TS 55, accuracy of rail squares

[pgrbff]

Although I have had a couple of lengths of elu track and the small elu "floorboard saw" since the 80's I rarely used it as accuracy and finish were never great.
I have just bought a TS55 and already have a couple of lengths of track. The finish on 1" ply was really quite good but I could have used an aid for making cuts perpendicular to my first cut.
I do have a combination bevel but I didn't find the repeatability good.
Would a rail square be good enough to also do the occasional rip cut on a full sheet of ply?
Does one really need a rail square and parallel guides?

 

[Spectric]

There is a LOT of info on these forums with regards to rail squares and parallel guides for tracksaws and some good video's by the likes of @petermillard so take a look. Quick answer is railsquare for shorter cross cuts and parallel guides for long cuts but the best all round solution is a sliding table saw which even if you want to spend that amount of cash many of us just do not have the space.

 

[pgrbff]

I have a table saw, but it's a Startrite and it no longer had its sliding table when I bought it, hence the track saw. I have watched quite a few videos on rail square and parallel guides but I thought I'd ask the question of people who use them daily. As I said, only occasional parallel or rip cut on sheets of ply or mdf.

 

[Spectric]

FC tools do a nice rail square and parallel guides as well as Benchdogs and also TSO products, they do work well but I think ideally you need both, one cuts parallel to a given face whilst the other cuts at 90° to a face so if you want to cut full sheets safely then you need to just buy them.

https://fctools.co.uk/product/fc-festool-rail-square/
https://benchdogs.co.uk/collections/rail-square

 

[MikeK]

I don't use my rail squares every day, but I do use them for crosscutting sheet goods when I don't have access to the saw or can't be bothered to maneuver a full sheet down the stairs. Buying from UK vendors might be a problem for you, but have a look at the Hooked on Wood video below. He evaluates several versions of rail squares from Banggood on his Festool rail. I don't know if they are compatible with the Elu rails, but for the difference in price from other sources, it might be cost effective to add a Festool track if you don't have one.

 

[pgrbff]

I don't use my rail squares every day, but I do use them for crosscutting sheet goods when I don't have access to the saw or can't be bothered to maneuver a full sheet down the stairs. Buying from UK vendors might be a problem for you, but have a look at the Hooked on Wood video below. He evaluates several versions of rail squares from Banggood on his Festool rail. I don't know if they are compatible with the Elu rails, but for the difference in price from other sources, it might be cost effective to add a Festool track if you don't have one.

I have a couple of 1400 Festool rails I have been using with my routers. I rarely buy from Banggood but my second, or third, order arrived yesterday, nothing to do with mft or guide rails. The quality was great for less than 30 euro but the jig has 4 screws and 3 were fully inserted, the 4th was only halfway in and cross-threaded so I'm not filled with confidence.
I like the look of the Benchdogs kit, and my wife will be going to the UK next month, but I don't like companies that don't reply to emails. The Festool square would be the easiest and most economical, but maybe not as useful in the long term?
I haven't heard of fctools so I'll definitely have a look.

 

[MikeK]

The Festool square would be the easiest and most economical, but maybe not as useful in the long term?

The Festool FS-WA/90 square is licensed from TSO Products. Aside from the finish, it is identical to the GRS-16PE and is £3 less expensive than the TSO version at Axminster.

 

[pgrbff]

Well I found some other similar threads so I guess having both rail square and parallel guides would be best.
I'm not sure how easy a question it is to answer but does the TSO/Festool option do as much with accessories as the Benchdogs FCtools versions?

 

[MikeK]

I'm not sure how easy a question it is to answer but does the TSO/Festool option do as much with accessories as the Benchdogs FCtools versions?

The only accessories for the TSO guides that I know of are the rails. Here is a photo of the GRS-16PE with the right 20-inch parallel guide and the TPG adapter with the left 20-inch parallel guidel. I don't mix them, but show both for comparison. Normally, I use a pair of the TPG adapters with the appropriate parallel guides when I'm cutting panels in the shop. If I used the GRS-16PE or the GRS-16 with any of the guide rails, I would leave a slight gap between the parallel guide and the board. The GRS-16(PE) would only be a holder for the parallel guides and would not be used to square up the board.

I put the long calibration rod on the left parallel guide. The rod fits under the Festool guide rail for narrow boards. The right parallel guide has the standard calibration rod.

 

[Spectric]

I haven't heard of fctools so I'll definitely have a look.

I have a few of their items and they are very well engineered, I have the Domino alignment jig and their LR32 system which I mostly use as a sled for my router and customer service from Frank is first class.

 

[pe2dave]

I have a couple of 1400 Festool rails I have been using with my routers. I rarely buy from Banggood but my second, or third, order arrived yesterday, nothing to do with mft or guide rails. The quality was great for less than 30 euro but the jig has 4 screws and 3 were fully inserted, the 4th was only halfway in and cross-threaded so I'm not filled with confidence.
I like the look of the Benchdogs kit, and my wife will be going to the UK next month, but I don't like companies that don't reply to emails. The Festool square would be the easiest and most economical, but maybe not as useful in the long term?
I haven't heard of fctools so I'll definitely have a look.

I've found Bangood to be good on returns, a cross threading should be fair reason for a replacement.