Tracksaw for thick Bevel Cuts - Festool 75, Eurekazone?

[Patrick Irish]

I'm in a 2 car garage with cabinets on one side and a reloading bench on the other. Messing with sheet goods is a pain or feeding really long pieces into the table saw too as I'm max 6 feet in front of the saw before I hit the sink :mad:

Looking at tracksaw I can't decide. I want to be able to cut consistent 45 bevels in say 1 3/4 material or thicker. The festool ts 75 is an option. Can the eureka zone tracks with a good circular saw do that? I have a porter cable 13 amp circular saw, think it's an 8" or so. Wouldn't mind getting a new circular saw like a makita 10" if it will suit my needs.

Came across Mafell and drooled. Who buys those? Even more than festool.

Being able to toss a 4x8 on stands and quickly break it down would also be nice. I'm slow in lining up straight edges and clamping etc.

[Mike Cutler]

Patrick

From my experience, the Eureka zone system and baseplate, will decrease the effective blade cutting depth by about 3/4", at least my system does.
With my Eureka rails and baseplate, my Makita 7-1/4" circular saw will not cut through a standard 2x4, at 90 degrees. It lacks about a 1/16th of an inch. My Milwaukee worm drive saw has an 8-1/4" blade and definitely can cut through a standard 2x4 material, but I've never tried to bevel cut with it.
That bevel cut is going to require 2-5/8" minimum blade depth to make a bevel cut in 1-3/4" material, ad this doesn't include having the gullets completely clear. I also have a TS-75, and I can try this for you, but I think it will be right at the limit of a TS-75. The Festool only loses about an 1/8th inch of depth on the guide rail
A 10" Makita might make this cut for you on the EZ guide rails.

[Jamie Buxton]

For me, really deep bevels is a rare thing. I have a real track saw (a festool 55 with a nine foot rail) which does all my usual operations. For deep bevels, a 10” circular saw like the Makita, with a kludged-up straightedge thing. It may not be as easy to use as a real track saw, but the capacity and price are better.

[Jim Morgan]

Like Mike said, the EZ system has a relatively thick rail, and the saw that you supply sits on a base plate, so you lose a considerable amount of cutting depth. The TS75 is specced to cut 2 1/8 at 45° while running on the rail.