Review: Woodpeck—Parallel Guide System

Woodpeck—Parallel Guide System

Originally posted elsewhere July 27, 2021
-------------

When I decided to get a track saw, I began to review parallel guides. I looked at the Woodpeck, the TSO and the Festool options. Ultimately, I chose Woodpeck.

Here is the system. If you want to see it neatly packaged in the Systainer, look at the Woodpeck site. The key to its accuracy is the position of the first arm-or rail-in the connector, and is not something you want to have to do every time you use the guide. In fact, that first step of getting it calibrated is the most critical element to the guide's accuracy. Do it right, and this guide will nail every cut precisely.

I used a different technique than Woodpeck documented. I'll explain below.

Here is the full set of extension arms, totaling 52". The system comes with two flip stops for each arm, allowing you to switch between cuts easily. That was a major selling point for me. I also like that I only need to use as many sections as I need for the cut, and don't have to deal with long, clumsy, rails when I don't need to.

The important thing to make sure of when attaching the guide to the track is that it's on a flat surface. Otherwise, the arms will be at an angle and affect the accuracy of the cut. This is most important when making narrow cuts using the narrow stock guides.

This is a bad start.

To avoid those problems, do it on your table top, or if you've already got the workpiece on the bench, use it. Just make sure it's flat when you tighten the guide to the track.

You set the cut using the front face of the flip stop. I think this is the weakest feature of the guide, yet it's as good as the Festool or TSO guides. I would much prefer a cursor with a hairline. Even better, one with magnification.

Fortunately, the markings are crisp and have good contrast, making it easy to set the cut accurately.

Here is a view of the underside of the track when the narrow stock guides are in place. You can cut narrow stock from a fraction of an inch up to eleven inches, which happens to be where the flip stop starts, so basically any cut from a fraction of an inch out to fifty-plus inches can be done accurately.

The setting for cuts made with the narrow stock guide are on the side of the rail. This another less-than-perfect feature of the guide. It's a bear to get a good angle to eyeball the setting. I find it's best to do it before I attach the rail to the track. I can get a better view and set it accurately. If you doubt it's doable, I'm including a real 1" cut measured with digital calipers (btw, it was identical on both ends).

A critical issue when doing narrow cuts is to ensure that the track is flat and level to the workpiece. Any sag will push the narrow stock guides inward and the resulting cut will be off. It will also tilt the saw and the cut will not be square.

The track should not look like this.

The key to getting accurate cuts using the narrow stock guide is to use spacer blocks under the Woodpeck guide rails and the track itself, which are the same thickness as the workpiece. Doing so will ensure that the track and guide are level and the cut will be square and accurate.

Regarding the calibration procedure. In my view, the Woodpeck method is overly complicated and fraught with potential errors. Take a look at this photo. The instructions say to align the front and rear flip stops with those little white triangles and then use a block to make the end of the narrow stock guide flush with the splinter guard. My question is why does the front flip stop setting matter? It's only there to support the narrow stock guide.

Anyway, in a nutshell, the only thing that matters is the distance from the flip stop to the splinter guard, and that can be set very accurately using a good steel rule, which is how I got my Woodpecker guide dialed in perfectly.