Festool parallel guides ?.

[Spectric]

but it cant move inwards due to the locating tabs at EACH end.

That bit I am not getting, the parallel guides both locate on the end of the sheet being cut but there is nothing except friction stopping the guide rail moving, if it was lubed then it could slide and I don't see how the guides would stop this as it would just pivot round the first guide. This would also apply to the guide rail system but here it would pivot round the corner of the square.

 

[Distinterior]

Slide where...?....There is only about a 5mm gap at each end between the sheet and the Parallel guides, so it cant "slide" more than 5mm....
The width of the rip is dictated by the 2 locating tabs, one at each end. These rest upon the FRONT edge of your rip, so the guide rail CANNOT move inwards. Over such a long distance, the friction between the rail and the surface of the board is more than enough to keep it in place.

It could, of course, try and move the rail outwards, away from the main sheet, but the nature of a tracksaw & rail is that it invariably wants to move into the board due to the nature of the operator pushing the saw forwards and slightly inwards at the same time.

 

[Spectric]

the friction between the rail and the surface of the board is more than enough to keep it in place.

That is what I am saying, it is the rail that stays in place and not helped by the guides so

has the potential to move as you proceed with the cut due to the furthest end of the guide rail not being located by a second fixing of some sort.

I do not see this second fixing, it is just friction unless you decide to clamp.

 

[Distinterior]

That is what I am saying, it is the rail that stays in place and not helped by the guides so

I do not see this second fixing, it is just friction unless you decide to clamp.

I'll take a picture for you in the morning showing both the LH and RH parallel guides with the 2 locating tabs attached.....
Needless to say, when its correctly dialled in and set up, it works really well and remains accurate.

 

[HOJ]

Had mine for years, only use mine with a 3m rail for long sheet cuts, only mod I've done is to fix a tab on top of the things with the green lever on (depth stop!) to keep it on the boards, otherwise they tend to drop away.

No experience with other makes or options, but massive time saver for me, don't use clamps and never had it move.

 

[Distinterior]

Here you go..... I've just set them up on my 2400mm MFT top. There are no clamps holding it in place and no additional supports to prevent it from tipping under it's own weight. It's perfectly balanced on its own....

 

[shed9]

Theyre also 80 quid more expensive than the actual festool ones which will work with their own rail perfectly.
Inca - Think of a price, double it and add 50 quid

Remember that the parallel guides are supplied in two parts, the initial parallel guides themselves (FS-PA) and the extensions (FS-PA-VL) separately at £170 and £100 respectively.

 

[Spectric]

I can see how that is working, I was visualising the clamps being on top and not on the full corner like this. I like your bench, a nice looking design that gets used to the full going by the cut marks.

 

[Nelsun]

Over a much shorter distance, something like that may be useful, but I certainly wouldn't trust it to be accurate enough over a 2400mm or 2800mm length.
The further the saw travels along the rail away from that front edge, I'd be inclined to think the rail could move and you'd end up with an un parallel cut.
Yes, you could clamp it down, but that partially defeats the object of just laying the track down and cutting away.

Also, for longer cuts, trying to position the rail with just one reference point (the rail square) is decidedly tricky with the friction strips doing what they do best - making the rail not want to move. With 2 reference points at either end it is way easier. Trying to adjust a rail with a rail square (with or without an end-stop) on it to an exact line while ensuring the square remains tight to the reference face is slightly tricky. For speed and repeatability I'll always go for parallel guides but if it's a one off then the rail square usually wins the day.

 

[Distinterior]

Remember that the parallel guides are supplied in two parts, the initial parallel guides themselves (FS-PA) and the extensions (FS-PA-VL) separately at £170 and £100 respectively.

....Really?...I never knew that! I just bought my set as a whole, never realised you could buy them without the " extensions".

Perhaps, that would explain HOJ's comment about supporting the Parallel guides to prevent them from "dropping away"........Obviously, with the extensions attached, they must act as a counterbalance coz mine dont drop as you can see in my pictures....

Those benches are just slot together and fully dis mantable for storage. There are actually 3 benches there...2 x 1200 x 550 and 1 x 2400 x 550. It makes it easier to move them around and configure them to suit the task at hand.
The MFT top is just sitting loose on top, again for storage when not in use.
That top has seen some cutting, that's for sure. Still on its first face though, so it can be flipped over before it gets scrapped....4 years old now.

 

[TRITON]

Remember that the parallel guides are supplied in two parts, the initial parallel guides themselves (FS-PA) and the extensions (FS-PA-VL) separately at £170 and £100 respectively.

Well that's Festool for you. I'm surprised they're not asking money for the securing knobs

Theres a bloke on ebay with the set currently asking 220, for guides and extensions, but his feedback leaves much to be desired, and i think I'll just buy the main, which gets things rolling, and then maybe the extensions later.

 

[shed9]

Well that's Festool for you. I'm surprised they're not asking money for the securing knobs

Theres a bloke on ebay with the set currently asking 220, for guides and extensions, but his feedback leaves much to be desired, and i think I'll just buy the main, which gets things rolling, and then maybe the extensions later.

