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Track Saw Survey


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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?

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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 by Gene Howe
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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.  

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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 :Laughing:).

Edited by Fred W. Hargis Jr
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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.

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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.

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