Trimming Festool rail splinter guard strip

[pooka]

I recently bought myself a Festool TS55 and finally got to use it today. I bought it with an extra 1400mm rail, and one of the first things I did was to trim the splinter guard strip on both rails.

Initially I thought it had gone well, but I noticed afterwards that the strips are not evenly cut on either rail - I somehow managed to trim more off the starting end of the strip in both cases so that there is more strip remaining at the far end of the rail. With one rail the difference is marginal, but with the other rail there is a difference of about 1mm - it isn't a gradual change of width from one end to the other, the bulk of the difference occurs within the first 20cm or so of the rail.

Both rails still cut splinter free, but obviously lining up the rails against a cut mark is now problematic for the worse of the two rails. I have a spare strip which I could use to replace the worse of the two strips, but I don't want to do that until I figure out how I screwed this up in the first place. Has anyone else had this happen, and if so do you know the cause?

I trimmed the strip on each rail separately, on the lowest speed setting. The strip was overhanging an edge, and I started with a plunge cut into the near end. I suspect it was the plunge cut that caused the problem, but I'm not sure why - maybe I should have supported the cut underneath?

The saw works well though, despite my apparent efforts to scupper it!

 

[pooka]

Forgot to mention that I adjusted the saw on the guide rail, to eliminate any side-to-side play, before making the cuts so I don't believe that the saw itself moved sideways during the cut of the splinter guard strips.

 

[ByronBlack]

Hi Pooka, I've had something similar but not exactly the same, mine has a kind of rough cut along the strip but it's even so it's easy to line up the cut, my first thoughts was the plunging - when I did mine, I cut into a scap piece of wood and drew the saw back as far back as possible to avoid having to plunge. What blade do you have installed the saw?

 

[manso]

If the saw is really snug on the raised profile of the guiderail, then perhaps that profile is not parallel to the edge of the guide rail?Incidentally, by really snug I mean that the cams underneath the saw baseplate are tightened so that there is some grab, but by using a dry lubricant on the guiderail the saw slides easily.
You do need to use your spare strip, the adhesive used is non-setting so you can either move the existing strip over, or reverse it so that the current cut edge is under the rail.
FWIW these comments are based on a two-year-old version of the equipment.
Regards

 

[pooka]

Thanks for the responses.

ByronBlack, I have the standard (?) 48-tooth blade that the saw came with (no. 491952) installed in the saw. I checked both strips again this evening, having used the saw once more today, and in both cases the worst of the excessive cutting of the strip falls where the saw sat for the plunge cut. Although I still don't understand why it happened, the plunging does seem the most likely explanation for the problem alright.

Out of interest, I held a straight edge to each strip, and there are several points along each one where the strip has an extra little bit nibbled out so there is a slightly wavy pattern to the edge. The only causes that I can think of for this (bent blade, saw fitting loosely on the rail, motor arbor bent) should all cause poor cuts in wood too but all of my cuts so far have been perfect so it looks like there is nothing wrong with the saw+rails.

manso, Thanks for the tip re re-using the same strip, I will give that a go. As regards the saw profile not being parallel to the guide edge, I initially wondered about something like that but apart from the first part of the edge (about 10cm or so) being cut at a slight angle, the rest of the strip seems parallel to the saw profile (although with a slight wavy pattern to the strip).

One possibility that occurs to me is that maybe there is some sideways play to the plunge action on the saw. I haven't been conscious of any such play when using the saw, but I'll check it to be sure.

 

[Loz_S]

...snip...
I trimmed the strip on each rail separately, on the lowest speed setting. The strip was overhanging an edge, and I started with a plunge cut into the near end. I suspect it was the plunge cut that caused the problem, but I'm not sure why - maybe I should have supported the cut underneath?

The saw works well though, despite my apparent efforts to scupper it!

I've never had any problems trimming my Festool guides and the reason you have a wavy edge you have already answered yourself!

Set the depth of cut stop to 2 or 3 mm deeper than the guide rail thickness.
Place the guide rail on a flat piece of scrap, plunge cut through the strip and into the scrap and trim the full length in one smooth pass.
Slowest speed setting is not necessarily needed.
I think you have got a wobbly edge because the rubber has flexed when you plunged through it as it wasn't supported.

Also, make sure the saw is properly seated on the guide rail, push down relatively hard when pushing it along.

 

[pooka]

I think you have got a wobbly edge because the rubber has flexed when you plunged through it as it wasn't supported.

This would certainly explain the gouging at the start of the strip, but the wobbly edge that I mentioned earlier occurs at various points along the length of the rail even though the saw was fully plunged for the majority of the length of the strip.

The wobbly effect is very subtle, mind you (I didn't notice it until I put a straight edge against the strip) so it isn't an issue as such, but I'd like to understand how it happened if it is not something that others have experienced. I might have to write this off as bad luck or carelessness on my part though.

When I next trim the strips (after I move them over a bit on the rails), I'll certainly support the full length of the rail and I expect this will eliminate the problem. Festool should probably amend their instructions to recommend the use of a support.