Sliding table attachment or track saw

[steve joly]

I have a staircase project coming up and it is a great excuse to add to my tool collection. I've decided that there are 2 options available that will suit my needs for the staircase and would serve me well as an addition to my workshop.

Option 1 is a sliding table attachment for my tablesaw, there are a few options available, I was considering the grizzly version.
https://www.grizzly.com/products/Sliding-Table-Attachment/T10223

option 2 is a track saw.

The price is pretty much the same, which would you rather have? I do a little of everything in my shop so it is hard to say that I have a specific need for one over the other and I think both would be nice.

[Jim Becker]

IMHO, the sliding table attachment and the track saw have different "sweet spots"; the former being better for cross-cuts and mitering and the latter being better for working with sheet goods, although with a good table setup, it can be effective for cross-cuts of solid stock, too, as long as it isn't too thick. The downside to the sliding table attachment is that unlike a true slider, there is a meaningful distance between the edge of the sliding mechanism and the actual cut line, making it more like using a "more sophisticated" miter gage than the action and capabilities you get with a true, format sliding table saw.

I own both a sliding table saw and a track saw. (MiniMax and Festool respectively) I use them both. But in the shop, it's the former; in the house, it's the latter. I occasionally pull out the track saw in the shop for something it's ideally suited for, such as, um...well..."adjustments" :o ...to something that is already partially assembled. I also have a "multi-function table" for my track saw that provides a lot of utility during home improvement tasks.

I suggest you carefully think about what part of the stair building you want to use either of these tools for and choose the one that's going to do the best job for you "now" as well as over time. If you are doing installation work for others, the track saw might be the better investment due to the portability.

[Matthew Ferreras]

IMHO the Festool Tracksaw is the way to go. While I don't have a sliding table saw I did purchase a Festool Tracksaw and MFT/3 last year and THEY ARE AWESOME!!!

You get perfect straight line rips as well as perfect 90* cross cuts if you have the setup. My one caution is that once you start buying Festool you may become obsessed (like I did) :)

My other suggestion is that you pickup a Festool vac as well as they are great. See what I mean you are already up to a saw, a MFT/3 and vac. Caution is the word with Festool but they are the best IMO.

[Chris Padilla]

I think the add-on sliding attachments for table saws fall way short of their usefulness. If you want a slider...get a real sliding table saw. With that in mind, the track saw will be way more versatile and useful.

[Cary Falk]

I use my JessEm sliding table way more than my DeWalt track saw. They do 2 different things. I wouldn't get rid of either though.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Track saw all the way.

Also - make sure you pick up a stair template jig.
Go to Lowes online and find the Stairtek Model # STTRTO.
Then go to Home Depot and find the same thing.
Go back to Lowes and call them on the phone and have them price match Home Depot ($19.99) and have it shipped to the local store.
It will come into your local store in a couple of days.
If you order it from Home Depot, they delay the shipping to your local store for a couple of weeks.

I watched this youtube video on making a jig (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSogVOmz5O4), but, decided it was easier to just spend the $20 and buy one.

[David Nelson1]

I'm going to have to side with Jim and Cary, they do similar but different jobs. I have both and won't part with either. Before you buy a slider either the Jessem, (which i don't think is available any more) Grizzly's, or Laguna's (I think all 3 are the same unit) review a post (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?161194-Need-Some-Feed-Back-Installing-A-Slider-for-the-T-S&highlight=) I started. The Laguna slider is intended for a top thickness 2" or more.

[steve joly]

Thank you for the advise, I'm not traveling with my tools I have a lot to learn before I will be doing much for other people. I'm building a staircase for my new home with curved stringers. The treads are going to be trapezoid sand 48" long. My concern with the track saw is making multiple exactly the same treads. With the sliding table I'm pretty confident I can make a jig that will allow me to make repeatable cuts.

I wish I could afford a real sliding tablesaw but I think for someone at my level not making money with this I can't justify replacing my unisaw

[Bill Ryall]

I have a sliding table on my TS. Love it, especially for repetitive cuts doing production work. Next purchase will be a track saw. I agree with the other posters- similar but different jobs. Each would have it's own strengths and weaknesses.

