Track saw troubles

[Joe O'Connor]

I just got a makita track saw for Christmas and it is sweet. One problem though, I end up with slight burn marks on sheet goods and pretty severe with hard maple. My thought is that the base may not be aligned with the blade, I did a quick check with a tape and it looked ok. I thought you guys might have come across this problem or have a suggestion for a better way to verify alignment. I'm using the blade that came on the saw 48 tooth and other than the burns the cuts in plywood are great. Thanks.

[Mike Goetzke]

It's been a while but I once had a Makita track saw system. I had burning too. As I recall it was due to the blade. I was able to buy some round shims to adapt a thin kerf Freud blade with less teeth - worked great.

Mike

[Jared Sankovich]

Lower the speed a bit. I initially had the same issue with my Makita and have had no issues with burning since.

[John Schweikert]

Too slow a cut rate is typical for burns. A blade with fewer teeth might be needed if you are ripping the maple. Maple is notorious for burning anyway.

I know on the Festool track saws, the blade is toed in by a up to about 5 thousandths to reduce so much side tooth burning the wood. I rarely get burning on my TS75. Not sure if the Makita can be adjusted in a similar fashion.

But if anything, one blade on a track saw will not do all tasks. I use an 18 tooth rip, 36 tooth general blade, and 54 tooth fine cut for better ply.

[Dale Murray]

I have one and am continually blown away at the quality of cuts I get. No burning, and using original blade.