Woodpecker's Parallel Guide System One Time Tool

[fritter63]

" I do not need my nuts to be red and shiny."

Well, none of us do.

Any color other than blue, thanks.

 

[sae]

They will not be anodized. Because of our current backlog with the anodizer it would take weeks for us to even schedule to have them done. As for the screws....because of the new design of the bracket fixture there is no void between the two parts so there is plenty of thread engagement. For the foam , there just isn't enough real estate there do a cut out.

Weeks?! Sounds like you need a new anodizer!

I've never had trouble getting 1 or 1000 parts anodized in under a week, 2-3 days for red and usually under a day for black since they run it every day. They're open 24 hours a day too, so you can drop of at 3 AM if you wish.

They're about a 2 hour drive out of your headquarters, I'm sure you can find someone more reliable closer though.

 

[Birdhunter]

I'd rather have the new parts bare and quick.

 

[riderguy57]

I'd rather have the new parts bare and quick.

I agree. They will just get scratched sliding in and out of the Festool track. As far as storage, if they don't fit in the PGS tracks, I plan on doing a little foam cutting and deepening the slot where the Narrow Stock Guides are and store the new parts there (where they could also get scratched).

Scott

 

[ewils91]

I'd rather have the new parts bare and quick.

I agree. They will just get scratched sliding in and out of the Festool track. As far as storage, if they don't fit in the PGS tracks, I plan on doing a little foam cutting and deepening the slot where the Narrow Stock Guides are and store the new parts there (where they could also get scratched).

Scott

I'm on the same page, I'm very happy that they are standing behind their product and making the needed improvements. We are a resourceful bunch and I'm sure collectively we will identify a storage solution. I'm grateful that they didn't leave us hanging with a product that had a deficiency.

Eddy

 

[forbeskm]

My parallel guide set just came in today, I actually forgot I ordered it and meant to cancel it.  Now that it is here I may have to keep it.  Glad everyone here got them to resolve the issue.  I am looking forward to the replacement pieces.

As for scratching, I scratch, bump, drop, or otherwise mar my tools someway or another when in use so I am not worried.  Nothing I have that is Festool or Woodpecker has failed me yet.

 

[Peter_C]

I started ripping 1/2" sheet goods today in 6" wide strips. The entire stack on my trailer will get ripped as such. So of course I figured it would be a great opportunity to put the PGS to use. I zeroed out the guides which is easy enough to do, set it to just a hair less than 6" to account for the saw kerf and started to cut. There was nothing accurate about it. I could have done better with my portable Bosch table saw, and probably faster measuring, marking, and setting each cut manually. In this particular case I am not worried about accuracy, but I have plans for the PGS for which accuracy will be imperative. The boards varied from dead on the same, to 1/8" out, but often 1/16" out. I tried carefully to push the guides up against the sides of the wood. With the long guide rail as you push on one side the other moves out. No biggie just push evenly from the center.

I believe a large portion of the issue came from the fact that the rails and the PGS are going in two different directions. This caused the rail to twist and lift. Everything needs to work harmoniously and sit flat. I wound up using a couple of shims to attempt to keep the rail flat, with the PGS standing up in the air as the photo below shows. At an angle it must be changing the distance to the board which will greatly effect accuracy. Once we get the new parts this may be resolved. Unfortunately my stack will be done by then

What have other people found for accuracy? I sure hope the system will be able to be dialed in for consistency. If it still won't sit flat, after I get the new parts, the top mounts might need a pass thru the router table, so they fit tightly inside the rail and won't rock on top of the rail, as shown in so many previous photographs. I REALLY want to believe in this system and for it to work!

 

[fritter63]

@Peter_c

Not groking your comment about rails and pgs going diff direction

Is this just a narrow stock problem ?

 

[tjbnwi]

I believe 3/4" was the minimum stock thickness for the PGS. Sounds like the rail is sliding on the nylon stops at the end of the rods. I'd remove the stops, recalibrate, try it form there.

Tom

 

[jimbo51]

It looks like your bracket is tilted up. In that position, the Festool rail will not sit flat on the sheet to be cut as you have found out. I found that the bracket could be pivoted down into a flat or near flat position if it is not screwed down too hard. Or if you deliberately tilt it the other direction when you fasten the bracket down, you should be able to lock it in place so that the Festool rail sits nearly flush and the weight of the saw pushes the rail down easily.

 

[Peter_C]

[member=50292]Peter_C[/member]

Not groking your comment about rails and pgs going diff direction

Is this just a narrow stock problem ?

I would say it will be exaggerated over longer (track) distances, as the tracks need to lay flat. I was cutting to 6" using the side scales and the narrow stock ripping guides.

I believe 3/4" was the minimum stock thickness for the PGS. Sounds like the rail is sliding on the nylon stops at the end of the rods. I'd remove the stops, recalibrate, try it form there.

