New Tool Review - "Festool Circular Saw - add the Table — some corrections"

   This was the picture from the last page and it was wrong. You can see that the guide is close to the edge leaving no room for the waste to drop off.

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    I said that we were using the illustrations for our guide, but we sure missed this one. My red arrow points to the space that Festool suggests. The company was nice to suggest that there may be some applications where you would want the guide close to the edge, but that most users would be served best by insetting the guide as shown.

  I start to make the change by loosening the back bracket. Once loosened, I only have to slide it out this end and insert it in the extrusion from the other end. Once it is against the factory set stop from that side, this part of the change is done.

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   Similarly, it only takes a second to move the fence over. I loosen the two knobs from beneath the table, move the fence and retighten the knobs.

  Just as I did with the back bracket, I move the front bracket so that it is against the factory set stop from the left.

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   I adjust the front bracket height by placing a piece of stock under the guide and pushing the clamp closed. I do the same on the back end.

I mentioned the Tab that registers the guide. This close-up shows it as part of the front bracket. You simply lower the guide until it sits down on this tab. It fits snugly to prevent any lateral movement.

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     The last thing I have to do is to check the square of the fence. It is right on, and I am ready to cut.

    Before I make a cut with the new guide location, I must check that the plunge depth is ok. Since the stock I am about to cut is 1/2" ply and the saw was set for 3/4" stock, I must reset the plunge depth. I will not go through that procedure here since I covered it in such detail. But, I will point out another error that I made: I said that the kerf should be 5mm. In fact the books said that it recommends a 1-3mm depth and a maximum of 5mm.

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     So I have set the plunge stop to give me a 2mm depth, and I start to make a new cut — in the "right" guide position.

   I don't want to get ahead of myself, but when I use the router with the guide, having table top under the workpiece is very important.
   That, and a lot more,  comes next week. See you then.

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