[Harvey Miller]

Even having a track saw & mft/3 table system I think I would try a taper jig on the cabinet saw first-
http://www.finewoodworking.com/workshop/video/a-simple-tapering-jig.aspx

[Cary Falk]

My concern with the track saw is making multiple exactly the same treads.

Have you thought about making a template and then using a flush cut bit in a router to clean up the cut after roughing them out with a bandasw or something? That way they would be exactly the same size as stated.

[Peter Kelly]

Thank you for the advise, I'm not traveling with my tools I have a lot to learn before I will be doing much for other people. I'm building a staircase for my new home with curved stringers. The treads are going to be trapezoid sand 48" long. My concern with the track saw is making multiple exactly the same treads. With the sliding table I'm pretty confident I can make a jig that will allow me to make repeatable cuts.Repeat cuts are certainly possible with the track saw and an MFT type setup.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cepg2DAkKQE&feature=youtu.be&t=3m33s

Skip ahead to 3:33

[steve joly]

Repeat cuts are certainly possible with the track saw and an MFT type setup.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cepg2DAkKQE&feature=youtu.be&t=3m33s

Skip ahead to 3:33


That at is a really nice setup, unfortunately that would be out of my budget, I'm looking to be in the $600-$700 range. It would work for my needs for sure though.

as far as a router with a template that is an option but I'm looking to add my tool collection as part of this project.

[Harvey Miller]

The MFT table is 45 9/16 inches wide and the track is trapped at either end (for normal setup). That means you’ve got to play around with it to do your 48 inch taper cut. In my opinion not worth the cost & effort when you’ve got a unisaw to rip on.

[Mike Cutler]

Thank you for the advise, I'm not traveling with my tools I have a lot to learn before I will be doing much for other people. I'm building a staircase for my new home with curved stringers. The treads are going to be trapezoid sand 48" long. My concern with the track saw is making multiple exactly the same treads. With the sliding table I'm pretty confident I can make a jig that will allow me to make repeatable cuts.

I wish I could afford a real sliding tablesaw but I think for someone at my level not making money with this I can't justify replacing my unisaw

Steve

Either method will require some type of a jig to control all of the variables.
A track saw will certainly crosscut 90 degree angles all day long, but that is the bread and butter work of a Tablesaw, with or without a slider.
One question though: Does the slider attachment have the travel necessary to safely make the long cut?

I have a Festool TS75, with guide rails, and a Jessem Mast-R-Slide on my table saw. If I were cutting these, it would be on the table saw. Crosscut to length and build a taper jig(s) for the trapezoid angles.

[Jason White]

Festool TS55 (tracksaw) and a fully-loaded MFT3 is all you need. I love mine. So much easier than trying to jig things up on a tablesaw.



I have a staircase project coming up and it is a great excuse to add to my tool collection. I've decided that there are 2 options available that will suit my needs for the staircase and would serve me well as an addition to my workshop.

Option 1 is a sliding table attachment for my tablesaw, there are a few options available, I was considering the grizzly version.
https://www.grizzly.com/products/Sliding-Table-Attachment/T10223

option 2 is a track saw.

The price is pretty much the same, which would you rather have? I do a little of everything in my shop so it is hard to say that I have a specific need for one over the other and I think both would be nice.

[Kevin Jenness]

Speaking as someone who uses a slider on a daily basis, and a tracksaw and Excalibur sliding table often, I would say the sliding table add-on will get the most use for the type of work I do (cabinets, furniture and millwork). The tracksaw gets used for things that are too awkward to set up on the tablesaws, but much less than the Excalibur for general use. Repetitive, accurate crosscuts are easier on the Excalibur, though I have not used a MFT and perhaps that is a different story.

[keith micinski]

As best as I can tell repeatable accurate cuts with a Track saw requires other expensive items to be purchased along side the already expensive saw and track otherwise all you really have is a glorified circular saw with a straight edge clamped down to a piece of wood with pencil marks on it. If you were rich and could afford both is the only way I can see buying a track saw. Everyone says it will do so much more and its way more versatile but much like a lot of us it sounds like your needs don't dictate something portable and easy to pack into a small space. A sliding table saw attachment would probably be used way more often then a track saw unless a majority of your work is sheet goods. That doesn't appear to be the case, so again I don't see a track saw helping you out much other then being one of the "cool" kids with a festool.

