Pretty Rails All in a Row

[Oso Rojo]

According to my dealer I will finally get my March purchases next week. I can then become a real Festool user.

I will have a total of three rails that will need to be trimmed. I read somewhere that it is best to connect a new rail to an existing one to support the saw all the way to the end. In my case, there are no existing ones. So what is the recommended sequence?

I will have to plunge into at least one of them. Does it really matter which one? There are two 4' rails and then the shorter one from an MFT.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Roseland]

I don't think it matters the order, or where you start.  But I do recommend you have something to cut underneath the strip to support it, and that you take a very shallow cut, so that the blade is moving essentially horizontally through the strip.  I hope this makes sense!

Welcome to the world of Festool 

Andrew

 

[Sparktrician]

Be sure that the gibs on the saw are snug BEFORE you make your first trim cut.  You want the saw to be able to slide freely without lateral movement.  Put two of the rails together using rail connectors and make a supported plunge cut as Roseland suggested cutting from near the beginning of the first almost to the end of the second.  Then disassemble the rails and reverse the order so the untrimmed portion is in the middle area, then make the same trim cut to clean that area down.  Do the same with the third rail and one of the trimmed rails. 

 

[Wooden Skye]

I connected my 2 1400 rails together and then cut them together.  I put plywood under both rails so it was fully supported.  There is a little piece of the splinter guard left at where the cut began, but I believe I switched the rails next time I connected them and trimmed that little piece off.  I don't remember what I did for the MFT rail.