Thread: Guide rail square

Thanks for the link and information on this product - this looks excellent!

Looks good. Any chance of checking it on a Makita track?

Thank you for this.
Most impressed, until I saw the price. But still worth considering. Perhaps if that was in Aus $ rather than US $ I might be more interested.

Works just as well on the Makita track.

Very simple concept that is well executed by CNC.

Thanks for the info triton. Looks like a good bit of gear to have.

I have the festool protractor and am yet to find an occasion where it is useful.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This would nearly make me buy a Festool track saw. I have used one and can get it any time I like except the squaring it up is a huge PIA and it's not worth even borrowing it. I can see a lot being made now the concept is out there to be seen unfortunately for the manufacturer.

Woodpecker have been doing a square for the guide rail for a while. I haven't tried one of these, however looking at reviews comparing the two, seems the blue one is easier to use as it requires no calibration.

There is a youtube video of a guy making his own, using a CNC router.

Having used the Festool combination bevel for trimming off rafters, I am a fan of that accessory for angled cuts. As 90 degree cuts are by far the most common in woodworking, using a guide that can be easily knocked out of square, or needs constant checking may not be the best for this application. This is what appealed to me about the TSO offering.

What other after market products are out there like this one?

Steve

Hello Steve,

Have you had a chance to give the TSO guide rail square a good work out yet?

The May-June Festool campaign is so uninspiring I think I'll look at third party products. I mean 'uninspiring' unless you need a free sys 1 systainer whilst paying full price for a tool that you probably already have

campaign summary:

circular saw in different combos + sys1
dust collector + sys 1
cordless tool + sys 1
various drills + sys 1
sanders + sys 1

Looks like someone at HQ ordered too many sys 1 boxes.

Regards,

Brendan

Brendan,

Yep, the TSO square performs as advertised. If anything, takes less than the stated 5 seconds to attach.

We have some heavy commercial Festool clients who have all thought the concept and execution were brilliant. When working on the larger sheet goods, or benches with bull nose edges, one of them thought the rear square would also be a worthy investment.

Thinking about the best test for squareness, I could start with a large squarish sheet and by rotating the sheet clockwise after trimming each edge off, go around as many times as possible. Theory being that any errors would compound as you went. That way, given the number of repeat cuts, should be able to calculate the angle of error, if any.

My gut feel is that though an error may eventually appear, it would be too small to be material. If nothing else, may be interesting for setting a benchmark.

Will have to keep an eye out for a 1200 x 1200 sheet that I am happy to sacrifice.

Steve

Great accessory for the guide rail, Fast too set up with good results,

its not badly priced either, well next to the rest of the festool accessories and you can get a sys trainer insert as well.

Shame its blue, would look good in festool green, i can see knock offs happening soon.