Best track saw ?

Create a review for a woodworking tool that you are familiar with (Shopsmith brand or Non-Shopsmith) or just post your opinion on a specific tool. Head to head comparisons welcome too.

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Hobbyman2
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Best track saw ?

Post by Hobbyman2 »

After the discussion on the other thread about the woodpecker addition to track saws my interest in the saws them self I became curious , if I did decide to buy a track saw what one should I get , what features make them desirable and what saws had the most features what tracks were the easiest to set up and store when not in use , I found this video and thought I would share with the question, is this a fair test ? if not why ? is there more to a track saw than listed ? again this video is about cordless saws . Other than the price and the blades I am not sure what the big difference is between using a straight edge and a circular saw and or a track saw ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I6PldFPpj0
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RFGuy
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Re: Best track saw ?

Post by RFGuy »

Hobbyman2 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 3:00 pm After the discussion on the other thread about the woodpecker addition to track saws my interest in the saws them self I became curious , if I did decide to buy a track saw what one should I get , what features make them desirable and what saws had the most features what tracks were the easiest to set up and store when not in use , I found this video and thought I would share with the question, is this a fair test ? if not why ? is there more to a track saw than listed ? again this video is about cordless saws . Other than the price and the blades I am not sure what the big difference is between using a straight edge and a circular saw and or a track saw ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3I6PldFPpj0
Honestly, if you look at 10 different YouTube reviews, you will get 10 different opinions on which tracksaw to get. Don't get me wrong, it is important to get different opinions in order to make up your mind, but there are some clear biases present in what is presented online, especially for tool reviews. For example, where the heck did Mafell come from in the Concord Carpenter video? I have heard of Mafell before, but I don't think anyone thinks they are #1 when it comes to tracksaws?!?!? Many of these tracksaw comparisons don't take into account the different track extrusions for each brand, e.g. aftermarket accessories (TSO, etc.) only fit a few brands. I think the first question you need to ask yourself is do you even need a tracksaw? A circular saw with a straight edge can surely be used and this has been done for years (though you do need to account for the offset to the cutline). A tracksaw is different because a) it is a plunge saw making it easy to drop in and cut in the middle of a sheet if needed and b) the track is a ZCI so placing the edge on the cutline results in a perfect cut on that line. Where I think those new to tracksaws get hung up is thinking about it only as "breaking down sheet goods". You need to keep in mind that using a tracksaw is intended to give a finished cut that goes straight into the project. Sure, you can use a tracksaw to break down plywood and then turn around and cut it again on a tablesaw, but that isn't leveraging the strengths of a tracksaw if you do this. Tracksaws aren't meant to be rough cuts before going to a tablesaw. I get a very smooth cut with my Festool tracksaw, so only light sanding is needed after so I can assume every piece that I cut with it is ready for assembly. A tracksaw really just gives you the convenience of being able to take the tool to the workpiece instead of the other way around. This combined with the ZCI track, and perhaps a track square and parallel guides mean you can get finished pieces right from the plywood without going to a tablesaw. This is a big convenience for those of us with small tablesaws, such as a Mark V. Yeah, you can do the same thing with a circular saw + straight edge + ruler, but it is a bit more work to setup. With tracksaws you are paying for the convenience and speed of it. Another big advantage (IMHO) is my Festool tracksaw has incredible dust collection. It is night and day difference between my old Skil circular saw cutting plywood and my Festool tracksaw. I have to use the Skil saw out in the driveway because it spews so much dust. I had to add a 3D printed aftermarket accessory to block the port where you change the sawblade, but using it with the included splinterguard on the saw and a dust collector yields very little dust after cutting plywood with the Festool tracksaw.

You'll also need to decide whether you want a cordless tracksaw or a corded one. I went corded but then I intend to only use it in/around my shop. I still consider Festool to be the ultimate tracksaw, but I may be biased. From a value standpoint, I still say that Makita is the best all around tracksaw for compatibility with aftermarket tracksaw accessories, performance and price. Others may have different opinions here on the best tracksaw.

For storage, Fastcap makes these nice tracksaw rack clamps that allow you to store the tracks either horizontal or vertical. They work really well to keep the tracks out of way in your shop until you need them. Also they are inexpensive.

https://www.fastcap.com/product/track-rack
Fastcap_tracksaw_rack2.jpg
Fastcap_tracksaw_rack2.jpg (28.86 KiB) Viewed 2492 times

You may enjoy this video on the Makita tracksaw:

📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
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dusty
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Re: Best track saw ?

Post by dusty »

It has been said, as a positive attribute of track saws, " I get a very smooth cut with my Festool tracksaw, so only light sanding is needed after so I can assume every piece that I cut with it is ready for assembly". This may very well be a true statement but is that not an attribute of the blade being used and not so such of the "track saw"?
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RFGuy
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Re: Best track saw ?

