New KREG Track Saw

[andy bessette]

Care to explain your stance on "the bottom feeder"?...purchased a work table about 2 years ago and the adjustment knob on the clamp wasn't working as smooth as I thought. This was 9:30 on a Friday morning. Saturday morning Fed Ex was at my front door with a new clamp...

OK.

Decades ago I purchased brand new bandsaw, table saw, drill press and thickness plane from Delta/Rockwell (dealer). Everything functioned as it should. About ten years later I had to replace the on-off switch on the table saw, myself, at my expense. About another ten years after that I had to replace it again, myself, at my expense.

The 2 Kreg items I have ever purchased, a pocket hole jig set and a bandsaw fence (which came with a lightly used Delta bandsaw), left me feeling "dirty" because of their cheesiness. It's possible they make better quality stuff, but I haven't seen it.

[Nick Decker]

I have several of their tools and generally like them, yet I don't consider myself a bottom feeder. If you don't like their tools, fine, but how about you leave out the name calling?

[johnny means]

OK.

Decades ago I purchased brand new bandsaw, table saw, drill press and thickness plane from Delta/Rockwell (dealer). Everything functioned as it should. About ten years later I had to replace the on-off switch on the table saw, myself, at my expense. About another ten years after that I had to replace it again, myself, at my expense.

The 2 Kreg items I have ever purchased, a pocket hole jig set and a bandsaw fence (which came with a lightly used Delta bandsaw), left me feeling "dirty" because of their cheesiness. It's possible they make better quality stuff, but I haven't seen it.

Cheesiness? Did they function as advertised? I've got a few different Kreg jigs that all have drilled thousands of pocket holes. The two I use most often probably have drilled tens of thousands of pockets. They all function as well as they did when they were new.

[Rick Potter]

As a hobbyist, I have also run thousands of holes with no apparent wear. I would think a pro would be using a Castle machine for pocket screws. I have one, and use the Kreg because I like it.

I also have two of the original cast aluminum models, and they are great, but I like the K3 (mine), and K5 better because of the front mounted lever.

Gotta get around to selling off that Castle someday.


PS: Really curious to see if the Kreg track fits my Makita track saw.

[Kevin Delgado]

Who makes tools that aren't plastic? What are all you guys using 50 year old power tools?

One, yeah.

Two others are almost 80. But I have Kreg stuff and have been generally pleased with them to this point.

[Jon Nuckles]

OK.

Decades ago I purchased brand new bandsaw, table saw, drill press and thickness plane from Delta/Rockwell (dealer). Everything functioned as it should. About ten years later I had to replace the on-off switch on the table saw, myself, at my expense. About another ten years after that I had to replace it again, myself, at my expense.

The 2 Kreg items I have ever purchased, a pocket hole jig set and a bandsaw fence (which came with a lightly used Delta bandsaw), left me feeling "dirty" because of their cheesiness. It's possible they make better quality stuff, but I haven't seen it.

I'm not sure what the Delta/Rockwell experience has to do with Kreg. Is it relevant somehow?

I own the Kreg miter gauge. No plastic on it. Well designed, easy to use and accurate.

I also bought the K5 pocket hole jig, which does have a lot of plastic and doesn't feel substantial. I was a little skeptical at first, but it works well. The plastic parts seem engineered to do what they need to do and keep the price down. I only needed it to build some cabinets for my kitchen and it worked well for that. And, after using it, I see no reason to believe that it wouldn't continue to work well for years if I find other projects suited for pocket screws.

I did have a problem with the K5's clamping handle getting stuck (a metal to metal connection). I called Kreg and, even though I didn't recall if I had purchased it directly from Kreg or from an online dealer, they immediately sent out a replacement. No questions about when I bought it or what use and abuse it might have seen. Great customer service.

[Cary Falk]

So I looked at the Kreg table today. I was looking for a portable bench more then a MFT type table but it looks like can be adapted to fit my DeWalt tracksaw pretty easily. I am not overly impressed with the build quality for $500. One of those folding formica tables are more solid once set up. That being said it is no more wobbly than the Festool MFT table that I compared it to in the store. I think I am going to hold onto my money for now. Might look into adding a table top to a Bosch gravity feed miter saw stand or the like.

[Marshall Harrison]

This. I am unimpressed with Kreg quality and engineering. An inferior product line intended for the bottom feeder.

I think I have just been insulted.

I love the Kreg tools that I have. Getting the K5 on Monday and will eventually get the ACS Master System once I can afford it.

[Art Mann]

That principle contradicts my observation. I just had a house built by a premium builder with a good group of subcontractors. What I saw was that their equipment, be it miter saw, compressor, table saw, nailer or whatever, was cheaper and lower quality than the stuff I own. Those guys are going to buy the cheapest tool that will do the job because every dollar they spend on equipment comes out of their paycheck. They don't really think in terms of efficiency.

I think a fair number here don't put a $$ value on their labor hours given that they're retired and are doing woodworking in part to fill their day. Someone doing it to make $$$ is going to have a different view.

[Greg R Bradley]

That principle contradicts my observation. I just had a house built by a premium builder with a good group of subcontractors. What I saw was that their equipment, be it miter saw, compressor, table saw, nailer or whatever, was cheaper and lower quality than the stuff I own. Those guys are going to buy the cheapest tool that will do the job because every dollar they spend on equipment comes out of their paycheck. They don't really think in terms of efficiency.

