festool gurus ??

[Lloyd Brown]

I my be confused, but the cir. saw comes with a '4 guide. Do they sell an extension so you can rip 8' plywood. Basicly I am looking for a panel saw and this is the way I want to go, but 8' is mandatory! I know I am just missing it in the ad/web pages.

[Bill Marcheck]

Lloyd, there is a connector (Connector FSV) to connect two
rails together. It works well. You would need to order a 2nd
4 foot rail or you could also order longer rails.

Look under "Guide Rails and Multifunction Tables" on the web
site.



Bill

[Jim Taylor]

Lloyd, there is a connector (Connector FSV) to connect two
rails together.
Bill

I use this connector, but there are times when I am switching back and forth between long/short rails that I've considered putting out the money for a long rail. It is quick and easy... but I hate wasting the 30 seconds it takes to switch. Perhaps I should drink less coffee.

Anyone know if they sell the same rail as is used in their multi-function table separately... in longer lengths. I've looked, but could not identify this particular rail, I like the low friction tape on the top.

I really like this saw/rail combo.

-Jim

[Jim Taylor]

BTW, if you are cutting 8' ply, don't string to 4' rails together. You really want the rail to have a few inches of overhang on each end (4" works well). Then if you need to cut on a diagonal... well you get the picture, bigger is better.

The reason for the overhang is so that you have a place for the saw to rest (momentarily) before and after the cut.

-Jim

[Todd Burch]

I have 3 rails, the longest being 106". The short one (32"?) comes with the MFT. The one that's good to cut 4' (54"?) comes with the ATF (mine did). I also purchased the rail coupler.

I just used the ATF 55 last night, freehanding some cuts in 1/4" cherry plywood to make a large, 5' x 6' mitered panel. I would have used my rails, but I forgot them at the jobsite. :o

As a matter of fact, I just layed up the panel on a 1/4" MDF backer. Here's a picture... (I cleaned up the cuts with a block plane, cutting just proud of the line and planing to the line.) The saw holds a line pretty good.

[Bob Marino]

I my be confused, but the cir. saw comes with a '4 guide. Do they sell an extension so you can rip 8' plywood. Basicly I am looking for a panel saw and this is the way I want to go, but 8' is mandatory! I know I am just missing it in the ad/web pages.

Llyod,

The saw comes with a 55" rail, you need the overhang to crosscut a sheet of ply. You can either buy another 55" rail and 2 connectors or the 106" rail to rip a sheet of ply.

Bob

[JayStPeter]

I bought the saw, a 2nd 55" rail and the connector. It works well enough, but takes a bit of fiddling to get the joint so the saw slides over it really smoothly. I do keep the adjustments tight to minimize play on the rails, so maybe I could loosen that a little. It's not a real big deal, the saw stops at the joint and I have to give it a little push to get past. Happens twice, once for the front adjuster and once for the rear.
If I had to do it again, I don't know what I'd do. I would prefer to have one of the 106" rails, but it's sure costly. I'm sure I'll eventually get a long rail as it is a pain to keep taking it apart and putting it back together when sizing a bunch of panels.

Jay St. Peter

[Frank Pellow]

I have two 1400 mm 55") rails and the connector. I have only used the extended setup a couple of times and, those times, it seemed to work OK. I did not have the problem at the joint that Jay reported.

For me, lack of easy portability was a bigger problem with the 2700 mm (106") rail that was the cost (although, I admit the high cost surprised me). Also, I was told that, at last in Canada, UPS would not ship the 2700 mm guide rail and that I wouold have to pay higher freight charges if I were to order it.

By the way, a background construction project for me right now is a box that will hold a couple of 1400 mm rails along with a few rail-related items.

[Thomas Walker]

I purchased 2 of the standard sized rails and the connector kit because I wanted to be able to carry them in my truck when I might be working somewhere else.

However, while it works, I don't really care for the connector solution. It takes a while to set up, the saw usually doesn't slide smoothly over the joint, and sometimes I feel like I get some flex at the joint which throws my cut off slightly.

I think it's better to get a standard and a long rail if you don't need the portability.