Post by RFGuy »

dusty wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 5:46 pm It has been said, as a positive attribute of track saws, " I get a very smooth cut with my Festool tracksaw, so only light sanding is needed after so I can assume every piece that I cut with it is ready for assembly". This may very well be a true statement but is that not an attribute of the blade being used and not so such of the "track saw"?
Dusty,

The sawblade quality is a large part, but keep in mind that tracksaws are designed to give a splinter free cut, or at least as close as they can get to this. This is done by the splinterguard material on the bottom of the track as well as the splinterguards that mount on the saw. In addition, it is a plunge saw whereas a typical circular saw is not. This means for finicky materials, like melamine, you can easily take a shallow "scoring" cut, then make the final cut at full depth. Using this technique with a tracksaw you can get VERY clean cuts in melamine. It is MUCH harder to do the same with a standard circular saw.
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
Hobbyman2
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Re: Best track saw ?

Post by Hobbyman2 »

This is the feed back I was looking for , thank you , I just seen a video on a track saw from masterforce that was less than 200.00 , I am sure there are quality differences between it and the big name saws , One was the track its self seems to have issues after tightening , there appears to be dimples in the track from the connection bolts/ screws . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWH9BhLmLU , when it comes to the dust issue in your opinions would a better dust collector be any benefit ? in our small shop we use a shopvac that is on wheels , rarely do we use it unless a tool is throwing excessive dust . for about everything except the planer and we have a can with a custom lid that works fine for that .it seems less labor intense to just sweep it up with a shopvac or a broom , much of the projects we do here make little dust , I did like the option the one in the video had that controlled a dust collector for those who have them . Since I dont own one I am yet to be bias on the brand .
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RFGuy
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Re: Best track saw ?

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Hobbyman2 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 7:07 pm This is the feed back I was looking for , thank you , I just seen a video on a track saw from masterforce that was less than 200.00 , I am sure there are quality differences between it and the big name saws , One was the track its self seems to have issues after tightening , there appears to be dimples in the track from the connection bolts/ screws . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwWH9BhLmLU , when it comes to the dust issue in your opinions would a better dust collector be any benefit ? in our small shop we use a shopvac that is on wheels , rarely do we use it unless a tool is throwing excessive dust . for about everything except the planer and we have a can with a custom lid that works fine for that .it seems less labor intense to just sweep it up with a shopvac or a broom , much of the projects we do here make little dust , I did like the option the one in the video had that controlled a dust collector for those who have them . Since I dont own one I am yet to be bias on the brand .
I only skimmed that YouTube video, but the guy in it is clearly a tracksaw newbie. About in the middle of the video he talks about how the tracksaw cut the rubber part of the track when he was cutting plywood. I don't know how bad the instructions are for that saw, but it should have explained that that rubber is the splinterguard on the track and you have to trim it before making any cuts. I also saw how the track distorted from the screws that connect the track sections together (dimples in track). That alone looks like a dealbreaker to me and this saw isn't even worth the $200 IMHO because of this. As far as dust collector goes, it is pointless with that masterforce saw. Look at how much open space there is on the bottom of the saw by the blade in the video when he cuts. It looks like a good 1" or more gap. You can put tape over the square hole used for sawblade changes, but not much you can do about that long 1" gap on the bottom of the saw on the side. Other tracksaws have a larger cowl that covers the blade down to the surface being cut. So, dust collection will be poor on the masterforce. For other tracksaws, I think any decent ShopVac is more than sufficient for dust collection. The size hose can make a difference, e.g. I use my 36mm hose on my Festool tracksaw and it works better than the 27mm for it. The Festool dust extractor is nice because it has a built in control for it, so when the tracksaw turns on, the vacuum turns on, but you can buy aftermarket controls to do the same thing. Dust collecton in a shop is personal preference, but I try to capture as much as I possibly can. It is a health hazard.

Keep in mind there will be differences in quality and performance for tracksaws. I have only used my Festool saw, but I hear good things from my Dad on his Makita. I know from other Festool users that they have had good success cutting melamine (using a scoring cut 1st) and getting clean, finished edge from it. I believe Festool is the only one that has an outboard splinter guard (see highlighted part in pic below). Between this splinterguard and the splinterguard on the track, tear out is greatly minimized with the Festool tracksaw. Tear out may be worse with other tracksaws, so if this is an important feature this may be worth further investigation for you.
TS55_splinterguard.jpg
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📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
Hobbyman2
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Re: Best track saw ?

Post by Hobbyman2 »

Thanks,
I hadn't considered cutting other sheet goods, I see your point about the splinter guard as well , I believe the guy in the video says he is new to track saws . When you say festool dust collection are you referring to a portable on wheels? I believe I have seen something like that on another video and maybe even from a post on the forum being used behind a router ? I doubt as a small hobbyist I would invest in something like this but only do to the cost ,I dont usually charge for what I do so that would be a little pricy , my curiosity has the best of me ,Thanks . sometimes videos are deceiving .
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RFGuy
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Re: Best track saw ?

