Festool parallel guides. What I could not find was the kinds of guide rails you own. Also I am assuming you are making kitchen cabinets for your own home, not as a cabinet business. Please let me know if my assumptions are wrong.
The convention when making cabinets from plywood or other sheet material with grain showing is that the grain run in the vertical direction. Rarely are base of tall pantry cabinets more than 24" deep. Upper cabinets are seldom that deep unless intended to fit over a refrigerator. Backs of cabinets are seldom wider than 48"
Since I started using a Festool TS55 and guide rails in early 2006, I approached making cabinet cases using Festools as if I were doing so in a well-equipped shop with a large power-fed table saw. Back then I did not have enough space for a full-size efficient cabinet making table saw. I felt and still feel that when space is limited a Festool TS55 and guide rails is a practical substitute for a large saw.
So, with most panel saws, including the CNC pressure beam saw I now use, the first step is to make a clean-up rip the long way on one outer edge. Please remember as delivered generally sheet material is not square, but the long sides are far closer to being parallel than are the short ends, which hardly ever are exactly square to the long sides. The purpose of the clean-up cut is to provide a glue-ready reference, an inprovement of the factory edge which might not be smooth and straight.
This clean-up cut should remove a minimum of stock, rarely as much as 5mm, so using a 2.2mm TS55 blade you will have off-cut little more than a shaving. People do use two connected 1400mm (55") rails for the long rips. I did so for a few years, but I also had a third 1400mm rail for cross cuts.
If you buy a 3000mm rail, you can slide the parallel guides apart enough you can manually place the rail for the clean-up cut.
Now, you turn the parallel guide around, so the stops reference your clean edge. The 650mm capacity is about 25.5", more than splitting a 48" sheet. By the way, better plywood is close to 49" wide to allow for clean-up of both long sides.
If for some reason you are making a rare cabinet deeper than 24", then you must thing of the second cut as producing an off-cut, leaving a piece wider than your finished size by at least 5mm. After you set aside the off-cut for future use, your remaining piece will still have a glue-ready clean cut. Just set the stops on your parallel guide to the finished width of the part.
The idea is to cut the left and right side of a cabinet from the same ripped piece. In breaking down 4x8' sheets for cabinet parts the parallel guides are used for the rips.
Cross-cutting those long relatively narrow pieces is best done on a MFT/3 with fence and rail set at a right angle. The principle of cross cutting is similar to the rips. You flip the finger stop out of the way, so you can make a clean-up squaring cut at one end. Then you rotate that piece so that the cleaned-up square edge contacts the finger stop. That is set for the desired height of the cabinet. Make the first piece, put it aside and slide the stock down to make the second piece. The beauty of the MFT/3 is you keep the finger stop set in the same position, because all your base cabinets will be the same height. All or most of your uppers will be the same length. Very efficient.
The CNC beam saws does the same thing. The raw sheet is placed on the table so a cleanup cut is made. After that the computer knows how wide each piece needs to be. The advantage is the sheet can be 5' wide. But the downside is a beam saw like mine costs over USA$100,000 and requires 15 hp of 480v 3 phase and 20+ hp of dust collection, compared to less than 2000 watts for the TS55 and CT dust extractor costing about USA$1,000. For the TS approach you would add money for the 3000mm guide rail and a parallel guide set. For the cross cuts add a full MFT/3 set plus 2 basic MFT/3 for in-feed and out-feed. Sure, once programmed the beam saw is faster, but you need to make a mass of cabinets to justify the investment. A beam saw is portable, so long as you have a crew of machine riggers and movers, a couple of heavy fork lifts and a big low bed transport.
During the average we my shop makes 150+ cabinet cases, which only keeps the beam saw busy 3-4 hours a day. And, for odd angle cabinet parts we have a big cutting table, a TS55 and guide rails of 5000mm, 3000mm, 1900mm and 1400mm. My entire empire started with a TS55, so it can be done. It just takes some coaching, advice and experience to become at one with the guide rails, the parallel guides, the MFT/3 and the TS55.
