Festool GuideRail Eval - Pics

[Dennis Peacock]

Well....here we go. Just hang in there with my while I try to get this all posted.

This is a review/eval of the Festool Guiderail system in conjuntion with the ATF55 CS. This allows one to make straight cut, splinter free in plywood (except for the offcut piece on occassion). You can join multiple "rails" together to make a single Long Rail for cutting the length of a sheet of plywood or straight-linning a board that does not have an edge that is even close to straight.

So on with the pics and comments.

In the first pic, you see the long guiderail still sitting inside it shipping container. You can tell that Festool took considerable time figuring out the best way to ship these rails to prevent possible damage. I believe they did a fine job packaging both the long and the short guiderails.

2nd pic - Long guiderail still partially unpacked. Again, excellent packaging to prevent damage during shipping.

3rd pic - The short and Long Guiderails propped up against the wall in the Greatroom where the peak of the ceiling is 10 feet. The long guiderail is 9 feet long...give or take a few Millimeters.!!!

The short guiderail is great for cutting across the width of a full sheet of plywood while the long guiderail is great for cutting along the length of a full sheet of plywood. Combine them both together? You have one very LONG Guiderail.!!

4th pic - You are looking at the end of the guiderail. The aluminum is thick and the rail is rigid and well made. There are two soft foam strips on the bottom side of the guiderail that allow the guiderail to be used "without" clamping while still getting a good straight cut. Does it work? Yes it does!!!

5th pic - You see a better view of the end of the guiderail while clamped. Notice how the clamps fit in the groove on the bottom of the guiderail and will adjust along the entire length of the rail. Very slick idea in my book.

Now...moving on to more details...

[Dennis Peacock]

Special Note: Thanks to Joe Meazle for helping me test this stuff out and look for any issues with the Festool Guiderail system.

The first pic - This is the first cut I made with the guiderail, saw and vac all working as a complete guiderail "system". Dust collection is EXCELLENT and I would guess that it gets about 99% of the saw dust. The plywood used here is cheap plywood and my buddy Joe Meazle contributed this sheet of plywood for the tests. It is easy to chip and splinter, but with the Festool Guiderail, at least one side is chip and splinter free. Very smooth cut as you can see in the pic. The "keeper side" is the bottom cut and the waiste side is the little piece on top of the plywood sheet.

Second pic - This is a pic of how much sawdust escaped during the 4' cut along the guiderail. Very little to cleanup on the rail and next to NONE on the floor.

Third pic - Now for another cut, but this time, no vac, no dust collection and let's see how much dust is on the guiderail only. Wow!!! And there is a lot more sawdust on the floor!!!! Needless to say, I'm sold on the dust collection of this guiderail system. Of course in order for the guiderail to work, you must have the Festool saw. Without the saw, the guiderail can only be used for an expensive "clamp-n-tool Guide"!!!

Now!!!! The Competitor for quality of cuts in plywood. My DeWalt CS!!!! :eek: :D

4th pic is the quality of cut by my DeWalt CS and using the guiderail as a tool guide.

The 5th pic is The Competitor!!!!! :eek:

[Dennis Peacock]

Next pic - cut shot here. This pic shows how smooth and chip free an angled cut is on the same plywood. Excellent cuts again. This time with the Festool saw, vac and guiderail as it should be used.

Last but not least.

The saw sitting properly on the guiderail and ready for another cut.

Pros:
Very well made Guiderail.
Excellent fit and finish.
Superior packaging to best ensure against damage during shipment.
Excellent dust collection.
Superior performance for clean chip-free cuts in plywood and solid wood stock.
Short guiderail is excellent for use with across the sheet cuts in plywood sheets.
Long guiderail is excellent for use with a full length sheet rip cut in plywood and can also be used for "straight-linning" solid stock to develop the first straight edge on your board.
Clamps are out of the way and fully adjustable along the entire length of each guiderail.
Guiderail is rigid and will not flex during a cut.
Can use the guiderail without clamps for those "fast and furious" cuts when you are "in a hurry".

Cons:

Overall cost of the complete system which includes the saw, guiderails, clamps, vac, vac hose.
Can only make a cut on one side of the guiderail.
Foam backing seems that it could need replacing at least annually if used enough...but seems to be of good quality to last for a LOT of cuts.

