Support Bracket for Guide Rail

[kpeluso]

So, what is keeping the wood in place? What keeps it from moving on you during the cut?

the weight of the saw and rail, and the strips on the bottom of the rail. I make similar cuts with the rails frequently (rail not attached to mft), but as someone else stated, i end up stacking scraps on the left side of the rail for support, this product eliminates me from having to dig thru scraps to find something the right height to give me that support.

hope that helps.

 

[andy5405]

So, what is keeping the wood in place? What keeps it from moving on you during the cut?

the weight of the saw and rail, and the strips on the bottom of the rail. I make similar cuts with the rails frequently (rail not attached to mft), but as someone else stated, i end up stacking scraps on the left side of the rail for support, this product eliminates me from having to dig thru scraps to find something the right height to give me that support.

hope that helps.

I think it might have been me that mentioned using scraps to support the rail and I was a bit critical of the design as I had only really thought about it with respect to how I use my setup. I neally always have an exact thickness offcut or scrap of the same material I am cutting to use. It hadn't occurred to me that other people might want to pull something out of a scrap bin with no matching thickness material to support the rail. So I must apologise for being too critical and can now see how useful this would be to a lot of people.

 

[Vindingo]

any projected release date?

these look useful.

 

[Theshipstore]

You can add me to the realase date question as I have interest for sure in this and would like a set

Sal

 

[Les]

I made these and used a different setup. Sorry about the sloppy way of loading pic's. They are in my album in the gallery under Les Spencer. Been some time since I posted.

Clamps

Another view.

Another view

Another view 2.

Another view 2

 

[Kapitaldream]

Well the machine shop is finished with the first 150 of these brackets. As the economy picks up suppliers are a little slower in delivering material to machine shops. I should have these parts back from the anodizer in about two weeks. The anodizer told me that it is very difficult to apply a color to hard anodizing that will be true from batch to batch. Green can go from a very dark green to a yellow green, all depending on the hardness of the aluminum. So for this batch I have opted to go black, just like Henry Ford and the Model T.  [big grin]The lever should be here about the same time. When I have all the parts I'll post pictures with the new leg. I'll also post pictures of the bench dogs that I have also had made.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Jamie_MA]

Since I don't have a lot of scrap around these would be great for a hobbiest like me! Look forward to a price quote [wink]

Thanks, Steve

 

[Kapitaldream]

Hi Jamie,
I should have them here by the beginning of next week. At that point I'll have special pricing that will be lower than the retail price for the first 100 sets.
Most likely money will be paid via paypal. Shipping will be by mail.
Cheers
Steve

 

[Tomfoolery]

Sounds good!  I am looking forward to trying these?

Will you have a recommendation on qty needed for  1400/1900 size rails?

 

[Kapitaldream]

Well Tom I was told today that the anodizer will be shipping everything and I should have the rail supports and bench dogs tomorrow. I'll try out the rail supports on guide rails up to FS 3000 on Sunday. I own a fiberglass shop and we have two large jobs going right now that is taking a lot of my time.

 

[Kapitaldream]

Well I did get all the parts from the anodizer on Saturday and tried them on the 1900 rail. Three worked just fine. If your using the FS 800 two supports would work. For FS 1080 to 1900 three are required. The FS 2700 would be four and the FS3000 would be five. I haven't tried them on the FS 5000 but most likely eight would be required. It should also be noted that the guide rail must be clamped to the table, especially when there is very little board under the guide rail. Without the clamps the board being cut can flop over just as the cut is being finished. These rail supports only hold the rail up on one side and the board holds up the other side. These supports also will not stop the rail from moving unless the rail is firmly clamped down. I sliced off a 1/4" piece of red cedar using the TS75. I would post pictures but my trial software for shrinking pictures expired and after I bought it online the license key wouldn't work. Go figure. The price will be $32.50 each for the first 100. Contact me by email at slbirmhm@cablerocket.com.

 

[rmwarren]

I was wondering how these are working out? Any photos available in use from someone who purchased?

Thanks,

RMW

 

[Kapitaldream]

Hi RMW,
I have sent off a set of two to a fella in Texas and this Tuesday 6 will be going out to another person in Massachusetts. It takes a couple of weeks for the post office to deliver, especially going across that border. I also have had enquiries from England. In the next few weeks there should be some feed back.
Steve

 

[txrpls]

I was wondering how these are working out? Any photos available in use from someone who purchased?

Received mine over a week ago, but have been out of the country. The workmanship is great. I haven't had the need to use them yet, but it appears they will work well.

 

[Iwood75]

What keeps the wood from moving when it is so narrow – like 2.25" wide – that it doesn't extend under the guide rail enough to reach the black strips? I would not trust just the weight of the saw.

