The Long and the Short of Guide Rails

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for all your input.  Sounds like (with cost not a factor) that a preferred solution is to get the 75 and 118 lengths for  4' x 8' sheet good cutdown.

rjh

I saw a finish carpenter pull his long rail (I'm guessing 118") out of a piece of PVC drain pipe with a cap on one end and threaded plug on the other.   He drilled 2 holes in it to fit a simple rope handle and stored it on a rack over his PU.  He was busy, so I politely looked from a distance.

I only own the 55" rail, but will purchase the 118" rail to continue working on my kitchen.  Right now I'm using a  big Unisaw to split 8' sheets but don't have that luxury at home.

how big was this pvc pipe?
i'm curious because the rail is pretty wide (7-8"wide?just guessing)

I'm not certain, big enough to fit the rail into it.   I checked the Festool website and they list the length, not the width.   PVC pipe can be had at really large ID's.  I've seen plumber's use the large diameter stuff to carry smaller household pipe on their trucks.

I agree that the 1900 mm rail would come in handy.  I use a LOT of Baltic birch and two 1400s joined are much longer than is needed.  Just this morning, I made 12 such cuts.  Maybe some day I will buy a 1900mm rail.