What does FT track saw gain over this?

[Tom King]

No tearout with plywood under the saw right up to the edge of the cut, and as clean a cut as anything with a good blade-no scoring necessary.

[collinb]

I'll agree with cleaner, no question, but absolutlely not faster, more accurate, or cleaner cut. If I worked in houses that people were living in, which is on the list of things that I don't do anyway, I'd have a commercial track saw. I get to deduct any

dollar I put in tools, but a tracksaw just doesn't fit into the yearly low five figure budget for me -not saying it's not great

for anyone else. I never had my hands on one of the commercial guides with built in clamps that I liked either.

With the old, quick to make version like I use, you cut the edge with the saw you're going to use. Lay that edge where you want the cut. If you use clamps, quick clamps on each end for trimming doors, or a sheet of plywood

work just fine.

 

 

Ditto.

In the spring I'm going to put a small project out on etsy just to test the waters.

If sales go well, or at all, some tool upgrades will be in order.

Otherwise it will remain a hobby/craft for which "good" tools remain suitable.

 

When that straight edge, it seems that quick clamping would also be in order.

I really don't like the trigger type bar clamps.  Not firm enough for me.

but I do like the vice grip type clamps, as long as one is careful with the ends so as not to damage anything.

They hold really tight.

[Cochese]

If you're looking for less tearout in your shop made tracks, you could take the idea that the Fezzy guys use by using rigid insulation as your cutting platform.

[Dave H]

You don't get tear out on the under side of piece being cut with a circ saw because the rotation of the blade is cutting up through the piece, the tear out would be on the top side. But if you buy a quality blade like Diablo from freud and you don't hog through the cut you get almost as good a cut as you would get with a table saw. I use this system on saw horses to support my work when using my Skilsaw to rips and cross cuts breaking down plywood sheets.

[Cochese]

Doh. You're right. More for dust collection.

 

Depends on the ply, too. I had a Freud in mine and if I bought cheap would get awful tearout. I don't get that with the Festool. 

 

shrug

[Tom King]

With the plywood jig, if tearout is a worry on the off side of the blade, all you have to do is put a strip of the same plywood

the base of the jig is made from against the jig after it's put in place. The saw base holds it down, and it just sacrifices a

saw blade width in the extra strip. I've never needed to do that with a high tooth count, good blade.

[HausWerks]

Tom,clever idea. But it was for tear out on the sled side. I worked in a production installation setting installing finished materials. The sled could have been used with 3 or 4 other skilsaws. With agressive low tooth blades. For example our jobs were huge projects with hundreds even thousands of doors on them. If there wasnt a sled already made then i would make one but even if i made one someone else would use it with a different saw and now its zero clearance. first i would score it, then id cut and leave the score line, then finish with power planer, then seal it. Thats anything i would cut with skilsaw. I take care of my tools and jigs but at a company with 100 carpenters and company issued tools you get what you get. Tools get wrecked th en you send it back to the shop tool guy and he will just send it to another job unfixed. They will not buy nice tools. They get wrecked. They bought a saw stop(i dont care for sawstop but i know its expensive) day one someone deliberately cut aluminum to see what would happen. Day 2 sawstop gone. Never sent into the feild again.