[Ken Kortge]

I'm not exactly sure what kind of cuts you need to make, but I wanted to make sure you know about a kind of unique track saw related cutting device called the EZ-ONE woodworking center at http://www.eurekazone.com/product_p/ezt1000.htm

Picture a track that raises and lowers on top of a rail system that keeps wood perpendicular to the track and allows use of stops to position wood (perpendicular or not) and allow perfect repeated cuts.

I've used Eurekazone's tracks and saw for years, but unfortunately so far have just not had the cash to buy an EZ-ONE. Search for "Eurekazone ez-one" on Youtube for videos. If you have questions you can post them to their forum. Lots of users there to help you.

[keith micinski]

A thousand dollars for that table seems absurd when you factor that in with the investment of your track saw and tracks. That having been said that type of system seems to be what would be needed to make a track saw really useful for something other then breaking sheet goods down. It still seems to me that these systems are excellent for working with sheet goods and larger panels but for everything else they do there are tools that do the job better a don't coast a small fortune.

[James Zhu]

A thousand dollars for that table seems absurd when you factor that in with the investment of your track saw and tracks. That having been said that type of system seems to be what would be needed to make a track saw really useful for something other then breaking sheet goods down. It still seems to me that these systems are excellent for working with sheet goods and larger panels but for everything else they do there are tools that do the job better a don't coast a small fortune.

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

I watched the video, I have to say I am very impressed, especially doing cut on small stock. As a cutting platform, I think EZ-One is much better than Festool MFT. It would be fantastic if Festool tracksaw and its rail could be used on EZ-One.

I have Festool TS55 and MFT/3, do not think it can replace table saw. After watching this video, I am convinced that EZ-One with Festool tracksaw can replace table saw for most people, and it is safer.

[keith micinski]

It does seem like a good concept but I just quit watching after the third cut in the tapered leg demo wasn't even close. If you can't even fudge your demo video to look right that means you really have to try hard to make it work right in real life.

[Matthew Ferreras]

It does seem like a good concept but I just quit watching after the third cut in the tapered leg demo wasn't even close. If you can't even fudge your demo video to look right that means you really have to try hard to make it work right in real life.

That's exactly what I thought. When I saw that I said to myself that this thing looks like crap. If they can't get it right on the demo then how is the regular Joe going to...

I just wonder how many people did not pick up on that and thought the tapered leg demo was great.

This product looks like the "innovative" Christmas Craftsman product that comes out every year that promises to do everything for you and then you get it home and it sucks (I have a couple LOL).

[Ken Kortge]

A thousand dollars for that table seems absurd when you factor that in with the investment of your track saw and tracks. That having been said that type of system seems to be what would be needed to make a track saw really useful for something other then breaking sheet goods down. It still seems to me that these systems are excellent for working with sheet goods and larger panels but for everything else they do there are tools that do the job better a don't coast a small fortune.
And here come the attacks. I knew they'd come quickly. I just wanted to make sure Steve knew such an option is out there.

The EZ-ONE does't require purchase of extra tracks or an expensive track saw. You just have to have a regular circular saw. The Hitachi 7-1/4" saw I use with their tracks cost me a bit more than $100.

I'm not sure if it is necessary to use a larger saw to cut 2x lumber. I usually use a sliding miter saw for that. The users on their forum could answer that question if you're interested.

[keith micinski]

Not attacking, just pointing out I am pretty sure there are some definite flaws in that system. I wasn't aware you could use a regular saw with that. It helps the price significantly then. I wonder though with a regular 7-1/4 saw and blade how good of a cut you can get. I have looked and there aren't to many options out there for quality 7-1/4 blades. Plus you bring up a good point about lack of power in the thicker stuff. It definitely looks interesting but only a coupe hundred bucks interesting not a grand interesting.