Tom

I sure hope it is not 3/4" as it should cut the to the width of the narrow stock ripping guide plastic ends which are 7/16" (11mm). 1/2" is effectively 13mm so I believe I am within the PGS's range. Not sure what you mean by the rail sliding on the nylon stops, but the narrow stock ripping guides where not changing dimensions, or at least I do not believe so. There was never a gap at the back of the rods. That part seemed to be functioning correctly. The rail could have been sliding, but it wasn't making heavy contact with the delrin ends of the narrow stock ripping guides.

From another forum linked in page 3 or something.
"Hi guys, this is Wayne. I'm one of the tool designers here at Woodpeckers. Just want to clarify your concern about the PGS narrow ripping feature. You are correct that when making cuts smaller then 10.5" you do use the stainless steel adapter. We designed it so that you could cut as thin as a 1/2" sheet of plywood. The tip of the Narrow ripping Guide actually measures .420" so there is plenty of room to go that thin. I hope this helps out. "

It looks like your bracket is tilted up. In that position, the Festool rail will not sit flat on the sheet to be cut as you have found out. I found that the bracket could be pivoted down into a flat or near flat position if it is not screwed down too hard. Or if you deliberately tilt it the other direction when you fasten the bracket down, you should be able to lock it in place so that the Festool rail sits nearly flush and the weight of the saw pushes the rail down easily.

I do believe the bracket tilting IS the entire problem. There is no center unless I leave the PGS completely loose. It goes up or down but not in the center where the guide rails can sit flat. I am a self proclaimed expert at making things fit , and more importantly not overtightening things (I was/am a Master Auto Tech), but I couldn't get my long rail to hold the PGS flat. Any looser and it just rocks which I am not comfortable with when picking up the Festool rail with the PGS connected.

I am sure most can imagine with a 2700mm rail and two of the PGS guide rails hanging off, this can get a little unwieldy. Every cut requires removing the cut piece from underneath the rail, then repositioning the rail for the next cut. The connection from the PGS to the rail is going to take a beating at times, no matter how careful one tries to be, as there is a lot of torque on everything. There needs to be a straight solid connection with zero movement.

Looking forward to a package in the mail...

 

[cblanton42]

Just an opinion but feeling more right every day,
    Now reaching 10 pages of complaints confirms why I will never get rid of my table saw.  Drink all the green you want with some red WP Kool-Aid too, a table saw is waaay faster to set up and easier to use in most cases when identical/repeatable cuts is needed.

CB 

 

[Slartibartfass]

Just an opinion but feeling more right every day,
    Now reaching 10 pages of complaints confirms why I will never get rid of my table saw.  Drink all the green you want with some red WP Kool-Aid too, a table saw is waaay faster to set up and easier to use in most cases when identical/repeatable cuts is needed.

CB

Maybe easier to setup and easier to use if you have a slider (and the space required). Otherwise moving the track saw beats moving an 8x4 sheet over a rotating blade anytime.....

 

[copcarcollector]

    Now reaching 10 pages of complaints confirms why I will never get rid of my table saw.

Clearly you have not read all 10 pages of this thread. It is not 10 pages of complaints...

 

[cblanton42]

    Don't get me wrong guys, I LOVE MY TRACK SAW.  Two months ago I used it to cut a $1300 door deliberately out of square to fit the existing crooked door frame.  The mere thought of dragging that door across any table saw top makes me cringe just a little and almost impossible without a helper, it was truly effortless by myself with the track saw.  Lugging my table saw to every jobsite would be a total pain compared to the track saw.  Several other examples, and I actually look for reasons to use the track saw because the cut is so good [smile].
    That being said as with most tools, it's not perfect for EVERYTHING and by design it's difficult to use in certain situations, not impossible, just difficult.  One is thin strips of wood not as wide as the rail and the other is perfectly parallel cuts, both achievable with effort but most tools used to achieve the parallel cuts are described as unwieldy, cumbersome, etc. by fellow FOG members.
      My point is we all want to do the job quickly and efficient and in my opinion, the best tool for repeatedly cutting a parallel cut on "window trim" size pieces of wood is not a track saw with guides but a table saw (and I already own it so why not use it).
    Again, I love my track saw and use it a lot but it just isn't the easiest method to every cut encountered (in my opinion) and I'm ok with that.

Peace brother FOG members,
CB       

 

[Slartibartfass]

May the force be with you....  [big grin]

 

[snachlas]

I received my Woodpeckers Parallel Guides a few days ago and was having some of the same concerns as several of you. I spoke to Woodpeckers today and the said they are on it. They are currently tooling some kind of pieces that they will be sending to PGS owners in the next few weeks. They said they had read the reviews, talked to some owners and this modification should help alleviate the problems. I own several Woodpeckers (and Festool!) products and the commitment to customer satisfaction is what keeps me coming back.

 

[fritter63]

spoke to Woodpeckers today and the said they are on it. They are currently tooling some kind of pieces that they will be sending to PGS owners in the next few weeks.

If you read back a few pages you can see pictures and details of the solution....

 

[Birdhunter]

Anyone received the new connectors yet?

 

[Slartibartfass]

Anyone received the new connectors yet?

Nope. Nothing yet.