Why serious Woodworkers need track saws

[Ted Reischl]

My track saw is down at Lowes/Home Depot (yea, it is really a panel saw).

What is better about mine is that it comes with a power feeder and auto trailer loader. When FestTool comes up with that. . . . well maybe, unless I have to feed and house the auto trailer loader.

[Jim Dwight]

Cutting full sheets on a table saw can be OK if you have plenty of space and good support. But even then, you have to hold up against the rip fence (although a power feeder could help with that). A very large slider could also eliminate use of the rip fence. But it would require a lot of space. I just don't have the space for these sort of tools. Also, compared to these tools, the tracksaw is very inexpensive.

The way I use a tracksaw, there is less handling of the sheet goods and there can be even less. I sometimes cut right on the trailer I haul the plywood home on using a 1x4 lattice work. Even when I cut in the shop, the plywood goes on the same lattice set on saw horses. I lift one end and slide it on. So no worse than a table saw to easier. If you have a pickup, you can slide the plywood right out of the bed onto the same sort of lattice and cut it up. No lifting required. That's what Roger Muller does in this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4VTxEGyU0Y

[John Bomment]

. If you have a pickup, you can slide the plywood right out of the bed onto the same sort of lattice and cut it up.

I can do that with my tablesaw,back up the truck into the shop and slide it out to the saw.
We all have different situations,not everyone needs a tracksaw,serious or not.
My saw is set up to handle plywood,
can crosscut to over 8', plenty of support and room.
I never use factory edges so just break it down near size then cut all the edges.
Double cut.
Tables are well waxed,no problem keeping it to the fence.
It really doesn't take long to cut up a bunch of plywood,much faster than using a tracksaw.
Track saws are great but I have no use for one as all my work is done in the shop.

[Rick Potter]

I cannot say that everyone needs a track saw, but in my case it has been a Godsend. I am 72, and have several previous injuries, the most pertinent being both rotator cuffs are very bad. Years ago I bought a shop cart to move sheet goods around, and get them off my pickup, but still needed help getting them on the saw. I have infeed and outfeed tables galore.

I got lucky, and found out about a sale Amazon was having on the DeWalt track saws a couple years ago. I picked up the track saw, with a 5' and an 8' track, for about $365 if memory serves.

Right now, I am building pantry shelves, and closet organizers out of 3/4" melamine. A couple days ago I cut 3 sheets into 12" strips using a 2X4 lattice setup on saw horses. Slid the sheets from the shop cart to the saw horses and cut. The heaviest thing I had to carry was a 12" X 8' strip over to the bench or RAS. This is doable for me, working alone.

Without the track saw, I would have to wait for help to come along, and she is no spring chicken either (shhh).

I guess I am just trying to say that situations vary, and this has worked well for me.

[Phillip Gregory]

How many of you small to mid size shops have track saws? Where you do 90% of your work in the shop. I don't see the upgrade chain as Table saw~Track saw~ Sliding table saw. They definitely have their place especially on the job site but I won't part with my PM66 yet. Just my 2 cents......

I don't have a track saw and my shop is certainly little. I use a straightedge and a circular saw to cut about 1/2" more than I need and then trim the remainder on the tablesaw. A track saw would be easier to use and possibly a little more accurate but I have a bunch of other tools I'd get first that would be more useful before I'd get a track saw.

The main use for a track saw from my observations would be people on a job site breaking down sheet goods. It would absolutely excel at that task and be very portable. The guys who have a table saw-less shop (e.g. band saw for ripping + radial arm saw/SCMS for crosscutting + router for rabbets and dadoes) would find one invaluable as they have no other way to work with long/wide sheet goods. But if you have a nice table saw, a track saw is a lot more of a "want to" than a "have to." I'd actually much rather have a panel saw than a track saw if I were going to be spending a decent amount of money to conveniently break down sheet goods. A panel saw is even easier than a track saw to set up and use, plus takes up less space while in use.

