We have used the Festool Plunge Saw for
quite some time now and know that it cuts very square cuts.
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Recently, when we needed a cut at
an angle, we dialed it in and were pleasantly surprised that not only did we
get the degrees we wanted, but the cut was on the line right next to the
guide rail — the same as with perfect 90o cuts. That was
helpful when cutting the sides and roof elements of the bookcase/dollhouse
we made for my granddaughter.
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I was very pleased with how well the saw
worked with a tilt angle. It hugged the guide rail very well making the cut
easy. After that, my curiosity got the better of me. Can the saw be set
to 45o and then cut four sides of a column and have the corners
meet? To me, that is always the test of 45o miter cuts. The
first three corners can always look good. The question is "will the
4th corner meet as well?"
Beth makes a 45o cut, and it measures well, but only the
4th corner test is valid to me — so that is what we will do.
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On the Festool MFT, the guide rail is
hinged at the back edge and is held securely with the adjustable stop on the
front rail. Beth raises the front rail stop so that the tab (arrow) will fit
into the guide rail groove when seated. This adjustment at the front and the
rear allows the guide rails to be changed to meet different thicknesses of
wood to be cut.
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We learned in making some practice
cuts that with the saw at 45o, full tilt, that there is some
"lifting of the base plate. To make the cuts, Beth positions her left hand
on the base plate just above the groove and then makes the cut keeping both
hands pressing down on the saw and guide rail.
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With this method, the cuts were
made smoothly and the cut line was absolutely straight.
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When setting up to cut the second side
on the four pieces, Beth turned the workpiece around so that the fresh cut
side is at point "1". She is putting a backer in place to keep the piece to
be cut positioned correctly. The next cut will be made at point "2".
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With each board, Beth didn't need to
measure. They were cut to width the first cut. Now they just needed the
second side cut at 45o. The stop block she set positioned the
board so that the width of one cut (1/8") is exposed.
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With each of the boards cut, Beth lays
them out side by side and uses packing tape to serve as temporary hinges.
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For being held together with tape,
the four corners look very good. The 45 degree cuts are as good as we would
get with the table saw.
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Beth shows off her square column — it is
that. It also proved to us that the Festool plunge saw and Multi Function
Table (MFT) are very suitable for precision cuts. We knew that this was the
case for 90 degree cuts. Now we know it for 45o cuts. That will
be important to know when we start making larger pieces — like an
entertainment center.
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