TPG Parallel Guide Calibration and Use

This quick video show how easy it is to use the TSO Products Parallel Guide System with a track saw.

[@HeadBroski]

I’ve had to calibrate my TSO guides a few times and it was always a timely ordeal. I wish I would have found this video sooner, definitely the easiest video to follow.

[@TheSmartWoodshop]

I have been using these guides for a few years and only now know how easy they are to calibrate. Thanks, R😎🤙

[@joelhiggins9885]

Ron, love your channel. Check out Dave Stantons Dado rabbet jig with the pe square. I’d love to see you make one and test it.

[@al2969]

Just got these today. I ordered them because I followed your channel for a while now and seen how well they work. They are the best. Thank you!

[@meghancass3187]

Wow. Thanks. I've tried to sit through 3 video's worth of jibber jabber trying to explain calibration of the TSO and this is by far the most simple and concise by far. I knew it was easy.

[@pf5658]

Plain and simple without all the unnecessary babbling. I just ordered the TPG-50 set and awaiting delivery. Now I know how to calibrate it. Thank you TSO. Btw You’ve just earned a new subscription from me too.

[@JohnOutland-v3t]

10 thumbs up! Getting ready to use mine tomorrow for first time. Was having some issues getting "stop" set correctly. Your video solved my problems. Thanks!

[@teac117]

Thank you. The narrow stock guides were never really demonstrated before, but now it's clear.

[@AngieWilliamsDesigns]

This has been super helpful. I have referred back to it multiple times and has helped so much

[@matthewguthrie7675]

This was Super helpful! Thanks again TSO products for making amazing products that just work!

[@mikesattler1537]

to bad the customer service is so terrible. I ordered some parf guides almost two months ago and still no product has arrived at the house. I would say save your time and money

[@pennyroyal3813]

Very well explained and a better system than I've been using. Thanks.

[@joelhiggins9885]

I’ve been calibrating mine that way since I got it haha! Glad to see my mind works on the same track

[@Suburban-Homestead]

One thing for people new to track saws or the TPG to bear in mind...the wood under the track is the “keep” piece. If everything is calculated from the edge of the rubber splinter guard, you’re blade is cutting on the other side of that. This is true of tracksaws in general, but when starting with the TSO’s, I was confused why my pieces were short...the width of the blade.

[@saiiiiiii1]

Since you're setting the desired width of the piece on the scale of the guides, I wonder how you could confuse what's the keeper and what not.

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

I'm assuming you cut the chip strip first on the track.

[@andyyun1162]

Look up something called the waste side jig. You can buy it for the exact thickness of the kerf of the blade that you use and that makes it so that you can cut the waste side wood to exact dimensions.

[@avih7311]

Very clear - now i know what are those metal rods for and how to use them. Thanks for this no fuss explanation and demo.

[@1beany9]

Hi Hans. Great video. Good to put a face to a voice.

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Be glad when this is back in stock. I plan on buying either a Makita or a Festool cordless track saw and repurpose a Kreg Adaptive Cutting System table for use with this system. Upgrading the power in my garage would be much more expensive right now.

[@Quizzicality]

I was having the hardest time trying to dial it in by myself, holy crap this did it perfectly. RTFM lol

[@carlbrothers]

Thank you for posting this!!

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Spend some time reviewing these videos. I'm glad TSO didn't provide printed instructions with their products I bought from them. They're useless. These guides are for a more advanced woodworkers; I spent more than a year learning on Kreg and Bora Tools and now am graduating to TSO and Festool.

[@tso-products]

Thanks for sharing, Christopher!

[@misterm7086]

I ordered the 30” kit, adapter, square and rail guides. We’ll see , Hans.

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Just made my first successful cut using Festool and TSO... 78 3/4" x 25 3/4" 3/4" plywood for laminated kitchen countertop. This setup simplifies making those long cuts. Have to self measure and draw a line for more than 50" since that's the limit on the TSO rulers, however you can be sure they're parallel and square provided you use the correct track components.

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Got mine out and ready for setup. Making kitchen countertops and need square cuts 25.25" x 80".

[@beregu]

Hi Hans, thanks for the video. It looks very easy and quick to calibrate. I’ve been waiting for 30/50” set since a month ago on your website. Is it going to be available anytime soon?

[@martylts]

I think your system is a major improvement over my Festool rails, however I would never use the narrow stock rods. I don't believe I would ever use the 20 inch bars either. I would prefer a package deal with two 50's and 30's.

[@hansfriedebach7137]

martylts - we heard you and also noted the buying preferences of other customers. mid October we are rolling out exactly what you state as your preference: TPG-30-50 Set SKU 61-364. working on getting the website updated the week of October 12, 2020. Hans

[@martylts]

@@hansfriedebach7137 thank you! I keep on looking at your website waiting for your stuff to be restocked. I wait with great anticipation!

[@AaronGeller]

@@hansfriedebach7137 I'm glad the 20" have been brought back

[@saiiiiiii1]

I just wish they were available anywhere in germany. Import plus shipping costs more than half of the set itself.

[@CraigularjJoeWoodworks]

“That’s pretty close… as close as your going to get” with the combo square off the work piece is a signal to me that close isn’t good enough

[@surnamehrubes5632]

Great tool spent over 1000.00 on the entire setup and no longer use a table saw to build cabinets

[@enterprise59]

Will these work on ANY track saw track??? Want to know before I buy!

[@vinylvinylvinyl]

Thank you.

[@sandersjones1577]

Would you suggest I get rid of my table saw? Be honest man and thanks for sharing

[@tso-products]

The table saw definitely has its place in the shop, so we probably would not recommend getting rid of it.

[@andyyun1162]

I was wondering why I was having trouble getting perfectly parallel cuts using this set. I realized that my splinter guard is a little bit torn up, and it is throwing off my measurements and calibration. I guess it’s time to buy a new splinter guard.

[@s70cas7ic0]

Hi, do your parallel guides works with Mafell tracks? Thank you.

[@edgarcisneros6771]

I'm interested in these guides. I was wondering if the second rail/guide is necessary if you have one attached to the square rail guide. I'm sorry if there is an obvious reason for not being able to use only one rail.

[@AaronGeller]

if you want to create parallel sides, yes.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

Just got a set of these, and I don't know if I've assembled something wrong or what but there is on way I can properly calibrate them because the distances are too short even without the rod. If I measure back from the cut edge on the track say 10" that puts it well INSIDE the stop that is set at 10 on the scale :(

[@briandobson9202]

I know you typed this five months ago but I had the same issue. You have to take the collar off and put it on in the back.

[@JohnVanderbeck]

@@briandobson9202 yeah I had them backwards if I recall. I did finally figure it out :)

[@MrUmy786]

Hi Hans, this product along with your guide rail squares seems to be out of stock everywhere I look, is there a product or an update being made to these because from what I know they've been out of stock for a long time

[@hansfriedebach7137]

MrUmy786 - your comment reflects what we have known for some time. the shortage of available inventory was the result of a planning problem internally which we were aware of but was not as easy to correct as we wished or you might imagine. We have stepped up inventory and production considerably. Hans

[@paulyanney3151]

Are you placing your square against the splitter guard or the aluminum rail edge?

[@Toolman93]

Against the splinter Guard, because that is exactly where the cut will be when you use the saw.

[@rasmuschristianhg8868]

I just got the my parallel guide system. But was very disappointed when I discovered that one of the rails had a different color of blue than the other 5. Has any one experinced the same?? I also got the MTR-18, GRS-16 PE og GRS-16, they are the same blue color as the one of the rails.

[@Andersfraser]

great!

[@JasonHall-n2i]

Jalyn Fields

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

The stops must be out of sight underneath the track guide.

[@cybernessful]

Put the ruler under the tack, not above.

[@beregu]

It’s unfortunate that this product is not on sale for past several months.....

[@ThekiBoran]

I've got a ton of side projects ready to go and I really would like a set. Other companies are also out of stock for any number of items, not just TSO. It's a drag because I'm ready to buy right now.

[@beregu]

@@ThekiBoran the same here. Waiting for TSO and woodpeckers for a quite sometime.

[@ThekiBoran]

@@beregu US Tool and fasteners as of yesterday has about a dozen TSO 30-50 kits in stock.

[@beregu]

@@ThekiBoran Thank you for the information. I just made my order. You saved me months.

[@ThekiBoran]

@@beregu Did you get your TSO kit yet? Got mine yesterday and today I finished up calibrating it. I'm looking forward to making some storage cabinets with them. By the way, the 3mm screw driver that came with mine was small, it measured 2.88, lots of slop. From now on I'll be using a good quality Allen wrench for tightening the screws. I thought I stripped a screw in one of the memory collars but thankfully the screw head still works with a good allen wrench.

[@acarl7205]

I don't get why so many people use the splinter guard for calibration. I have put a new guard on my track (pressing carefully to get a consistent bond), cut it and found that it is not perfect. I did this with a new Festool blade on a carefully set up Festool saw. As Glyph says, it often is, but isn't always correct. Of course, we are probably talking about something like a millimeter, but calibration should always be done with a calibrated tool.

[@ryang6513]

acarl720, I recommend you perform a calibration of your track saw so that it is perfectly aligned to the splinterguard. Takes five minutes and the other benefit is that it will further mitigate tearout on the upper side of the sheetgood you happen to be cutting.

[@ThekiBoran]

For calibrating wide rips I cut a piece of scrap at exactly 50mm. I don't use the hook of my tape, I measure 10" away fr the hook. I then set up the track saw rail guide with the splinter guard hanging over the edge of the work bench. I lowered the blade then butted the 50mm piece to a blade tooth. I then set the flag stop at 50mm then butted the stop to the piece of stock then locked it in. I did the same with the other track and flag stop. They're both within a 512th of being perfect. I can live with that.

[@ThekiBoran]

@@ryang6513 Also, with a reverse/backwards scoring cut you don't need a splinter guard at all.

[@tjbone2283]

Can anyone tell me if you have to calibrate it for metric and imperial or can you just calibrate it for 1 and it works for the other. I hope that makes since. Lol

[@jollyandwaylo]

The flip stop reads across both metric and imperial scales at the same time so when you calibrate it, it calibrates both at once.

[@christopherdekonstrukt444]

Video is outside the viewing margins of my mobile screen. I guess PC viewing only.

[@garyolsen3409]

Why go through all of that when you can do it quicker and more accurate on the table saw?

[@tso-products]

Great question, Gary. For most folks the benefits are (1) professional contractors find it's more portable than a table saw for work onsite, (2) some folks don't have the room for a table saw, let alone the additional space around it needed to break down a 4x8 sheet, (3) even if you have room for a table saw, many find it very awkward to properly break down a 4x8' sheet by themselves on a table saw, (4) it isn't a huge investment for folks who already own a plunge saw to gain these benefits. Finally, this system is actually just as accurate as cutting on a table saw and can be more accurate when you consider how much easier it is to physically make the cuts for some folks. 😁👍

[@garyolsen3409]

@@tso-products I guess I'm used to doing everything on the table saw. If I need say 4 -12" x 30" pieces from a full sheet I put the full sheet on my out feed and left side table snap a line at 31" and cut it off. then I run my 12" pieces and cross cut them at 30". You do make good points, though.

[@CroftsLes-w9r]

Brown Anthony Brown Michael Young John

[@Z-add]

Pretty hard to read accurately while standing in front of it. This needs to have a digital readout.

[@lnz971]

the festool parralel guide is better

[@AaronGeller]

How so?

[@processpsych]

I cannot calibrate the parallel guides. It's driving me absolutely insane. I think there's a manufacturing issue with the parallel guides. I am incredibly disappointed

[@dakotamax2]

Sure, it can be set to cut at 10" wide and (if you believe everything you see on KZbin) 15" wide, but don't stand there and try to tell me it can cut 11 1/2" or some other crazy number.

[@AaronGeller]

@suspicionofdeceit I don't really understand Dakota's problem either

[@peterdoyle833]

Camera is too far away. Cannot see what is supposed to be set at 10”.

[@AaronGeller]

the flipstop part that rest on the track