Summary:

Overall?
It's a GREAT setup. Extremely nice cuts in both solid stock and plywood.
Dust collection is great.
Guiderails are straight and easy to setup and use.
Guiderails that stay put even when clamps aren't used is a big plus and adds come "relaxed flexability" to the whole Festool GuideRail System.

I really like this setup and never knew that this quality of a plywood cut could come from any guide and saw combination. Live and Learn!!!!

My hat is off to Festool and it's design engineers. Joe Meazle and I "nit-picked" this entire setup and couldn't find hardly anything at all wrong with it or to be improved upon.

Excellent tools and Guiderail system!!!! :D

This is all just my opinion and wanted to post this to complete my posting of the Festool "System".

No finger pointing here folks....just a review. :eek: ;) :D

[Michael Stafford]

Dennis I was wondering, can this guiderail system be used to make bevel cuts? If so how does the dust collection system perform when the saw is beveled? Any issues with the saw and guide rail cooperating when the saw is beveled?

Really an excellent review. You should be submitting these to magazines. I enjoy the read and the pictures. :D

[Waymon Campbell]

Great review Dennis.

Did you send the recommendations you had talked about at the Dallas BBQ on to Festool? You keep these reviews up and your new nickname will change from Dennis "Tormek" Peacock to Dennis "Mr. Review" Peacock :D .

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for the review Dennis. I like the way in which your use many many pictures as the basis of your reviews.

Did you actually join the two rails together? A picture of how that works might help folks who have not seen the system. I can contribute such a picture if you don't have one.

You might want to say up front that this is a review of the guide rail system in conjuction with a circular saw. The rail also works with Festool routers and I guess that that could be the subject of an entire new review. It also works with the Festoll jig saws but I have no idea why someone would want to do that.

[Frank Pellow]

Dennis I was wondering, can this guiderail system be used to make bevel cuts? If so how does the dust collection system perform when the saw is beveled? Any issues with the saw and guide rail cooperating when the saw is beveled?

Really an excellent review. You should be submitting these to magazines. I enjoy the read and the pictures. :D

Yes you can. Dennis covers beveled cuts in his review of the saw itself. See the thread: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=13244. You will see there that he does have some issues but dust collection is not one of them.

[Rich Konopka]

Dennis, Nice Review on the Guide Rail. A couple of questions and observations.

1.) When you compared the cuts between the two saws I was wondering to myself and pardon my ignorance but what does the strait edge have to do with the quality of the cut? Doesn't the saw/blade have the biggest contributing factor to the cut?

2.) What is the mechanism for the clamp? Is it a cam lever? I could not make it out based on the picture.

3.) What is the purpose of the foam backing on the strait edge?

4.) On the cut you made with the "competitor" saw what kind of blade and how old is it? I notice the Festool saw to be brand new. What was your impression of the cut other than that of 3 icons?

5.) I would have loved to see a competitor saw with dust collection hooked up to a Fein vacum and compare it to the Festool. IMHO, You mentioned Dust collection several times and by introducing a competitor with out these options it makes the comparison unfair and unbalanced.


Thanks and I hope you don't take my comments as a knock against your review because it is really a lack of me understanding the Festool products.


Thanks

[Dennis Peacock]

Dennis I was wondering, can this guiderail system be used to make bevel cuts? If so how does the dust collection system perform when the saw is beveled? Any issues with the saw and guide rail cooperating when the saw is beveled?

Really an excellent review. You should be submitting these to magazines. I enjoy the read and the pictures. :D

Michael,

Frank already answered that question...but....The answer is the same. Dust collection at any angle with this saw and guiderail are exactly the same. Very good IMHO. :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Dennis, Nice Review on the Guide Rail. A couple of questions and observations.

1.) When you compared the cuts between the two saws I was wondering to myself and pardon my ignorance but what does the strait edge have to do with the quality of the cut? Doesn't the saw/blade have the biggest contributing factor to the cut?

2.) What is the mechanism for the clamp? Is it a cam lever? I could not make it out based on the picture.

3.) What is the purpose of the foam backing on the strait edge?

4.) On the cut you made with the "competitor" saw what kind of blade and how old is it? I notice the Festool saw to be brand new. What was your impression of the cut other than that of 3 icons?

