Rip Rail

[Mark]

The one achilles heel of the Festool system is supporting the guide rail when ripping narrow stock like ripping down a 2x4. True, you can always shim up the rail with "another" piece of similar height but that is the crux of the problem. Here is an idea that I'm gonna brew up before I go and get a Bosch contractor saw for this simple task...

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It is essentially two fences butted up against each other that can any number of quick release widgets to raise and lower the rail support.

1. Dirt simple... two clamps on each end
2. Router table screw feed to raise and lower
3. Rail inserts that lock into the rail to prevent lateral movement when cutting... this can be connected to a scale and screw feed for sub-mm adjustments

Of course, if I were having to pay the bills doing this, I'd just get a tablesaw and be done with this problem...

THIS is always the one thing that I've never been able to do with the Festool system without a lot of jury rigging and crappy results 

Feedback?

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Yes, the difficulty with your solution is keeping the piece from moving once cutting begins.  I have done it this way, before.  But, it didn't feel safe. This is why I bought a contractor's saw and Grr-rippers.

 

[Julian Tracy]

As a limited time choice - you might consider the small Dewalt jobsite saw which is currently being cleared out at Home Depot for $229, down from $369.

I have the Bosch saw and love it, but portable, it's just barely - with the gravity rise stand...

JT

 

[Sparktrician]

Clever idea!  Now see if you can figure out how to make it work clamped to the side extrusion of one or two MFT/3s.  Capisce? 

 

[Tom the Remodeler]

"A" for creativity! Love the jig.

Alas, as I'm sure most of us have discovered, track saws are best suited to breaking down sheet and panel goods. Long, narrow rips, particularly in solid wood, are difficult if not impossible when using a track, since the wood usually flexes, bows, etc... during the cut. A compromise is to use a parallel/rip guide on a circular saw, but I've given in and just plan on using a table saw for all narrow ripping operations.

The Bosch GTS 1031 is a nice machine, light enough to carry around with one hand, with an appropriate blade it'll rip up framing lumber just fine, if you use a VERY sharp blade and take your time to can make some decent cabinets with it as well. I went the extra step and cut the legs down so the table height matches my MFT/3 tables, makes for a nice out feed station.

Otherwise, the newer Dewalt DW7490 saw looks decent, or if you've got $$ burning a hole in your pocket you can look at getting a black market Festool Precisio, or a Mafell Erika.

 

[packratpop]

This what I do for ripping narrow stock out of wider boards. Works especially well with cupped material. It also works resizing narrow stock.

 

[Runhard]

This what I do for ripping narrow stock out of wider boards. Works especially well with cupped material. It also works resizing narrow stock.

[thumbs up] now that's nice!

 

[John Stevens]

+1, thanks so much for sharing that, Pack Rat Pop.

This what I do for ripping narrow stock out of wider boards. Works especially well with cupped material. It also works resizing narrow stock.

[thumbs up] now that's nice!

 

[Mark]

Dang... the use of the MFT brackets is brilliant! I realized that I only need one "L" to support the rail and can then fasten the "L" to the MFT's rails using a 1/4" hex bolt and knob that registers to a slot on the "L" for up and down movement... the hassle is that if the stock isn't the same thickness you'll have to fiddle with the knobs to seat the rail.

Will post pictures once I get this hobbled together. Packrat's design is pretty cool and the ability to flip the rail is really a nice feature as it will also allow you to clear the fence of any dust to ensure a consistent cut.

Thanks for all the comments, esp. to Packrat's video.

Mahalo

 

[Mark]

Don't need a tablesaw just yet Trimming out this bathroom I'm finishing I find myself having to rip down 2x4x8' to fit. The guiderail is a total PIA and I was just about to get a Bosch contractor saw until I built a prototype of the rip rail. I keep the material from moving by clamping a simple block of wood (scrap 1/2" ply here) to prevent the wood from scooting forward due to the rotation of the blade. Used 3/4 ply as its what I had around but would be nice to use something lighter... aluminum extrusion would be nice and $$$$.

I managed to clamp it to the edge of a MFT 1080 but the bolts and knobs are undersized... works for proof of concept though

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Rail shelf created with pocket screws and bolted to the rail of the 1080 with knobs

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Top view showing how the shelf fully supports the rail and is adjustable to any thickness of stock w/o having to have another piece support the rail

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Bottom view showing quick clamp holding a strip of wood that acts like a stop to keep the material from scooting forward from the force of the saw blade

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Closeup of how the stop works to keep the material in place.

