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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