Repetitive cuts track saw

[Rjcagnew]

Good morning

hoping you can help ... I am looking to rip down a 18mm mdf board with my park side tracksaw to make some shelves . I want to make some repetitive cuts so each shelf is same width . I suppose I could just measure and mark each cut .I then thought there must be a way of making a spacer block to easily position the rail each time.

All the threads I have read on this involve a making stop block/ spacer for the rail from the non splinter side to the edge of the board . This makes sense however What do you do if the width you need is less than the width of the rail. Am guessing referencing from the splinter side to edge of board won’t be accurate due to the rubber guard. Apologies if this doesn’t make sense or if I used the wrong terminology. Am sure there is something really simple but can’t think of an accurate solution? Any ideas you could help me with ? Thanks

 

[Essex Barn Workshop]

as a quick and easy suggestion, the width doesn't need to be as accurate as , say, a dovetail joint so perhaps measure and cut the first shelf, put it back on top of the remaining mdf flush with the cut edge, clamp it in place, move the track up to it and clamp the track, remove the first shelf and cut. All additional shelves should use the same (first) shelf as the guide or any difference could escalate.

 

[Rjcagnew]

Hi sorry phone went crazy there .. yes that makes sense and is effectively just a stop block on the cut side . However depending on how close the rubber guard is pushed up against the spacer could effect accuracy ? Yes agree the shelf width accuracy isnt that important but I do need to rip some lips for the shelves which need to be Bob on . A table saw would be great for this ....maybe I am just overthinking it ?

 

[marcros]

you could cut and use the waste side of the board as your shelf but you need to allow for the saw kerf. Festool is 2.2mm, your saw blade will probably be fairly similar.

I have a set of these which I use from time to time. 2.2mm Track Saw Guide for Festool TS 55 - Waste-side Cut Jig (Pair) — The Strawbyte Workshop

as stated, it isnt that necessary to be within 1/2mm as long as they are the same. if you wanted 100mm wide shelves, cut your marker stick (or use a ruler stop) to 102mm, then use that to space the track each time.

 

[Rjcagnew]

Thanks for your replies after some more digging have seen this as a possible solution

 

[Jonwar]

Hi RJ, I've had the same problem as you and found a great way of making waste side cut from "the practical engineer" on youtube, if you have a digital calipers measure the kerf of the blade and then zero the readout with out moving it the open the caliper to the size you need on the read out lock it off with the locking screw and then you can butt it against you splinter guard at the top and bottom of the piece and get easy repeatable cuts. Doing it is easier than explaining it but works get for less than 150mm repeat cuts.

 

[billw]

I found this very difficult too. The rubber strip on my track has been nicked and sliced so much that it's nowhere near straight enough to use as a guide any more.

I did what @marcros suggests, adding just less than 3mm to my required finished width each time. I never used the previous cut as reference, there's just too much scope for multiplication of errors as each piece becomes wider and wider.

I made sure my track was straight using a straight edge, and a square at each end of the track to make sure it was at 90deg. Then once it was in place I'd go down the length with my rule and check that the start of the metal part of the track was equidistant from the edge of the timber.

Time consuming? Yes, but in reality the extra minute or two taken to perform those checks was worth it.

 

[TheTiddles]

Use a stop block and reference from the rubber edge. You can use a sliding try square for this as an example. Accuracy is reduced, but precision is high

Aidan

 

[C64]

I’m not familiar with the Parkside saw but does it have a parallel side fence attachment option? This will allow the saw with its attached fence to reference against the MDF board edge from a set distance away. It’s what I use for this kind of repetitive cut but otherwise I do something similar to billw’s description with the guide rails.

 

[petermillard]

Thanks for your replies after some more digging have seen this as a possible solution

There’s a much more up to date version of parallel guides in my Tracksaw Workshop series - playlist here Before I made them I used a pair of sliding squares against the splinter-guard, which worked fine.

I found this very difficult too. The rubber strip on my track has been nicked and sliced so much that it's nowhere near straight enough to use as a guide any more.

At the risk of stating the obvious, if it’s not accurate enough to use a a guide, it’s not really doing the job it’s meant for. If you don’t want to splash out the full replacement, you can usually peel them off carefully and reposition them a few mm across, and retrim. Warming them up first usually helps.

 

[billw]

At the risk of stating the obvious, if it’s not accurate enough to use a a guide, it’s not really doing the job it’s meant for. If you don’t want to splash out the full replacement, you can usually peel them off carefully and reposition them a few mm across, and retrim. Warming them up first usually helps.

Yes I really should do that, they come off easily off as I've checked. I don't know how I've made such a mess of them.

 

[Rorschach]

I recently shifted my splinter strip as I bought a new blade (standard 2.2mm kerf this time). Made my life much easier and improved the cuts as well.

 

[Rjcagnew]

Thank you everyone for their great tips and advice really helpful and some ideas which I will go and investigate more ... thanks again

 

[Inspector]

There is the Eureka Zone saw systems that were made to take regular circular saws and routers to use track saw style in the US before the track saws got real popular here. The inventor had lots of jigs and systems to allow repetitive cutting, tapered cutting, thin pieces etc. I'm sure you could get a few ideas to make a similar jig or two to fit your track saw. woodworking tables,track saw systems, guide rails,

Pete

 

[Benchwayze]

You could rip three lengths at one time. That would be a 54mm depth of cut. The Festool saw cuts 55mm so I should expect the 'lookalikes' to do the same. Would that help you?

John

 

[pe2dave]

Thanks for your replies after some more digging have seen this as a possible solution

There is another one - I made, and can't find on @petermillard site?
Same idea, but adjustable - saves making lots?
If it's just for the shelves, this ones fine.

 

[HamsterJam]

as a quick and easy suggestion, the width doesn't need to be as accurate as , say, a dovetail joint so perhaps measure and cut the first shelf, put it back on top of the remaining mdf flush with the cut edge, clamp it in place, move the track up to it and clamp the track, remove the first shelf and cut. All additional shelves should use the same (first) shelf as the guide or any difference could escalate.

or if you want to be more accurate, make a depth stop rather than using the first shelf as a template. This will need to be the shelf width plus the kerf width wide. All your shelves will then be exactly the same width.

 

[Doug71]

Don't know if this thread from a couple of weeks ago showing Benchdogs parallel guides used under the rail gives any inspiration.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/thread...ides-i-cant-see-the-wood.127524/#post-1422896

 

[pe2dave]

Don't know if this thread from a couple of weeks ago showing Benchdogs parallel guides used under the rail gives any inspiration.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/thread...ides-i-cant-see-the-wood.127524/#post-1422896

I don't think so? They relate to square cuts (IMHO)

 

[Doug71]

Are they not for making a long parallel cut and can be used to reference from under the rail as asked for in the original question