Track saw suitability

[Johnwa]

I'm not an experienced sawdust manufacturer so I turn to the more knowledgeable for advice. I'm considering buying a tracksaw for home/diy use but I was wondering if they were suitable for ripping down the length of something like 63x38 mm cls and more to the point, how would I set it up to do so, or are tracksaws just meant for larger timber and sheetgoods? Any advice would be appreciated before I waste my pennies!

 

[marcros]

I would think beyond this project. The tracksaw could be made to rip down cls on the 38mm thick cut with a bit of thought, such as ganging together several lengths to support the track. It isn't really the best tool for that job.

How often do you plan to do this task and what else do you have planned?

 

[artie]

I cut 38mm soft wood daily.
I have a track saw and a table saw.
If I had one piece of 63 by 38 that needed cutting and had no table saw I could probably do it with the track saw.
I have never cut 38mm with the track saw because I have a table saw.
If I needed to cut a lot of 38mm and had no table saw, I would get one.

 

[marcros]

I cut 38mm soft wood daily.
I have a track saw and a table saw.
If I had one piece of 63 by 38 that needed cutting and had no table saw I could probably do it with the track saw.
I have never cut 38mm with the track saw because I have a table saw.
If I needed to cut a lot of 38mm and had no table saw, I would get one.

Yeah, that was pretty much what I was thinking but didn't explain quite as well.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

I'm not an experienced sawdust manufacturer so I turn to the more knowledgeable for advice. I'm considering buying a tracksaw for home/diy use but I was wondering if they were suitable for ripping down the length of something like 63x38 mm cls and more to the point, how would I set it up to do so, or are tracksaws just meant for larger timber and sheetgoods? Any advice would be appreciated before I waste my pennies!

Is it possible? Yes.
Is it easy? Not at all.
Could I do it? Yes, I've enough experience for it to be safe ish.
Would I ever do it? Absolutely no, never, no way.

if I had a wide board I can easily cut a very very narrow strip of it with a tracksaw, but to rip a narrow board? No thanks, if I ever have the need to, my planning would have been very bad.

 

[jcassidy]

I'm not an experienced sawdust manufacturer so I turn to the more knowledgeable for advice. I'm considering buying a tracksaw for home/diy use but I was wondering if they were suitable for ripping down the length of something like 63x38 mm cls and more to the point, how would I set it up to do so, or are tracksaws just meant for larger timber and sheetgoods? Any advice would be appreciated before I waste my pennies!

In the absence of a table saw, surely a circular saw with a fence would be perfect for such jobs, and much much cheaper? I've always understood the attraction of tracksaws is working with sheet materials.

 

[pe2dave]

"Not best suited" strikes a chord.
*Any* flat material work, and the tracksaw is ideal and a wonderful tool IMHO.
Warning: Bit like a router, the saw should be a freebie since you spend lots on add-ons ;-)

 

[Soylent1]

A circular saw with a fence attached, I've had to do this on site many times. Just make sure your cls is secured properly. ( and you can always use the circular saw as a DIY track saw for cutting sheet materials)

 

[Ollie78]

As mentioned above its not ideal for ripping as you suggest.
Perhaps consider a circular saw like the Festool Hkc 55 or Maffell kss, these can operate like a normal circular saw with a fence for ripping thinner straps, can be used with crosscut rails and normal rails for sheet goods.
Very versatile but not cheap.

Ollie

 

[manglitter]

I believe that some tracksaws can have a rip fence attached to allow them to work as a regular rip saw.
Best of both worlds?

 

[marcros]

The other consideration is why? My experience if CLS is that it is just about good enough for its intended purpose of framing. I have used it for some basic benches and stands because it is readily available and fairly splinter free. It saves planing and thicknessing. If you are putting much labour in to anything then I would pay the little extra for better timber and then the opening question is different anyway. It probably won't cost that much more.

 

[Doug71]

I believe that some tracksaws can have a rip fence attached to allow them to work as a regular rip saw.
Best of both worlds?

I have a rip fence attachment for my Festool TS55 and have only used it about twice, it feels really awkward in use. Maybe it's because I'm used to using it on a track but the action of pushing the saw down and also pushing it across so the fence is tight to the stock feels strange, it would be better if there was some way of locking down the plunge at the depth you needed.

The Festool Hkc 55 that Ollie mentions above is a good compromise, I wish Makita would get on and make a copy of it as I want to keep all my cordless kit Makita.

 

[Johnwa]

Morning all, thank you for responding to my query. I was looking at a track saw as so many more experienced blokes seem to use and reccommend them. As I am knocking out a couple of stools and I have a small side table to make as well and I have a supply of cls offcuts for free I wondered if an "upgrade"from my "screwfix titan special table saw" would be worthwhile. Not using a great deal of sheet material I think that you have answered my question succinctly, I don't need a tracksaw it wouldn't be money wasted but it would for me be money that could be better spent elsewhere, maybe on swmbo, more brownie points anyone? Thanks again for clearing my thought process, I was making myself indecisive by over thinking.

 

[Ollie78]

Upgrade the blade, that is the cheapest improvement. A decent blade will make a remarkable difference.

Ollie

 

[Doug B]

If you opt for the Bosch or Mafell track saw you can clamp the track about an inch from the cut unlike any other makes I know of, this makes it ideal for ripping down stuff such as your cls you just need another piece to rest the back edge of the track on, I do this often on site.
This photo shows how close you can clamp to the cutting edge with the Mafell/ Bosch track, my Festool track clamps around 5” away from the cut

you need a ripping blade in the saw If cutting with the grain.

 

[Doug B]

Had to do this today on site so thought I’d take a photo, had to rip a piece of 60mm down to 40mm

 

[Spectric]

Hi

I think there is a clear divide, for sheet goods the tracksaw is ideal but for ripping heavier timber you are not going to do better than the table saw. I had to rip six 4 by 2's down, 8ft long to produce some 45° corner studs, I did not even think of using any other saw and I would say that the tracksaw also probably lacks the raw grunt needed. But you need a decent table saw blade with only about 40 teeth, try using to many teeth and it will bog down.

 

[matkinitice]

Ripped nearly 3m of 44m oak over the weekend.

TS55, panther blade (for rip cuts) and it worked a treat. Basically the same as the images above. Just make sure you use clamps and have some scrap. I find that clamping another board at each end can help too, to create a "wedge" so to speak. This was all in one pass, no problem.

The only downside with this setup compared to cross cutting with my MFT is the time to setup/align the boards. If this was repeat cuts it's not as fast as cross cutting. I will invest in the benchdog.co.uk parallel guide to help here. If this was wider cuts (wider than the track) then the use of a temporary flagstop is fine though, it's just for smaller rips that it takes some setup.

I don't have a table saw yet. I will at some point I'm sure - for the speed and ease of cuts that are smaller than the rail - but as it stands my MFT/tracksaw combo is giving me everything I need. It seems odd, but I feel a heck of a lot safer ripping the above by bringing the tool to the piece, than the other way around. I'd stand by this statement even for small rips too.

 

[sometimewoodworker]

In the absence of a table saw, surely a circular saw with a fence would be perfect for such jobs, and much much cheaper? I've always understood the attraction of tracksaws is working with sheet materials.

Once you have used a tracksaw, though not ideal for the narrow stock, for that kind of job you will realise that a circular saw is almost never perfect if you want acutely cut stock. I have both and the best use for my circular saw is mounted in my saw table.