Track Saw versus Table Saw

[Eric Arnsdorff]

Thanks for the discussion all!
The way I'm using both seemed to be normal for building a wide range of items that I seem to end up doing. Just from a few projects I've used my track saw on have more than made it worth the investment in the short time I've had it.
But my table saw is my go to saw for most of my shop work building various furniture type items and such.
My curiosity has been satisfied.

[Jim Becker]

Bottom line: Complimentary tools. It's always nice to have multiple choices!

[Tom Bussey]

I looked at a lot of you tube vides today about comparing brands of track saws and how they cut . I looked at both corded and cordless. And if I was a contractor I would have one in a minute. They seem to be very good at braking down sheet goods. But I doubt that one can get a piece of plywood cut parallel at 23 1/2 inches as parallel as a table saw and cut at 34 1/2 inches using the 5 cut method. and that is just one side of a lower kitchen cabinet.

I built a kitchen for a church I used to go to and it took 35 sheets of plywood. And to make a long story short a track saw would have been more trouble than it was worth.

$600 to $900 so on can cut a sheet of plywood to whatever is not cost effective. Be truthful now, how many pieces of plywood did you saw up in the last months? I bet the average is less that 2 in the last 3 months for the woodworking hobbyist.

So the question was should I buy a track saw or a table saw and my answer is, I have 2 table saws and 3 band saws, 1 RAS but no track saw or Compound sliding miter saw.

[Jim Becker]

Tom, honestly, you can get a dead-on parallel cut with a tracksaw if you measure accurately and put the track right on the line. And it takes less physical effort than using the table saw...cabinet OR slider. But it's not for everyone and anyone doing volume would be better off using a slider or a table saw...with a helper.

[Harvey Miller]

How well do I remember pushing 50 lb. 4x8 sheets through my 100 lb. Ryobi BT3100 table saw single handed. The tension! The tipping! So glad I got a track saw for that. Now that I have a 3 hp cabinet saw I still break down my sheet goods with the track saw.

[Ben Rivel]

I couldnt imagine not having both. Wouldnt even want to try.

[Tom Bussey]

Yes it is always nice to have multiple choices. And yes I brake down plywood so I can take it to the table saw. I have a folding table I pull the sheet goods out of the truck and onto the table. I use a straight edge, and a $5 circular saw. that I bought at a garage sale. And I have less than $50 invested not $600 to $900. invested. And the cut is only as good as the person laying it out and a wide pencil with will put something out of parallel. If you are cutting stiles and rails of cabinet face frame or doors out of oak I drought the use of a track saw. Again if I was a contractor I would have one in a minute but as a home hobbyist, cost wise, it just isn't practical. I am simi professional and I just don't feel the needs.

This is the original post

This is really just curiosity. But...
How do people use a track saw in place of a table saw?

I’ve bought a Makita track saw recently and I’m super happy with it. I have a Unisaw table saw and I’m very happy with it. I’ve been using both for the cuts that make the most sense for either. But my table saw is my go to saw. I see comments and posts about people saying they don’t use their table saw anymore now that they have a track saw. My guess is the things they’re building is mostly sheet goods based. I’m curious about it and if maybe I’m missing how others may be using their track saw.

I guess I have problems with people saying they don’t use their table saw anymore now that they have a track saw and having a beginner reading that a track saw replaces a table saw being fooled.

If a person gets dead on parallel cuts that are that are repeatable with a track saw which I take with a lot of grains of salt, it is your work go for it.

[Jim Dwight]

Tom,

I have no difficulty cutting square and parallel cuts with my track saw. I am sitting in a room with a 7 foot long cabinet that has an inner structure of plywood cut with my track saw. The dados were cut with a router in a special attachment that slides on the track saw track. The cabinet is square and the soft close drawer slides work smoothly. I recently made a cabinet for my utility room totally out of plywood. It is over 7 feet long and has 10 drawers. Again cabinet is square and drawers work smoothly. Plywood was cut, not broken down, with the track saw.

I believe I posted here the track setting guides I use. I set the dimension I need on the guide and then use it to position the track and then make the cut. I find this to be more accurate than cutting to a mark. The hairline pointer on the guides is set to cut to match the steel rulers I use in the shop. You have to learn some new techniques like this to get the most out of a track saw but once you do, it is a very accurate and comparitively safe way to cut large pieces.

I cut up three sheets of 3/4 today working at my church. If they had told me in advance I would be building the pieces we built I would have brought my track saw. But I did not have it so I used a circular saw and straight edge. It worked and was accurate enough for what I was building but not nearly as accurate as my track saw and significantly more time consuming. I also used a table saw that has a big sliding table for the cuts that were within it's capability but some had to be done with the circular saw (while a big saw it only has about 24 inch rip capacity, some of the pieces were 40 inches long). It cut up one sheet of 3/4 and two sheets of thin plywood last week for some floating shelves in my house. I don't cut plywood every week but I do it fairly often.

I really like bringing sheets home in my pickup and sliding it directly out onto my cut table. At home I'm doing it by myself. At church I had a helper (or 2 or 3) but I can do full sheets easier by myself when I can move it this way and cut it with my track saw.

I've been making sawdust for about 50 years. I started long before there were track saws. I know I could survive without it, I did today. But life is much easier with it. Some new ideas are really better.

I put flat panel doors and drawer fronts on the cabinet I am sitting closest to and a couple flat panel doors on the utility room cabinet. I cut the plywood panels with the track saw but the rails and stiles were cut with my table saw and CMS. I could cut them with the track saw but it would be significantly more difficult. I try to use each tool for what it does best (or easiest).