Out side of general carpentry, the only use I have for use a circular saw is to brake down sheet goods to a manageable size. And price verses amount of time spent using it determines the cost value ratio. I broke down the two sheets of plywood in about 15 minutes, actual cutting time less than 1 minutes for both pieces. only two 8 foot rips. Having read that a lot of people like track saws to brake down sheet goods. One of my question is how many sheets of plywood do you actually brake down in a year for your hobby? I know I have been woodworking for over 40 years and new things have hit the market I have researched a track saw somewhat and don't see the value to me
One of the reason I am writing this is to maybe help to put out some information that may help a newbie get a different perspective on what is needed to advance in the craft. I feel that we are being heavily influenced by marketing. Rockler has a small parts tapering sled for sale for $79 and some change and the sled I do straight line ripping is the same sled or principle.
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I built a little clamp on table to help hold and support long boards when cutting at the table saw. Take the four pieces of plywood cut in the pictures above, I ran each through the table saw with the factory edge against the fence. Then the cut edge against the fence to get rid of the factory cut. ( I had a little extra to cut off) Now if I wish to brake them down farther I just adjust the rip fence. Cross cutting is a different animal and can be a later topic.
The next pictures just happen to be a sled and a straight line rip on a piece of hard wood. The saw mill I get my lumber from doesn't straight line rip. For me it is a safety issue, I like a straight side against the fence for any other cuts in the board.
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Other uses of the infeed table
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On lumber that I straight line rip I prefer to cut them into shorter lengths with a battery saber saw.
Also I can flip the sled with the board over and use a router with a pattern bit to finish the edge on boards that are to lone to straighten effectively on a jointer.
I showed here my solution to the things I struggled with for years. A torsion box cutting table with fold up legs. No longer do I have to get on my hands and knees to cut plywood. I can put a sheet of OSB on it and I have an assembly table. My wife just used it for a garage sale. I have a couple of small block that are the distance from the edge of the circular saw to the fence to I can accurately position the fence to my cut line.
I thought I would also mention that I can do plunge cut with a circular saw so it is not a good reason to go to Menards and buy a cheap $100 track saw.
And lastly Blue Spruce has a 4 inch sliding bevel gauge on sale for $119.99. Can throwing money at a hobby elevate your skill level? I some what view a track saw along those lines but I think very handy is space is limited.