[Ole Anderson]

My track saw gets used for so much more than breaking down sheet goods, the original reason for purchasing one. Cutting off doors bottoms has happened at least a dozen times. Cutting a long angular slice off a board happened a few times. Off cutting a long line of deck boards after screwing them down. And the list goes on. The great thing is that you just put the edge of the guide right on the cut line, no figuring offsets and they have a splinter guard and good dust collection vs a circ saw with a straight edge. Normally you don't need to even clamp the guide down due to the rubber strips on the bottom of the track. Using a 7 1/4" saw with a guide crosscutting plywood will get you a lot of tear out.

And you don't need to go Festool, I have the Grizzly and it works fine. $280 for the whole kit including two 55" rails vs about $750 for the equivalent TS 55 Festool kit. Other options out there too.

[James Zhu]

It appears Festool tracksaw rail could be used on EZ-One with some modification based on some threads in http://www.tracksawforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1.

EZ-One with Festool tracksaw is a very attractive solution for weekend hobbyist, not for production use though. You get very good dust collection, you can make some cut which is impossible to do on a traditional cabinet saw, like long trim cut, or very difficult/dangerous like cut very thin piece from narrow stock.

Certainly, you do not have to use Festool tracksaw which is expensive, but to get the finest cut plus excellent dust collection, I would at least use Festool tracksaw, or Mafell, the best tracksaw.

[Frank Ashmore]

If you have the room . Have you looked at the
Excalibur 50-SLT40P by general inter. sliding table attachment I have had one on my saw for 20+ yrs and can miter a 4'x8' sheet of ply at a 45*

[Peter Quinn]

I've done a lot of this sort of thing, many different approaches to the work, all are valid. It's important to understand that the work is very basic and doesn't require either a sliding table attachment nor a track saw nor a euro format slider to be accomplished quickly and accurately. In fact, $30 in MDF and a few hours out your time are a far more valuable investment than any toys IMO. I'm a tool junkie by nature and don't need help justifying any tool purchase, but do try to keep things honest and in perspective. I did literally hundreds of very large very heavy pie shaped treads for a job using nothing more than a sled on a cabinet saw made from 3/4" MDF, maple runner, a few destaco clamps. I've done them with a track saw, done them on a euro slider (hardest method to set up, only worth the trouble on very thick parts with large numbers total).

You want accurate angled shapes that are the same? Buy the track saw, make a template (keeping in mind you could easily and cheaply do the same thing on a basic cabinet saw), cut your blanks close to the lines using a bandsaw or TS sled, route them to the template, or in my case pattern shape on a large shaper. The euro slider can be more nuisance than it's worth to set up for angled cuts on long tapers, a sliding table attachment on a cabinet saw like those you referenced doesn't have the stroke to pull off the long cuts or enough support across its width, the track saw involves you carefully placing that aluminum plate on carefully laid out lines multiple times.....almost definitely the road to inaccuracies. And after all these blanks are made, you still have to carefully fit each tread between the two curve formed stringers which by their nature will vary.....so having them exactly the same to aircraft precision is of little value, it's not the space shuttle, you will still be fitting tread by tread. Leave me long! And probably a bit wide....

Another approach to making such treads could be as simple as a pattern shaped carefully to your desired shape, add some fences to to guide a circular saw, screw the pattern to the bottom of each tread blank, one edge is straight, back edge gets sawn to the taper, two ends get cut to the appropriate angle with the same jig or using a SCMS, or miter gauge on your uni saw, or cross cut sled on uni saw.....or you just saw them freehand a bit over with a basic jig saw and route to the pattern which is still screwed to the tread. With three basic hand held power tools you may already own and 45min at most of template making you can easily and in a compact manner make as accurate a tread at least as any other method.

