Using Coupled Guiderails vs 8-foot Beastie

[extiger]

I now have a collection of 55-inch (1400mm) guiderails because of various tool purchases. For the sake of ripping a 4x8 foot plywood sheet, is it adequate to use a coupling on a few of these shorter rails? Or better to buy the 2400mm single guide?

Gary Curtis

 

[Martin Johnson]

Gary,

First, you will need the 2700mm rail if you go with a single rail...the sheetgoods are typically 8' or 96"...you'll need a little rail to hang over the beginning and the end of the board.  Having said that, either solution will work...really depends on how much transporting your going to do, and what your mode of transportation is going to be.  I use a single large rail in the shop, but if I was doing frequent work outside of the shop...I would probably take the smaller rails.  Also depends if your going to rip and crosscut the same board...it might be a hassle to break them apart, and then put them back together.all of the time...you could get by if you planned your cuts right, but like I said it depends on how you would use them most often. 

Food for thought.

Martin

 

[Brice Burrell]

Martin nailed it. I travel with my TS55 all the time so opted for a couple of 1400 mm rails joined to cut sheet goods in the beginning. Later I added a 1900 mm (75") rail and haven't regretted that decision at all. I prefer the 1900 for crosscutting and joined with a 1400 for ripping sheets. The extra length makes cutting sheets a lot easier. It's nice to not have to start the with a plunge cut. I only have one 1900 rail so I have to plan ahead make all of the cuts not to have to join and take apart the rails constantly. Don't get me wrong a 1400 rail and two joined will work for cutting sheet goods it's just that I find the 1900 to be my cup of tea.

On my wish list is either another 1900 or I might go big and try the 3000 (118") rail.   

 

[tbellemare]

Gary:

To underscore the point already made about how you use them, I had a customer who was a finish carpenter/craftsman who travelled a lot on planes to the site. He bought a 1400 from me and cut it in half.

As Cicero said in ancient Rome, "Suis Cuique" (To everyone their own).

Tom

 

[Brice Burrell]

Gary:

To underscore the point already made about how you use them, I had a customer who was a finish carpenter/craftsman who travelled a lot on planes to the site. He bought a 1400 from me and cut it in half.

As Cicero said in ancient Rome, "Suis Cuique" (To everyone their own).

Tom

Tom do you mean 1400 (55") rail or did you intend to say one of the longer rails? I sort of like the idea of maybe cutting the 3000 mm rail in half to make it easier to travel with, why didn't I think of that............ ??? If I had I probably would have bought one years ago.

 

[rnt80]

I joined a 1400 and a 1080 for a few months whenever I had to rip sheet goods and I didn't care for it.  It was too time consuming and the finicky for my taste.  I bought a 3000 this summer from Bob M. and loved it the first time I used it.

 

[tbellemare]

I know it sounds wierd, Brice, but I meant the 1400. He called wanting two 800's and some blades. I only had one  800 so we settled on a 1400 that he would cut in half.

This gentleman was apparently a very sought after craftsman from Italy, who lived in Florida. He wanted something he could put in the "overhead" on planes and wanted to just use the rail connectors for longer cuts.

Tom

 

[Chris Hughes]

I went with both.  I started with a couple of rails and joined them when I need the length.  Downside on that was that I almost always needed to cross-cut the rip so I would have to break it back down.  In the shop I don't use my long rail as much, but in the field I can't live without it.  I opted for the longer long rail and sometimes couple to a 40' rail to rip Formica in the field.

 

[mwhafner]

I do most of my sheet good cutting in the shop (actually, just outside the shop), and opted to buy the 106" rail for breaking down sheet-goods.  Joining rails works great, I just like the convenience of the longer rail.  If I had it to do over again, I would have bought the 118" instead of the 106".

 

[Chris Hughes]

Yep, thats what I got the 118".  I still use my short rails more.  I have a custom 75" rail that was a 106" until the 6 car pile up.  As I have a ts75 my 55" rail is not long enogh to safely cross-cut a 4x8.

 

[extiger]

I should have mentioned in my original post that I don't need portability. I almost always work in my shop. It seems that for an 8-foot cut, the 2400mm guide is just a tad short. What is the closest length, and what would it cost?

I'm thinking of selling a few of my 1400 rails (I think I have 3) to defray the cost.

Gary Curtis

 

[tbellemare]

Gary:

The FS 3000/2 is what you want for full sheets. It's about 118" long. Consider a full sheet is 96" and you have plenty on each end to start and stop. The sheet's around 107" corner-to-corner.

There's enough for both the TS 55 and the TS 75.  The TS 75 is about 9-1/2" tightening gib-to-tightening gib. What that means is that there is plenty of room to set the TS 75 down before it engages the cut, corner-to-corner, on the FS 3000/2 on a full sheet.

