Track Saws - More Choices

[George Bokros]

I see that there are the following choices now:

Festool
Dewalt
Makita
Bosch - May not be available in the US yet

There is also the Scheppach but it is so much lower in price and has some poor reviews in Europe.

Anyone seen or have the Makita? I would be interested in opinions.

Thanks


George

[Cary Falk]

I bought the DeWalt during a pretty good sale. I am into mine for about $330. I did see a review at one time between the Makita. DeWalt and the Festool. The review said that they all pretty much gave the same results.The Makita was the only one out of the bunch that didn't have a riving knife. I like Makita tools. If I was in the market, I would likely steer clear of it because I have not heard anything about them. Most of the take on Discussion boards is about the DeWalt or Festool. All that advice goes out the window if you find a smoking deal on the Makita.

[Kevin Guarnotta]

I've got the Makita, and have been happy with it. yes it doesn't have the riving knife...but it has not been an issue for me. The way I understand it the blade is actually canted a tiny bit, so that the trailing edge is sticking out from the cut line.

When I was deciding between the different options - festool, dewalt, makita....I read the reviews. All seemed similar, Makita had one extra over Festool - when doing a miter cut, you can lock the base of the saw to the track, I guess with the festool, the saw could float a bit. If you buy clamps - go with the Dewalt speed clamps, these are compatible with the Makita, not sure if they are with festool. I know there is a lot of compatibility between the different saw accessories-but check before buying any accessories as they are not all accessories are compatible.

[Matt Meiser]

To me, its kind of like my iPad vs. Android vs. HP tablet decision a couple years ago. At the time, there were a few quality Android tablets (and a few really junky ones) but they had almost no aftermarket support for things like cases, etc. App support for Apple was much greater. HP was similar to Android, and I'm glad I didn't choose them because they exited the market just a few weeks later. Then when I replaced my phone, I went iPhone because it worked as a system with my iPad. And yes, that market has changed so its not a perfect comparison today.

I have zero regrets buying the Festool. For the extra money, you get the ability to expand and use the rails with a router and have a multitude (well, several) rail length options available. I have never seen a Dewalt or Makita in person which means that obviously that doesn't make me qualified to talk about their quality, but one thing that that does say to me is that they aren't as readily available. There are at least 4 Festool dealers within an hour radius of me where I can pick up extras like blades (not that I've needed too) replacement zero clearance edges, etc. For the others, that means you'll need to plan ahead for replacement consumables more carefully.

If you are going to break down sheet goods, I'm sure any of the saws with a good quality blade will do a fine job. The Festool system adds some nice additional (and additional cost) capabilities like a parallel guide system (check out the aftermarket one by Seneca Woodworking) and the MFT table which, while pricy, is awesome for accurate crosscutting of sheet goods. You could make your own parallel guides pretty easily. When I build my kitchen I was able to set my shop up with a cutting table and a long Festool rail with the parallel guides for doing all my sheet good rip cuts. The MFT was set up to do all my crosscutting. My table saw was set up with a dado blade for all my dados and rabbets. I cranked out all the boxes for a fairly large kitchen in 2 weekends, not including face frames or anything inside the boxes.

[Ryan Hellmer]

I've got the makita and love it. I use mine 100% for manufactured wood products (plywood, mdf ect) and in that environment can't see the need for a riving knive. As I understand riving knives, they are really there to protect from stresses internal to the material being cut to prevent kickback. Not an issue with manufacutred products. The price was great and the accessories are readily available. Apparently Grizzly has begun selling the Sheppach stateside. I think you get what you pay for. I didn't need a festool and the Makita is a great value without some of the expensive add-ons. I will say that the dust collection is outstanding. I used the track saw to cut out a sink opening in a double thickness MDF countertop. Zero dust and I could get the saw within 2 or 3 inches of the wall . Worked like a charm.