 

[Kapitaldream]

What keeps the wood from moving when it is so narrow – like 2.25" wide – that it doesn't extend under the guide rail enough to reach the black strips? I would not trust just the weight of the saw.

You are right, don't trust the weight of the saw to hold the guide rail. The guide rail must be clamped down. I have successfully cut a 1/8 thick piece off of a 2" plank with just the guide rail on the 1/8" portion of the wood and using the TS 75. Clamp the guide rail down, not hard down or the rail will deflect. See the pictures at the start of this topic or look at these photos. I had to cut some purple heart blocks down to a smaller size for an Alaska seine boat conversion. The blocks were not square as can be seen. Notice that the guide rail is clamped down with the 491594 quick clamp. The purple heart has a couple of Top Dogs on one side.
[attachimg=#]
Set up
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And away we go.

 

[Iwood75]

Steve, Thanks for the photos, etc. Guess I'm being dense but I still don't see what keeps your wood from moving away from the guide rail. The dogs keep it from moving "inward." What keeps it from moving out? I have 2.125" stiles and rails to rip for some cabinet doors and thought that the "keeper" would be the piece positioned under the rail and I'd discard the off cut. The opposite of your demo. Wouldn't that would give me the cleaner of the cut edges?

All this clamping and adjusting – not to mention the additional cost of accessories – seems overly complicated and time consuming when my table saw would be faster... easier... smarter. But I keep trying to find uses for my new TS55. I guess to help justify the purchase.

 

[Kapitaldream]

Well in my case I was keeping the piece of wood that was under the guide rail. I also have had a Unisaw for years and I thought about using it but the idea of having fingers near that blade, sawdust flying all over the place, nope. A couple of years ago I had a large Corian type countertop break while we were installing it. It took me thirty hours to rebuild it upside down. I was always looking for blocking to hold the guide rail while I was doing a cut with either the 1010 or 2200 router. The front edging sticks up away from the main part of the counter and the guide rail had to be blocked up over that. With solid surface countertops joints have to be square and within about 3 to 4 thousands of an inch. It was having to do work like that that inspired me to make these guide rail supports. As I have them I am finding that they are handy and when used with clamps safer than a table saw for small pieces.

Steve

 

[Iwood75]

Sequence? Do you insert the 2 rail clamps into the MFT holes first and then slide the rail onto both clamps? Then adjust the rail supports? I still don't see what prevents the small block of wood from creeping forward with the saw while cutting. In my case, I guess I could rig up some sort of stop blocks under the rail, slide my stile against it and then clamp the ends of the stile with the Festool clamping elements to prevent movement. Would I then have to loosen the rail clamps to slide the next stile/rail in? And, won't I then have to carefully reposition the guide rail again for consistency of each cut?

I'm sure that there are unusual situations where your approach is the best/most efficient solution. However, ripping many narrow pieces for stiles and rails might not be one of them. Since I really would like to put my new TS55 to work whenever advisable, I hope you can convince me why I shouldn't just set up my tablesaw for 2.125" add a few featherboards and let 'er rip.  Thanks.

 

[Kapitaldream]

Sequence? Do you insert the 2 rail clamps into the MFT holes first and then slide the rail onto both clamps? Then adjust the rail supports? I still don't see what prevents the small block of wood from creeping forward with the saw while cutting. In my case, I guess I could rig up some sort of stop blocks under the rail, slide my stile against it and then clamp the ends of the stile with the Festool clamping elements to prevent movement. Would I then have to loosen the rail clamps to slide the next stile/rail in? And, won't I then have to carefully reposition the guide rail again for consistency of each cut?

I'm sure that there are unusual situations where your approach is the best/most efficient solution. However, ripping many narrow pieces for stiles and rails might not be one of them. Since I really would like to put my new TS55 to work whenever advisable, I hope you can convince me why I shouldn't just set up my tablesaw for 2.125" add a few featherboards and let 'er rip.  Thanks.

Well Iwood the situation that you are talking about needs a bit more set up. You have put your finger on the problem in that the Festool system is lacking a bit for doing what you want to do. Festool's Parallel guide sort of works for sheet goods but is awkward to use without modifications. There is a post here where one fella modified the stops so that the tool doesn't rotate off of the sheet being cut. Tomorrow I'll try and set up to cut 2.25" and if I get something that works I'll post photos. I have in the works a digital fence for the guide rail but as always the devil is in the details of how to design it for low production (300) and to keep cost down. With a fence off of the guide rail this would be a dead easy job, almost like doing it on a table saw, but without the noise, dust and possible burn marks on the wood. Well gotta go to my daughters graduation.
Steve