Parralel guide set

[jackandhenry]

Anyone have these and have experience with them? I'm on onsight carpenter who uses a lot of festools and it seems they would help but not sure I'm ready to spend the money. Anyone use these daily?

Thx

 

[dltflt]

I am not a professional but I do own these and they are great for making repetitive parallel cuts quickly. I recently use them to make new shelves for all of the cabinets in my kitchen and laundry room and it made quick work of that job.

 

[sheeschen]

Also take a look at Seneca's offering - http://www.senecawoodworking.com/products/parallel-guide-rail-brackets-and-rail-stops

I had the Festool version, bought the Seneca version, and after a few weeks sold the Festool version.  Whichever you get, they are very handy for ripping a lot of plywood down for cabinets and shelf stuff.  I'm just a hobbyist, so don't use them every day, though.

    Scott

 

[Brian Livingstone]

The parallel guides are crazy accurate.  They are a tiny, tiny bit fussy to work with, but nothing serious.  They are also very cool.  When I have visitors to my workshop invariably what I demonstrate are the parallel guides. 

I like to tell the story of one of my recent cabinet projects.  I was ripping 4 by 8 sheets of cabinet grade ply.  I alwyays take a 1/8 inch off to begin to get a nice true edge with my TS55 and 3000 mm rail.  I then cut four equal pieces, leaving me an 8 foot piece of scrap.  I measured the scrap at one end and then the other.  The variance, based on my Starratt e caliper, was .20 mm.  Can you believe that ?  They are that accurate.

If I were to give them a numerical rating it would be a 10/10 based on their incredible accuracy.  As you may gather, I highly recommend them.

Brian

Fall River, Nova Scotia, Canada

 

[peter halle]

I am an onsite carpenter.  I don't use them daily I admit because of the varied work I do.  But I wouldn't trade mine for the world.  In the varying world out there you never know when, what, or if.  If you need to make repeated rips of the same size (which I personally define as 2 or more) then because it is an indexed system you will have parts duplicated.

You do need to spend the time to calibrate them once, but once done you shouldn't need to do that again unless you make an adjustment to your TS 55 that changes the cut on the splinter strip.

My personal advice is to buy the whole set - it is discounted from the separate prices and the extension does help with balance.

Peter

 

[jackandhenry]

Thanks for sll the advice. Peter have you used the Seneca system? That one looks good as well and also a lot cheaper.

 

[bkharman]

I will also say that I have the Precision Parallel Guides (from Precision Dogs) and really like them. They can also do thin strips right out of the box and have been handy for many projects.

 

[Wooden Skye]

The Seneca set was what I purchased, mostly due to cost and already having the T track plus lying around.  Now I have only used them once or twice and I was extremely happy with the results.

 

[RDMuller]

I point out alot of features on the parallel guides in my Festool YouTube Channel.  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL02B2683AE384BED4

The one on extension is now up to 136,000 views

I continue to be very happy with these accessories.  I never use my Powermatic panel saw or my Delta Unisaw for sheet goods.

 

[Julian Tracy]

Not mentioned in the posts above is the ridiculous amount of rail overhead they take up. 

I've since sold mine, but as I recall, each guide requires near 7-8" of rail outside of the plywood, so no go using a 55" rail to cut plywood.

Read the forum posts - there are many many mods to make to these to help make them more accurate, more stable and extend their range.  But in stock condition, crazy accurate is not the phrase I'd use to describe them.  The cursor arrow is rough and primitive and a fair distance away from the scale it's supposed to read, allowing for some lack of objectivity in the reading.  Pretty darn easy to have accuracy only as close as +/- 1/32", whereas with a magnified cursor line, you can easily get as close as +/- 1/64".
Again - there's some great ideas for addressing this as well as other seemingly "beta" shortcomings.