I have a full set myself, I don't use it much but the few times I have it is has paid for itself.

Just be mindful of the limitations is all. They work up to 650mm in width whereas some of the alternatives go that little bit wider. Not usually a problem in my work but can be a show stopper for some.

 

[CMax]

I was thinking of making the plywood Paul Sellers bench and only have a track saw to use currently. Given all the repeated cuts I'd need to do, something like this looks perfect. Does anyone know if these guides would fit a different brand of track saw, or if not, are there others available that would work?

 

[TRITON]

I was thinking of making the plywood Paul Sellers bench and only have a track saw to use currently. Given all the repeated cuts I'd need to do, something like this looks perfect. Does anyone know if these guides would fit a different brand of track saw, or if not, are there others available that would work?

Theres a number of different types, just google festool parallel guides and the others come up too. Then stick that into you tube for a real world demo.
Festool are seemingly the most expensive and other copies(or different versions rather) can be up to a third of the festool price.

 

[CMax]

Theres a number of different types, just google festool parallel guides and the others come up too. Then stick that into you tube for a real world demo.
Festool are seemingly the most expensive and other copies(or different versions rather) can be up to a third of the festool price.

Thanks, Triton. I'll check them out.

 

[TRITON]

I have a full set myself, I don't use it much but the few times I have it is has paid for itself.

Just be mindful of the limitations is all. They work up to 650mm in width whereas some of the alternatives go that little bit wider. Not usually a problem in my work but can be a show stopper for some.

For the job in mind- kitchen doors, im not intending on using those stops. just the parallel sides, snug to the edges. Binding wont be a problem.
All the doors are 497mm wide by 720, so i first cut down an 8x4x18mm mdf into 8'x497mm then using the parallel guides cut each door, by just cutting and then sliding down to the next. So i should be getting about 6 doors per sheet.

I need 7 doors, one half door and 3 drawer fronts. So probably sheet and a half, plus kickboards, cornice etc makes it 2 sheets all in.
Im intending to spray them myself- great excuse for buying a shiny new decent spray system(hence my other thread), and even paying for that it still going to be well cheaper than buying all the doors,fronts etc from a supplier.
Im thinking the lower doors, cornice,pelmet etc in teal, the upper doors in white. Seen some contrasting kitchens and it looks nice and modern and goes well with the oak counter top.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I have a full set myself, I don't use it much but the few times I have it is has paid for itself.

Just be mindful of the limitations is all. They work up to 650mm in width whereas some of the alternatives go that little bit wider. Not usually a problem in my work but can be a show stopper for some.

If you have both the parallel guides (FS-PA - 495717) and the Guide extension (FS-PA-VL - 495718) there is a little modification that allows you to extend them to about 950mm it isn’t difficult to construct and will only take about 30 minutes or so.

there is also a “key” addition that helps. In a past life I worked for the RAC so have a number of extra phone box keys. These are perfect for the modification.

as you should know the guides must not be tight against the sheet you are cutting so the key addition is useful

this is the modification

I bought my set 13 or so years ago and the modifications are on the FOG.
Key addition here

I used them recently for my kitchen cabinets

underbed draw sides

115 pieces for the drawers

and probably about 20 more pieces of this unit

The bottom line is that of course all the parts could have been cut to size in different ways, but it would have been impossible to do it as fast and accurately without a monster size table saw with a sliding table.
The parallel guides made mistakes difficult to achieve (I did manage a couple) but not in cutting to width. I would not have attempted anything remotely similar without them.

Oh I forgot I also made another 12 drawers for the kitchen with them.

Expensive? Yes. Value for money? It depends on the woodworking you do. For me, no question.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

For the job in mind- kitchen doors, im not intending on using those stops. just the parallel sides, snug to the edges.

DO NOT DO THAT the guides are parallel, not right angle. I made that mistake about 13 years ago and could not understand why I was not getting parallel pieces. The stops and a loose fit can guarantee parallel cuts with just a second of setup. Without the stops and with a tight fit they are virtually redundant.

 

[scholar]

I think the various comments, particularly from @sometimewoodworker above all support my original comment that these guides are unbeatable in doing repeat cuts on large boards.

One reason I have not used my set as much as I might have done is that with the (relatively few) jobs I have done needing to break down many large boards, I have used a cutting service - you get your boards all beautifully cut and labelled up plus all the offcuts and I’m not sure the cost is any more than buying the boards full size.

Cheers

 

[Distinterior]

One reason I have not used my set as much as I might have done is that with the (relatively few) jobs I have done needing to break down many large boards, I have used a cutting service - you get your boards all beautifully cut and labelled up plus all the offcuts and I’m not sure the cost is any more than buying the boards full size.

I suppose it depends on how much you are paying to have all your panels cut, machined & edged, compared with just buying the full sized boards.
Obviously, there is a cost implication if you are breaking down your own sheets and applying the edging.....