They do if they are professionals. They weren't. A true professional looks at the big picture and doesn't waste dollars to save dimes.

[Martin Wasner]

They do if they are professionals. They weren't. A true professional looks at the big picture and doesn't waste dollars to save dimes.

That's my philosophy. Cheap tools cost too much.

[Marshall Harrison]

I think a fair number here don't put a $$ value on their labor hours given that they're retired and are doing woodworking in part to fill their day. Someone doing it to make $$$ is going to have a different view.

That describes me. The things I build are built because I think the project looks interesting or a family member (usually my youngest daughter) wants it. Other things I keep or post for sale if no family or friends want/need it. Working this way allows me to take my time and ensures for the most part that I'm not dealing with finicky clients.

Being retired I have plenty of time and I don't have to worry about my "hourly rate". That keeps woodworking fun and on my schedule instead of being a a boring chore on someone else's schedule.

[dennis thompson]

I have several of their tools and generally like them, yet I don't consider myself a bottom feeder. If you don't like their tools, fine, but how about you leave out the name calling?

Couldn't agree more!

[William Chain]

Well, I got to see the whole system up close. Track saw, track, table, and all the little doodads that go with it.

The table is ok. It's a table. The one I saw seemed to be secured to the floor somehow which made it harder to assess how wobbly it is, but I freed it and messed with it and it didn't seem any more or less wobbly than the Festool MFT which was 12 feet away. There were no wheels on the display table, so I don't know if that's the same one you get for the money or not. The track was remarkably similar to the Festool track, but the aluminum seemed glossier if that make sense. The Festool track is sort of a matte finish, and slides smoothly. The Kreg one was just shinier. It felt and looked like the same thickness and stiffness as the Festool. The blade kerf strip was much different. On the Festool, it is a clear soft rubbery material that is replaceable. The Kreg kerf strip was a hard plastic and and chunks out of it from test runs with the saw. I didn't get the track off the table to see if its replaceable. I would imagine it is though. The track was secured to the table with basically T-nuts and plastic knobs that interfaced with a panel that bolted to the table. There didn't seem to be a mechanism to ensure that the track was parallel to the edge of the table or any other reference. It appeared you need to just wing that. The dogholes on the table were fitted with a pile of accessories meant to secure the workpiece and in theory were meant to hold the workpiece at a set distance from the doghole. These were all (as I feared) kinda junky plastic, and more worrying, none of them seemed to be consistent in length, each one just slight different from the others. There were a tape measure and a commercial straight edge on the table, and I verified that these cheap plastic pieces were indeed all different. That's a shame. So, no clear mechanism to align the track to the table, and the pieces meant to maybe align your workpiece appeared crappy enough to cause a problem. If anyone else has seen one of these and can address those criticisms, please do. Shame, the table top itself was flat, and seemed solid enough to do work on it as light duty bench. But the accessories let it down.

The saw itself was interesting. It feels solid, the mechanism for dropping the blade into the workpiece is solid and provides clear feedback. The dust collection can be this little bag that fits on, or that can pop off to fit the saw to dust collection du jour. The saw wobbled on the track, but I adjusted the track fit and it behaved. After one test cut it was wobbling again. The saw itself cut fine, but felt and looked kinda cheaper than the competition. Better than the DeWalt, but not as nice as the Festool, which seems in line with the $$. One thing I really didn't like was the scale on the saw for cut depth. There was a scale, but it was screen printed in what appeared to be the cheapest white paint possible, and it was crooked! I looked at two saws, both had scales that looked like a five year old slapped it on there. Weird. The mechanism to set depth was fine, worked well, locked down with a satisfying clunk, but the scale...sheesh.

There were a pile of accessories on offer - I saw two blades, a 20 tooth and a 48 tooth. They appeared to be of good quality. I think the 20 tooth was in the demo, and it cut plywood fine, no splintering or ugliness to the cut. I did the cuts without hearing protection and it wasn't obnoxiously loud at all. The blade is on the left side of the saw, you're working from right to left on the table. I can't say its a table saw replacement, it seemed that if you're cutting something longer than the track, you're in trouble, and if you're cutting something that dangles off the table on the other side you're going to have to get clever to support it and secure it to the table. I think there was 4 ft of usable space under the track.

It's pretty much what I thought it was going to be. A lot of plastic where I think there should be something more substantial, but a usable offering. I think there's a market for it. The saw was $299, and to be honest I didn't see what all was in the box. I don't think the track came with it at that price. Once you get the table, etc, you're in for $800 or so. I think you hit $1k with all the bits and bobs. It's definitely less expensive than the Festool stuff, no question, but I still feel like saving my pennies for that stuff. They'll probably sell a bunch, but I didn't see anyone picking it up while I was there. Who knows? Everyone kind of looked at it, kicked the tires, made a cut, and shrugged and went off into finishes and router bits.

I haven't seen a review or a video online or on social media that isn't from some #sponsored #sellout so I haven't seen a real unbiased opinion from someone that shelled out their own money for it yet. Hopefully we get some real world unbiased feedback on it beyond a test run in the store like mine.

[John LoDico]

There's a youtuber, Chris Salomone, who goes by the name Foureyes, who just built a project using only the Kreg saw and table. He freely admits Kreg sent him the saw. That aside, you can view the video and see the saw in action. It's here: https://youtu.be/4C1Namjo0dM