However, a 1900 coupled with a 1400 gets you to 3300. It reaches a bit farther for diagonal cuts...

Tom

 

[Dan Clermont]

I much prefer one long rail to 2 shorter rails. Most of my work is within my shop and if I had to travel with it then I'd go with two 1400mm rails.

If you have two 1400mm rails "kicking around" buy some connectors and leave them setup as a 2800mm guide rail.

Some people like to use the panther blade to rip and the Fine tooth for crosscutting. Having a dedicated set or one long rip rail would be a good idea in this situation and the kerf width is different between the Panther and Fine tooth.  This way your guide rail splinterguard doesn't get messed up

Dan Clermont

 

[woodguy7]

I also mainly cut full length sheets in the workshop so for convenience, i bought the 3m rail.  It is superb.  I made 4 small brackets from offcuts of oak & screwed them to the ceiling above my bench.  It keeps the rail safe when not in use & handy to get when i need it.
My 1400 x 2 & 800 x 1 stay in the festool bag.
You can never have too many rails.

Woodguy

 

[extiger]

A single long rail appeals to me. Especially since 'I went the Festool route' specificallly to be able to make long cuts without the expense of buying a Euro sliding tablesaw. My saw is the
ATF 55. Now that I have the MFT/3 Table, I'm enthusiastic about doing more than long rips on plywood sheets.

Gary Curtis

 

[score0matic]

I keep 1400 and 2700 in my tool trailer.  I have photos of the rack on my profile in TOF under charimon  I would LOVE to have a 700 mm guide to do short cuts with.  I would even take a 400 if some one wanted to cut an 800 in 1/2.  PM me if you want to split the cost on a rail and cut it
Craig

 

[Les]

There is another thread about the long rails having a bow in the middle. If you hang your rail horizontally without being very careful, you can but a bow in the rail. IMO that is why all rails have a hole drilled in the end so you can hang the rail from a hook vertically. You can also bend your rail by stacking in a corner.

I hang all my rails, including the 1900 & 2700mm, from a hook in the ceiling. The shorter rails are hung from screws on the side of my shop made Festainer. http://www.festoolownersgroup.com/CoppermineMain/displayimage.php?album=9&pos=1

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I much prefer one long rail to 2 shorter rails. Most of my work is within my shop and if I had to travel with it then I'd go with two 1400mm rails.

If you have two 1400mm rails "kicking around" buy some connectors and leave them setup as a 2800mm guide rail.

Some people like to use the panther blade to rip and the Fine tooth for crosscutting. Having a dedicated set or one long rip rail would be a good idea in this situation and the kerf width is different between the Panther and Fine tooth.  This way your guide rail splinterguard doesn't get messed up

Dan Clermont

I have two 1400 rails, a 1080 rail primarily for use with my hole drilling jig, and a 3000 rail.  I have a new Panther rip blade that I have never used.  Instead, I purchased a couple of Tenyru brand ripping blades because their kerf width corresponds to that of Festool's fine tooth and general purpose blades for the TS 55.  Festool's newer model rip blade for the TS 55 should have the same kerf width, which is narrower than that of the "old" Panther blade.  I agree with those who said that joining shorter rails is preferable if you have to travel with them and having the 3000mm rail is preferable if you don't, and with Brice's recommendation of getting a 1400mm and a 1900mm  rail instead of a pair of 1400mm rails.  Many times I find myself needing something a bit longer than a 1400 rail and not needing 2800 or 3000mm which are difficult to maneuver in my small shop.  The 1900 would serve perfectly!!

Dave R.

 

[paul_david_thomas]

I've a couple of 1400's but did in the end go for a 2700... Makes life a lot easier... Also not awkward jump as you transfer across the joined 1400's... Worth it if your dealing with sheet materials. Took me 2 years to buy it however.

 

[Rick Christopherson]

Time is rather tight right now, so I apologize for not reading this whole thread yet.

I hear of a lot of people buying multiple copies of the 55" rails for joining them together. In my opinion, it is a waste to have more than one of the same size rail (unless storage/transportation is the reason). If you can't have the 9' rail, then you are better off having a 55" and 75" pair instead. This gives you more flexibility than duplicate 55's when they are used separately.

Aside from the storage and transportation issues, I personally prefer having the wide array of rail sizes at my disposal.  I even have the little 32" rail, which I love! For my tastes, I prefer having the ability to just grab the rail length I need, rather than messing around with joining them. On the other hand, if I was transporting them to project sites, I do at least have the joining kit so I can still use a combination of my shorter rails if necessary.

If you have the ability to store the 9' rail, then I believe it is well worth the investment.