TSO Parallel guides- what do y’all think

paxamus

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Jun 26, 2022
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So I’m thinking about getting some of the TSO parallel guides. What do y’all think of them?  Any better alternatives?  I just don’t want to waste money on them but it would be nice to be able to make repeatable cuts

Thanks

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The squaring arms are excellent.  I use them and I am happy with them. 

The parallel guides work as advertised and I do use them.  But I find myself using a pair of aluminum yard sticks and stair stops about as often as I use the parallel guides. 

The stair stops cost $4.00 each and the yard sticks cost about $10.00 each. 

These are the stair stops, they are available everywhere.  I think the yard sticks are from Johnson.  I got them at Lowes.

In theory, you can do this with one of each, but my track wants to pivot when I adjust one end.  Having two makes it easier and faster.  A squeeze clamp is handy for long cuts.

71rFBQfhhZL._AC_UF894,1000_QL80_.jpg


 
Thanks for the info about  the stair stops.  I would probably have never thought of that.

For OP - check out the Benchdogs UK parallel guides too.
 
I could demo the stair stops tomorrow afternoon.

I will show still photos, no videos.  So you won’t be able to make a time study from it.

But this I can quantify right now.

From Lowes.  36” aluminum ruler: $7.98 each.  2 are required.  Total:  $15.96

Also from Lowes, pair, brass stair stops :  $7.98.

Total cost about $24.00 + tax.

But this setup does not replace a squaring arm.

I will post some snaps tomorrow.
 
For quick repeat cuts (like sheeting up a wall etc) they are great. Once they are well calibrated the accuracy is good.

I use the big TSO square and square guide much more often.
 
Photo time:

Below is illustrated the required components. 

2- stair stops
2- 36” aluminum rulers (you can use longer rulers if you wish)
2- squeeze clamps (optional, but helpful)
Plus track, saw, etc.

8IstPNg.jpg


I am setting up for a 16” cut.  One facet of the hexagon is aligned with the 16” mark.

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I lay one ruler atop the other to check that both are at the exact same point.

w4UIPIR.jpg


A close examination shows that they are NOT at the same precise point.

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I make the required adjustment.

t2qfQ5j.jpg


I clamp the two rulers to the panel to be cut.

WSpDTnc.jpg


Below shows how the bottom of the stair stop kisses against the panel to be cut.

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This image shows the splinter guard kissing against the rulers.  I am not using a Festool splinter guard.  I believe it is a Makita version, and is black in color.

aIfegeT.jpg


All that is left to do at this point is to clamp the track (if required), remove the rulers from the panel, and make your cut.

The extra step of confirming that both ends are exactly the same is optional.  But it is an option that the parallel guides do not offer.

In my opinion, this is as accurate as the parallel guide, and for single cuts, probably just as fast.  Multiple cuts using the parallel guide are much quicker however.

This is not a replacement for the squaring arm.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Post Script:  You can unintentionally introduce parallelism errors by allowing the rulers to be skewed in an angle.  I do find that it is pretty easy to keep the rulers square to the reference edge by observing whether the ends of the rulers appear aligned with the edge.  For greater precision you can use a drafting triangle or a framing square to assure that the rulers are square to the reference edge.

 
So... in summary get the TSO.  Because the first process is ripping off the factory edge, there's no guarantee anywhere about reference 90.  Even if you use the limit stop trick to get a uniform 6mm taken off, there's still pretty substantial errors involved when you're doing 8ft.

You'll have to switch back to cross cut mode and take off both ends 90 using some square.  And then setup your ripping tracks again.  The TSO's (or any real parallel guide setup) full clamping to the rail skips that step and lets you continue using the long track without trimming to get reference 90s.  You then take your long narrow sheet later to a cross cut station and do the flip and trim.
 
I would rip my 16” board first. Then I would mount the squaring arm to cut the ends square. 

This is only an option vs. the parallel guide.  It functionally does exactly what the parallel guide does. It does it for a $24.00 investment. 

If you are making several strips to the same width, the parallel guides are substantially faster. 

If you are making several strips of varying widths, the parallel guide is just marginally faster, but lacks the ability to precisely adjust both arms to exactly the same measurement. 

I have both and I use both.  But I end up using the rulers as shown above more often than the parallel guides.

The squaring arm is an excellent product and I value it in my arsenal.  If I had to do over, I probably would not get the parallel guides.  I would have a hard time justifying the additional cost and the reduced parallelism precision against the the two ruler & stair stop method. 

I would not hesitate to recommend either, but I would suggest someone try the rulers first.  (And definitely get the squaring arm.)

As a separate matter, I have two 12” long x 1/4” x 1/4” pieces of brass tubing.  I don’t know if they are precisely 1/4”, but they are precisely the same size.  I get them from a hobby shop.  I think all hobby shops carry these.  They are useful for all kinds of setups.

I use these as setup blocks when I want to rip a small strip off the factory edge.  It is accurate and easy to use. 
 
I'm kind of missing something here. If you set this up by registering the rulers/stops against the splinter strip, the cut is going to be short by the thickness of the blade? 2.2mm on some saws, 1.8mm on the newer ones, but off nevertheless.
The TSO arms (and most others that I know of) register from the opposite side. Then the splinter strip is the cut-line on the part, with the track over the measured panel, rather than next to it.
 
Crazyraceguy said:
I'm kind of missing something here. If you set this up by registering the rulers/stops against the splinter strip, the cut is going to be short by the thickness of the blade? 2.2mm on some saws, 1.8mm on the newer ones, but off nevertheless.
The TSO arms (and most others that I know of) register from the opposite side. Then the splinter strip is the cut-line on the part, with the track over the measured panel, rather than next to it.

That’s true.  I forgot to mention that I mentally add 1/8” to my calculations.

An oversight on my part.
 
Offcutting lacks splinter guard.  If we're going for low/zero cost, just build Dan Pattison's butt end parallel guides


Put a hex screw in the story stick and you can calibrate with a known good ruler to your cut splinter guard.  The larger reference surface will let you see if you're making a trapezoid.

Heck, make a few story sticks while you're at it, then you can flop between multiple sizes - mimicking the flag stops we have on the TSO.
 
I recently purchased the TSO parallel guides and have been really happy with them. All my cuts have been dead on measurement and perfectly square. Very easy to calibrate and balances well on material. Would definitely recommend.

One thing I would say is to get the drop on adapters (which aren’t available in the easily UK :-\) over the universal adapters as it will save you a lot of time tightening screws.
 
I have 3 different sets of parallel guides and I can tell you that the TSO set is the best, to me.  They are easy to set up and use and the color and markings make it easy to see the finest markings.  Bare in mind, none of the sets gave me consistently perfect parallel cuts every time, like those from a table saw.  Perfectly parallel cuts depend on perfect calibration and perfect setup each time you use them. With a table saw, you set the fence and from then on, all cuts are the same dimension, at least on my saw. 
 
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