To clean up the factory edge on the "rip" or "long-length", I was originally trimming off a small amount without using the parallel guides, using only the rails to get a fresh edge. I have now changed this slightly using the parallel guides in addition to the rails.
1. Let say that you are wanting 11" finished "rips". Set the parallel guides to 11 1/8" or 11 1/4" for the first rip using the guide rail. Trim this piece off.
2. Reset the guides to 11"
3. Flip the first piece and cut the rough edge off to get the piece down to 11"
4. Cut all of the others at 11" using the parallel guides on the rail. This goes fast once you get the hang of it.
If you are doing a lot of work, set up some sort of "story sticks" so you can alternate the 11 and 11 1/8 settings without even looking at the distance markings on the parallel guides
Squaring -- The parallel guides really are not designed for squaring. Here is what I do:
1. I have a real short guide rail from Festool that I use for the initial cut when squaring up the ends of the rips from above. I do not use the parallel guides to try to square this up but rather:
a. Most often I use a piece of plywood that I know is dead on square to align the rail by clamping that piece of plywood on the piece to be cut
Trim the end using the guide rail to guide the saw
b. Alternatively, forget the guide rail, clamp the dead-on square piece of plywood to the piece and trim with the saw, using the plywood edge as a guide
2. Use the parallel guides on succeeding cuts to get a series of repetitive square pieces that have parallel edges
I do have 3 videos on the Festool web site on the parallel guides and extensions that address these issues. Just search for my name "RDMuller". The steps above are slight modifications of what is out there.
