Ron Dudelston Posted July 22, 2020 Report Share Posted July 22, 2020 I’m building a free standing island with hickory plywood so I borrowed a Grizzly track saw from a friend. It made breaking down plywood so much easier and I’m planning on buying one. This isn’t a cheap purchase so I’m asking for input. For you who have a track saw, what k8nd is it and would you recommend it? Cal, FlGatorwood and Gunny 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) Ron, mine is shop made. It's so simple, yet very accurate. An 8' X 12" X 3 /4" piece of BB ply. An 8' length of T track and a short piece of the matching insert. A slot was cut in the ply on the router table and the t track was epoxied in. The insert (mine is a tad longer than my saw's base plate) is attached to the base plate with bolts and thumb screws. The first cut establishes the cut line. With a good blade, the edge produced is glue ready. The only disadvantage is that it can't be broken down. But, it was so cheap and easy to make that I can live with that one inconvenience. BTW, the saw is a Skil 77 worm drive with a 7 1/4 blade. Edited July 23, 2020 by Gene Howe FlGatorwood, Gunny and Cal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlGatorwood Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 Ron, mine is like Gene's. I used a piece of 1/4" plywood and a 1" X 2". I put the 1" X 2" alongside of the factory edge of the plywood. Set the saw depth, ripped the entire 8' length and it stands in the corner of the garage. It is easy to clamp in place on a table. Or you can use one of those work tables that collapses. Can't remember the name, but it folds up like those lawn chairs. Cal and Gunny 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred W. Hargis Jr Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) I have the Festool TS 55, bought before some of the competitors were available. It was also bought back during the "Bing" search engine discounts, so I got 25% rebated on the purchase. Anyway, I like it plenty, and while i bought it mostly for sheet goods, I've found I use it just as much for straight edging rough sawn lumber. The one thing I wish they had done was make the track bi-directional like the Dewalt. I do find that joining 2 pieces of track together and keeping them perfectly aligned is a bit of a hassle, but other wise having a track saw (regardless of source) is really a useful addition to a shop. One thing that sometimes comes up. You might see someone say that their Festool track saw DC is so good they'd use it their living room (or some such nonsense). That's BS...at least in my opinion. I'm not the cleanest/neatest person in the world and it doesn't even meet my criteria. The DC is very good to be sure, but it still manages to make a mess. BTW, Tenryu makes very good replacement blades... as does Freud (sorry, Gene ). Edited July 23, 2020 by Fred W. Hargis Jr FlGatorwood, Artie and Cal 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 Oh, Fred!!! How can you mention Tenryu and Freud in the same breath? I didn't mention a brand when discussing the smoothness of my track saw cuts. But I did say " with a good blade". Kinda rules out those red ones. Artie, Fred W. Hargis Jr and FlGatorwood 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteM Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 3 hours ago, Fred W. Hargis Jr said: I have the Festool TS 55, bought before some of the competitors were available. A friend gave me a Festool 55, used, and it's a beauty to use (and I have a DC, not Festool, that makes the saw pretty clean...but, no, not living room content). However, had I not gotten it as a gift, I'd think it way way way too expensive. One of the keys to any design (as noted by Gene) is that the saw is fixed into a groove so it cannot wander from the guide. I also note that Festool uses rubber gasketing on both long edges of their guide. This locks the track on the work by friction, so clamping isn't needed: convenient. The gasket also serves to press down on the workpiece, holding the fibers down so you get much cleaner cuts (on the guide side). The gasket on the blade side is installed proud so the blade trims it the first time it's used, and that gives excellent fiber control. But I think for the money ($8 c-notes?) you can buy an awfully good circ saw and some BB ply, etc. And a really good blade. FlGatorwood, Gene Howe, kmealy and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmealy Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 I use plywood maybe once or twice a year. I do rough breakdown with a circular saw and straightedge clamped on. Then final cut to size with the table saw. The economics just don't work for me. Kreg came out with an interesting system last year, just to throw another hat in the ring, as well as having a saw guide to tie into a circular saw. https://www.kregtool.com/store/c73/systems/p470/adaptive-cutting-system-saw-guide-track-kit/ https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kreg-Accu-Cut/1000281747?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-tol-_-google-_-lia-_-129-_-benchtoptools-_-1000281747-_-0&store_code=210&placeholder=null&gclid=Cj0KCQjw6uT4BRD5ARIsADwJQ1-tghuajvR6IlQ_Vtk7pDsc7qrcbcPT-fgUb0EWPeoxFHsyNHKsCVoaAlauEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds For the type of work I do, a track saw would never replace a table saw, as I have seen a few recommend. There are many things a table saw does well that a track saw cannot. Joinery such as rabbets, dadoes, grooves, tenons, miters, bevels. Thin rips, about anything to do with small pieces, repeat cuts with a fence or stop block, anything where it's not foursquare - moldings, picture frames, dowels, etc. Gunny, Artie and FlGatorwood 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Smallpatch Posted July 23, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 What I use is totally different... I was buying some metal building supplies one day and was back in the area waiting for some metal to be cut and noticed the biggest metal shearer sitting there. I asked the guy could or would he cut me some 1/8" thick 10 foot long pieces of metal to be use to clamp on to plywood for my skil saw to cut straight edges.. so for the last 40 years or so the three pieces I got that day have been my straight edge guides for my skil saws.. 1/8" thick 10 foot long by 4" deep... I also have an 8' and a 6' long piece. If I ever have to have any more straight edges I would get 3/16" thick and 5 " wide and 8" long. This will take care of all the plywood sawing.....and make it easy to clamp each end to the plywood!! And when not in use they hang on the wall out of the way. FlGatorwood, Artie, kmealy and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post kmealy Posted July 23, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 Ha, I just watched Kreg's video and saw the "perfect miters." Cut a miter and they join up (one joint) without a gap. I always snickered at Shopsmith's demo where they showed a "perfect compound miter" holding up one corner they'd just cut and it looked great. Any fool could have done that. Let's see them do all four corners and how they fit all around. And let's see a track saw make the cuts on these recent projects. FlGatorwood, Larry Buskirk, Artie and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunny Posted July 23, 2020 Report Share Posted July 23, 2020 I have only used what others said. A straight edge guide, couple clamps and done. Larry Buskirk and FlGatorwood 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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