Say hello to Bob Marino, woodworker and Independent
Sales Agent for Festool Products. He is well known on the Internet as
ROBARLMAR@aol.com. He had read of my
method of using the Festool plunge saw and guide rail system that I used for
"jointing" long boards. He asked to stop by and bring two boards I could
demonstrate on.
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He places them side by side on my
worktable. They aren't that bad — maybe a 1/2" distance between them at two
points of the 8 ft. length. Add to that the bad section on the one board, it
is a good set to demonstrate the method on.
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He lays the long guide rail on one of the
two pieces and exposes as much as necessary to cut the entire length.
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Bob uses the Festool plunge saw to make
the first cut.
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Bob picks up the off cut. When you
have a piece that is thin in part but is whole the entire length, it is a
good rip. It is as straight as the guide rail is and Festool guide rails are
straight!
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When he sets the guide rail in
place on the 2nd board, he sets it back far enough to remove this rotten
section of the board.
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And makes the cut.
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Here is the wider off-cut. In normal
jointing, this section probably would have been made at the table saw — a
task that can be difficult if the edge is rough. Or it could be made by a
number of passes over the jointer. Or it can be made it one rip cut with the
Festool system.
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Bob puts the two new edges together and
says "this joint is pretty good — good enough for glue-up." I respond that
we have trimmed the boards nicely, but "edge jointing" comes next.
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Bob puts a 2 1/2" screw through a
drilled hole in both ends of the right-hand board. This will keep it from
moving away from the other board.
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He disconnects
the vacuum hose from the plunge saw and uses it to vacuum any dust or
splinters that would get in the way of the two boards. With the area clean,
he brings the loose board over to the one that is screwed down and places
the guide rail and clamps so that the saw blade can cut both pieces at
one time. This is key — the kerf of the blade must remove a
little from each of the boards. In that the guide rail is exactly aligned
with the saw, placing the rail to bi-sect the kerf is easier than it may
sound.
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Bob makes this
"jointing" cut.
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With the "edge jointing" rip cut made, Bob inspects
closely the edges. They are tight the entire 8 ft. length as they should be.
It is a very workable method. If you think about it, it would take quite a long
bed jointer and skill to be able to handle the 8 ft. length the usual way.
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