Ryan

[Jamie Buxton]

I use a track saw to make furniture and cabinets. I use it to process sheet goods, and to straight-line roughsawn lumber. For me, a key issue is whether you can get a track that's at least 8 1/2 feet long. All the manufacturers say you can join together shorter tracks to get an 8+ foot track. However, the joining mechanism has to assure that the joined rail is completely straight, and that it will stay that way while it is being banged around in a shop. The ones I've looked at do not do this. There doesn't seem to be any substitute for a single long continuous extrusion. That is, I would avoid any track saw system that doesn't offer a long rail.

[C Scott McDonald]

I have the Dewalt and really like it. The 8 ft track makes cutting plywood easy.

[Matt Day]

There's also a Grizzly track saw isn't there? Is it a copy of one of the others the OP mentioned?

[Mike Cutler]

I would avoid any track saw system that doesn't offer a long rail.

Good point! I hadn't thought of looking at it that way.

[phil harold]

any saws that can fit in another brands track?
I could see this advantageous on the job site

[Matt Meiser]

Somewhere there's a thread about that topic that shows pictures of who's saws fit which tracks.

BUT...Since you are cutting away the ZCI edge, switching saws and tracks isn't the best idea anyway.

[David Weaver]

I also have the makita tracksaw. I ordered it when I sold my TS and the few times I've had to do something that I would've done on a TS (which have all been cutting plywood), it's been very nice to have.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I might as well confirm that the Grizzly T10687 is a track saw for less than $200, and the cost of the 102" rail is about $100. At that price point, it probably spanks the other brands listed by the OP.

Looks like it's a clone of the Scheppach CS 55 when I look at the pictures side by side. 160MM blade (6-5/8"), depth of cut close to 55mm.

It doesn't have all the same features as a festool, but the basic functions seem the same.

The scheppach gets decent reviews so I suspect the grizzly to have similar performance. Though I also suspect harbor freight will have their model out soon and sell for $150 on sale. :)

[David Weaver]

It will be interesting to see how the long rail holds up in shipping. When I got mine, there was also a dewalt sale with the long rail and a whole bunch of the feedback said the long rail ended up getting bent during shipping.

I ordered the makita instead and got two 55" rails and the festool connectors, because it'll be rare that I have to make a cut more than about 40 inches. Strangely enough, the ply I cut with it was all construction work. It was so much nicer to use than a skill saw, though.

[Jim Matthews]

I have the Eurekazone track system. You can use most any circular saw with their plates.
I use it for sheet goods, only.

[John McClanahan]

I went to Grizzly's site the other day to look at the track. Nowhere could I find the length of the track.

John

[Brian Kincaid]

I purchased a DW with the extra long rail. Although some have reported shipping problems mine arrived fine. Shipped in a box made of thin mdf I think. I kept the box to store the rail.

-Brian

[Peter Quinn]

I went to Grizzly's site the other day to look at the track. Nowhere could I find the length of the track.

John

On the track saw page on Grizzly's site the top PDF is "specification sheet", the rail length is listed as 55". http://cdn0.grizzly.com/specsheets/t10687_ds.pdf This is the only rail I can see sold for this saw. There is no 102" rail I can find on the grizzly site for this saw, so the only option is to buy two short ones? I saw an earlier post talk about a 102" rail for $100, where is that available?

[Steve Keathley]

I got the Dewalt for Christmas. I haven't used it extensively yet, but I had to square up a 180 year old oak front door that I rebuilt the frame for, and it worked fabulously for that. I got the Dewalt track clamps and mitre gauge which really worked well.

No experience with the others. the track saw is a great tool though.

[George Bokros]

I have the Eurekazone track system. You can use most any circular saw with their plates.
I use it for sheet goods, only.

Is this what you have JIm?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0099PP05M/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller

Thanks

George

[Jim Matthews]

That's the one.

I chose this as I had just purchased a magnesium body Porter Cable that handles well for my needs.
I didn't pay as much as the Amazon price. If you don't own a high quality circular saw,
the refurbished Dewalt or Makita are bargains.

The sole plate of these are built to fit their respective tracks, and that's where the rubber meets the road.

I've had good results with the EZ, and it's held on with nothing more than double-sided tape!

[Kevin L. Pauba]

I'm also a happy owner of the EZ (Eurekazone) tracks. The method of joining their track assures that the tracks can be aligned perfectly. The accessories (bridge, router kit, etc.) make it a great value. The system allows me to use my choice of circular saws (I have both a Porter Cable 7 1/4" say and a Makita 10" saw).

[Mike Cutler]

I have the Eureka guide system, and the Festool guide system. Both are nice, and both can cut down sheet goods as accurately as you can measure and mark. You w'onT be able to blame your mistakes on either sytem.
I got the Festool because I needed the depth of cut offered by the TS 75. In order to get the same depth of cut from the Ez system would have required a saw bigger than my 8 1/2" 'Milwaukee worm drive. A new 10" saw would have cost $400+ and not had the added dust collection feature,which my experience using my Milwuakee Worm drive made me realize I wanted.
I've used both guide systems to joint an initial edge on rough cut lumber with great success. The EZ system may be a little better suited to this task because of the ability to locate the clamps closer to the blade, facilitating ripping a narrower board. I haven't had the Festool long enough yet to see how it perfoms on ripping material narrower than the guide.

[Mike Goetzke]

I have Eurekazone tool but that's because years ago that's what I started with. I became so comfortable with it I finally sold my Uni last year. Eurekazone now makes a tool called UEG (universal edge guide) that is compact and perfect for sizing sheet goods and once I figure out how a good way to hold the wood down it should work well with thin strips of hardwood. Right now I have my Makita 18V 6-1/2" saw on the UEG and it and I can get a little over 2" cut. This UEG doesn't require a rail so you get close to the max. depth the saw allows. Here are pic of the rails I found on-line:

DeWalt/Makita/Festool (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/EZ%20Smart/Rails/?action=view&current=rails2.jpg&evt=user_media_share)

Eurekazone (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v212/mbg/EZ%20Smart/Rails/?action=view&current=rail3.jpg&evt=user_media_share)


Mike

[Joe Scharle]

I just bought a Sheppach. While it's not a Festool, side by side comparison showed it was almost as good. Which means it cuts as well as my cabinet saw. When Grizzly offers the longer track, my happiness will be complete.

Although it will fit in a Festool track, the blade is about 1/4" outside the Festool cut line.

[C Scott McDonald]

It will be interesting to see how the long rail holds up in shipping. When I got mine, there was also a dewalt sale with the long rail and a whole bunch of the feedback said the long rail ended up getting bent during shipping.

I ordered the makita instead and got two 55" rails and the festool connectors, because it'll be rare that I have to make a cut more than about 40 inches. Strangely enough, the ply I cut with it was all construction work. It was so much nicer to use than a skill saw, though.


Thankfully my Dewalt track arrived in good condition. They ship it in a box made of thin MDF. But I will agree with you it is a roll of the dice when shiping something that long and thin.

[Rick Markham]

I love my Festool! Definitely a +1000 on getting an additional long track!

[Rich Riddle]

I have the Festool TS75 for the size it can cut. Works great. There is some vendor attending the woodworking shows who also produces a track where you may attach your saw. He's attended both Kansas City and St. Louis. You might be able to look up the attendee information for the shows and determine the name. His tracks were extremely reasonable and similar to the Eurekazone.

[Curt Harms]

On the track saw page on Grizzly's site the top PDF is "specification sheet", the rail length is listed as 55". http://cdn0.grizzly.com/specsheets/t10687_ds.pdf This is the only rail I can see sold for this saw. There is no 102" rail I can find on the grizzly site for this saw, so the only option is to buy two short ones? I saw an earlier post talk about a 102" rail for $100, where is that available?

I think the longer rail comes from 2 55" rails plus connector(s) in the accessory pack.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Track-Saw/T10687

The question of course is how straight the tracks will be once joined.