Thread: What size guide rails to get?

the 1400 should come with the saw it is a must, we also have a couple of 3mts.

the 2400 rail is to short to cut 2400 sheets.

yes you can use joiners but is a little slow and times money for us.

I got a 2700 rail for cutting 2400 sheets, sure beats joining to 1400 rails together when I need to long cuts and pull em apart for short cuts.

Also have an 800 that came with my OF1010 that I have attached to my angle accessory for squaring up panels.

I'd recommend just getting the 2700 on top of the 1400 that comes with the saw, only 2 rails that I myself use 90% of the time for breaking down 8' x 4' sheets.

It depends on how often you will break down large sheet goods. I purchased another 1400 rail with my TS55 and join them together for long rips. Very accurate. The joining takes only about 2 minutes or less.

If you are a production shop (I'm only a hobbyist) you should go the longer single rail to save time.

Thanks for the info. I am only a hobbyist so, whilst the longer rail would be neat and save time, I guess I'll go for the 1400 x 2. At least for now. Kordes, what is the gizmo for angle cutting like? is it worth it? Accuracy I have heard is not it's strong point?

Out of the box its near useless, but I have adapted it to work perfectly for getting square panels.
Check it out here http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=4641.0
I also contact glued some 180G sandpaper onto the plastic washer and used a builders square to set it at 90 degrees, I constantly check to make sure it hasnt gone out off square, but so far its held 90 degrees since I modified it.

I'm a professional cabinet maker at work, but Im a hobbyist at home (where I use all my Festool toys). After cutting down a few sheets and constantly going from long cuts to short cuts, having to join and un-join two rails got to be a PITA real fast and decided to get a 2700mm rail. Made my life a hell of alot easier.

Hotchips

The current going deal is a TS55 + 1400 rail + rail bag for approx $950
there is also a deal with free joiners when you buy a rail. A big saving on buying separately.

hi, i am a carpenter, i bought TS-55 with 1400 rail and bought another 1400 rail. i have OF1010 router which comes with 800 rail.

when i am ripping sheets on site, i cut all the long rips first with the 2x1400 rails joined together.
then i simply take them apart and use either 1 1400 or the 800 rail for the crosscuts.

if you are a hobbyist i would not recommend the 2700 rail, at RRP$545.00, thats far too much money to spend, i would recommend you buy an extra 1400 rail.
when a new job comes up for me that requires a lot of 2.4metre sheets, i will obviously run straight to festool shop and buy a bigger rail. until then i am happy to use 2x1400 rails.

regards, justin.

Yeah most of my work with the TS55 is cutting down 2400 x 1200 sheets. Use 2 x joiner between my 1400 rails (even tho in a pinch I have used only one joiner).

With one joiner I put a straight edge along the rail. Opposite to the saw of course! I Found that there is a bit of movement with only one in place.

Joining rails is a bit of mucking around yes, but as I dont use it daily and must consider having to cart them around in the back of the ute. Imagine the bag/box I would have to make to protect a 2700 + rail!!! Made a large padded (pencil case) with a centre divider to protect my 2 x 1400 rails in transit.

I usually have to crosscut 200 mm off the sheet, so I do this first. Gives me heaps of room at each end of the sheet for the long rips.

Buy the Makita 3m rail, it's much cheaper than the Festool rail. They are 99% compatible.

On another forum it was suggested not to buy two of the same size rail as you increase versitility with two different sizes. For sheet goods this would suggest the second rail be longer than 1400.

I am not convinced this is a logical way to go given the cost and also rails longer than 1400 are not going to fit into the Festool designed carry bag.

Originally Posted by mat

On another forum it was suggested not to buy two of the same size rail as you increase versitility with two different sizes. For sheet goods this would suggest the second rail be longer than 1400.

I am not convinced this is a logical way to go given the cost and also rails longer than 1400 are not going to fit into the Festool designed carry bag.

To be super versatile, I would agree with the conclusion of the other forum. But in reality, two 1400's solve most issues. And economically hard to argue against two 1400's.

And as you say, if you are mobile the guide rail bag is very handy for two 1400's but won't fit anything longer - and having a 1900 hanging out the end defeats the purpose of the bag.

I have found two 1400's and one 800 serve all my needs.

Regards,

Rob

i was using my T55 to strighten some lengths last night i joined two 3mts together.

that was one long cut.

Buy the Makita 3m rail, it's much cheaper than the Festool rail. They are 99% compatible

jakiiski do you have the Makita rail? I'm asking cause am looking into doing just that for the workshop.