Router dado rod solution?

OhNoMrBill

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Dec 27, 2021
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I am surprised there is not some Festool kit that provides rod stops or some other 2 stop method that works with the edge guide or the rail guide with track.  Am I missing something or did Festool leave this for DIY?  Did not see this in the catalog or instructions.  Any guidance is appreciated.

I am know they have provided the routing template, but seems the rpd solution would be simpler for many cuts.
 
If I'm understanding correctly you want to make accurate dados with your Festool gear. This is the accessory you want. It takes a bit of brain twisting to figure it out but I've tried it and it does indeed work well:

 
I had not considered that method for the router.  But basically yes. The Kerfmaker is essentially what I was thinking about for the two endpoints on the rod.

I was also thinking about placing a rod collar on each side of the router or guide.  Then could shift back and forth for easy repeats.
 
I made this type of jig years ago to create dadoes for shelves.  I later got a radial arm saw and used a stack dado blade to make those dadoes. 

I have largely eliminated the use of dadoes after seeing tests that show their shortcomings.  Dadoes are very effective in handling axial loads.  So if the shelf is supported by dadoes on both sides, it can probably hold as much weight as the shelf can handle.

However, dadoes provide almost no racking strength (side to side movement of a cabinet top vs bottom).  Dowels and dominoes are far better in that regard.  I settled on dowels, but dominoes have their advocates within this site.  Both are superior to dadoes in regard to racking strength.  Luckily Festool track saws make extremely clean cuts on plywood, so it is unlikely that anyone would see the difference between a dado joint and a butt joint with dowels or dominoes. 

In any case the jig shown will allow you to make accurate width dadoes.  If all your dadoes are for a fixed size panel, you don’t need the adjustability.  Just nail the side rails in place and you are good to go.

There are dozens of videos showing this type of jig.  This is the search I used:
https://www.google.com/search?q=adj...router&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b-1-m

Here is a fairly upscale version:
 
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