Track Saw Not Cutting to Set Depth

pollys13 · 17 Jul 2019

I used a track saw a few days ago on some plywood on top of an insulation board. I set the depth about 5mm more than the thickness of the board. All seemed to go well but didn't cut fully through the ply. I increased the depth of cut but still not any better.
Am I missing something?
Cheers.

Doug71 · 17 Jul 2019

Which saw you using? Some track saws like the older festool show the depth of cut without the rail on the scale so you need to add at least 5 mm to get the depth on the rail. Could that be it?

Steve Maskery · 17 Jul 2019

It's almost certainly calibrated for a bare base.
With mine, I add 6mm for the rail, plus one or two mm for a clean exit.
Remember that if you are using a very slightly undersized blade (for example if it has been re-sharpened to within an inch of its life) then that will affect the depth of cut as well.
The best approach is to set it until it does cut as you want, then make a note of the numbers.

rafezetter · 17 Jul 2019

I tend to take the simpler approach of just setting the blade cut depth by eye - circular saw or track saw, mounted on the track before placing said track.

Works every time :wink:

Only time I set the depth using the actual depth guide on the track saw, is to set it to cut just a couple of MM into the wood then draw it backwards to cut the top layer to eliminate tearout.

pollys13 · 18 Jul 2019

Doug71":2xqmy2fw said:
Which saw you using? Some track saws like the older festool show the depth of cut without the rail on the scale so you need to add at least 5 mm to get the depth on the rail. Could that be it?

Woodstar Divar 55, Scheppach clone. I replaced the rip blade, with a finer tooth crosscutting one, correct diameter. I'll have another look, besides the depth difficulty. Is a nice bit of kit, solid lump, durable I think, adjusts nice and steady in the track, track stays put, the cut itself, the depth it went to, nice and clean.