A guide rail can be used with several power tools and allows you to cut straight pieces very easily. By cutting straight pieces you not only work more precisely, but also a lot safer. The guide rail ensures that you avoid kickback and can therefore work more precisely. A geldeirail guides your sawing machine so you can cut perfectly straight without flying out of the curve.
When to use guide rail?
Although you can use a guide rail for multiple devices, it is primarily used in conjunction with a circular saw, circular saw, router or edger, diamond cutter and jigsaw. Makita circular saws fit directly on the guide rail, for the other machines adapters are available to still work accurately with the guide rail. The image below shows an overview of all Makita devices that work with a guide rail.
- In the white circle you can see the different lengths of guide rails
- In the light blue circle you see guide rail adapters that you use to secure the rails
- The blue circle shows which adapter fits which Makita device
The advantages of a guide rail
The first advantage of a guide rail is that the underside has an anti-slip profile. This underside ensures that the rail does not slip and therefore you can continue to work precisely. Is the surface very slippery or do you want extra security? Then you can also choose to place special clamps. These can be slid into a groove under the rail and do not need to be attached at the end. This way you can easily saw large and smooth surfaces in one go.
Need to cut a long piece that is longer than the rail? Thanks to special couplers that you can easily order in our webshop, you can connect multiple rails together. So you don't have to move the rail every time.
Finally, you also work splinter-free while using a guide rail. The rails are equipped with a rubber strip at the point of the saw blade so the cut always looks splinter-free. The moment you start using the guide rail for the first time, it is important to cut off a small piece of the strip first. Doing so will ensure that the rail fits your saw blade perfectly.
How do you use a guide rail?
Before using a guide rail, it is first important to see if your Makita machine will fit your guide rail. As we mentioned earlier, circular saws fit exactly, but with other machines you need an adapter plate to attach the rail. You need to attach the adapter plate yourself to the base plate of your Makita machine so that it matches the guide rail in terms of profile. Be aware that the guide rail slightly reduces the maximum cutting height. Finally, it is also important to check carefully that the guide rail is properly secured by sliding the machine up and down.
Hopefully we have been able to provide you with more information about guide rail with this information. Do you have more questions about using a guide rail? If so, please contact one of our staff members.