Festool disappointment

[Jamie Buxton]

I bought a Festool guided saw, to process sheet goods. It comes with 1400 mm (55") guide. That's insufficient to cut the length of a sheet of plywood. Festool offers two possible solutions: a 2700 mm (106") one-piece guide; or joiner bars which connect the 1400 mm guide to another 1400 mm guide. The joiner bars solution is considerably less expensive, so I tried that. Unfortunately, it does not work well. The joiner bars slip in the guide extrusions, so the 1400+1400 mm guide does not stay straight. I honked on those screws until the extrusions bulged, but could not keep the joined guide straight.

I finally gave up and bought the 2700 mm guide. Anybody want a slightly used 1400 mm guide?

[Gary Keedwell]

Oh no....here we go....again... seriously, wasn't there a thread not too long ago that addressed that very issue? Some said they had no problem and some said they did. Was there a definitive solution? I am interested because, by coincidence, I just previewed the video.
Gary K.:confused:

[Tom Pritchard]

Jamie, it's pretty hard to find any guide with a joint in it to stay true over a long span. I think you did the wise thing by buying the longer guide. I'm sure the shorter guides will sell quickly if you post them in the classified section here at SMC!

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

When ever you buy euro it behooves you to check that the euro ideas of adequate size and length are the same as yours.

The use lots and lots of sheet stock that is less than 8" long too.

[Bob Marino]

I bought a Festool guided saw, to process sheet goods. It comes with 1400 mm (55") guide. That's insufficient to cut the length of a sheet of plywood. Festool offers two possible solutions: a 2700 mm (106") one-piece guide; or joiner bars which connect the 1400 mm guide to another 1400 mm guide. The joiner bars solution is considerably less expensive, so I tried that. Unfortunately, it does not work well. The joiner bars slip in the guide extrusions, so the 1400+1400 mm guide does not stay straight. I honked on those screws until the extrusions bulged, but could not keep the joined guide straight.

I finally gave up and bought the 2700 mm guide. Anybody want a slightly used 1400 mm guide?

Jamie,

The use of the 106" rail is the preferred method for ripping sheetgoods and such. However, if space, transport, storage or $$$ is an issue, the use of adjoining the rails with the 2 connectors will work fine. I have used that for over three years before buying the 106" rail. As can happen, rarely, but on occasion, the rails do not align perfectly. Usually just flippng the rails end on end is the fix. Also, leaving a paper width space between the rails before tightening the set screws helps. Continuing to tighten the screws will bulge the rail as you have seen.
If you have trouble selling that rail, let me know.


Bob

[Rob Blaustein]

I bought a Festool guided saw, to process sheet goods. It comes with 1400 mm (55") guide. That's insufficient to cut the length of a sheet of plywood. Festool offers two possible solutions: a 2700 mm (106") one-piece guide; or joiner bars which connect the 1400 mm guide to another 1400 mm guide. The joiner bars solution is considerably less expensive, so I tried that. Unfortunately, it does not work well. The joiner bars slip in the guide extrusions, so the 1400+1400 mm guide does not stay straight. I honked on those screws until the extrusions bulged, but could not keep the joined guide straight.

I finally gave up and bought the 2700 mm guide. Anybody want a slightly used 1400 mm guide?
Sorry to hear you had trouble Jamie. Since you alreay bought the longer rail I guess it's a moot point, but I've been using two rails joined together for a while and it works well. I did run into problems initially and posted some questions on the Festool Yahoo site and got some good advice (including Bob's suggestion above). As Gary points out, some are fans of joining two rails, and some much prefer one longer one. Per Swenson has joined several to make a really long rail without problems, and others have had good luck too. But obviously not everyone. I find joining two much more convenient for me storage wise (and it's less expensive).

You probably already know this, but the saw horses, 4x8 ply, 4x8 sheet of 2" foam insulation combo makes a great table for breaking down sheets.

