TS55 - advice needed on which tracks to buy

[elfick]

A couple of suggestions:

You should consider swapping the stock 1400 rail for the 1400 rail with holes when you buy the saw. Many dealers will do this and in the US the price is the same. That way you have the rail needed if you want to get into the LR32 hole drilling system.

Instead of an extra 1400 rail go fro the 1900. If you join them that will give you enough extra room to do angles on the length of ply.

I'm going to second these suggestions. Have your dealer swap the hole 1400 for the regular rail. Then add the 1900 rail. I think most users end up as wide a selection as they can store/afford so might as well head that direction from the start.
When you get a MFT/3 you'll end up with a 1080. Then you'll just add an 800 and a 3000 to complete the common set.

 

[roblg3]

I never had a problem joining rails until I did...on a $30,000 deck.  pain in the butt to fix.  That was 2 3000 rails though.  My recommendation is to use as long of a very good straight edge you can find and USE IT ON THE PARTS THAT THE THUMBWEELS SLIDE ON.  i put my straight edge along the left "parallel" edge, there was a small defect right out of the box that I didn't notice.  It was just enough to cock the rails crooked over the 6 meters to make a very gentle curved cut [embarassed]

 

[JBird]

My recommendation is to use as long of a very good straight edge you can find and USE IT ON THE PARTS THAT THE THUMBWEELS SLIDE ON.

The saw aligns itself to the other side of this channel (NOT the side with the thumbscrews). If the side the saw rides on is damaged then I can see resorting to the thumbscrew side. But otherwise the side that the saw rides on is the better choice to use the straight edge on.

Protip for Betterly Connector users:
Using the Betterly I get a truer alignment when I use the cams on the same side of the channel as the saw's cam thumbscrews. When used in this way the writing on the Betterly is upside down compared to the writing on the rail(and not the orientation shown in the manual). But when you think about it it makes perfect sense that the rail should be aligned on the same surface the saw rides on.

My understanding is that Festool recommends aligning the rails using the saw by tightening up the thumbscrews while straddling the joint. This is exactly the same mechanism at work on the Betterly. But the Betterly is much longer (which increases accuracy), the cams on the Betterly apply much more force, and it is also much more convenient since you can keep it attached when you flip or move the rail.

I highly recommend the Betterly (and Makita connectors). It was the only way I could get satisfactory results having tried all the other techniques. It was my last stop before giving in and buying two longer rails(one for tall LR32 cabinets, one for 8ft sheets) which would have cost $650! Well worth it.

 

[roblg3]

Thank you for clarifying my statement.  I simply mean to use the ridge in the center of the track and NOT the outside edge.  You cannot rely on the saw across the joint method.  It doesn't work when connecting long rails. 

 

[mark60]

I have the room to store the 3000 and need all the help I can get so that was the first thing I bought after getting my TS55.
I used it today for breaking down full sheets and was happy to have it.

 

[johnredl]

I've got 2x1400 tracks. They're just big enough. An extra bit of length would b good, but it's also great to have the 1400 track for smaller cuts.

If I had the $ lying around I'd be tempted to get the 3000 also, but for me to cut 6 or 8 sheets a year, the 2x1400 are big enough. I'm using the TS75

Does that help?