Track saws

youtube it

Popi posted:

youtube it

Did that but there is only one review showing the unboxing of the saw. not how good it works. I have searched and searched but no luck.

FEET

1 - do you know someone with a table saw?

2 - track saws are a lot of money. If you are using it 'one time' try looking at a normal circular saw (with the proper blade) and a metal straight edge cutting guide with a variable clamp mechanism you can clamp to the work piece.
Joe

If you are set on a track saw then Festool or DeWalt but you are looking at $600+.

feet posted:

No not for cutting track for ripping sheets of plywood. I am thinking about getting one. I tried the Kreg jig, worked well for the first few pieces I cut then it started getting off. I checked it, it was out of square so I returned it. I am looking at the Menard's Master force 6-1/2" track saw. Anybody use one? It is in my price range plus you can hook a shop vac to it to collect dust. Thanks in advance for all reply's.

Yes, I have it. For the price it can't be beat. Obviously it is not a Festool, but it does a great job. Only complaint is the dust collection is not great. It is a whole lot better than a circular saw but still leaves a trail and shoots some out the front. The four 2' guides are a bonus and if you set them up correctly you can cut an 8' sheet of plywood very straight. I highly recommend doing a "score" cut on the first pass then complete the cut. 98%+ no tear out or chipping and that's with the finer tooth blade that comes with it. I imagine if you bought one the expensive blades such as a Bosch the cut would be 100% perfect. I would recommend this saw to any "casual" woodworker.

A couple of tips, always use the clamps, don't rely on the non skid tape only, the bottom of the saw  might have some sharp edges that catch on the track, small file will take care of it, always run the saw down the track before cutting to make sure everything is "smooth", spray some silicone and wipe off excess on the bottom of the saw and the track.

Steve

Joe Fauty posted:

FEET

1 - do you know someone with a table saw?

2 - track saws are a lot of money. If you are using it 'one time' try looking at a normal circular saw (with the proper blade) and a metal straight edge cutting guide with a variable clamp mechanism you can clamp to the work piece.
Joe

If you are set on a track saw then Festool or DeWalt but you are looking at $600+.

I've got a table saw but luging 3/4 plywood with my bad back is impossible plus it takes 2 people to get a straight cut. I could use a straight edge but I need something with a dust collection port. Dust gets all over the train room and is a mess to clean up.  I may wait until summer so I can cut it outside. I would use the track saw many times but they are expensive. Menard's has one for 200.00 but this maybe a you get what you pay for thing.

Rescued Trains posted:

feet posted:

No not for cutting track for ripping sheets of plywood. I am thinking about getting one. I tried the Kreg jig, worked well for the first few pieces I cut then it started getting off. I checked it, it was out of square so I returned it. I am looking at the Menard's Master force 6-1/2" track saw. Anybody use one? It is in my price range plus you can hook a shop vac to it to collect dust. Thanks in advance for all reply's.

Yes, I have it. For the price it can't be beat. Obviously it is not a Festool, but it does a great job. Only complaint is the dust collection is not great. It is a whole lot better than a circular saw but still leaves a trail and shoots some out the front. The four 2' guides are a bonus and if you set them up correctly you can cut an 8' sheet of plywood very straight. I highly recommend doing a "score" cut on the first pass then complete the cut. 98%+ no tear out or chipping and that's with the finer tooth blade that comes with it. I imagine if you bought one the expensive blades such as a Bosch the cut would be 100% perfect. I would recommend this saw to any "casual" woodworker.

A couple of tips, always use the clamps, don't rely on the non skid tape only, the bottom of the saw  might have some sharp edges that catch on the track, small file will take care of it, always run the saw down the track before cutting to make sure everything is "smooth", spray some silicone and wipe off excess on the bottom of the saw and the track.

Steve

Thanks, that's what I needed to know. I will stop by Menard's tomorrow and check them out. If I buy it I will get a good blade. 

