FESTOOL Precision Guide Rail And Track System

If you have a Festool circular saw, you’ll want the guide rail. The question is which one.

The standard rails come in eight different lengths, from 32″ to 197″. Festool MFT tables come with either a 32″ or 42″ rail (depending on which table you buy). Therefore a lot of people have the shorter rails from the get go. For longer cuts, you can join shorter rails using a pair of connectors. You can also get a longer rail. A long rail will give you smoother cuts, and everyone seems to like being about to throw a piece of scrap down on a couple of saw horses, put a long board on top of that, lay out the cuts and have one long rail to accurately and precisely guide the cutting. When you place your circular saw on the guide rail, the guide rib on the rail engages the guide slot on the tool, so you get a perfect cut. You get a lot more stability and precision moving a saw on a guide rail than trying to move a large board over a small contractor’s saw.

The really cool part of the Festool guide rail system is that, unlike clamping a bit of scrap as a rail, the Festool guide rails have a channel running underneath for sliding clamps that will clamp anywhere along the length of the rail, without getting in the way. Festool circular saws fit on the rails with no problem, and the rails have a replaceable anti-splinter tape on the edge for cleaner cuts. You can also adjust the saws for minimum play. Not only are the saws usable with the rails, but you can get very, very good cuts with a Festool jigsaw using an attachment to attach the saw to the rails.

Festool routers also work with the rails for dados and rabbits, with stops available to precisely locate your cuts. Two rails (the LS line) are specially designed with holes for using a router, with some additional attachments for drilling regular holes for all sorts of 32mm joinery. We suggest that before you automatically assume that you need the longest rail with the holes for doing shelf pin holes, consider if you need a giant run of holes or if there are breaks in the hole pattern for a fixed shelf. If that’s the case, the shorter rail will be less expensive and a lot easier to handle.

Festool also offers two lengths of rail in the KP line that have a special adhesive pad to secure the rails on a range of surfaces, including floors and walls. You’ll be able to work vertically with ease and precision.

Festool offers many accessories – connectors, clamps, guides, etc. that work in tandem with the rails – to help you get the most of this system. These products are sold separately.