Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 22 of 22

Thread: Festool Track Saw--Wow!!!

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    6,979
    where the saw is uniquely poised to make a difficult situation stupid easy.
    Exactly! I've lost track of the times I've read a post here where someone will ask "How do I .......?" and I think, "If you had a track saw, we wouldn't be having this discussion".
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,926
    Track saws are nice. I also have the TS75
    I've been cutting a lot of plywood lately for some house projects, and it is very nice to just work off the tailgate of the truck. A few sawhorses for a makeshift bench, and know the cut is exactly what you want.
    Muscling sheets of plywood, or MDF, is just a pain.

    That Woodpecker Square you got with the deal is really nice. Worked in concert with the guide rail, you know that you're about as dead on 90 degrees, as you're going to get.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,675
    'Glad you love the saw, Lisa. I'm very fond of mine.

    Track saws are extremely useful tools, both in the shop and out of the shop. Aside from the obvious uses, they can also be problem solvers, such as when one needs to trim an already assembled cabinet or whatever. I recently bought a short track from a 'Creeker that will make those kinds of tasks even easier.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    SCal
    Posts
    1,478
    Good luck with your TS system Lisa, smart purchase, great find!
    I also am a big fan of track saws.... I have the TS75 and TS55.
    My TS 55 is the battery version, very impressive...no cords of any type!!!
    Festool claims it can cut 3/4" ply 100yds on a single charge, more than I will ever do.
    dust collection in the bag is way better than I expected. Prob. 90% as good as vac. Ridding the elect and dust hose, has taken the TS55 to another level, mainly ease of use, as I hated fussin with the vac hose. This is just an FYI for anyone considering a track saw.

    Interestingly enough, I read an article in the last year on Track saw comparisons, and surprisingly, the other brands did as good or better than Festool, which surprised me. Shows how the competion is catching up. Also, just an FYI if someone is considering a rail system, as Festool price shocks just about everyone.

    Setting the rail on long cuts is still not simple if u want real accuracy...tried several after market products, all come close, but in the end, I still end up measuring, as I ruined too many cuts trying to save time. Again oNLY when extreme accuracy really matters.

    Great advise from other posters regarding the blades... using the right blade is half the battle... as well as the splinter guard when cutting woods that tend to splinter.

    The other issue I had, was where / how to cut sheets down. I settled on building an outdoor cutting station, 5ft x 10ft, which also doubles as an assembly table. Its supported by 2 saw horses, with a 2x4 skeleton frame which I leveled. On top sits a 2.5" thick dense styrofoam. I still put cheap Home Depot pink foam sheets under the sheet goods. The 5x10' stryofoam custom top was $300, cheaper to cut up the 1" thick HD foam and replace em. I put a LEG UP on the side as seen in pix, (yellow), this enables easy one person sheet lift onto the table top, even 100lb sheets are easy with this clever device. They are made for stationairy table saws for one-person sheet lifts. Anyway, I am too old to be cutting on the floor, and too hard to find FLAT surfaces this large, so this was my solution. It also frees up shop space... styrofoam can withstand the elements.

    By the time I completed my Festools TS's and all accessories, I could have bought a slider, but dont have the space for it, so the Festool rail system was a good option for me.

    20190822_144607.jpg

  5. #20
    Love my Festool saw. Only thing I can't figure out how to do is ripping thin boards.

  6. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Griswold Connecticut
    Posts
    6,926
    Quote Originally Posted by Derek Arita View Post
    Love my Festool saw. Only thing I can't figure out how to do is ripping thin boards.
    Put two boards together, edge to edge, with double sided sticky tape. They both move together as a single, wider, board.
    Of course this only works if they're the same thickness.
    I ripped a bunch of 2-3/4" wide battens to match my siding this way. Even with rough cut wood, it worked very well. I used clamps.
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  7. #22
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    North Carolina
    Posts
    27
    Quote Originally Posted by Jack Frederick View Post
    I have had the 55 for several years. The enclosed photo shows a cut made in the floor when we re-modeled the place. That trap door is about 2.5x5’. The flooring was run solid over the door and we made the cut after finish. As Far as I am concerned the saw paid for itself on that one cut.
    The floor, door and cut look great! That said, I can't help but wonder exactly how you managed this cut to get everything line up so nicely?

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •