Track or table saw

[petermillard]

Don't fret about cutting the table top. I fudged around for a few days and thankfully just cut in to it then carried on. You'll likely only be cutting along the same positions so you won't do any major damage.

I routed a channel into mine to take a strip of 9mm MDF directly under the rail - easily and cheaply replaced when it wears over time...

HTH Pete

 

[Lonsdale73]

Don't fret about cutting the table top. I fudged around for a few days and thankfully just cut in to it then carried on. You'll likely only be cutting along the same positions so you won't do any major damage.

I routed a channel into mine to take a strip of 9mm MDF directly under the rail - easily and cheaply replaced when it wears over time...

HTH Pete

Now this is where this forum excels. That's a far simpler (and better) idea than the weird and wonderful designs I was putting together in my head!

 

[Jacob]

Track saw (or saw board) does what it does well, but a table saw (ideally with a sliding table) does very many more things very accurately and conveniently. You need both!

 

[Nelsun]

Their video will likely explain things better way better than I can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zANYbh2sOc

Don't get me wrong, they're not perfect and do have shortcomings; stock thinner than the Incra track is high is not going to work without resorting to shims and double sided tape or some other faff. But for getting thin rips without a table saw they do come in very handy. Doing similar on a TS would take a fraction of the time you'd spend setting the guides up but, like I said, I'm very space limited and humfing a saw out to the shed and back often in the rain and high winds is what keeps the track saw in use.

It looks to me that unless the stock is the exact same thickness as the track they would only really work with the fold down attachment for the track fitting it to the MFT (sure it must have a proper name). Otherwise would you not get an unintended bevel on the cut if the stock was either thinner or thicker than the track is high? Not saying they aren't good, they look very clever, just that they really need to be used with a proper MFT set-up.

Terry.

That's quite right and avoided by using offcuts of equal thickness to the stock you're cutting to level the track. As Jacob points out though - this type of thing is invariably easier on a TS assuming you have one to hand.

 

[pike]

Their video will likely explain things better way better than I can: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zANYbh2sOc

Don't get me wrong, they're not perfect and do have shortcomings; stock thinner than the Incra track is high is not going to work without resorting to shims and double sided tape or some other faff. But for getting thin rips without a table saw they do come in very handy. Doing similar on a TS would take a fraction of the time you'd spend setting the guides up but, like I said, I'm very space limited and humfing a saw out to the shed and back often in the rain and high winds is what keeps the track saw in use.

It looks to me that unless the stock is the exact same thickness as the track they would only really work with the fold down attachment for the track fitting it to the MFT (sure it must have a proper name). Otherwise would you not get an unintended bevel on the cut if the stock was either thinner or thicker than the track is high? Not saying they aren't good, they look very clever, just that they really need to be used with a proper MFT set-up.

Terry.

That's quite right and avoided by using offcuts of equal thickness to the stock you're cutting to level the track. As Jacob points out though - this type of thing is invariably easier on a TS assuming you have one to hand.

I have rail dogs http://precisiondogs.us/products/precision-rail-dogs which are adjustable height. I wouldn't want to be changing them too often as it's fiddly but as I'm usually working with 20-25mm stock they are fine for a bit more stability. I don't have or need a proper MFT set up. If I was regularly struggling with narrow cuts I'd probably buy a small table saw e.g. dw745 although I'd rather have something that sort of size and portability which was induction.

 

[Steve Maskery]

I have 2 track-setting jigs that I use with my track and saw. One is for cutting panels, the other for cutting strips that are narrower than the track itself. The both reference of the edge of the board, but different edges in each case. Of course, if the original workpiece is narrower than the track itself, you have the problem of how to support the track, but cutting, say 75mm off the edge of a board, safely, accurately and repeatedly is very easy. I don't have a picture of the narrow one, but it is built in the same way as the one I published in WE 1, Jigs and accessories. There is a picture of that somewhere in my build thread, but it is not quite so easy to search these days...
If you have any of my DVDs, I'd be happy to send you a PDF of the second jig, FOC.

 

[Wizard9999]

There is a picture of that somewhere in my build thread

Page 16, first picture in Steve's second 21st June 2014 entry?
1-steve-s-workshop-the-build-t79315-225.html

But be warned, Steve's attire in the posts around that time is not suitable for young children or those with a heart condition :lol: