Man ,I bet the "Big Wigs" at Festool would get their undergarments in a bind if they saw this video. Nice work Mr Parfitt , it is always a pleasure watching you.
I think that they would be quite happy as it does help to promote their tracksaws and track. Remember that Festool make no claims about the accuracy of the hole size or spacing of the 20 mm holes in their MFT3. That inaccuracy led me down the path of designing and developing the Parf Guide System. Cheers. Peter
Love the system. I made a guide rail the has a line of dogholes, so i can place it over the large benchdogs. It's basicly a rectangle of 6mm mdf with a line of dogholes and a aluminium straight edge. The mdf was cut so size against the straitght edge, so the edge of the mdf is where the saw will cut. Its easy to make/use and very accurate.
Over the years Peter I kept tweaking my circular saw and straight edge kit. I bolted on a Masonite zero clearance plate to the bottom of the saw making sure to slightly undersize it on the left and right sides so as not to interfere with the registration of the saw's base against the straight edge. Plunge the blade through the Masonite , pull the motor back up above the cut slot and rest the saw flat on the base. Be aware, that when you do this the blade guard is disable as it's sitting up above the Masonite surface. I also made gauge blocks to represent the distance from the left side of the base to the left side of the saw blade and the right side of the saw's base to the right side of the blade. I could then drop my gauge block and straight edge down on the work piece slide them together right to my marks. Clamp and clamp, make your cut. I used my set up exclusively to knock down sheet goods . Use a new blade of at least 40 teeth designed to cut plywood for best results. I could get a perfect cut with no tear out even when crosscutting the face veneer. G.
Wonderful video, since I have my parf guide system and dogs, a circular saw but no track saw. Supporting the saw with the set of rubbish pieces, presumably the same thickness as the stock of wood being cut, is the simple but genius pointer I hadn't thought of. Is there any reason for one of the rubbish pieces to have holes, would the holes be useful to affix it to the benchtop to keep it in place? Also, since I don't trust wood to remain straight enough for use as a cutting guide, I have a UJK Technology Progrip Clamp. Could one retrofit the Parf Dog Rail Clips to work with such a guide (instead of clamping it down)? Lastly, I noticed when you pushed your 40-year-old aluminium guide against the dogs it made a wonderful clicking sound (min 2:39 in your video). I thought - wouldn't it be nice if it were magnetized? Could work with the dogs depending on whether they're the type of 303 stainless steel that's still magnetic.. Has anyone tried affixing magnets to a straight edge to achieve this effect?
Hi Deniz, I am so pleased that you found this useful. The gash pieces of MDF were of the same thickness as the wood being cut. Over the years I have made countless experimental tops with the PGS and various prototypes. As a result I have tons of rubbish wood with holes in. With a bit of ingenuity it would be possible to retrofit the rail clips to other types of straight edge. I would avoid the magnetic idea partly because stainless is not magnetic enough but also because the magnets would have to be stronger than any that I have ever used. Good luck with everything. Cheers. Peter
Hi Peter.. im just trying to get my head around how this little demo would be useful if you apply it to ripping down longer lengths of material , which is why you would purchase a track saw guide.. i cant see that method with small scraps working.. plus you didnt show how youd secure the straight edge without those extra gadgets
Hi Chris, You have made an assumption about long thin stock. If you want perfect right angle cuts across the stock then that is what I am describing. Peter
@@NewBritWorkshop hi Peter.. yeah i get that, but wouldnt you just use a table top rip/mitre saw for quick cross cuts on small pieces.. i like the system by the way, it looks awesome.. it would be handy if there were more videos creating things using this system.. Dave Stantons vids are good..others, not so.. thanks again
Hi Chris, It is aimed at people who may want to work away from base, or those who do not have a mitre saw or those who want to cut pieces which are wider than the mitre saw max. Peter
Thank you for this I was going to buy a track saw, now I don't, just got to save up for the kit, wish Axminster Tools did a hire service where we could hire the rails etc but could purchase just the drill bits, I have purchased the Progrip Clamp until I can afford to make a 2.4m long Parf guide workbench so I can get rid of my table saw
Hi Ray, I am in the process of writing the user instructions for the PGS Mark 2 and am including some advice about creating a cutting station from a full 8 x 4 sheet. Good luck. Peter
New Brit Workshop If I built an 8x4 workbench that would take up nearly half of my shed 😂 mine will be 8x2 and will be building mine hopefully over the Christmas holiday
Hello. Can you use the Part Guide system with a solid wood top? I am looking to make a single bench for both hand tool work and mft work. If I can make the entire top of solid wood that would be great. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Hazem, There is no reason not to use the system on a solid top but the thickness of the bench top may cause some difficulty. The PGS is aimed at tops in the 18 mm to 25 mm range. If you go thicker than that then you will need to do the drilling in two goes to achieve a greater depth. This may not be what you want. My suggestion is that you create a solid top at about 20 mm thickness and then use the PGS for the holes. After that you can add an edging piece, all the way around, to whatever thickness that you want. If you want to stiffen up the inner part of the top you can fix cross pieces that do not interfere with the holes. Peter
Hi Hazem, It will be an issue if you are looking for a really accurate set up for sawing or router work. The wood will shrink or expand most across the grain and so if it does move it could be significant as far as squareness goes. Perhaps you could rethink you plan and use a good quality MDF - I always recommend Medite Moisture Resistant but I am often being told that Valchromat makes an excellent bench top albeit very expensive. Peter
New Brit Workshop I should say that I do have your excellent Parf guide system and your bench dog range, and the festool track and saw. So I’ll never need to risk it
I used to really enjoy your videos Peter, but I am afraid that these days they have a bit too much of an infomercial feel to them. I appreciate that you put a lot of time and effort into developing products like Parf Dogs and the Parf Guide and want to spread the word. You have a perfect right to do that, but for me at least it is at saturation point.
