The new Festool parallel guides are great!

[Jerry Work]

Hi all,

I just received the new Festool parallel guide system accessory for positioning the guide rail.  It is a set of industrial strength story sticks that slickly handle both parallel cuts and 90 degree cross cuts in hard and soft lumber as well as man made materials.  You can position the work piece in front of or behind the guide rail and make parallel cutoffs down to 1mm or less repeatedly.  Since these parallel guides mount on the guide rail, you can use any length of cut you wish up to the combined lengths of your guide rails.  Fore/aft positioning is over a range of zero to 640mm as I recall.

I posted a short tutorial on my web site:

http://jerrywork.com > tutorials, it is the first one listed

I think you will enjoy the read.  From my short experience with this I think it really takes guided rail cutting and routing to a new level.  And, for those who question whether or not they can do without a table saw either in-shop or on the job site.......read and make your own decision.

Enjoy!

Jerry

 

[sw1211]

Oh great, another drain on the checking account, thanks for the info Jerry.

 

[nickao]

Well it looks like a PIA setup. If one is on the job with no mft or you only have one mft it looks like there is a lot of fiddling around for the initial set up.

Again it may do what a table saw does, but its not like I can simply walk up to it and make a bunch of cuts. It seems you have to adjust two sides for every movement instead of just say click my incra a few times to move the fence over. Plus if it takes up all the space on the mft just another thing to set up use and then move. This screams for a multiple mft shop, which is no problem for me, but on a job site and most others in a shop do not have a bunch of mft's. I still see the Festool system as a compliment to my table saw, not a replacement. Actually a long way to go is still needed before it is a table saw replacement for me. Time is money and no way is this nearly as quick or even as cost effective as a table saw for site use IMHO, or in my shop for that matter.

Can you include in an updated tutorial how to set this up with no mft, one mft or a set of saw horses for the people that do not have two mft's? I think I would use it just like or very close to your set up on my multiple tables.

Even though I see some draw backs I think it will go on my short list. Pretty neat set up.

 

[sw1211]

If you consider what you're able to accomplish with these, with a circular saw, I'd expect a bit of a set up "hassle."  Looks fairly straight forward and repeatable.  Seeing all the jigs and gyrations some people go through to rip thin strips, these look like a great solution.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Great, now I have to get 2 MFT's?

 

[sw1211]

I saw a jig in Wood where you add an extension to the top of a Black & Decker Workmate that looks useful and would span the gap from one MFT.  I'll post a picture if I find it or when I get around to building one.

 

[Jerry Work]

No real need for two MFTs.  I just happen to have them and therefore used them.  You can hang your work piece off the edge of one just as easily but having one plus some other form of support is really slick.  If you are breaking down sheet goods off the back of a pickup truck they work just as well and just as easily.  If you are working from two saw horses, the same is true.  They are no hassle to set up, or calibrate, or set to use.  The part of my tutorial that must have been missed was that everything shown was done within 30 minutes of the time the UPS guy walked through my door.  From the time I finished to the time they were hanging on the wall with the rest of my guide rails was less than 3 minutes, most of which time was spent drilling hanging holes in them.  It takes less than a minute to mount them on a guide rail or take them off.  Like them or leave them, it is all up to the user.  I like them.

Jerry

 

[Notorious T.O.D.]

Very Cool....  Thanks for posting Jerry.

I assume these would also improve the use of the hole drilling setup to create both balanced and unbalanced sides for euro style 32mm cabinets.  Would love to hear your thoughts on that subject...

Best,
Todd

 

[Frank-Jan]

Nice tutorial Jerry, I'm looking forward to the next parts, I'm sure you'll find many applications for the things I wouldn't have thought of.

I don't have the VL part myself (the bridge thing), but the PA's work well for my use. I haven't tried using them as right-angle fence for crosscutting yet, but I heard of others who have.
Mine didn't need recalibration to use with my new long guiderail and TS55 (I got an extra 3000mm guiderail, because the one I had already was the first type, and thus missed the extra rib to mount the PA)
Sofar the only little annoyance I have with them is the little nut that holds the green lever at the bottom, which tends to loosen itself, I just have to remember to put a dab of locktite on the threads before I lose one of the little nuts.

 

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for yet another great turorial Jerry.

I guess that I have something else to add to my wish list.

 

[alanz]

Are the parallel guides and pricing up in the FestoolUSA site yet?
I looked, but didn't find it.  Maybe I just missed it.

 

[Bob Marino]

Are the parallel guides and pricing up in the FestoolUSA site yet?
I looked, but didn't find it.  Maybe I just missed it.

More info is forthcoming shortly. Mine should be here this early this week.

  http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/subcategory.html?sid=080cffa5f01dd72aa75ed59f9ddaf0c6&scat=67

Bob

 

[fshanno]

What about material thickness?  Since it doesn't sit on top of the sheet I wonder what kind of challenge 1/4" material and the like would represent.  Surely you're not supposed to let the arms just dangle off the end, that would stress the guide too much.  So you'd need to support the arms on your cutting platform and somehow lift material thinner than the PA's arms up to the bottom of the guide.  Or am I missing something? 

 

[Warrior]

These new guides look very well made. I am thinking that if I got these that I would use them once and then they would collect dust until I sold them.

Jerry,
Your example of cutting that piece was cool, but it concerned me that you have to do all that clamping to set up to do those cuts, plus 75% of the board was hanging in mid air. What happens to that set up if you want to rip some 6 or 10mm, or 45mm stock for that matter. It looks to me that if you are going to use the MFTs to support the guides you have to size your material to the guide thickness. Who is going to do that? Using the guides unsupported looks to unweildy to even consider.
Using the guides for different lengths of material would require setting up the guides for each length of rip. How efficient is that?

Eiji

 

[tallgrass]

while i think the write up is great, i think that it illustrates the marginal use of the jig. i had the opportunity to play with these and they are useful for repetitive cuts. i used them to break down sheets of plywood for a bunch of boxes that i made out of 3/4 ply. the boxes required 3 different dimensions, once set up , which was not hard nor fiddly, i just marched down the sheet. i would not replace a TS but it does make repetitive cuts and the breaking down sheet goods a breeze.

 

[Warrior]

Well they may be worth it just for that.

 

[Warrior]

Tallgrass,

Did you find that the arms on the guide made the guiderail tip or hard to move around? Did you use some method of supporting the guide arms in use? Did you find that the guide arms were in your way or did you have to be very concious of not bumping into them while ripping your sheets?

Eiji

 

[tallgrass]

i hate to say this but i found them easy to use. i my case, my cutting table is a knock down with foam top. i am sure that there is a length of rail guide combination that would be a pain but i was breaking up 4x8 sheets. one of the things i did was cut a sheet of ply into 3.5 inch strips length wise. it was cake. i know i said this but it is great for the repetitive cut, not the creative way around the TS. I understand that there are those that want to get rid of the TS, i though am not one of those that has the burning urge to not use one, i have a little Bosch that handles the things that i think the TS does best.  There is the old saying, if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.  I will be buying these when they come out.  just like many of the things in the festool world this is a focused answer to a problem. i am impressed with the creative solution that is illustrated in the guide and he gets full marks. My use was far more pedestrian.

 

[woodshopdemos]

Jerry,
  I absolutely appreciate your tutorial.

Nick,
  I appreciate your comments and just happen to be working on an alternate use of the new product. Jerry has celeverly used it with two MFT's. I am using it with my 4 x 8 worktable with a few modifications. I hope to have that up in a week or so.

  But to Festool, this is a great product. It fits a real need/

 

[Warrior]

Well, I just may have to change my opinionated self and appreciate these things. We'll see.