[steve joly]

I've done a lot of this sort of thing, many different approaches to the work, all are valid. It's important to understand that the work is very basic and doesn't require either a sliding table attachment nor a track saw nor a euro format slider to be accomplished quickly and accurately. In fact, $30 in MDF and a few hours out your time are a far more valuable investment than any toys IMO. I'm a tool junkie by nature and don't need help justifying any tool purchase, but do try to keep things honest and in perspective. I did literally hundreds of very large very heavy pie shaped treads for a job using nothing more than a sled on a cabinet saw made from 3/4" MDF, maple runner, a few destaco clamps. I've done them with a track saw, done them on a euro slider (hardest method to set up, only worth the trouble on very thick parts with large numbers total).

You want accurate angled shapes that are the same? Buy the track saw, make a template (keeping in mind you could easily and cheaply do the same thing on a basic cabinet saw), cut your blanks close to the lines using a bandsaw or TS sled, route them to the template, or in my case pattern shape on a large shaper. The euro slider can be more nuisance than it's worth to set up for angled cuts on long tapers, a sliding table attachment on a cabinet saw like those you referenced doesn't have the stroke to pull off the long cuts or enough support across its width, the track saw involves you carefully placing that aluminum plate on carefully laid out lines multiple times.....almost definitely the road to inaccuracies. And after all these blanks are made, you still have to carefully fit each tread between the two curve formed stringers which by their nature will vary.....so having them exactly the same to aircraft precision is of little value, it's not the space shuttle, you will still be fitting tread by tread. Leave me long! And probably a bit wide....

Another approach to making such treads could be as simple as a pattern shaped carefully to your desired shape, add some fences to to guide a circular saw, screw the pattern to the bottom of each tread blank, one edge is straight, back edge gets sawn to the taper, two ends get cut to the appropriate angle with the same jig or using a SCMS, or miter gauge on your uni saw, or cross cut sled on uni saw.....or you just saw them freehand a bit over with a basic jig saw and route to the pattern which is still screwed to the tread. With three basic hand held power tools you may already own and 45min at most of template making you can easily and in a compact manner make as accurate a tread at least as any other method.

Thank you for your advice and for keeping me honest. As I stated earlier in this thread I understand there are many ways to complete this job. However as I get close to starting this project I chose to expand my tool collection and improve my workshop in the process. This post was looking for constructive advice from people more experienced than myself with comparing 2 tools that can both achieve this goal.

My project is going to include many of the techniques discussed above, however I personally do not like using a router and a template for these type of cuts. I understand it works and many people seem to have great luck with this technique. I have better luck with making a jig for my saw and the sliding table attachment seems like it would be very good for attaching jigs to. But many people absolutely rave about their track saws and I felt that I could also do this job with one of them as well.

Do you have any pictures of the staircase that required hundreds of treads?

[Mike Cutler]

Thank you for your advice and for keeping me honest. As I stated earlier in this thread I understand there are many ways to complete this job. However as I get close to starting this project I chose to expand my tool collection and improve my workshop in the process. This post was looking for constructive advice from people more experienced than myself with comparing 2 tools that can both achieve this goal.

My project is going to include many of the techniques discussed above, however I personally do not like using a router and a template for these type of cuts. I understand it works and many people seem to have great luck with this technique. I have better luck with making a jig for my saw and the sliding table attachment seems like it would be very good for attaching jigs to. But many people absolutely rave about their track saws and I felt that I could also do this job with one of them as well.

Do you have any pictures of the staircase that required hundreds of treads?


Steve

I misunderstood what you were actually asking initially.

IMHO the slider you are looking is the better long term investment in material processing, and project flow. Project to project, through the years, you'll use that slider much more often than a track saw system. They are just such a convenient option to have on a table saw.

I have the Festool TS 75 with guide rails. It was bought specifically to safely perform the initial processing of 8/4+ lumber. I also have the Eurekazone EZ rails, set up for a Makita 7 1/4" circular saw and a Milwaukee 8 1/2" worm drive saw. My table saw has been outfitted for years with a JessEm Mast-R-Slide.
I can use the track saws on solid lumber, and have many, many times, but their true value is realized in cabinet manufacture, and the processing of sheet goods, and both systems excel at it. Making it much safer, and time expedient, for a person working alone to cut down sheet goods. They will absolutely do what you need with respects to the project you have at hand, but you have a significant outlay in $$$$, regardless of the system(s), and I own both systems, in front of you before that first stair tread is made.

So for me, personally, I'd go for the slider.

[steve joly]

Steve

I misunderstood what you were actually asking initially.

IMHO the slider you are looking is the better long term investment in material processing, and project flow. Project to project, through the years, you'll use that slider much more often than a track saw system. They are just such a convenient option to have on a table saw.

I have the Festool TS 75 with guide rails. It was bought specifically to safely perform the initial processing of 8/4+ lumber. I also have the Eurekazone EZ rails, set up for a Makita 7 1/4" circular saw and a Milwaukee 8 1/2" worm drive saw. My table saw has been outfitted for years with a JessEm Mast-R-Slide.
I can use the track saws on solid lumber, and have many, many times, but their true value is realized in cabinet manufacture, and the processing of sheet goods, and both systems excel at it. Making it much safer, and time expedient, for a person working alone to cut down sheet goods. They will absolutely do what you need with respects to the project you have at hand, but you have a significant outlay in $$$$, regardless of the system(s), and I own both systems, in front of you before that first stair tread is made.

So for me, personally, I'd go for the slider.

thanks that hat is what I was leaning towards but it is nice to hear from someone with both set ups. The slider seams like a convenient thing to have and will be used alot.

[steve joly]

Steve

I misunderstood what you were actually asking initially.

IMHO the slider you are looking is the better long term investment in material processing, and project flow. Project to project, through the years, you'll use that slider much more often than a track saw system. They are just such a convenient option to have on a table saw.

I have the Festool TS 75 with guide rails. It was bought specifically to safely perform the initial processing of 8/4+ lumber. I also have the Eurekazone EZ rails, set up for a Makita 7 1/4" circular saw and a Milwaukee 8 1/2" worm drive saw. My table saw has been outfitted for years with a JessEm Mast-R-Slide.
I can use the track saws on solid lumber, and have many, many times, but their true value is realized in cabinet manufacture, and the processing of sheet goods, and both systems excel at it. Making it much safer, and time expedient, for a person working alone to cut down sheet goods. They will absolutely do what you need with respects to the project you have at hand, but you have a significant outlay in $$$$, regardless of the system(s), and I own both systems, in front of you before that first stair tread is made.

So for me, personally, I'd go for the slider.

thanks for for the input. Nice to hear from a couple people who have access to both tools and recommend what I was initially thinking. On a side note I see that you are from griswold I'm from Lisbon and I have a cottage in griswold on pachauge.

[Peter Aeschliman]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but here's my $.02: I have both a dewalt tracksaw and an excalibur sliding table. The first, most important thing to say is that this depends in the kind of work you do (or anticipate doing). I don't work with sheet goods very often... now that I think about it, I typically only work with sheet goods when I'm making stuff for my shop. If I end up building my kitchen cabinets, that will change! But for now, I rarely work with plywood.

My track saw is the best tool in my shop two operations: (1) Breaking down full 4x8 sheets of plywood into manageable dimensions to then be squared up on my sliding table, and (2) straight-line rips on rough-saw lumber that I have face-jointed and planed (the faces are flat and parallel, but the edges are still rough).

My sliding table attachment is the best tool in my shop for accurate cross-cuts too big for my miter saw. I use my sliding table far more often than my track saw.

There are many solutions for making accurate, square cross-cuts with a tracksaw. But from what I've seen, unless you have room for a semi-permanent tracksaw table setup with the necessary accessories, it takes a bit of fidgeting to get it ready to make dead-on square cross cuts... whereas my sliding table is already there, ready to go as part of my table saw.

So if I had a gun to my head right and was forced to give one of them up, for my working style, i would keep the sliding table and would give up the track saw. But my strong preference is to keep both because there are tasks that each excel at.

Just my opinion based on my working style!

[Mike Cutler]

thanks for for the input. Nice to hear from a couple people who have access to both tools and recommend what I was initially thinking. On a side note I see that you are from griswold I'm from Lisbon and I have a cottage in griswold on pachauge.

Wow!