But the main reason I would choose another option or make them myself is the fact that they are quite cumbersome to install and remove from the rail, and when attached, even a 55" rail becomes a relatively huge and tippy affair, not to mention tying up one of your rails for standard rip cutting.

After using them for a large cabinet project and doing most of the suggested mods to improve their shortcomings, I still sold them off as I would prefer a design that simply clips and aligns on the outside edge of the rail instead of having to be installed from the ends.  Seneca's version is this style of design I think.

In a perfect (read efficient) world - you'd be able to lay your rail on the work piece, quickly attach parallel guides, make your cuts and then remove them.The Festool design does not allow that.

Julian

 

[peter halle]

Thanks for sll the advice. Peter have you used the Seneca system? That one looks good as well and also a lot cheaper.

I haven't used the Seneca system.  Nothing against their system, or any other, but I won't spend the money or allocate the space for the duplicity.  I also don't chase my tail or the diminishing returns (i.e. my customers don't pay for 1/64" accuracy with a natural product that expands and contract seasonally) for something that by eye I can set to within 1/2 or better of a MM based on the scale.

Others have different wants, needs, and expectations, and I guess that is why there are other systems out there.

Just being honest and keeping it real - my version.

Peter

 

[BMH]

I don't use them daily. I reserve then for repetitive cuts, more then three. They have a learning curve and you need the full set to balance them out. You do need a longer rail to use them effectively. I just bought a FS 3000 to break down 25 sheets of melanine and used the parallel guide set to make short work of it. For 48" cuts you really need the 75" rail as I find the 55" to be a tad short.

If you cut 1/4" material you need to bump it up, I usually do all of my cuts on a 4x8 sheet of foam so no problem. Basically a good accessory if you need to need to break down multiple sheets regularly.

Bruce

 

[hopper]

Just a question about the Seneca guide system.  What do you do when you have to make repeat rip cuts for pieces narrower than the track. eg. 3"rails and styles?  Can it be done on the Seneca system or do you just use a table saw for those cuts?  I can see the advantage of the Seneca system because the guides don't hang off the end they sit on the surface of the work piece.

 

[sancho57]

I have a set of the festool parallel guides. Do I use them all the tine?

No

Would sell them no only no but heck no.

Even though I have a small table saw (CMS) Nothing beats ripping down sheet goods like the parallel guides.

Mines are dead on.

But be aware if you decide to get the festool ones you will need to buy the extensions. They do sell them in a kit which is alittle cheaper then seperate.

The reason you need the extensions is because if your guide rail is longer then the piece it will balance them. Though some folks here have come up with alternate methods to prevent that.

 

[rst]

Precision Dogs makes a parallell set that has legs to extend under the rail to make narrow cuts.  http://precisiondogs.us/products/precision-parallel-guides

 

[Danny]

Precision Dogs makes a parallell set that has legs to extend under the rail to make narrow cuts.  http://precisiondogs.us/products/precision-parallel-guides

+ 1 

The way that guide system is designed, there is really no limit on how narrow you can make the cut.

.....and their customer service (a one-man operation I believe) is outstanding.

 

[Howad]

I'm a weekend warrior so don't use my parallel guides daily but do love them.  lately I have found them especially useful for cross cutting FF stock.  I put one parallel guide on a short track that came with my  old MFT and use it like a T-square.  Keeps the track perpendicular to the stock and can be used with or without the stop and is small and easy to move around.  I habitually check for square and its been dead on.  I do agree with those who find the "taking on and off the track" to be a bit finicky but I also hate to load sheets of plywood in my truck, especially when its windy.  [smile]

 

[bkharman]

Precision Dogs makes a parallell set that has legs to extend under the rail to make narrow cuts.  http://precisiondogs.us/products/precision-parallel-guides

+ 1  

The way that guide system is designed, there is really no limit on how narrow you can make the cut.

.....and their customer service (a one-man operation I believe) is outstanding.

Agreed!  Jerry is outstanding at his work as well as his attention to his customers.