Its pretty rough but it was enough to prove that all I really need is full rail support over a 8' length of lumber. Tomorrow I'm gonna rout some slots into the rail shelf so that I can clamp the rail into position though it was pretty steady on the shelf... maybe a grid of 20mm holes would be a good idea. I am thinking of how to use a second hose from the DE to act as vertical vacuum table to keep the material adhered to the vertical fence. Mafell has a cool rail with this type of vacuum to help hold the rail in place.

For now, its ugly but it works and I think it is safer than running a long stick of material through a tablesaw where you have the danger of kickback. Not to mention I've saved a couple of hundred!

 

[Stone Message]

If someone does not have a small table saw to do this sort of work properly then they should look for a safe approach. I would caution everyone that cutting narrow stock where the wood is not completely gripped by the rubbery stuff on the guide rail that they are taking a risk. Doing any machining operation where the stock is not stable and under control is dangerous.

If you have to do it then use a hot glue gun and attach one side (the unwanted side) of your narrow piece to a wider piece of something of the same thickness using a blob of glue every 2 feet.

Peter.

 

[packratpop]

Love it when concept becomes reality! Nice job!
Instead if a vac hold down perhaps a non slip bottom surface to aid in preventing board movement?

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

Love it when concept becomes reality! Nice job!
Instead if a vac hold down perhaps a non slip bottom surface to aid in preventing board movement?

I have cut quite a few narrow strips with my track saw and agree with Peter Parfitt...that's a big reason why I bought a new DeWalt DWE7491rs  and a pair of GRR-rippers. My Aerofix vacuum rail had helped some, with holding the strip to the wood, but because of the crack between the strip and support piece the seal is broken. Thus, not a very strong suction. I found that using rubber shelf liner under the support and strip did help secure the strip a little more, but in the end, I was never fully comfortable and would get slippage.  The support piece that you added to the outside edge is only an invitation for kick-back, IMO.  Yes, a big vacuum clamp would probably work...but, it would cost less to buy a table saw.

 

[Mark]

Surprisingly this jury rigged stop did keep the material from moving on me but the back end I fear would have the tendency to fishtail out on me. That said... holding the material front and back by the same method should be plenty secure especially if the stops had a few small teeth in them or even grippy rubbery stuff.

I wholeheartedly agree that a table saw is the appropriate tool for this, but I'm stymied that Festool hasn't addressed this as a key user scenario... maybe there is simply too much liability in this although I feel much safer being on the outboard side of the rail and material and not in the back pushing it where I'm in the line of fire for kick back.

Thanks everyone. Thanks Peter for the word of caution.

 

[NYC Tiny Shop]

I hear you on all of this.  Until I used the GRR-rippers, I also had never been too comfortable using the table saw for cutting thin strips, either. Thin strips... Grr-ripper on table saw...it's the safest and best way to cut thin strips, that I have found to date.

 

[suds]

Would the parallel guides work for this application.  I recall seeing a video where thin cuts looked pretty simple with the parallel guides?

 

[sancho57]

This what I do for ripping narrow stock out of wider boards. Works especially well with cupped material. It also works resizing narrow stock.

Yea its not a addiction... [doh]

 

[Paul G]

Mark Enomoto, I admire what you're doing.

 

[Mark]

Had to rip an 8' x 4" piece of mahogany down to 3 1/4" and the rail worked well but it took too long to set the contraption up to make just one cut The operation felt safe and secure as I had the piece stopped on the outfeed end. I had the material between the rail and a couple of foam boards on my MFT and it all went safely and securely but it simply took too long to set up. I also realized, and taking Peter's cautionary advice about safety; if the material moved and binded it could have been dangerous and ruined the material.

So, experiment aside... I think I'm going to spring for a small Bosch or Dewalt. I find myself needing to rip stuff down too often to have to set this thing up every time. In many ways, there are other operations that avoiding the "hassle" of using the proper setup like dust collection bites me in the "okole". Cut down a hollow core door the other day with my TS55 w/o DC and MDF went everywhere... I'm wondering if a small dust collection bag like the new cordless can't be an option for the TS55.

Anway... the contraption works. "I" feel its pretty safe and I'm pretty risk averse BUT it simply takes too long for the one random cut while building... thus why most contractors have a tablesaw

 

[festooltim]

I sometime use a dewalt dust bag on my 55 for a quick cut. Works okay as long as you don't go to far.