8 Foot straight edge with clamp and a circular saw.  You're going to need a square also.  With a couple of 2 x 4's you can cut the plywood on the floor by yourself.  Probably going to need a couple of clamps when you start to make cuts that are not right angles.

I have some perfectly straight 1 x 4's that I use for straight edges.  One each at 4' long, 6' long, and 8' long.  I secure them to the work with a C-clamp on each end, then further screw them down tight with deck screws at 1' on center, so they can't move.  Then slide my Skill Saw down the straight edge to do the cutting.  Yeah, it leaves a screw hole every one foot, but in most cases it doesn't matter for my purposes.  I do this outside of course, just because I don't want to make a saw dust mess in the house.

The Menard's Master Force Track Saw looks pretty cool, however, even if limited to the nominal 4' of track.  For the price, I may have to go check it out.  I'd best wait until all the train stuff is put away for the season, so that the saw doesn't end up costing me a whole bunch more money should I decide to get one. 

Do yourself a favor and forget the ready-made saw guides or track saws, as you call them.  Take a piece of 1/4" luan plywood and rip it to maybe 8" in width.  Make another rip about 4" wide.  Now glue the smaller rip on top of the larger one.  When the glue had set, take your circular saw and run the plate along the lip created by the smaller piece of ply on the larger piece.  It will cut the larger (bottom) piece exactly the right distance from the lip.  

Now when you want to rip or crosscut a sheet of plywood, simply set the edge of your new saw guide on the pencil line you made when you marked you plywood for cutting.  The saw will make a perfectly straight cut.

You can make one saw guide 8'-0" long and another 4'-0" long.  You will be surprised how long they will last.  

This method works with sidewinders and worm drive saws.  

Dan Padova posted:

Do yourself a favor and forget the ready-made saw guides or track saws, as you call them.  Take a piece of 1/4" luan plywood and rip it to maybe 8" in width.  Make another rip about 4" wide.  Now glue the smaller rip on top of the larger one.  When the glue had set, take your circular saw and run the plate along the lip created by the smaller piece of ply on the larger piece.  It will cut the larger (bottom) piece exactly the right distance from the lip.  

Now when you want to rip or crosscut a sheet of plywood, simply set the edge of your new saw guide on the pencil line you made when you marked you plywood for cutting.  The saw will make a perfectly straight cut.

You can make one saw guide 8'-0" long and another 4'-0" long.  You will be surprised how long they will last.  

This method works with sidewinders and worm drive saws.  

Sounds like a good idea to me.

There is no one correct answer. Like most questions of this type, it depends on what purpose you are breaking down a sheet of plywood for. If you are getting into serious woodworking, such as cabinet or furniture making, no homemade jig or even one of the cheaper track saws will give you the results you will be happy with. For that you should be looking at the Festool (if money is no option) with the Makita and DeWalt vying for second place ( at the time I last researched the tool). I was trying to decide between those three when a close friend bought the Festool, which he gladly lets me borrow when needed. It makes clamping wooden straightedges like I used to to seem like using flint tools. 

But if you are mainly looking to accomplish tasks such as cutting sheet goods for layouts or other instances when precision or appearance are not as critical then one of the options above will suffice. Some guys do just love building jigs and get carried away with them when reasonably priced commercial alternatives exist. I built my own crosscutting sled for my tablesaw that works great for smaller plywood pieces. It's really just your choice. 

In the end, you'd be nuts to listen to guys you don't know (including me!) when considering spending good money on a tool. There are countless woodworking forums online where the specific tools are discussed and a consensus can sometimes be seen, as well as review sites and YouTube videos where you can see these things in action.

Joe Fauty posted:

FEET

1 - do you know someone with a table saw?

2 - track saws are a lot of money. If you are using it 'one time' try looking at a normal circular saw (with the proper blade) and a metal straight edge cutting guide with a variable clamp mechanism you can clamp to the work piece.
Joe

If you are set on a track saw then Festool or DeWalt but you are looking at $600+.