[Jon Grider]

To each his own. It appears the OP has made a ton or two of sawdust with his TS over the years and now prefers the track saw. From the outside looking in, I surely appreciate the apparent advantages of the track saw in some situations, but I don't see the need for me. I have adequate room for cutting sheet goods on my 66, and also have used a clamped straight edge as a guide with a circular saw many times. Track saws are more precise than a TS? If the need for accuracy of .0001" is needed, the project is probably not a great candidate for wood or wood products anyway. I have yet to have anyone complain that the tolerances my on cabs or furniture are too large. That piece of sheet goods you may try to maintain machinist tolerances on when ripping is probably .060" at a minimum off of being flat anyway, and most likely triple that.
For me I'd rather spend the $$ to feed my addiction to beautiful wood. However, if I hit the lottery..............

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Jesus did fine without one.

[David Ragan]

Well, I just read most of the posts on this thread cause my CS got bound up with me cutting across some 3/4 BB this afternoon. Was using a aluminum guide-pushing CS next to it. Not sure what went wrong. Makes one kinda nervous that blade spinning like that, binding, bad smells generated via burning wood.

Guess the next innovation is going to be one of the TS combos. Don't have any Grizzly stuff yet, seem to be good. Will investigate before taking the plunge. Festool, of course, is superb.

[Allan Speers]

I've built quite a few cabinets and there is no track saw made that will square up a plywood panel.

Simply not true.

At the risk of sounding like a shill for their company, A Eurekazone track system with one low-cost & basic add-on makes dead perfect 90 degree cuts in less time than it takes to wrestle a 4X8 sheet up onto your tablesaw.

I drive home from the yard, put 2 sawhorses behind my truck, drop my portable EZ table onto the sawhorses, slide the plywood onto the table, (Which is at the exactly height of my tailgate) drop my 5' miter track onto the plywood, and cut a dead-perfect line at 90 degrees exactly.

You'd still be wheeling that plywood into your shop.

[Art Mann]

I used to be insulted but now I just laugh at people who tell me something isn't possible when I do it all the time.

[Allan Speers]

Allan, I am glad that you added "IMO". I do dados (and rabbits) with my TS and on my router table and have even used a jig with my handheld router. Each has it's place. Personally I prefer a TS where you can tweak the dado width with shims or in my case with a dial-a-dado. And the blade isn't trying to pull the bit to one side as with a router, nor does the sawdust get packed in the slot and you are working on a CI table top.

Ole,

You raise good points, but as a counterpoint:

1: The bit wanting to go sideways isn't a problem at all for me, because my router is mounted to my EZ track. Not only does the track offer much more support, it lets you push the router in either direction. In other words, you can have it cutting away from the edge, with complete safety. Granted, getting the EZ routing base is a significant extra expense, but I bloody LOVE doing most routing tasks with the track.

2: I know what you mean about dust clogging, but I recently got an upturn bit, or whatever it's called, (I forget) and that vastly minimizes this problem as it pulls the dust upward, where my Festool shop vac can gobble it up.

[Rich Riddle]

I am building a greenhouse down a very steep hill and found the track saw indispensable today. It certainly has its place when one cannot muscle down a table saw to a job site. Other tools might work just as well, but for me the track saw offers quick and accurate proficiency.

[Mark Blatter]

I think you're confusing a track saw with a panel saw.

Ahhh, someone mentions the single tool I miss the most from my old shop. I wrestled many a sheet of melamine onto that Striebig saw and made the most accurate cuts. In a perfect shop, I would have a sliding TS and a Striebig panel saw.

[Alan Lightstone]

You need air.

Actually, you need oxygen. The nitrogen comes along for the ride.

My $0.02? Have both a Festool track saw and a Sawstop table saw. Both have their place, I use both. I think the skill of the workman dwarfs the choice of the tool. I just use it to save space in my small shop. And, it's a nice way to trim veneer sandwiches for barely visible butt joints (which can also be done with sandpaper, a shooting board, and a million other ways).

[johnny means]

I closed my shop up recently, but had a 10' Martin, SS ICS, and a Festool TS 55 for making straight cuts. I consider myself a serious woodworker (fulltime, professional, custom). IMO, anyone one who thinks breaking down sheet goods with a tracksaw is faster or easier than a good table saw or slider either doesn't know how to handle materials or is operating under some sort of handicap. Also, the gap in productivity grows with every cut. I can set a fence at 4" and have sheet of ply ripped down into strips in a couple of minutes. No setup other than initial fence setting. Your probably looking at half an hour with a tracksaw.