You're only a couple miles away.
I'm right on the Pachaug River, just off 138.
It's a little cold right now, and the garage is full of crap, but come springtime give me a shout and I'll set up the track saws and you can give them a whirl. They really are nice.
I've been trying to get them to convert to the Festool's at work, simply for the dust collection aspect, and depth of cut for staging planking. At Millstone we have to worry about not only the sawdust, but potentially radioactively contaminated sawdust. They have some cheesy dust shrouds on the circular saws we are currently using, but nothing as refined as what is incorporated into a Festool.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I wonder though with a regular 7-1/4 saw and blade how good of a cut you can get. I have looked and there aren't to many options out there for quality 7-1/4 blades.Freud 40T blade - $14.97 at Home Depot and/or the Freud 60T blade - $19.97 @ Home Depot.
Either blade, along with some blue tape, will produce a cut equal to anything my Festool TS55EQ can produce.
Those are my "Go to" finishing blades when I use my cheap Ryobi circular saw and a shop made guide to cut counter tops that have an integral back splash.

That type of cut is, IMHO. far more demanding and depends on a high quality cut more than any plain wood cutting you'll run into. The Formica has to be 100% chip and splinter free and perfectly cut. Any irregularity in the cut surface will stick out like a sore thumb when the Formica end caps are glued in place. Or I should say, when you attempt to glue them in place.

[Frederick Rowe]

I use my JessEm sliding table way more than my DeWalt track saw. They do 2 different things. I wouldn't get rid of either though.

Second this ^. The JessEm, while small in stroke length (compared to a full sliding table saw), excels at repeatable cross cuts of small/medium sheet goods and any dimensional lumber I can fit on the table saw. Track saw for ripping down sheet goods.

[Peter Quinn]

Do you have any pictures of the staircase that required hundreds of treads?

Nope. Not a one! I have a mental picture though. And scars! Not all of the hundreds were in the same building or on the same job. I didn't build the staircases, just made many of the parts. I worked for a millworks that provided treads to match custom flooring run in another part of the operation. Made lots of treads, often I never saw the finished staircase or even the plans. In this case there were 7 floors total, NYC apartment IIR, 5 floors plus servant staircase on in back of building. I've had opportunity to do a lot of odd shaped large panels of one sort or another, landings, winders, radius front treads, inlayed floor panels set around radial lines.


I can say for my home shop that a good sliding table on the cabinet saw would be much more valuable than the track saw for most projects. I have a brand new Jessum master slide sitting in the storage room for several years waiting for installation. On any given day I'm too busy to stop and actually put the thing on, but I sure would love to have it there. I recently bought a track saw and like them very much, never been my most used tool, but in some cases it has been my MVP, done things with ease that would have been very cumbersome to jig up on a stationary machine, and its portable, which means the world when I'm on a job site. But I got by for years with a traditional skill saw and a shop made track (1/4" mdf strip with a fence) and I swear its no less accurate. SO on a budget I'd get the sliding table and make a sled for the skill saw. In the specific case of your "other than rectilinear treads" I'd make a sled on the cabinet saw that runs in the miter slot to cut the tapers and do the ends what ever way suits you best, a sliding table could help there. My best "tapering jig" for big pie shapes was about 5' long, maybe 20" wide, I let the guide rail into the bottom of the sled about 1/8" using a dado so its good and straight and stays that way. The rest is just a stick of wood as the fence that sets the taper, a back stop to do the pushing, a few destaco clamps to hold things down. Very repeatable, fairly quick, less noise and dust than a router. I wouldn't do that much template work with a router personally, but I wouldn't hesitate to do with with the shaper. Is a large italian shaper in the budget?

[Jim Andrew]

I have resisted posting on this thread, but use my Hammer slider to break down plywood, if I want to rip a piece long wise, I use the rip fence, if I want to cut it the short direction, use the rip fence to set the size, pull the fence back and push the panel against the fence, then push the panel through using the crosscut fence. Get almost perfect square cuts. I saw on "this old house" demonstration of a track saw used to cut off a door, looked like a great tool. I also use the slider to straight line solid lumber, no longer need a jointer to make the boards fit together well. That is the reason I got the 79" length of slider.