Which parallel guides for Makita Track Saw?

[Jason Winterrowd]

I am looing at the Seneca and TSO parallel guides. Which guides do you have and how do you like it?

[tim walker]

HI Jason, in the market also. I had not seen the Seneca. Looks very simple. The TSO requires the two TSO squares to work or so it appears. The Seneca does not. So I would lean more toward the Seneca I think but no experience using either.

[Jim Dwight]

precision also makes some: https://precisiondogs.us/products/precision-parallel-guides. I had to make mine for my DeWalt so I do not know how these work. I have dogs from precision and they work fine.

[tim walker]

I have a question about parallel guides. I understand that track squares are almost a necessity in a one man (older man too ) shop for braking down sheet goods, but if I have a good table saw (SawStop PCS), is there a need for me personally to have parallel guides? Mind you this is inside a shop, not mobile.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have the TSO Square and their parallel guides. I use these with my Festool track.

I also have a Sawstop table saw.

I find the parallel guides only useful when breaking down along the length. I use the square, attached to the track, for cross cutting.

Most times, I break down the sheets about a 1/4" oversize and then run the smaller pieces on my Sawstop to final size, which usually removes the factory cut edges.

Using this method, the parallel guides really don't offer much of a benefit. I can manually place my track to within 1/64" of parallel over an 8' length and the track doesn't move once placed.

I spent about $400 on the parallel guides and necessary fixtures, but it's one tool I rarely reach for.

[Harvey Miller]

I have the Senecas. They're good, but you have to torque the star knobs down to keep them from slipping. If you google Seneca Parallel Guide improvements you'll see a solution. I prefer the track saw to the table saw for breaking down sheet goods. It's easier in my small spaces to slide a 10 lb track saw (TS75) 8 feet than a 40lb piece of ply 16 feet over the Sawstop. if it's a single cut I'll just use a pair of Dewalt guide clamps rather than setting up the Senecas.

[Dick Mahany]

I've had the Seneca parallel guides for about 4 yrs and like them. TSO wasn't an option back then and the Festool guides were overly complicated with a price to match.

The Seneca guides worked well however they did slip on me with the stock supplied hardware. I changed the upper star knobs to the adjustable lever type and also replaced the nylon setscrew on the lower piece with brass tipped set screws. No more slippage and they are super easy to use.

Adjustable clamping lever handles:
439616

Brass tipped set screw replaces nylon set screw:
439617

I used them extensively to build many cabinets and they were very repeatable. I didn't like that method however when ripping long narrow face frames, although they did work, but it was difficult to balance the track with the parallel guides on narrower boards, so I purchased a table saw for that purpose.

[Jason Winterrowd]

I have a question about parallel guides. I understand that track squares are almost a necessity in a one man (older man too ) shop for braking down sheet goods, but if I have a good table saw (SawStop PCS), is there a need for me personally to have parallel guides? Mind you this is inside a shop, not mobile.

I dont think its necessary to have the parallel guides if you have a table saw. I also have a full size table saw and I rough dimension my plywood panels with my track saw than use the table saw to cut to final dimension. I think it would reduce time if I was able to make final cuts with the track saw and there would be also be reduced waste. I have an incra fence on my table saw with a max 32" cut capacity. I often cut lengths larger than 32" and I dont like crosscutting large panels on my table saw. I think a guide rail square and parallel guides would make this a lot easier.

[Jason Winterrowd]

thanks for the photos. I think the Seneca guides and the TSO guide rail square would be a good combination.

[Jim Dwight]

I had to make parallel guides for my DeWalt, nobody offers them, but after I made them I decided I don't want to use them. I might again some day for now I will use my home made rail setting guides instead. It is just a piece of plywood with a movable stop indexed by a hairline pointer with a dado in the plywood to go over the guide rail of the track saw. I have to check both ends but I can easily set the dimension I want, set one end of the track, check the other end, and then go back to the first end one more time. If I want multiple pieces, they come out essentially identical. I did not find my parallel guides to be any more accurate nor is my table saw more accurate (it's a PCS).

Crosscuts are best made IMHO using long dogs on a rail and other dogs supporting the work in a holey workbench top. For one or two, however, I just use my 18 inch plywood square that I added a fence to both to mark the cut location and to align the guide rail. Simple, fast, and accurate.

I will soon post a few pictures of a cabinet I just finished that I used the track saw exclusively to make the cuts. I used my table saw only to cut solid wood edging for the plywood and later to make the doors and drawer fronts. I could have used the track saw for this too but the table saw was more convenient. I see no reason to cut to rough size with the track saw and then recut on the table saw. The finish cuts with the track saw are as accurate and clean as off the table saw. It wastes time and a little material to use the track saw only for rough cuts.