Which Guide Rail Square Should I Buy?

[PaulMarcel]

I missed this thread when it was lit... I'd just like to add an anecdote. I received the GRS-16 PE Parallel Edge Guide Rail Square and decided to play with it a little bit. Popped it on a board, crosscut, then checked square. hmm was a hair off (wait until the end...) enough that it would be a deal-breaker for any cross-cuts over, literally, 2 inches. Checked and checked again; it seemed perfect but why was the square saying it was off? Well, did the "two-line" test on the square and the square wasn't. Grabbed a square I trust for checking the others and sure enough, it was dead square. So if you want a guide that can crosscut and verify your square, this is the one. I've actually tested a couple of other crosscut guide attachments (some that went to market, some that didn't) and this is by far the easiest to use and, anecdotally, the most accurate with little effort.

Highly recommended.

 

[gunnyr]

The longest rails in this system are 50" as shown on their website.  What if I wanted something longer than 50"?  How would I do this?

The 50" rail allows you to cut more than half way across a sheet of plywood.  If you need to cut, say 60", simply index the rip guide to cut 36" minus the kerf of the blade, that leaves 60".  Sounds more complicated than it really is.  In this case your guide rail is on the waste side of the cut. 

 

[acarl720]

Hi Jeff, thanks for the response.  One of the things that drives me nuts in working with the Festool track saw is the metric vs. imperial measurement systems.  Too bad I didn't decide to go metric in the past with all my measurement tools.

The reason that I bring this up is that I previously determined that the track was ~7 5/16" (185 mm) from the back to the cut, so if I butted the track up against a guide, I could get pretty close to what I wanted, all within the conversion error.  This product takes care of that by calibrating the guide and it is independent of the kerf of the saw blade.  For cuts greater than 50" with the TSO product, I need to convince myself that the kerf is an imperial measurement - I checked with my calipers and it seems to be, but the proof is in the cut, which I have not done yet.  And each blade will have a different kerf.  Something to check and keep track of, which I was hoping not to have to do with a tool of this cost.

But I do like what I have seen from it and will consider it.  I did build a DIY system that works pretty well and is consistent as long as 3/4" birch plywood doesn't change size with humidity changes, which I think it doesn't during the time for a single project.

It seems that there should be an extension rail that would take you to something close to 96".

 

[gunnyr]

I tend to mix imperial and metric.  I found that life got simpler when I stopped converting from one to another.  10mm is 10mm and 3/8 is 3/8. 

One of my favorite tools is the Kreg Multi Mark because it has a ruler with both scales on it.

 

[TSO_Products]

The longest rails in this system are 50" as shown on their website.  What if I wanted something longer than 50"?  How would I do this?

[member=68911]acarl720[/member] - this topic relates to Guide Rail Squares. The cuts you can make with our GRS-16 series are limited in length only by the FESTOOL or Makita guide rail(s) you choose to use.

If, you have questions relating to TSO's Parallel Guide Series, TPG-50 Set complete, or subsets of it, please provide specifics of your applcation on a thread pertaining to thatproduct line so we can responde appropriately.

We look forward to hearing more!

Hans