Convince me I need a track saw.

[Warren Wilson]

I don’t think it’s my responsibility to convince anyone to buy a track saw. (I might show mine off to a friend, but that’s a different thing entirely).

On the topic of what do you use them for, one thing I use mine for all the time is flush cutting the end grain when I have glued solid wood to plywood like edge banding. I do it to have a nice glue line for the next layer of edge banding. It is particularly nice when I have a diagonal to cut.

Here’s a little folding table I made for our travel trailer after my wife saw someone else had one.

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[David Sloan]

The points have all been made by many folks but for me one of the biggest benefits is the excellent dust collection. I love my Festool track saw and I resisted buying a track saw for years. I became so fed up with the clouds of dust associated with my Kreg Accu rip and Accu cut. And that’s a system that works quite well but a true track saw is so much better. A track saw is a luxury for a hobbyist but as I get older I appreciate so much more the luxury of nice tools. Life is short and if you can afford it, buy a tool you can admire and appreciate even if you could manage without it!

[Gustav Gabor]

If I may add on to Jim's comment, the aluminum track from a track saw is precisely straight. A shop made circular saw guide will only be as straight as the saw that cut the guide.
Some people have very well tuned saws and fences, but if we're talking about accuracy, I'd be surprised if a shop made guide made on even a well tuned saw will be as perfectly straight as the aluminum extrusion track.

Whether that difference in accuracy is meaningful in woodworking is a whole other debate. But the question on the table was a request for an example of why the track saw accuracy would be superior.

I guess it depends on the level of accuracy (straightness) one is trying to achieve with a track saw and the associated guide rails.
So far, I have not found one yet that was "precisely straight".
Recently, I tested various lengths of guide rails. 2 Makita 118", 2 Makita 75", 3 Festool 1.4m, 2 festool 1.9m, and 2 Festool 3m guide rails.

These were tested with a Starrett 385 -72 straight edge that has been calibrated to be within .00063" over the entire 72" length.

Surprisingly, one of the 1.9M Festool rails I measured was out of straight a bit over .048"!
That's nearly 1/16", which by any standards, is simply not straight. ... cheap 6' box levels have better tolerances than that!

The 118" ones from Makita were straight-ish for just over half their length, but started to curve during the last 4', culminating in about a .042" - ..044" discrepancy.
The Festool 3000mm were better, out only about .024" - .025"

One of the Makita 75" rails was surprisingly quite straight! ... Out only about .004" over it's entire length.
Sadly, the other one was out more than triple that amount.

I was really hoping to find a "straight" 3m Festool rail, but as I already own a Festool 1.9M, I ended up buying a 1.4M Festool rail that was within .002" of being straight.
Combining the two rails isn't exactly ideal for accuracy, but ended up better than anything I could find in a single length.

Also, accuracy is in the eye of the beholder and the job at hand. How straight do YOU need it to be?..... Some are perfectly fine with something that's out 1/32", and others are looking for machinist level tolerances in the range of +/- .0002".
The track saw rails I tested definitely do not fall in the latter category, nor should they.

Your results may vary, but do check those rails if a REALLY straight cut is needed or desired. They're not necessarily "precisely straight".

[Edwin Santos]

I guess it depends on the level of accuracy (straightness) one is trying to achieve with a track saw and the associated guide rails.
So far, I have not found one yet that was "precisely straight".
Recently, I tested various lengths of guide rails. 2 Makita 118", 2 Makita 75", 3 Festool 1.4m, 2 festool 1.9m, and 2 Festool 3m guide rails.

These were tested with a Starrett 385 -72 straight edge that has been calibrated to be within .00063" over the entire 72" length.

Surprisingly, one of the 1.9M Festool rails I measured was out of straight a bit over .048"!
That's nearly 1/16", which by any standards, is simply not straight. ... cheap 6' box levels have better tolerances than that!

The 118" ones from Makita were straight-ish for just over half their length, but started to curve during the last 4', culminating in about a .042" - ..044" discrepancy.
The Festool 3000mm were better, out only about .024" - .025"

One of the Makita 75" rails was surprisingly quite straight! ... Out only about .004" over it's entire length.
Sadly, the other one was out more than triple that amount.

I was really hoping to find a "straight" 3m Festool rail, but as I already own a Festool 1.9M, I ended up buying a 1.4M Festool rail that was within .002" of being straight.
Combining the two rails isn't exactly ideal for accuracy, but ended up better than anything I could find in a single length.

Also, accuracy is in the eye of the beholder and the job at hand. How straight do YOU need it to be?..... Some are perfectly fine with something that's out 1/32", and others are looking for machinist level tolerances in the range of +/- .0002".
The track saw rails I tested definitely do not fall in the latter category, nor should they.

Your results may vary, but do check those rails if a REALLY straight cut is needed or desired. They're not necessarily "precisely straight".

Thank you for straightening me out on this.
Apparently my opinion was off track.

[Edward Weber]

Edward, many of us already put quite a few scenarios where the track saw is a great problem solver in our individual posts. Tom, the OP. appears to have found benefit from those comments based on his most recent post.

I have gained insight from all the information given here as well but searching through a thread or two reading every post is not the same as a list. A central collection of all the benefits. A sticky maybe, What do you cut with your track saw?

[David Buchhauser]

I have gained insight from all the information given here as well but searching through a thread or two reading every post is not the same as a list. A central collection of all the benefits. A sticky maybe, What do you cut with your track saw?

Edward - why don't you go ahead and start a new thread titled: "What do you cut with your track saw?"

David

[Phillip Mitchell]

Thank you for straightening me out on this.
Apparently my opinion was off track.

Well done.

[Edward Weber]

Edward - why don't you go ahead and start a new thread titled: "What do you cut with your track saw?"

David

I suppose I can, I just thought it was something a moderator would want to do for the other members.

[Jim Becker]

I suppose I can, I just thought it was something a moderator would want to do for the other members.

It's a nice idea, but we moderators are few, volunteers and have limited time, so a community member creating a worthy resource is the most expedient way to make this happen. I suggest that the ask for the thread be something like "list what you use your Track Saw for including unique problem solving" and ask that the "merits" be left for other threads.

[Jonathan Jung]

After almost 4 years with a track saw, I've used my circular saw maybe 10 times. I build cabinetry and furniture for a living. The safety, dust collection, and speed of a track saw is worth it.