Rail Dogs - The First Bench Dog for a Guide Rail

The aluminum constructed Rail Dogs are ideal for making longitudinal cuts or 45 degree miter cuts on the MFT Table. It eliminates the need to remove the Guide Rail Clamps, align the clamps for a longitudinal cut, move the clamps back and re-align the clamps.

The Rail Dogs are the best way to insure square cuts on the Walko Bench while using my Qwas Dogs to support the work piece. It keeps the guide rail aligned to the holes while cutting your work piece.

The Rail Dogs are designed to slip onto any Plunge Saw Guide Rail and then slide into 20 mm holes. This allows the rail to be aligned with the holes on the Festool MFT and Walko work benches. The Rail Dogs 4.5 inch height allows for you to work on anything up to 12/4 wood.

With the supplied bolt inserted into the top hole of the bench dog, slide the dogs into the groove on the bottom of the guide rail. Hand tighten the dogs when they are aligned over the appropriate holes on the bench. No need to tighten beyond finger tight. Never tighten this dog with any type of a wrench or pliers. 

Be cautious of the shoulder on the top of the dog. It fits inside of the rail groove and eliminates the play between the dog and the guide rail. I recommend always keeping the bolt on the dog to protect the shoulder. As a side note to the shoulder, it fits most 5/16 inch grooves such as the Incra Track, and 8020 Inc extrusions.

The main body of the Rail Dogs are designed to fit 20.0 mm holes such as the older MFT tables and the newer Walko benches. What does this mean to those of you (and me) that have the newer MFT with 20.15 mm holes?  Well, the fit is going to be a little sloppy but this is an advantage, not a problem. Please read the Rail Dog Manual to see how to deal with this.

If your MFT has holes smaller than 19.9 mm, then you need to either replace the top or sand the holes out to 20 mm. It is easy to do  and only takes a few seconds for each hole. I used a 1/2 inch wooden dowel rod. Cut a slot in one end about 1 inch deep. Cut 2 pieces of 80-120 grit sandpaper to about 1 inch by 1.5 inches. Put the sandpaper back to back and install in the slot you made in the wooden dowel rod. Install the other end of the dowel rod into a drill. Bend the sandpaper to fit in a hole and run the drill for a few seconds. Test until you get a loose fit and then go to the next hole.

Have you seen Peter Halle's video on using Rail Dogs for repetitive angle cuts without the MFT? check it out here:  TS-55 + Rail Dogs - Repetitive Angles