# Diy track saw



## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Here are a couple neat ideas.


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## firehawkmph (Apr 26, 2008)

Neat ideas Gene, 
but there is a significant difference between those videos and a festool saw. I recently bought the festool track saw in order to cut up furniture grade plywood easier. I am often by myself and trying to cut a full sheet on a table saw is an effort. I couldn't understand why the festool cost so much. But one day I was at the local woodcraft store and the owner showed me what the saw could do. It is a pretty amazing tool. The biggest thing is that the saw provides a splinter free cut and no sawblade marks. In doing so, there are no clamps needed, just make two pencil marks, set the rail up against the marks and cut. The saw has a plunge feature and just cuts as smooth as butter, with no vibration. I have used clamp on straight edges in the past. They enable you to make a straight cut, but nowhere near the ease and quickness that the festool provides. I bought the festool with the thought of using it just for the plywood cuts, but I am sure as time goes on, I will find more uses for it. 
Mike Hawkins


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## Ghidrah (Mar 2, 2010)

About 20 yrs ago I bought an 8' straight edge for ply rips and such and while it works great the set up, (sliding the sleeve in, securing the sections and clamping the 4' ends down didn't seem worth it when I got the same effect by marking then clamping my 6' level to the sheet. I stop, move the level reclamp and finish the cut.

When the circ has a stable straight edge to run against the cut improves leaving fewer and lighter saw marks. Add a plywood blade or a 60t crosscut blade and the cut is smooth.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Ghidrah,
I bought that sleeved straight edge guide, also. I screwed it down to a piece of 1/4" BB. 
With the BB edge, I don't have to figure an offset. It works well, but I still feel a need to true up the edge on the TS.
An improvement to the ones in the video would be to mount a T-bar on the saw and run it in T-Track mounted on/in a piece of good ply.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Just got off the phone with Peach Tree.
Their item #1023 and #1033 http://www.ptreeusa.com/ttrackproducts.htm
are matched perfectly. No wiggles!
Ordered enough for an 8' guide.
this gonna be fun. 
I'll post pics when I get it made. Probably 2-3 weeks.
Gene


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## Ghidrah (Mar 2, 2010)

Gene Howe,

I never had the room in my shop to keep the straight edge full length and I was always checking and adjusting it against my 6' levels.


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## chubbyhubby (Mar 7, 2010)

Gene Howe said:


> Just got off the phone with Peach Tree.
> Their item #1023 and #1033 http://www.ptreeusa.com/ttrackproducts.htm
> are matched perfectly. No wiggles!
> Ordered enough for an 8' guide.
> ...


Do you plan on using these to make a 96" straight edge? Most extrusions aren't straight, due to the way they are made.CH


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

Yep. 
Peach Tree guarantees it to be straight.


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## Butch (Dec 18, 2006)

Gene, I liked the first vid, as it was the most cost effective and less time consuming( both important issues). I also understand the Mitre track/T-track combo from Peachtree, as a more precise product. my question is this, how often do we need THAT precise a cut on an 8' pc of ply? i mean, I've built many items using BB, but cant recal needing an exact-cut 8' pc... I could be wrong, but most cuts on ply are to break 'em down to needed size, even if it's a 4 or 5' pc for a cedar chest front( just an example).
Also, I'm not saying that Festools are a waste(off topic a bit), to each his own I say..I just know I can't justify the cost of ANY of their products..I just do this as a hobby, and justification is a key element when it comes time to spend the hard-earned cash.


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## Gene Howe (Feb 28, 2009)

I can certainly see your point, Butch. I've always ripped the 8' length first. My present guide serves well. I'm trying to eliminate one step, that of ripping to final width on the TS. Maybe even cutting to length with the Circ saw as well. I guess I'm anal. but I really like precise cuts, even with a circular saw. I ain't gettin' that now!
Plus, and this is probably the biggest factor, I love to tinker and putter. I probably spend 25%...or more...of my shop time, building jigs or altering a tool.


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## Butch (Dec 18, 2006)

Gene Howe said:


> I can certainly see your point, Butch. I've always ripped the 8' length first. My present guide serves well. I'm trying to eliminate one step, that of ripping to final width on the TS. Maybe even cutting to length with the Circ saw as well. I guess I'm anal. but I really like precise cuts, even with a circular saw. I ain't gettin' that now!
> Plus, and this is probably the biggest factor, I love to tinker and putter. I probably spend 25%...or more...of my shop time, building jigs or altering a tool.


I can appreciate that !!!:thumbsup: I'm makin' me one like that 1st one, as I need to rip 1/4" cherry ply into 22" widths for the panels. but 1st, I'm getting a sheet of 2" foam insulation to lay on the floor.... I'm tired of wrestlin' a full sheet onto sawhorses...:thumbdown:


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

firehawkmph said:


> I bought the festool with the thought of using it just for the plywood cuts, but I am sure as time goes on, I will find more uses for it.



Hi Mike, I'm bringing up this old thread because I'm on a quest to revamp the way I handle sheet goods, and would like to ask if your prediction has come true. Have you found other uses for the festool besides plywood cuts?

Thanks, Steve El


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## sketel (Sep 15, 2010)

Steve, a lot of guys use them for cutting down doors. Dust collection is great, it is more accurate than a jig, no clamps, no need to do a knife cut to avoid chipping and it gives a cleaner cut. So it saves a lot of time, especially when cutting a door down width-wise. 

Personally, It's about 10th on my list of purchases. I have other machinery purchases to make that would give me a quicker return on investment but I plan on getting one eventually.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

Gene Howe said:


> Just got off the phone with Peach Tree.
> Their item #1023 and #1033 http://www.ptreeusa.com/ttrackproducts.htm
> are matched perfectly. No wiggles!
> Ordered enough for an 8' guide.
> ...


I like that idea. 

This thread is in perfect timing! I talked to a welder friend last week about building me an angle iron frame for a shop built track saw. The plan is to build a replacement sole for an old 15amp 9" craftsman circ saw I have with roller skate, yeah roller skate, wheel bearing that rides in the track. Anyone done this?


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Hi Gene, 

If you're still tuned in I have a question from this old thread for you.



Gene Howe said:


> Ghidrah,
> * An improvement to the ones in the video would be* to mount a T-bar on the saw and run it in T-Track mounted on/in a piece of good ply.




Why Gene? Assuming the stock/jig assembly is securely supported, and the grooves & runner are straight and properly sized, what extra mileage is there to be gained by fussing with the T-Track? 

Also curious if T-Track is equally wriggle free at 95 degrees as at it would be at 30?


(Reminder for me and anyone else popping by.... this thread has a companion thread here
http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f27/new-saw-guide-festool-wannabe-17820/#post183610


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## BWSmith (Aug 24, 2010)

Just my .02,Steve....and not particularly aiming for an answer,more of a consideration.

One thing about circ saws and in general,using them in a precision manner,is weight.Even with a VG quality and sharp blade the "violence" that occurs at the point of impact(chip load on teeth)has to go somewhere?That somewhere in this case means the saw.We call it "rattle N hum"....just a sort of vibration really,with a reoccuring frequency.Its somewhat seperate from any particular straight edge....unless that SE(straightedge) somehow "captures" saw's base.Thats when bearings enter the picture,which opens a whole nuther discussion.

But back to a single,plain SE...Imagine if the saw's baseplate weighed in at say 10lbs.And it is of a material that can dissapate the vibration.And that vibration isn't limited to chip "noise"...it also comes from the motor and overall saw balance.Further,surface bumps are causing ripples as well.I just have a feeling that if you could add wieght(lead sheet as used in/on X-ray doors,and old shower pans comes to mind)specifically on top of saws base,one would see a marked improvement in cut quality.BW


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## SteveEl (Sep 7, 2010)

Thanks BW, I haven't weighed them, but my old big Dewalt is easier to keep tight than the new lightweight framing circ. Maybe you just explained why.

When one thinks about vibration at the business end of the blade (where it matters?) I wonder what's the range of motion, and whether the "fit" of the T-track is really enough to reduce it? On a small scale, there's got to be at least a teensy bit of gap in the track so it can slide, right?


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