REVIEW OF FESTOOL FS-RAPID/1 (489790)

[joiner1970]

REVIEW OF FESTOOL FS-RAPID/1 489790​

The FS-Rapid comes as a set with the main gun unit and a small stop which acts as the other end of the clamp. The FS-Rapid is made of strong plastic with some metal components and it has rubber pads on the parts that clamp to the material, this protects the edges and also stops the clamps slipping. The gun part of the FS-Rapid works just like a caulking/mastic gun. When you squeeze the trigger the piston moves and clamps the material, when you want to release the clamp you just press the small metal lever at the rear of the gun which releases the pressure on the clamp.

To fit the set to your rail you just loosen off the black levers on the gun and the stop and just slide the t-nuts into the t-slots on the underside of your rail slide them to where you want them then lock in position by just turning the levers until they are tight on the rail.

Below you can see the FS Rapid fitted to the rail

I originally bought my FS-Rapid to use for cutting down doors that are still hanging , this is very difficult to do with the standard clamps as you cannot use a clamp on the hinge side of the door. With the FS Rapid its easy just set the clamps to just over the door width then place the rail where you need to cut the door and squeeze the trigger to fix the rail in place. Now use your TS55/75 to trim the bottom of the door to the correct height. Always make sure the door cannot move while you are cutting and be careful that the saw stays on the rail.

Here you can see the rail clamped to the door

Since I have had the FS Rapid I have found other uses for them another one is for routing. Let's say you need to rout lots of slots or grooves across a sheet and you want the slots to be the same length and parallel then use the FS Rapid and two Kickback stops (FS-RSP). The Kickback stops will set the length of the slots/grooves and if you use the Fs Rapid to clamp the rail you know it will be the same distance in from the edge of the material you are routing every time.

A good feature on the FS-Rapid is that the gun part of the clamp can swivel until it is flat to the rail this is handy for transporting the rail and for when you have limited space to work in where the gun would be in the way in the normal position.

This picture shows the gun folded flat

All in all I have found the FS-Rapid a very handy addition to the Festool rails and recommend them to anyone and I am sure other people will find different uses for them.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I don't use mine all that much but, they do help me do some tasks that would be much more difficult.

 

[bellchippy]

I have the Rapid clamp but find it doesn't lock tight, and definitely wouldn't be able to keep it still cutting a door down
while it is hanging. Any ideas what i am doing wrong, I am sure if the clamp surface was flat instead of curved that would help.

 

[GPowers]

You do not read a lot about these clamps. Nice to see something on them.

Was there a thing call a profile that was used with these that is now discontinued.

Greg

 

[jmbfestool]

Bein a festool Freak I have not got any of them!!! They look really handy and the idea you have using it as a stop is good. I just used the festool quick clamp and have a bit of wood clamped to create a stop.

 

[danrush]

I'm a big fan of the FS-Rapid clamp.   I use them often ( 2-3 times a week) to stabilize the rails to trim down extended stiles on factory cabinets.  There's nothing else on the market that saves me as much effort (time) as the FS Rapid clamps/rail combo, for this limited use.

They are also very handy for cutting down a cabinet.  (Or think a cube, 3'x3'x3' that needs to be cut down to 3'x'3'x2.5')

Dan

 

[nickao]

When I got mine they came with  extrusions and the clamps work much better with those extrusion than with the saw guides. I guess the extrusions are the "profile" portion of the rapid clamp set. I'll dig them out and post a pic.

 

[ccmviking]

I'm a big fan of the FS-Rapid clamp.   I use them often ( 2-3 times a week) to stabilize the rails to trim down extended stiles on factory cabinets.  There's nothing else on the market that saves me as much effort (time) as the FS Rapid clamps/rail combo, for this limited use.

They are also very handy for cutting down a cabinet.  (Or think a cube, 3'x3'x3' that needs to be cut down to 3'x'3'x2.5')

Dan

I use them mainly for resizing oven cutouts.

 

[atlr]

Another way to use an FS-Clamp ( from http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/festool_golick_mft01.htm )
"I ordered a pair of the FS-Rapid clamps and was pleased to see they could be attached not only to the underside of the guide rails, but also to the t-slots on the side of the table. This allows me to clamp things on any side of the table which has proven quite useful."

When I got mine they came with  extrusions and the clamps work much better with those extrusion than with the saw guides. I guess the extrusions are the "profile" portion of the rapid clamp set. I'll dig them out and post a pic.

 

[NERemodeling]

I use them mainly for resizing oven cutouts.

Nice idea!

