Procedure:  Making Square and Exact Panel Cuts.

The picture at the right is taken from the DVD that Gail and I have been working on.  The subject is using the Festool system to make cabinets. We are using the "Festool Only shop" — in other words, for this video, Gail and I cannot use the table saw, the CMS or any other tool in the shop  other than the  Festool setup. It is working very well.    The one problem we have, is not a problem so much as a hindrance. Gail is measuring and marking three positions for every cut. Then she lines up the guide rail and makes the cut.
	But her mark three times and cut method works. The cabinet went together smoothly and it is square and to the right size.  BUT, as I watched Gail do this, I thought "there must be a better way."    Gail was extra cautious and her eyes are very sharp.  There are times when no matter how careful I try to be, the guide rail is off the mark slightly. That is like the table saw's fence not being carefully aligned.
When we cut these panels, we want to do two separate operations.  The first is to rip the panel to length with the sides parallel to each other. These cuts are the equivalent of cutting the panel on the table saw using the fence as the guide.    The second series of cuts, is the cross cut and these cuts should be perpendicular to the rip cuts. If we were using the table saw, these cuts would be made using a sliding table or a panel cutter — just like the Incra 5000 sled that we have used many times.    Parallel rip cuts and square cross cuts. That is what we want. When cutting the panel then, we need to do more than just make our three measurements. We also need to check for square.    Beth is holding one of a number of squares available to us. The small ones are too small to guide our larger cuts. The larger orange drafting square is a handy size as are the framing squares.
	I am happy to report that Festool came out with a new accessory that promises to answer half of our needs — the perpendicular problem. Beth displays the Festool Angle Unit FS-KS. It is "spiffy." It is a nicely engineered item that looks like it will help us out with our problem — square cuts made easy.
The angle unit fits into the new top groove of the guide rail. The arrows point out the three locations where special pins fit into the guide rail. The center one also has an adjustable screw so that it can be made to really fit in the track.
	When you are ready to set up the next cut, you simply move the angle unit and guide rail so that the lip of the angle unit (arrow) is firmly against the bottom edge of the panel to be cut.
Beth checks the new setup to see if in fact it is perpendicular. The large engineer's square says that it is right on, so we are ready to make the  first test cut.
	And, make the cut she does. The guide rail and angle unit keep a firm grip on the workpiece as Beth makes the cut.
With the cut made, Beth can't wait to check the new edge — it is as square as one can have. The new Festool Angle Unit is a welcomed accessory. It alone will save a lot of time and wasted material.
	If there was a problem with the new Angle Unit it was that it comes off and on the guide rail easily. I am sure that is a feature for some, but I wanted it to be fastened to the guide rail so that the whole assembly, guide rail and angle unit,  could be used as one — for a series of such cuts.    So I drilled a hole in the precious accessory — one that will accept a small T-track nut and bolt. I used my trusty new Festool TDK 15.6 drill. It did a fine job. You can see my center punch and smaller drills that I used leading up to the larger drill. The T-nut is a 5/16" bolt and I made the hole a bit larger to allow for a bit of "slop."