Quality of cuts with a track saw

[Wayne Jolly]

I am thinking about buying a track saw but I am wondering how good (meaning clean) the cuts are. Currently I am using a shop made guide that is made from a piece of Oak and some hardboard. It works fine as long as I make two cuts. One scoring cut no more that about 1/16" deep, and then lower the blade to a depth that will cut through and make a second pass. If I don't make the scoring cut, the top edge of the plywood is essentially shredded when cutting across the grain on the top layer. Also, dust collection on my circular saw is non-existent so it makes a huge mess.

I've watched a few videos and it APPEARS that you make a single deep pass and get perfect cuts top and bottom. Is this correct???? It would be great to mark the location, clamp the saw tracks, and cut. WITH DUST COLLECTION too.


Thanks,

Wayne

[Nick Lazz]

I have the Makita and 55" track. The cuts are perfect. I've used it to cut plywood and finished projects like on an entry door I made. I've even used it to cut a laminate counter top to length for two smaller work stations. The track has a rubber guide that the blade runs right up against that eliminates tear-out and chipping. I've just been using the blade that came with it too.
Also, unlike other techniques I've used, there is no need to clamp the track. The rubber feet that run the length of the track hold it securely in place.

[Van Huskey]

Over the years I have had the Makita, Dewalt and Festool TS75 and still have a Dewalt and Festool. The first thing is blade quality, I found the Festool blades were better than the Makita and Dewalt but Tenryu, Freud and Forrest all make blades as good as Festool that fit all the 160mm saws. In the end I have found that Festool has slight advantage in cut quality on the off cut side, which allows you to use that waste without having to recut the edge. With the same blade the cut on the saw side is essentially the same with all three. I have never used the cheaper saws nor have I used the more expensive (and generally considered better) Mafell. I never felt the need for scoring cuts (as some tracksaws do) or blue tape tricks to get fully acceptable cuts in sheet good from any of the saws when they had a quality blade in them.

[Mark Blatter]

I have the Makita and think the quality of the cut is very good. However, if I want to use the edge as is without any additional work, I do a score cut first. That is easy as the Makita has a function allowing it.

[Larry Frank]

With my Festool, the quality of cut is great.

[Josh Molaver]

Festool TS75 here, just finishing a project using walnut veneered plywood - absolutely perfect cuts single plunge using the stock Festool blade and their splinter guard. Whereas on my table saw, Forrest Woodworker ii blade I had to make scoring cuts or splinter city...

[Mike Henderson]

I have the Festool TS55 and it gives a perfect edge. I'm always amazed as how well it cuts.

Mike

[Len Rosenberg]

I have the Festool TS55 and it gives a perfect edge. I'm always amazed as how well it cuts.

Mike
+1 I have the Festool TS55 and the edges are perfect.

[Matt Roth]

My Makita makes a better cut than my table saw.

[mark mcfarlane]

Festool TS55 currently with an Oshlun blade. Cross grain cuts in birch plywood (making a lot of cabinets lately) have a little tearout, but not enough that I worry about it, especially for paint grade work. Not perfect results for me, but very good (an order of magnitude better than my old PC saw).

Guess I need to get my Festool blade resharpened.

FWIW, it is also possible to damage the clear plastic 'zero insert' guide. Then you need to replace it. Kind of an expensive piece of plastic. Don't ask how I know this....

[Rich Engelhardt]

Guess I need to get my Festool blade resharpenedYep....don't forget to buy another edge strip also as you mention. The Olshun blades I used in my TS55EQ left the edge strip a teeny tiny bit shy of getting perfect cuts now.

Prior to that, my Festool 60T blade and new edge strips gave perfect cuts. No tiny chips in Formica or little fuzz splinters in luan.

[Mike Goetzke]

Festool TS55 currently with an Oshlun blade. Cross grain cuts in birch plywood (making a lot of cabinets lately) have a little tearout, but not enough that I worry about it, especially for paint grade work. Not perfect results for me, but very good (an order of magnitude better than my old PC saw).

Guess I need to get my Festool blade resharpened.

FWIW, it is also possible to damage the clear plastic 'zero insert' guide. Then you need to replace it. Kind of an expensive piece of plastic. Don't ask how I know this....


Over the years this is what I have found too, the blade choice is very important. Several years ago I bought a Eureka Zone rail. It has zero clearance strips for the rails and a piece on the saw. I have found that even without the strip on the rail a 40-th Freud Diablo thin kerf blade will give you an excellent crosscut on veneered ply if you push the saw slowly.

Mike

[Dale Murray]

I have the Makita and love it. I when I needed to straiten the edges of 8/4 hard maple (before I had a jointer) I bought a Festool 12-tooth blade for the Makita and it worked like a charm.

Absolutely zero complaints.

[Wayne Jolly]

Thanks everyone. My budget doesn't allow for the green, but I think I will look into the Makita. I don't really NEED a track saw, but dust collection is getting to be more and more WANTED. My old Craftsman circular saw doesn't have a dust collection option, buy it is REAL good at dust dispersion. Three of four cuts and my entire 3-car garage is coated with chips, and I am in serious need of a shower.

Wayne

[Ben Rivel]

TS 55 REQ here and cut quality and dust collection are the biggest factors of why I chose the Festool.

[ed vitanovec]

I had the Makita and the cut was excellent, blade that comes with Makita is a really good one. I now have a used Festool
TS75, not sure how much use the blade has but the cut quality is really good too. I will buy a new blade soon and will try the infinity track master blade, 48T for $60. I think these saws do a really good job and believe a good blade is very important.

[Mark W Pugh]

I'm always amazed that Eureka Zone tools are never mentioned in these threads. I have their products, and they break down ply, and make straight cuts on hardwood lumber just fine. I do have a dedicated saw for the applications.

Dust collection is OK. Your saw can use any blade you want to, and it's cheaper than other products. I'm a weekend woodworking warrior, so I don't need the most expensive/better products.

http://www.eurekazone.com/default.asp

[Craig Stueve]

Thanks everyone. My budget doesn't allow for the green, but I think I will look into the Makita. I don't really NEED a track saw, but dust collection is getting to be more and more WANTED. My old Craftsman circular saw doesn't have a dust collection option, buy it is REAL good at dust dispersion. Three of four cuts and my entire 3-car garage is coated with chips, and I am in serious need of a shower.

Wayne

Wayne, I just pulled the trigger on a track saw myself and went with the Makita. I own several Festool pieces as well as a CT but simply could justify the $260ish premium for the TS55. Since the only real complaint I have heard on the Makita is the somewhat inconsistent quality of the track itself. With that in mind I wanted to go with a local supplier to eliminate the need for shipping back and forth if there was an issue. For a few more days Home Depot has the Makita kit for $397 plus another $20 discount going on now. I opted to have it delivered to the store and pick it up there. So for the saw, 55" track and a pair of the Dewalt track clamps I spent $432ish.

[Jim Dwight]

I think the best way to think about the cut quality is equivalent to the table saw. Depending on the blade, it could be a little better or worse but basically it is the same. A bad blade on either tool would make it worse than the other. With equivalent blades, you get equivalent cuts. That said, the blade that came with my DeWalt is better than some of my table saw blades. So maybe it is better to say equivalent to a good table saw with a good blade.

[Mark Dodson]

I've got a Festool ts55 myself and for sheet goods, it can't be beat. Both crosscutting and ripping are great. I've also used their solid surface blades and it sure beats pushing that heavy material across a table saw.