 

[tjbnwi]

The Rapid is my most used clamp on the rail, faster than having to tighten 2 quick or screw clamps. Works inside an opening as well as outside a piece.



Tom

 

[Julian Tracy]

I bought and returned that clamp.  For me, the fact that it couldn't be used with 3/4 material on a flat surface was a deal killer.

I bought thinking it'd be great to allow quick use of a guide rail for registration of the Domino motor.

But the clamp is more than 3/4" thick when flipped on its side, so that use was a no go.

Julian

 

[tjbnwi]

I bought thinking it'd be great to allow quick use of a guide rail for registration of the Domino motor.

Julian

Why does this matter if your using the rail to register the Domino? I'm trying to picture why it would be an issue. I've used them on 3/4" material, but it has always been longer than the support surface, so the clamps are in the air. I'd just place a few spacers under the 3/4 material to get the clamps off the surface.

Tom

 

[sancho57]

I use mines for trimming interior doors and cutting the bevel.

They also work good with the LR 32 system

 

[festoolviking]

Hi

I used mine as a bar-clamp when I did some glue up and ranout of long clamps.  [smile]

Festoolviking

 

[Julian Tracy]

Why does this matter if your using the rail to register the Domino? I'm trying to picture why it would be an issue. I've used them on 3/4" material, but it has always been longer than the support surface, so the clamps are in the air. I'd just place a few spacers under the 3/4 material to get the clamps off the surface.

Tom
[/quote]

Say I have a nice wide flat surface of plywood to work on, and I'm laying out and dominoing cabinet sides.  I have my layout lines marked on the pcs., with each hash mark on where the domino is to be centered.  I'd use the rail and clamp to lock a straightedge along my domino line.  But because of how wide the clamp body is, I cannot use it for 3/4 stock on a flat surface without raising up the stock or working on a surface thats smaller than the cabinet side itself.

I could use the standard Rola-style edge clamps, but find they have too much side to side play, which is why Imtried the Festool clamp.

 

[tjbnwi]

Thanks Julian.

I use it the same way. One of the best thing about using the Rapid clamp is it will index the rail off the fixed jaw. I mark the Domino lateral location on the rail, clean them off once done. I just raise my work piece on 1/2" ply or leave them hang in the air. I have considered making some spacers that slide in the groove to raise the rail off the work piece, just never got around to it.

Tom

 

[ear3]

I got these maybe 9 months ago -- not out of any specific need, but thought they might come in handy if I were doing certain routing operations that couldn't otherwise be done on the router table. 

In that time, I've only used them maybe two or three times, and to be honest, one of those times I was using them more because I could rather because I needed to.  So there they sat in one of my shop drawers -- that is, until this past weekend.

I got called back to do some surgical deconstruction of the film set/art installation I built over the summer:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/member-projects/film-setart-installation-build/

The artists have decided to keep everything together for reinstallation in various forms down the road, and so needed some of the pieces carefully cut so they could be put back together with relative ease.  So in addition to slicing up the large judge's bench into manageable components, I had to cut up the octagonal columns that stood in the center of the space, which I had joined with dominoes and glue.

A straight, clean, 8ft vertical, 22.5 bevel cut?  No problem with the FS Rapid clamps and TSC55.  After removing all the crown, I took off from opposite sides the solid oak boards covering the seams:

[attachthumb=1]

Set up the rail with the clamps, put the column on blocks to get some overhang at the front of the cut, and then attached the rail to the column right over the seam:

[attachthumb=2]

[attachthumb=3]

The only hard part about the cut was positioning a stool so that I could step up on it as I was moving the saw over my head and complete the cut in a single, continuous plunge, and without deflecting from the 22.5 bevel.  Mission accomplished:

[attachthumb=4]

[attachthumb=5]

I had to remove the dust bag on the TSC55 since the saw started so close to floor, which is why there's all that sawdust in the last picture -- just in case you were wondering   

So I guess the FS Rapid clamps fall into the same category as the LS130 -- won't use it every day but when you need it there is no substitute.

 

[Brent Taylor]

I have found that they are a must have for remodeling and casework, they are adjustable if they don't fit your track tight enough,  you need to remove the screws  on the  locking handle and set it ahead or behind depending on your needs, then  screw it back together.  I have both Festool and Makita tracks, so I have to set it up to fit the different tracks . I ended up getting two of the  clamps, so I leave one in the track saw box and the other in my shop.

 

[Twoodman66]

Hi
Has anyone found that the clamps are not useful when cutting a 4' piece  of plywood with a 55" track. It seems a longer rail,is needed?
Thanks