Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
The DIY sawboard is good for top side clean cuts as it is effectively a zero clearance fence Sawboard - DIYWiki
They are actually very good - much better than you might expect.
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They are actually very good - much better than you might expect.
On my Makita there's a thumb-operated button that restricts the first cut to 3mm or so so that the top doesn't chip either. It means two runs along the track but the edges are nice top and bottom.
Doug71
Established Member
The little trick which some people do is set the TS55 to 2 or 3mm and run the saw backwards along the rail first, it acts like a scribing blade cutting down in to the face, gives you a really clean cut on both edges then.
Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
Useful thread - gone full circle for me! If I felt the need for an assembly table and a sheet cutting facility I think I'd go for a trad assembly table as per earlier post, and a sawboard (or track saw if I had one). Save a fortune, no extra gear required at all, except some bits of wood. And very versatile.
MFT - wossit all about?
I have some issues with my PT107 that needs to be addressed, something must move or change once the tables have been lifted for thicknesser mode so be interesting to see how you solve your problems. You have heavy pivots on one side and then the tables sit on 6mm bolts the other, just seems...
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At present of my glue up on the bench which isnt ideal as it ties my bench up and can be messy, plus my bench is against the all so cant get all round.
What I want is something big enough for typical cabinets etc to be glued up on, perfectly flat, easy clean surface An ability to clamp down on to it, Something a bit lighter and more moveable than my current bench. So thinking of a torsion box type structure, with a laminate or similar finish on one face and if I see the benefits an mft type face on the other. While I would never purchase the festool assembly in the video it does show some good design features.
On the question of traditional benches I cannot understand how anybody can handsaw or plane without a decent bench and vice
Alpha-Dave
Established Member
Easy with an electric planer.
127 posts and counting! 
Im 'on the fence
'
I dont use a tracksaw. Yet. When everyone else was out spending 600 quid on them when they 'arrived', i got the offcut of a 9mm sheet of ply and glued and screwed a thin batten to it, using a 6 foot level to make sure it was dead straight. I then ran the saw against the batten fence and had a diy track. I used it for a few days and then stopped.
Ive got 2 makita 18v circ saws ( in my defence, the new 1 was '2nd hand' but basically new and cost 65 quid with a battery ), 2 table saws and a radial arm saw, so no real shortage of options. The workshop tablesaw is a 12" multico and the site tablesaw is a dw745. I could really sell the multico and build the dw into a solid bench and keep moving it around, but im lazy. I sometimes cut down 3" oak, so tracksaw isnt the right tool.
I could replace the r.a.s with a tracksaw and that swish drop down track peter millard has
I could get a tracksaw for site use and leave the dw in the workshop. Makitas 18v is appealing. If i did, i would get an mft top for site use and it would probably pay for itself, although more kit to carry around from job to job.
I think im an inbetweener. Just older with no hair
Im 'on the fence
'I dont use a tracksaw. Yet. When everyone else was out spending 600 quid on them when they 'arrived', i got the offcut of a 9mm sheet of ply and glued and screwed a thin batten to it, using a 6 foot level to make sure it was dead straight. I then ran the saw against the batten fence and had a diy track. I used it for a few days and then stopped.
Ive got 2 makita 18v circ saws ( in my defence, the new 1 was '2nd hand' but basically new and cost 65 quid with a battery ), 2 table saws and a radial arm saw, so no real shortage of options. The workshop tablesaw is a 12" multico and the site tablesaw is a dw745. I could really sell the multico and build the dw into a solid bench and keep moving it around, but im lazy. I sometimes cut down 3" oak, so tracksaw isnt the right tool.
I could replace the r.a.s with a tracksaw and that swish drop down track peter millard has
I could get a tracksaw for site use and leave the dw in the workshop. Makitas 18v is appealing. If i did, i would get an mft top for site use and it would probably pay for itself, although more kit to carry around from job to job.
I think im an inbetweener. Just older with no hair
I should just explain, when they came out and the others were all buying new kit, we were all subcontracting to a bigger company, so essentially they were buying kit at their expense, to make the job quicker, which only really benefitted the contractor....
Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
a.k.a.'Sawboard'. An old and very useful idea Sawboard - DIYWiki I've often used one.
I can see how a tracksaw is good though jacob..... personally i keep my blades very good and use the right amount of teeth for the job, which makes my circ saw cut very well. But it doesnt plunge.... and a tracksaw is more accurate/ quick to set the depth. The idea of just laying the track edge up to the cut marks and get on with it is quicker than clamping on a straight edge each time. So for site use in the long run i guess its worth it
And largely if you dont buy into the tracksaw setup, mft probably isnt worth looking at.
And largely if you dont buy into the tracksaw setup, mft probably isnt worth looking at.
johnnyb
Established Member
I'm loath to be involved in this tbh. but if you want square cabinets and wardrobes and don't posess an aligned 2600 stroke panel saw this is your best chance. the other stuff I can take or leave I've just got 3 deep dogs and a track.and an 8ft by 4ft. table.
more tech goes into a large sliding table panelsaw than ever has gone into tracks and dogs and tables. Peter has applied a simple principle in a very low tech practical way.
more tech goes into a large sliding table panelsaw than ever has gone into tracks and dogs and tables. Peter has applied a simple principle in a very low tech practical way.
Doug71
Established Member
Ask Santa to bring you one for Christmas, you will wonder how you ever managed without it
Ive been a good boy this year but i dont think santa does makita power toolsAsk Santa to bring you one for Christmas, you will wonder how you ever managed without it
Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
Drop him a line and post it to the north pole. Thats what I do.Ive been a good boy this year but i dont think santa does makita power tools
have you been good though?
Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
Yes track saw a good idea. A bit pricey though. The sawboard is a good idea too - you put it up to the marks just the same but have to clamp it. Poor man's track saw. Or track saw for someone who just needs one occasionally.
For years, I did the same thing with a circular saw and homemade sawboard. If the accuracy of the cut wasn't important, then I struck a line with a chalk line and cut free hand. It works, but it is an outside tool, I have to clean the garage when I'm done (according to my wife), and I have to observe the German mandatory quiet times for my area (1200 - 1400 during the day every day, after 2200 - 0700 Monday through Thursday, 0000 - 0700 Friday and Saturday, and all day Sunday). The resulting cut is straight, as long as I pay attention to keeping the saw pressed firmly against the sawboard and don't let it wander. If I haven't used the saw in a while, I have to calculate the kerf distance from sawboard and remember which side is the offcut. However, there is always tear out on the edge unless I remember to make the shallow reverse cut first.
The last circular saws I bought before buying the track saws were Bosch saws that were designed to work with the FSN tracks. Aside from the plume of dust and chips that went everywhere, these saws had the accuracy and ease of a track but the mess and noise limitations of the circular saws. I thought it would be a good idea to use the saw to cut a window in an interior wooden door instead of lifting the door off the hinge and make the cuts outside. I spent about 30 minutes sweeping and vacuuming the dust from that small project.
By contrast, the track saw is an inside tool, is nearly foolproof (and I know some ingenious fools who have used mine), not bound by any noise rules, the guide strip is the kerf line, and the cuts are always crisp and free from tear out.
A tracksaw is very much a step up in every way compared to a normal circular saw and a straight bit of plank.
Jacob
Pint of bass, porkpie, and packet of crisps please
Well yes but a "sawboard" is much more than a straight bit of plank. Not obvious until you try one. Not quite as convenient as a track saw but very precise.