[Mark Carlson]

Jamie,

I have 3 of the 1400s. I leave 2 of the 1400s joined together. My thinking at the time was that it would be easier to store and transport the 1400s. I dont have any issues with alignment. I also have the 1080 with the holes. If I was to start over I would buy the 2700, the 1400 and the 1080.

~mark

[Todd Burch]

I have two short guides and the long honker. Seeing as I didn't sell my cabinet saw when the Festools arrived, ;), I still use the tablesaw for ripping sheets down. I've never even taken the 106"er out of the shipping package - and it's been about 3 years now. I bought it for those critical onsite cuts that have to be perfect (see signature), and that situation hasn't come up yet.

Todd

[Peter Pedisich]

Jamie,

I understand your frustration, I had a bump between my two 55" rails and I was not happy...until Bob M. told me to flip the rails and it worked!
Now I've marked them for the good mating ends and no problems.:D

Good luck,

Pete

[Dave Bureau]

Just bought the TS75 today and also got a 2700 rail.
Dave

[Gary Keedwell]

Dave, do you mind if I ask you why the TS75 and not the 55?. I have been thinking of the Ts 55 since I have a few sheet good projects coming my way.

Gary K.

[Dave Bureau]

Well it has about 11/16 deeper cutting depth, 8.25 dia blade compaired to a 6.25 blade,and more power.

[Dan Clark]

Jamie,

I have several rails. Two of the 1400's are always connected. Every now and then, I use a 4' level as a straightedge to check for alignment. It only takes a minute and works well for me.

Dan.

[Dave A. Jackson]

don't know if any one has mentioned it but if you buy directly from Festool (don't know about other sellers) they will substitute guide rail sizes when you buy the saw guide rail combo.
Dave

[Per Swenson]

Hi All,

As noted above, I connect and disconnect rails every day.

So I really have to be lucky, cause I have yet to have a problem.


Maybe its my technique. You are gonna love it.

I don't think about it. I don't fuss with it.

I don't sight it. I just connect 'em and cut.

I use the same part of my brain that allows me to scratch my chin

while extracting a cigarette from a pack and lighting it.

Don't even think about that either.

You see, I have to run on auto pilot, if I start to think about stuff,

I will overcompensate and screw it up.

Per

[Jack Diemer]

Im interested if you want to sell your used one, give me a fair price.

(Click user name to send email)

[Jamie Buxton]

I should be clear. When I say the joiner bars failed to keep the two 1400 guides straight, I mean that they could develop a bow in the middle of perhaps a tenth of an inch or so. For some applications, that may be good enough. For mine, it isn't. I expected the joined guide to cut as straight as the basic guide, which is good to something down in the .01" range or better.

[Todd Burch]

Jamie, could one of the guide rail ends not be square to the length? A good square would tell you the truth.

Todd

[Jamie Buxton]

Jamie, could one of the guide rail ends not be square to the length? A good square would tell you the truth.

Todd

Todd, as far as I can tell, the ends are square. The issue is that the jointer bars slip. Because the bars are only a few inches apart, if a jointer bar slips just a few thou, the overall straightness of the joined guide changes by a lot.

[Todd Burch]

Being the guy-problem-solver I am...

Is there enough slop, top to bottom, to glue in some sandpaper, say, 400 grit, to help with anti-slip-ness?

Todd

[Roy Wall]

Todd, as far as I can tell, the ends are square. The issue is that the jointer bars slip. Because the bars are only a few inches apart, if a jointer bar slips just a few thou, the overall straightness of the joined guide changes by a lot.

Jamie,

Why don't you send these back to festool and get them replaced?

[Jamie Buxton]

Jamie,

Why don't you send these back to festool and get them replaced?

I don't think replacing them would make them work any better. I think the design itself cannot work well enough to meet my expectations. As I said above, a shift of just a few thousandths in the bars creates a bow in the joined bar which is big enough (1/16" or so) to exceed my needs.