The Optical Replica Synthesizer (ORS) section at the Free-electron LASer in Hamburg (FLASH) can be used for a wide variety of experiments involving the co-propagation of an electron bunch and a laser pulse through a sequence of magnetic components: undulator, chicane, undulator, chicane. The difficulties associated with operating this section in a permanent, parasitic capacity constitute the topic of this paper. The primary impediments include: laser safety issues, microbunching instabilities, and dogleg steering. Technical solutions for these problems are described with respect to the needs of individual experiments.