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Hobbyman2 wrote: Fri May 21, 2021 9:02 pm Thanks,
I hadn't considered cutting other sheet goods, I see your point about the splinter guard as well , I believe the guy in the video says he is new to track saws . When you say festool dust collection are you referring to a portable on wheels? I believe I have seen something like that on another video and maybe even from a post on the forum being used behind a router ? I doubt as a small hobbyist I would invest in something like this but only do to the cost ,I dont usually charge for what I do so that would be a little pricy , my curiosity has the best of me ,Thanks . sometimes videos are deceiving .
Yeah, it can be confusing. I am no expert, but before I purchased a tracksaw I really didn't think about or understand half of this stuff. On the surface, it looks like most of these tracksaws are all the same, but as you start to use them you will find features that you like or maybe even need on one versus another. That is why I pointed out the additional splinterguard on the Festool because I believe it is one reason why they are class leading for this segment of tools. Well, I am just a hobbyist, but I have a lot of new furniture and built-ins planned for my house, so I have been using my Festool quite a bit and plan to use it a lot more in the future. So, I splurged on it, even though I can't justify it for the kind of work that I do, i.e. I am not a contractor. I have the Festool CT26 dust extractor (what they call it, but it is really just a vacuum). Yeah it is a small roll around dust collector. The "26" means it has a 26 liter bag, or about 6.8 gallon size bag. I use a ShopVac with a mini cyclone for my Shopsmith for dust collection, but I decided to buy the Festool vacuum. The only time you get a discount on anything Festool is when you buy more than one item together, so for example if you buy a tracksaw and their vacuum together you get like 10% off the purchase price. I really, really like the Festool hoses, but other than that I should have probably just used my ShopVac with the tracksaw. Only killer feature on the CT26 vacuum is the variable speed suction which is great for dialing in how much suction to use with sanders. Depending on the sander hole pattern, the CT26 can be too powerful for sanding so you have to adjust the airflow to allow the sanding pad to still move while giving adequate dust collection.
📶RF Guy

Mark V 520 (Bought New '98) | 4" jointer | 6" beltsander | 12" planer | bandsaw | router table | speed reducer | univ. tool rest
Porter Cable 12" Compound Miter Saw | Rikon 8" Low Speed Bench Grinder w/CBN wheels | Jessem Clear-Cut TS™ Stock Guides
Festool (Emerald): DF 500 Q | RO 150 FEQ | OF 1400 EQ | TS 55 REQ | CT 26 E
DC3300 | Shopvac w/ClearVue CV06 Mini Cyclone | JDS AirTech 2000 | Sundstrom PAPR | Dylos DC1100 Pro particulate monitor
Hobbyman2
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Re: Best track saw ?

Post by Hobbyman2 »

The amount of vacuum is adjustable ?????? neat !
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reible
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Re: Best track saw ?

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Hi, yea I want to weigh in on this subject too. The first video review was actually pretty good. It how ever did have a few issues. Rather then get into them I will try and work the details into this discussion. I personally have no experience with battery track saws, but if you are in the market for one keep in mind the review was the old festool saw. Brand new version has a thin blade and that anti-kickback saw stop feature. Even the older saw uses the bluetooth batteries so while they didn't use a festool extractor with bluetooth it works with any of the battery tools and starts the extractor when you turn on the tool. They also have remote, I have one on the hose end and use that for things like the SO. I keep two hoses by the extractor, one to my kapex miter saw and that has the cord plugged into the extractor so using the saw automatically runs extractor. Having the remote on the hose end means I can pull the hose off the tool and use the hose for cleanup which is great for tools like the SO.

For most people dust extraction is a big issue, health wise and cleanup wise. It is one of the reasons I went to the festool system. I too have the CT26 but added the oneida dust box on top which is great for bagging up the dust without the cost of the festool bags.

The other consideration is buying into a system. If you only want a track saw then your choice might be different then if you want a system. Festool is a system and buying into that has advantages in that things are designed to work together. Some other systems are well not quite there.

There is also the advantage of have name brand tools like second party add-ons. You can pretty much bet that they will make the add-on work with festool and a few other name brands and unlikely that they will make a version for the odd brand. I have another small track saw and it is pretty much you get what you get and that is that. It has a 4 piece track which all fits in the bag but it is a pain having to always put it together..... And it also matters that you can't easily get parts and heaven help you if it needs repair. Festool has 3 year pro coverage and will rebuild old tools for a long while if need be. This can also be a double edge issue as they only do refurbishment and not just the repair.

A couple of things that you will really want to look at is how close to the end of the rail the saw alignment features work. My cheap saw I had to draw lines on to make sure I didn't start to close to the end of the track and then marks so I didn't go to far........

The track dimples can be done to any track. You crank down on the screws and the aluminum deforms. Maybe cheaper saws have lighter tracks and this adds to the issue?? Also TSO has a self aligning bar to make extending tracks a simple task. I would go with theirs over the festool version.

Again on the system thing, festool has the MFT which I have fallen in love with and it gives you a lot of options for both cutting and clamping. And again there are a lot of second party and even third party players that have found a niche market based on the hole pattern system and attachments for festool and other vendors of saw systems.

Ed
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