5.) I would have loved to see a competitor saw with dust collection hooked up to a Fein vacum and compare it to the Festool. IMHO, You mentioned Dust collection several times and by introducing a competitor with out these options it makes the comparison unfair and unbalanced.

Thanks and I hope you don't take my comments as a knock against your review because it is really a lack of me understanding the Festool products.

Thanks

Good Morning Rich,

1. The straight edge has a LOT to do with the quality of cut. The rail has a small strip that you cut with the running saw and this provides you a zero clearance on one side of the saw kerf. This also aids in providing you a chip-free cut in plywood and no splinters in solid stock. With my standard DeWalt saw, there is No such type cut.

2. The clamps are simple handscrew type clamps. Made by Bessey from the looks of them.

3. The foam backing is so you don't have to use clamps for a cut if you are in a hurry. With the FT Saw and it's plunge action, you are naturally in the correct motion to further secure the rail to the wood without a single clamp. I tried this and it works very well.

4. The sawblade on my DeWalt saw was a "combination" type blade and is carbide tooth made by DeWalt. It provided clean cuts, but it "fuzzed" up the wood fibers and slightly splintered or chipped the top veneer in the plywood.

5. I believe that if you look close at the pictures, you'll see one with a lot of sawdust piled up on the rail. That's the Festool saw with a single cut with ZERO dust collection. The pic of the rail with little specs of dust on it is with dust collection. I have yet to see a standard CS with as good of dust collection as the ATF55 saw.

[Ken Salisbury]

As Dennis stated in the first sentence of this thread:


This is a review/eval of the Festool Guiderail system.

Please lets not make this a tool comparison and allow this thread to get out of hand. A lot of good information can be gotten from these tool reviews and all repliers to this subject should stay on the subject at hand: A "Review"


http://www.oldrebelworkshop.com/misc/moderator.gif

[Rich Konopka]

Thanks Dennis. So the straight edge does make a difference in regards to the zero clearence. I understand that now and it make a big difference when working with expensive sheet goods.

After my DW SCMS the CS dues creates quite a bit of dust and the feedback on the Festool saw is appreciated. I rate that high on my list of selection criteria since I have a basement shop and asthma.

Thanks for you review and I hope I did not offend you and the quality of your review because I did not intend that. I was following the other E thread and it got a little polluted with peoples passion for their favorite system. I trully am looking to make a purchase within the next month.

[Jack Hogoboom]

Dennis,

Thanks for the great review. Can you comment on whether you feel the clamps are necessary? I've read other reviews in which the reviewer claims that you don't need to use clamps to hold the rail in place. If true, this would be a huge advantage.

Thanks,

Jack

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks Dennis. So the straight edge does make a difference in regards to the zero clearence. I understand that now and it make a big difference when working with expensive sheet goods.

After my DW SCMS the CS dues creates quite a bit of dust and the feedback on the Festool saw is appreciated. I rate that high on my list of selection criteria since I have a basement shop and asthma.

Thanks for you review and I hope I did not offend you and the quality of your review because I did not intend that. I was following the other E thread and it got a little polluted with peoples passion for their favorite system. I trully am looking to make a purchase within the next month.

Rich,

No offense taken sir.... ;) :D Just trying to help us all get better educated on tools. Shoot, I ain't made of money ya know and I have to research all I can before I make a purchase. :eek: :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Dennis,

Thanks for the great review. Can you comment on whether you feel the clamps are necessary? I've read other reviews in which the reviewer claims that you don't need to use clamps to hold the rail in place. If true, this would be a huge advantage.

Thanks,

Jack

Good Morning Jack,

Yes, it is true. You do not have to have the GR's clamped down in order for them to stay where you put them. I did make a cut without clamping and got just as clean and straight a cut as with the clamps. I talked with a fellow ww'er at the Dallas BBQ about his FT GR setup and he said that after 2 or 3 years of use, he finally had to replace the foam padding. Not too bad in my book!! :D

[Dennis Peacock]

Great review Dennis.

Did you send the recommendations you had talked about at the Dallas BBQ on to Festool? You keep these reviews up and your new nickname will change from Dennis "Tormek" Peacock to Dennis "Mr. Review" Peacock :D .

Waymon,

I believe that Mr. Marino read those. I will see if those recommendations can be sent to corporate for consideration. I would really like to see them made as it would improve the saw safety even more as well as make the bevel adjustments more accurate to boot. :D

[Michael Stafford]

Michael,

Frank already answered that question...but....The answer is the same. Dust collection at any angle with this saw and guiderail are exactly the same. Very good IMHO. :D

So you did, I went back and read the original review and see that you covered that. Somehow I forgot... Halfheimers, I guess... :rolleyes:

[Jim Becker]

can this guiderail system be used to make bevel cuts? Yes, as previously stated, bevel cuts are fully supported. Further, the cut line stays in the same place with the Festool saw, so the edge of the guide rail still "marks the spot" for the cut. While that's obviously a feature of the saw (previously reviewed by Dennis in a most-exellent manner) it does illustrate that the combined system is thoughtfully designed as a whole to help folks work quickly and efficiently no matter what the cut. This is one of the things that mitigated the cost factor for me. While it was "more" money than a regular CS and a guide, it offers some clear value add as a designed-together system.

BTW, I will not throw out my old orange B&D circular saw...it still will get the rough construction work when the home improvement bug bites!

Dennis, thanks for these great reviews! (I think I want one of those 8' rails now...but it do look big!)

[Dennis Peacock]

Did you actually join the two rails together? A picture of how that works might help folks who have not seen the system. I can contribute such a picture if you don't have one.

You might want to say up front that this is a review of the guide rail system in conjuction with a circular saw. The rail also works with Festool routers and I guess that that could be the subject of an entire new review. It also works with the Festoll jig saws but I have no idea why someone would want to do that.

Thanks Frank...Got your message. Corrected that at the beginning of the thread just a bit ago.

Join the rails together? Nope. I don't have the "joiners" to make that happen, so I couldn't comment nor show that taking place. Sorry. :(

[Dennis Peacock]

BTW, I will not throw out my old orange B&D circular saw...it still will get the rough construction work when the home improvement bug bites!

Dennis, thanks for these great reviews! (I think I want one of those 8' rails now...but it do look big!)

Jim,

Keep that B&D CS....you can let that one be your "loaner" CS for when the neighbor wants to "borrow your saw"!!! :eek: :p ;)

Thanks for the kind comments, added value to the thread and compliment. It has only taken me two weeks work to get the 3 reviews done and put together.

[John Miliunas]

Thanks Dennis! Once again, you've come through with an enlightening and informative review! :) The only question I have, which is probably self-evident is: Can we safely assume that the clamps should be used if trying to "joint" a rough-cut piece of lumber? By that I mean, taking what we often come home with from our local sawmil and find to be crooked, and getting a straight line on one edge before taking it to the jointer? Thanks again for a great review! Keep up the good work. :cool:

[Dennis Peacock]

Thanks Dennis! Once again, you've come through with an enlightening and informative review! :) The only question I have, which is probably self-evident is: Can we safely assume that the clamps should be used if trying to "joint" a rough-cut piece of lumber? By that I mean, taking what we often come home with from our local sawmil and find to be crooked, and getting a straight line on one edge before taking it to the jointer? Thanks again for a great review! Keep up the good work. :cool:

John,

That's a yes....I would and it works great for getting a good straight edge on a solid stock with rough sawn edges that are anything but straight. :D

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks Frank ...
Join the rails together? Nope. I don't have the "joiners" to make that happen, so I couldn't comment nor show that taking place. Sorry. :(

I took a couple of pictures of two of my rails with the connectors installed.

Two connectors are used to join the rails. One goes in the groove on the top of the rails and one in the groove on the back of the rails. The connectors are the same. Each connector is a metal bar a little over 12 inches long and each has four set screws.

[Chris Padilla]

Thanks Dennis! Once again, you've come through with an enlightening and informative review! :) The only question I have, which is probably self-evident is: Can we safely assume that the clamps should be used if trying to "joint" a rough-cut piece of lumber? By that I mean, taking what we often come home with from our local sawmil and find to be crooked, and getting a straight line on one edge before taking it to the jointer? Thanks again for a great review! Keep up the good work. :cool:Dunno if you saw this, John. I've posted it a couple times so I'm sorry if it keeps getting repeated but it seems germane to the topic:

http://www.woodshopdemos.com/fes-53.htm