The Festool track saw requires no clamping or measuring. Just lay its edge on your layout marks and cut.
Contributor
The Festool track saw requires no clamping or measuring. Just lay its edge on your layout marks and cut.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."
Moderator
That's one of the primary reason's I love mine...it's 100% as accurate as my measuring and pencil marks and the track stays put, too.Originally Posted by andy bessette
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
Same with the Makita - - but - - I've found that clamping is the only sure way to go.The Festool track saw requires no clamping or measuring. Just lay its edge on your layout marks and cut.
I've had both Festool and Makita tracks slip.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
Contributor
You always have the option to use clamps with Festool tracks, however I've never had a rail slip or not be glue-up ready. Since I work in my 2-car garage, the advantages of track, saw and table have been immeasurable.
Contributor
Never had a track slip in many years of use. Proper technique, which includes cleanliness and applying light pressure to the track ahead of the cut, should assure this. Only once have I used a clamp; that was when making a vertical cut on a bulkhead already in place on a yacht, since gravity could not aid in keeping the track in place during the cut.
"Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."
Moderator
I've used clamps for my rail a few times for "unusual" circumstances, such as when using the track saw to "adjust" something on an already existing piece of furniture or something fully or partially assembled, but in general, on flat surfaces, I've not felt the need to clamp them. The Festool and Makita rails are virtually identical...I have one of the latter for "really short" cuts.
--
The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...
Contributor
I have the Makita along with two 55" rails. I have used it much more than I ever anticipated, however, I am still annoyed with the Makita rails because both of them are bowed. Not lots, but perhaps 1/16" so every cut is bowed.
Recently I was making some desk tops out of 6/4 cherry that were going to be 112" long. I didn't even try to joint the boards. Instead I used a long straight edge to mark the boards on one edge, then used the track saw to joint them. Instead of the rail, I used an 8' piece of plywood off-cut from anther job. With one exception, every cut was good enough to use for glue ups.
I would like to get a new track saw since mine fell off a cutting table and bent the base, but it still works well. I won't buy another Makita since the rails were both wrong. I have read reviews that say this is not an uncommon problem and I will not reward Makita for making an inferior product. Grizzly has their track saw on sale right now, but not sure I want to go that route either. I will not go green either as the money is just too much, so I make do with the Makita, but I don't recommend the saw any more to anyone.
I do like what a track saw brings to the table though. Can be very handy and useful, more than I ever thought reasonable.
Contributor
wow, I always thought of track saws as expensive and not justified for my hobby shop. Now I hear a voice coming from my wallet, "Danger", "danger" , Danger". LOL. This just went up a few notches on my wish list.
[OP]
Contributor
Benjimin - Me too...if mytrack saw hadn't about fallen into my lap, I'd still be figuring offsets, using a straight edge and then running everything thru the table saw 4 times to clean it up. I always felt it was an expensive luxury, now I think it is an essential tool.
Contributor
The Festool track saw and MFT got me started in woodworking. I don’t own a table saw. Have gone back and forth on that for years, but the precision of the track saw, along with the band saw and hand planes, are enough for me at the moment.
Contributor
"Good" hardwood plywood is expensive stuff. It adds up quickly when you either throw away some of it on having to make adjustment and/or cleanup cuts - - or - -if your shop made circular saw guide moves a bit and you lose a good sized chunk of it to an - oops.wow, I always thought of track saws as expensive and not justified for my hobby shop.
I won't lie about it - I'm a cheapskate and I'm not the most adept hand at doing stuff. I paid bottom price for things like my initial set of tools ($cheap Ryobi circular saw) and $cheap blade. I was struggling to cut a sheet of 3/4" plywood using a shop made guide & right in the middle of the cut, the blade bound & the saw stopped. I had it at that point. An upgraded saw was going to run from $125 to $200. I'd ruined a half sheet of $50 plywood - and got to thinking abut the whole thing.
I went out right then and there and spent $800 on a Festool TS55EQ, extra track, connectors & track clamps & haven't looked back since.
My quality of work has soared - things are much simpler - I actually enjoy doing stuff now, where before it was just a frustrating struggle that ended up with a crap outcome.
Plus - from a cost standpoint, I've saved almost as much in terms of trimmings and unruined pieces of plywood & not having to lay out for a really good circular saw as I have invested in the Festool track saw...
Huge, huge, huge plus for the Festool is - I can turn around after using it for about 7 or 8 years and reclaim a huge chunk of my initial outlay.
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." - John Lennon
Contributor
Edwin, I used a sawboard for years also. I had a 4' one and an 8' one. My standard skil saw was unbalanced on the thing so I found a porter cable saw with the motor on the other side. A guy gave me a Festool track saw (long story) so now i have two portable circular saws that I almost never use.
Other tools that are mostly obsolete:
Corded hand drill. I still use a big right angle drill for high torque but my little 20v Dewalt Max gets used a lot.
Corded angle grinder. I was traveling and needed an angle grinder and bought a Dewalt Max to use the same batteries. Never went back.
Aforementioned portable circular saws (2)
small hammer drill. I have a Bosch Rotary hammer that makes the little one look pretty wimpy
Contributor
I have 2 of the sawboards - 54" & 96". I use a PC 314 trim saw, it's worm drive so is quite a bit longer than it is wide. IMO that makes it easy to keep the base from drifting away from the fence. I used 1/8" masonite for the sawboard base to minimize cut depth loss. I used a scrap of aluminum/graphite honeycomb panel for the fence, it doesn't seem to move at all with the seasons. I made the base overwidth then carefully ran the saw along the fence so the edge is zero clearance. I don't use it much but it seems to work pretty well and the price was right.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote