Festool track

[Southwood]

Getting ready to pick up a TS55 to complete my Festool collection. Question I have is about the track. I want to be able to cut full length sheet goods. Has anyone ever bought another 55" guide rail and use the connectors to get the longer length. Do the connectors make a good straight piece out of the two?  

[Cliff]

I literally have been meaning to ask the same question about the Makita tracks. 

I hear both sides of the story from different sites online. 

[anodyne]

Before I got the FS2700 I would join my 1400 and 1900 together to cut full sheets. You can make nice cuts, the setup to make sure the rails are aligned just takes longer. If you go this route I'd get the 1900 as the second rail so you have a little more room for your start and end cut. Also, check out the Betterly guide for alignment, which aligns the rails so much easier than a long straightedge. The Makita guide rail connectors are better than the festool ones (can be found on Amazon).

Also, another tip I wish o knew about when getting the saw. Have your dealer swap out the regular 55" rail for he 55" lr32 hole rail, and pay the difference. That way if you get a festool router in the future you are part way to using the LR32 system already (cheaper route).

http://www.festoolproducts.com/Betterley-SLC23-StraightLine-Connector-for-Guide-R-p/slc23.htm

[Tom Cancelleri]

You can span the two rails being joined with the track saw and it will line it up. 

[Just Bob]

For me it is easier to store 2 shorter tracks so I went with 1400 and the 1900.  Those will give about 10'.  It also lets you do cross or angled cuts using a shorter track.

[wdwerker]

I have the 6' and the 10' tracks. I have joined them and made glue line quality rips in 5/4 oak that were 14' long. I will look into that Betterly jig, lining them up with a straightedge does take some fiddling to get it right.

[Southwood]

1 hour ago, Just Bob said:

For me it is easier to store 2 shorter tracks so I went with 1400 and the 1900.  Those will give about 10'.  It also lets you do cross or angled cuts using a shorter track.

Yea that is why I want to do 2 track, just so I can store them easier. 

 

Lots of good replies thanks folks 

[Dave]

I bought the long 10' and the 5' tracks so I could cut plywood in either direction without splicing the tracks.  I was sure that if I spliced the tracks for a long cut that at some point i was going to make a cut or series of cuts with the tracks out of alignment.  For storage i just put it up on the top of the wood rack. 

[kbj]

I have a couple of 5' and a 10'. I prefer the 10' as it's less time consuming and fiddly to get straight cuts, but I also don't like transporting the 10' track as I worry about it getting damaged in transport. So when working on a site I just bring the short tracks and join them using a 6' level to ensure straightness.  It's just more time consuming.  So to answer your question, you can certainly get away with shorter tracks and join them.   I have Makita tracks, but I've heard many Festool guys prefer the Makita rail joining kit to the Festool version as the set screws don't dig into the track.