Anybody using the festool parallel guides?

[No skills]

As the title really, anybody brought them and found them very handy or vise versa?

I know theres cheaper ways of doing it but keep looking at them and wondering. Apart from the ripping use I'd be using for laying out the track for repetitive routing and hole drilling jobs (ie forth coming kitchen cabs and various other units that need building).

Any thoughts from the collective?


8) 8)

 

[Wuffles]

Do you mean the standard guide rails for use with the tools or something more specific?

 

[No skills]

No the parallel guides that can be fitted to the guide rails, such as..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7D0yrZY8vU

 

[Wuffles]

Roger that, and no. Will watch this thread with interest.

I personally use dogs and that's about it. Have a custom made MFT top which does the job admirably.

Axminster will soon be selling the Parf Dogs from Peter Parfitt's design, they'll help greatly I believe - using the non-festool parts method anyway.

 

[No skills]

That's interesting to know, my own diy mft top is on its way.

 

[Wuffles]

I got one CNCd locally out of an 8x4 sheet. And had them make me a template out of half sheet with 30mm holes for the guide bush to drop into allowing a plunge of 20mm holes into any surface I care to destroy. Cost me £100 all in.

 

[chippy1970]

I had the parallel full set for a couple of years and used them once. I just didn't do enough repetitive work to use them. Too much messing about for me

 

[flounder]

I bought the guides when I bought the saw 18 months ago thinking they would be handy, but have yet to use them!

 

[Steve Maskery]

I have a setting gauge which does the same job quickly and accurately. There will be photo of it in a forthcoming BW, I believe, but if you have my DVDs, blow the dust off WE1, it's the very first jig I filmed.
I also have another version for use when the piece I want to cut off is outboard of the track rather than underneath it. That was published in BW a couple of years ago.
Mine's about £125 cheaper than Festool.

 

[Kieran62]

I've got the guides and the extensions.
The parallel guides have been very helpful in ripping lots of repetitive cuts; I find the extensions too fiddly and haven't had consistent results results with them.
Tomorrow I've got route the holes for euro hinges on six custom doors, so I'm going to try Brice Burrell's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYCBVlrXo08) technique of using the guides with the LR32 system to speed up the process, I'll let you know how I get on
Kieran

 

[No skills]

Thanks for the replys so far

Kieran, please let us know how you get on - I saw that video last week some time, seems to make sense combining the lr 32 with the guides.

I did start collecting bits to make my own guides but have kinda stalled out with it - too many jobs not enough me's.

Steve

No DVD's yet, have to see whats in the xmas stocking :ho2

Hmm, still under consideration.

 

[No skills]

Wuffles

The template sounds handy, hope you don't go hole crazy


Chippy

Do you get a lot of your sheet stuff prepared by your supplier? - hence no use for the guides, just wondering?!

 

[chippy1970]

Wuffles

The template sounds handy, hope you don't go hole crazy


Chippy

Do you get a lot of your sheet stuff prepared by your supplier? - hence no use for the guides, just wondering?!

Yeah I do now, its not worth the hassle in my small shop. Its easier to get everything cut and edged and I just have to domino it all together.

I use Cutwrights , they have an online cut list , very easy to do.

I still cut my own stuff for small jobs but never used the guides, so ended up selling them to a member here and getting my money back

 

[Kieran62]

Evening,
Bit of a trying day
Thought I'd have an easy day routing the hinges with the parallel guides, no such luck.
This is a favour job, so I should have known I was going to be annoyed.
I was asked to match the hinge spacing for some existing units (some Magnet, some unknown) for new doors from http://www.solidwoodkitchencabinets.co.uk.
The LR32 rails work on the assumption that you're cabinets and doors are multiples of 32mm, neither the cabinets or doors were and to compound matters the new doors are shorter than existing ones by either 4mm Magnet or 5mm for the unknown make.
Well I spent about three hours fannying on with spacers and different combinations of offsets, then got sick and just used combination squares to layout the lines and the router fence to set the distance from the edge.
Took me all of half an hour to finish all six doors and tidy the workshop
I am going to build some new workshop cabinets soon, based on the true 32 system using the guides and the holey rail, I'll post a wip of the project.

Kieran

 

[No skills]

Sounds like a pain in the neck :shock: I think that's the company that think all of your kitchen should look like worktop offcuts.

Obviously the germans haven't informed everybody on the correct cabinet sizes yet

I have similar designs for the guides and lr32 rail if I get them, have a practice on some cabinets for the garage and work up to stuff for the house.

Thanks for posting.

 

[No skills]

Right o folks, going to diy some parallel guides - found the couple of pieces of ally that had disappeared into the household vortex, just need a way of fixing them to the rail and somewhere that sells a good self adhesive measuring tape.

I'll buy a lr32 rail and the gizmo that rides it with funds saved.

 

[Steve Maskery]

Kreg do good self adhesive tapes. Brimarc
Used to distribute them, I'm not sure if they still do.