I understand exactly but I am getting so many questions and comments about the various products that I have designed or had a part in development that it would be wrong for me to ignore. Thank you for all of your support in the past and I wish you the best of luck for the future. Peter
Hi John, "he" here. Do you mean for the bench top or for the demo cuts? I prefer Medite MR for my bench tops as it is very close to HDF and has a hard outer core which machines well. It is also cheaper than Baltic ply. Peter
As always, our "Mr Peter" gives great teaching tips. For you always show us things that are so simple, yet soooooo good to know.
Thank you kind Sir.
Hi Pat, As alays - super, many thanks. Peter
Man ,I bet the "Big Wigs" at Festool would get their undergarments in a bind if they saw this video. Nice work Mr Parfitt , it is always a pleasure watching you.
I think that they would be quite happy as it does help to promote their tracksaws and track. Remember that Festool make no claims about the accuracy of the hole size or spacing of the 20 mm holes in their MFT3. That inaccuracy led me down the path of designing and developing the Parf Guide System. Cheers. Peter
Love the system. I made a guide rail the has a line of dogholes, so i can place it over the large benchdogs. It's basicly a rectangle of 6mm mdf with a line of dogholes and a aluminium straight edge. The mdf was cut so size against the straitght edge, so the edge of the mdf is where the saw will cut. Its easy to make/use and very accurate.
Hi Tim, I have made something similar, well one. Peter
Over the years Peter I kept tweaking my circular saw and straight edge kit. I bolted on a Masonite zero clearance plate to the bottom of the saw making sure to slightly undersize it on the left and right sides so as not to interfere with the registration of the saw's base against the straight edge. Plunge the blade through the Masonite , pull the motor back up above the cut slot and rest the saw flat on the base. Be aware, that when you do this the blade guard is disable as it's sitting up above the Masonite surface. I also made gauge blocks to represent the distance from the left side of the base to the left side of the saw blade and the right side of the saw's base to the right side of the blade. I could then drop my gauge block and straight edge down on the work piece slide them together right to my marks. Clamp and clamp, make your cut. I used my set up exclusively to knock down sheet goods . Use a new blade of at least 40 teeth designed to cut plywood for best results. I could get a perfect cut with no tear out even when crosscutting the face veneer. G.
Hi George, Good to hear from you again. You have provided some excellent information here - thank you. Take care. Peter
Wonderful video, since I have my parf guide system and dogs, a circular saw but no track saw. Supporting the saw with the set of rubbish pieces, presumably the same thickness as the stock of wood being cut, is the simple but genius pointer I hadn't thought of. Is there any reason for one of the rubbish pieces to have holes, would the holes be useful to affix it to the benchtop to keep it in place?
Also, since I don't trust wood to remain straight enough for use as a cutting guide, I have a UJK Technology Progrip Clamp. Could one retrofit the Parf Dog Rail Clips to work with such a guide (instead of clamping it down)?
Lastly, I noticed when you pushed your 40-year-old aluminium guide against the dogs it made a wonderful clicking sound (min 2:39 in your video). I thought - wouldn't it be nice if it were magnetized? Could work with the dogs depending on whether they're the type of 303 stainless steel that's still magnetic.. Has anyone tried affixing magnets to a straight edge to achieve this effect?
Hi Deniz, I am so pleased that you found this useful. The gash pieces of MDF were of the same thickness as the wood being cut. Over the years I have made countless experimental tops with the PGS and various prototypes. As a result I have tons of rubbish wood with holes in. With a bit of ingenuity it would be possible to retrofit the rail clips to other types of straight edge. I would avoid the magnetic idea partly because stainless is not magnetic enough but also because the magnets would have to be stronger than any that I have ever used. Good luck with everything. Cheers. Peter
Sounds like a cracking idea to me.. if the parf dogs were nyodynium magnets that would certainly work id say
Very informative Peter.
