Thread: Festool tracks

or you could buy an FS 800/2 for $130 and a couple of FSV connectors for about $60 (total $190) then you would have a 1400 track and an 800 track, together 2200mm in length. All compatible with your Festool clamps and tools.

Or you could try Metabo's rails & accessories (connectors, clamps etc.) instead. They're exactly the same as Fusstool's except for the colour highlights. I presume they're all coming from the same third-party factories. Same precise extrusions, same clamps, same connectors, but in different corporate livery, and obviously at saner pricing.

Some time ago I needed some extra capacity also & found a good deal on a Metabo 1500mm rail, bag & connector package for about $200 or so I think. I wasn't actually aware of the exact prices at the time of the order. Sometimes you just need something quickly & the price is irrelevant. The rail was around $150 or so, the connectors $30 approx. & they didn't deliver the bag. A quick call to customer service had one sent in an overnight bag gratis, so I suppose it was a bit of a bonus: i.e. I ordered but wasn't actually charged for the bag. So I only ended up paying some $180 or so for the lot.

It was roughly half what I'd have been charged by the Price Nazis. It's great to see some competitive compatibility for a change. Great deal, great service: I was well chuffed.

Originally Posted by Handyjack

or you could buy an FS 800/2 for $130 and a couple of FSV connectors for about $60 (total $190) then you would have a 1400 track and an 800 track, together 2200mm in length. All compatible with your Festool clamps and tools.

Do the old and new style guide rails join OK? Mine only has provision for one joiner whereas the new ones have two. I've also read that even when joining the new style ones together there can be problems with guide jamming at the join.

Originally Posted by Ratbag

Or you could try Metabo's rails & accessories (connectors, clamps etc.) instead.

I have a lot of Metabo tools and I love them. Pity they only make a 1500mm rail. How effectively do the rails join?

Certainly not as well as the Mafell/Bosch FSN system.

Their use of a single accurately machined dovetailed wedge, stored permanently on the rail is a lesson in simplicity, speed & accuracy. Such are the advantages of later generation design & manufacture I suppose.

The Fusstool/Metabo system has a bit of olde worlde crudity about it. It's slow to fit, loose until fully tightened, and the grub screws can be easily lost, rendering the whole kit instantly useless: store it on the rail under tension as Mafell & Bosch do however & this problem cannot arise.

This "looseness" can render the interface between rails out of truth too. A quick visual check is usually necessary to ensure ultimate straightness. The closer tolerances and fine dovetailed machining of the FSN joining wedge virtually eliminates inaccuracy. The clip-on clip-off FSN end protectors also help prevent transport damage to the extrusions which compromises straight joining. A protective rail bag is a must for portable setups. I've had to gently file out end damage to one of my rails' corners. Remember it's only fairly soft aluminium.

Mafell's saws fit so closely and tightly to their rails that some short-length rails can be semi-permanently attached to the saws to make a super-accurate super-straight retractable beveller for architraves and other second-fix carpentry. The only time it can be removed from these short rails is when they're unclipped, virtually eliminating the "third hand" otherwise required. Capacity is limited to about 400mm or so of x-cut, which is better than any other sliding compound saw short of a Radial Arm.

In fairness to Fusstool their system is getting on a bit now, so of course it isn't as good as more contemporary designs. It's still a helluva lot more accurate than just a guide fence!

Hi, I can't say difinitively, but highly unlikely they are compatible.
I dont own a track with my Festool saw but made two home-made versions with plywood for the base and a strip of hardwood that fits in the groove on the sawbase that is pinned and glued to the plywood.
They work very well so have never bothered to buy a Festool one.
This is certainly a good option if your budget is tight and they can be made for around $10

Originally Posted by IPR

Hi guy's

Just wondering if anybody knows, are the Makita tracks and Festool tracks similar
I would like to get a TS55R but have to save my penny's, but in the mean time I was wondering if the Festool parallel guide could be used with the Makita track system.
I know it a long shot but one can hope?

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Originally Posted by Ratbag

They're exactly the same as Fusstool's except for the colour highlights.

I couldn't possibly. Gotta have matching colours.

FWIW I've just ordered one of these jigs for connecting GRs to be straight. There's a couple of vids at the bottom of the page, but the short story is that it is clamped over the top of both rails (about 250mm overlap on each rail), and then the GR connectors are tightened up and the jig removed. In the vid he demonstrates a long cut with using them verses not using them. The cut without the positioner has a reasonable bow in it (about 10-15mm IIRC) whilst the other one is straight.

I know, I know, another $125 gone, but at least the freight won't cost much (got a box filling up in CA).

EDIT: Actually, I've just cancelled the order - that blue will look just awful against the lime green.

Just to reiterate the point I raised above:

Originally Posted by jack620

I've also read that even when joining the new style ones together there can be problems with guide jamming at the join.

So, regardless of how straight the join between two rails is, the tolerances on the width of the raised "bump" in the rails can mean the guide will be a good fit on one rail but jam on the other.

I.e. two rails is a poor substitute for a single rail of the length you need. Yes? No?

I haven't had any problems with raised parts causing a jam. Can't even say I've felt a little "click" as the saw passes over it. Might be different if the end of the rail was damaged, but as Ratty said, nothing a file won't fix in perhaps two swipes. The way the connector works means that by default they are co-planer.

Thanks FF. I still have the issue of joining the old style rail with one slot to the new rail with two slots. Sure, I could just use one connector bar, but that seems like a flimsy setup.

The rail in this eBay link is what I have (it's branded Festo not Festool): http://www.ebay.com/itm/FESTOOL-Guid...-/271765045677

I reckon I'll just buy the Makita. Thanks for all the feedback.

Originally Posted by jack620

Just to reiterate the point I raised above:



So, regardless of how straight the join between two rails is, the tolerances on the width of the raised "bump" in the rails can mean the guide will be a good fit on one rail but jam on the other.

I.e. two rails is a poor substitute for a single rail of the length you need. Yes? No?

Yes. True for the Festo/Metabo system. The "looseness" of the connectors in the slots means that they may not necessarily tighten straight and/or coplanar. A single length guide rail will be superior.

No. Untrue for the Mafell/Bosch FSN system. Despite utilising a single connector only per joint, the fine tolerances/clearances and the dovetailed nature of both the extrusion and connector make for a much more accurate joint operationally indistinguishable from that of a single long guide rail.

Originally Posted by jack620

Do the old and new style guide rails join OK? Mine only has provision for one joiner whereas the new ones have two. I've also read that even when joining the new style ones together there can be problems with guide jamming at the join.

As far as I am aware the old and new style guide rails are compatible, the only thing is you can only use one joiner which may affect accuracy.
I regularly join two rails together (eg trim down door) and have no problems at the join.
Yes a single piece rail would be more convenient but I also need to consider storage (ceiling in workshop is only about 1800mm high), transport in vehicle and like you cost $.

Thanks Gents. I reckon I might take my old FS1400 rail and router guide to Carbatec and try joining it to a new 1400mm rail. If it joins OK and the guide slides over the joint smoothly, that would give me 2800mm at a similar cost to the Makita 1900mm rail. And the $30 I save on postage will nearly cover the cost of the joiners.