Bought one of those adjustable metal cutting guides like above at Harbor Freight for peanuts. With the correct blade it works like a charm whether I use a circular or jig saw. 

Mike

GO to home depot and buy  a sheet of plywood and have them cut it to the sizes you want , they have a saw all set up for this , take the wood to the checkout with the price tag . i think it is .50 cents a cut for more than 2 cuts .tech man

German posted:

There is no one correct answer. Like most questions of this type, it depends on what purpose you are breaking down a sheet of plywood for. If you are getting into serious woodworking, such as cabinet or furniture making, no homemade jig or even one of the cheaper track saws will give you the results you will be happy with. For that you should be looking at the Festool (if money is no option) with the Makita and DeWalt vying for second place ( at the time I last researched the tool). I was trying to decide between those three when a close friend bought the Festool, which he gladly lets me borrow when needed. It makes clamping wooden straightedges like I used to to seem like using flint tools. 

But if you are mainly looking to accomplish tasks such as cutting sheet goods for layouts or other instances when precision or appearance are not as critical then one of the options above will suffice. Some guys do just love building jigs and get carried away with them when reasonably priced commercial alternatives exist. I built my own crosscutting sled for my tablesaw that works great for smaller plywood pieces. It's really just your choice. 

In the end, you'd be nuts to listen to guys you don't know (including me!) when considering spending good money on a tool. There are countless woodworking forums online where the specific tools are discussed and a consensus can sometimes be seen, as well as review sites and YouTube videos where you can see these things in action.

I'm just going to use the track saw  for layout building may make some drawers for a work bench I built. Looks like I need to do some more research.

ezmike posted:

Joe Fauty posted:

FEET

1 - do you know someone with a table saw?

2 - track saws are a lot of money. If you are using it 'one time' try looking at a normal circular saw (with the proper blade) and a metal straight edge cutting guide with a variable clamp mechanism you can clamp to the work piece.
Joe

If you are set on a track saw then Festool or DeWalt but you are looking at $600+.

Bought one of those adjustable metal cutting guides like above at Harbor Freight for peanuts. With the correct blade it works like a charm whether I use a circular or jig saw. 

Mike

 

That would be a good option if they made those 8' long. But i'd still have to do it outside. I don't want all that dust all over the train building.

For what you describe, I wouldn't bother with a track saw. Most layouts have some sort of edging covering the plywood edges. My pine edging has a grove on the inside cut on my router table that the plywood and homosote slide into. I could have cut the plywood with a chainsaw and you'd never see the results. For the workbench drawers you describe, you just need to break the large sheet into quarters with a circular saw, or have the store do it for you on their panel saw as Techman said. You can then use the factory edge against your tablesaw fence to accurately cut the pieces to needed size. I assume you have a tablesaw already if you are planning on building a workbench with drawers. If not, you should be looking at one of those , rather than a track saw. You will find much more future use for it, even if it's a small contractor or portable model. 

Partial solutin for saw dust:  I was working in my 23x40 room.  AS thngs progressed, I hung large sheets of plastic from the suspended ceiling group down on to the floor in one part of the room to make an enclosed cutting area.  It greatly reduced the saw dust going everywhere and saved 1000 trips up to the garage.

techman posted:

GO to home depot and buy  a sheet of plywood and have them cut it to the sizes you want , they have a saw all set up for this , take the wood to the checkout with the price tag . i think it is .50 cents a cut for more than 2 cuts .tech man

Several friends in the past have had plywood cut to sizes they want at their go-to home building centers.  Not a single one of them has ever been 100% happy with the cut pieces they got - the stores can never seem to get wood cut to the exact dimensions.

I prefer to cut my own wood.  I can almost always get the exact dimensions I want.  And I have a built-in fireplace in the living room for the rare occasion when I miss the mark.  

What DAN PADOVA said !!    I've been doing it that way for years.