Hi Andy, Many thanks. Peter
Hi peter it would be no bad idea to make note of the blade to base offset ie37mm on your saw with a permanent pen
Hi Liam, That is an excellent idea. The saw that I am using is on loan and so I cannot do it this time. Cheers. Peter
1978... year of my birth Peter! (Sorry) Great video as always. Best wishes, Scott.
Hi Scott, I think that I was sleeping rough \t that time in a field in the (then) western Germany helping to keep the peace ! Peter
Hi Peter.. im just trying to get my head around how this little demo would be useful if you apply it to ripping down longer lengths of material , which is why you would purchase a track saw guide.. i cant see that method with small scraps working.. plus you didnt show how youd secure the straight edge without those extra gadgets
Hi Chris, You have made an assumption about long thin stock. If you want perfect right angle cuts across the stock then that is what I am describing. Peter
@@NewBritWorkshop hi Peter.. yeah i get that, but wouldnt you just use a table top rip/mitre saw for quick cross cuts on small pieces.. i like the system by the way, it looks awesome.. it would be handy if there were more videos creating things using this system.. Dave Stantons vids are good..others, not so.. thanks again
Hi Chris, It is aimed at people who may want to work away from base, or those who do not have a mitre saw or those who want to cut pieces which are wider than the mitre saw max. Peter
Thank you for this I was going to buy a track saw, now I don't, just got to save up for the kit, wish Axminster Tools did a hire service where we could hire the rails etc but could purchase just the drill bits, I have purchased the Progrip Clamp until I can afford to make a 2.4m long Parf guide workbench so I can get rid of my table saw
Hi Ray, I am in the process of writing the user instructions for the PGS Mark 2 and am including some advice about creating a cutting station from a full 8 x 4 sheet. Good luck. Peter
New Brit Workshop If I built an 8x4 workbench that would take up nearly half of my shed 😂 mine will be 8x2 and will be building mine hopefully over the Christmas holiday
Hello. Can you use the Part Guide system with a solid wood top? I am looking to make a single bench for both hand tool work and mft work. If I can make the entire top of solid wood that would be great. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Hazem, There is no reason not to use the system on a solid top but the thickness of the bench top may cause some difficulty. The PGS is aimed at tops in the 18 mm to 25 mm range. If you go thicker than that then you will need to do the drilling in two goes to achieve a greater depth. This may not be what you want. My suggestion is that you create a solid top at about 20 mm thickness and then use the PGS for the holes. After that you can add an edging piece, all the way around, to whatever thickness that you want. If you want to stiffen up the inner part of the top you can fix cross pieces that do not interfere with the holes. Peter
@@NewBritWorkshop Thank you for the prompt reply. Should I be worried about wood expansion and contraction throwing the system out of calibration?
Hi Hazem, It will be an issue if you are looking for a really accurate set up for sawing or router work. The wood will shrink or expand most across the grain and so if it does move it could be significant as far as squareness goes. Perhaps you could rethink you plan and use a good quality MDF - I always recommend Medite Moisture Resistant but I am often being told that Valchromat makes an excellent bench top albeit very expensive. Peter
@@NewBritWorkshop Thank you again for your time. I think I will make the front portion of the top from solid wood and the rest from mdf.
Brilliant. Peter
Excellent vid thank you (they could have squeezed an extra 3mm onto that base plate!)
Hi Howard, Interesting - thank you. Peter
My personal concern would always be that I’d forget all about the depth of the cut and end up with two table tops. 😩
Hi Howard, That is a risk of course. Peter
New Brit Workshop I should say that I do have your excellent Parf guide system and your bench dog range, and the festool track and saw. So I’ll never need to risk it
Good man. Peter
My memory is not the best, so I've written the offsets on my saw, including to the blade & over the blade.
I used to really enjoy your videos Peter, but I am afraid that these days they have a bit too much of an infomercial feel to them. I appreciate that you put a lot of time and effort into developing products like Parf Dogs and the Parf Guide and want to spread the word. You have a perfect right to do that, but for me at least it is at saturation point.
I understand exactly but I am getting so many questions and comments about the various products that I have designed or had a part in development that it would be wrong for me to ignore. Thank you for all of your support in the past and I wish you the best of luck for the future. Peter
Why does he always use MDF? Why not "Cabinet Grade or Baltic Birch Plywood?
Hi John, "he" here. Do you mean for the bench top or for the demo cuts? I prefer Medite MR for my bench tops as it is very close to HDF and has a hard outer core which machines well. It is also cheaper than Baltic ply. Peter
Appreciate!🇸🇪
Hi Bertil, Cheers. Peter
Had to fast fwd alot
Hi Jason, The squad moves forward at the pace of the slowest man but that guy is my very best friend ! Cheers