Please explain Parallel Guides

waltwood

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Sep 22, 2012
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I went to Woodcraft to buy a Festool accessory and saw the Parallel Guides and thought it was something I could use. Man that helped me did not know much about Festool stuff and said the man who did was not there. He attempted to show me how to use it but I figured it out quicker than he did. I watched a video on it when I got home and still had questions.

I will state what I want to do with my TS55 first. I want to crosscut 16" to 24" wide plywood panels for casework which is what I do mostly in the shop for income. I do some repetition which I understand this guide does but it is not critical. The catalog and video say it is a rip guide and I want a crosscut guide. I don't want to buy the MFT for several reasons. I have used a sled on the table saw up to now but it is getting more difficult for me physically.

(1) Is this a useful accessory and can it be used for crosscutting? Do I need the extensions?

(2) What holds them stationary while cutting- the guide rails?

(3) Has anyone built there own jig for crosscutting using the TS 55 and rails?

Thanks, Walt

 

 
I use the Paulk workbench in my profile pic.  It's made cutting sheets down a breeze instead of a chore. You can see the cross cut jig is on it in the pic.  Only issue is you have to take a day to build it. Since I made it, my parallel guides gather dust.  

The parallel guides work good though. What keeps them in place is friction basically.  I recommend if you go that route, don't make the mistake I did and get the extensions and guides together.  Some people use a third party guide set which they claim work well.  
 
The parallel guides are designed to make repetitive parallel cuts - how parallel is determined by the user setup.  The parallel cuts can either be length wise or cross cut - but there is no guarantee of squareness.  The workflow is typically that a new sheet will have an edge trimmed which will then become the reference edge.  The parallel guides will be set to the required dimension - after calibrating - and a cut will be made.  Then after all the parallel cuts are made it then becomes crosscut time.  The parallel guides typically are put aside and another means of crosscutting is done.  During the cuts with the parallel guides the friction strips on the rail typically hold it in place, but clamps can be used  if they are installed on the rail prior to installing the parallel guides.  The extensions allow for parallel cuts that are narrower than the guiderail.  They also help to balance the parallel guides.  I keep mine on virtually all the time just for that.

I am sure you will get some examples of crosscutting jigs from others.

Peter

 
Hi Walt,

I've  used  the Festool P-guides for cross cutting.  When I didn't want to move the tools I had on the MFT/3..   [embarassed]    You're only limited by the width of the cut which  I think is 26" wide with the parallel guides….I could be wrong by a inch or so.   [unsure]   The length of the cut will depend on how long your guide rails is.

The extensions for for narrow cuts.  So if you plan on cutting narrow strips you may want to look into getting the extensions.  The extensions also act as a balancer for the parallel guides while attached to the guide rail.

You could use quick clamps or screw clamps with the parallel guides….but it is a pain to do so, from my experience.  I tried it the first time I bought the parallel guides and found out quickly that the clamps are not needed.  The guide rail and the stops on the parallel guide hold keep the guide rail in position when making the cuts.   Adding clamps just makes the process more difficult.  For me at lease.

I made up a jig for rip cuts for ripping 50mm strips of lumber with the TS55 and panther blade.  If your making cuts narrower the the guide rail you will want to add support of the same thickness of the material being cut under the guide rail for support of the rail and saw…and to help cut the material 90*    

Hope this helps….

Eric
 
Jaybolishes said:
I use the Paulk workbench in my profile pic.  It's made cutting sheets down a breeze instead of a chore. You can see the cross cut jig is on it in the pic.  Only issue is you have to take a day to build it. Since I made it, my parallel guides gather dust.  

The parallel guides work good though. What keeps them in place is friction basically.  I recommend if you go that route, don't make the mistake I did and get the extensions and guides together.  Some people use a third party guide set which they claim work well.  
That is a nice set- up. I could not get it to enlarge to see how it worked.
 
Peter and Eric,

Your replies where helpful and how I thought it worked but was not sure.

Eric the dog picture is hilarious, he looks into woodworking!

 
Walt just do a fog search on the Paulk Ultimate workbench.  Or you can go to YouTube which is where I first saw it.  Ron shows you everything in detail. But I used my parallel guides to make it  [big grin]
 
I find the guides useful.  I leave the extensions on, as the weight helps balance the assembly when in use.  I trim the edge of the sheet goods on the long side.  Then make parallel guide cuts the width of the cabinet measurement (depth).  Then crosscut the material on an MFT.

Many ways to do it:  that method is accurate and efficient.  The work table mentioned is also excellent, and Mr. Paulk is obviously a very talented professional.

It's nice to have options.
 
I use the guide primarily for breaking down sheet goods. Once they are calibrated (which has a learning curve to learn ow to do it). I have not tried cross cutting with them.
 
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