Track saws

[woodndust]

Hi All, i'm asking some advice on track saws. I've seen them used and am keen to buy one as I do a lot of cuts that need very straight edge finish. They look perfect for my use its just that I don't know much about the tracks, in particular whats the best length to have, can you join them, are they interchangeable between, Festool, DeWalt etc? Any advice and experience of what works well and what doesn't would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[mbartlett99]

Its the one power tool I'd struggle without; I've a panel saw but still break down sheets with the track saw. I've a festool TS55 I bought years ago when they were pretty much the only show in town - its still the mutts nuts for dust extraction and quality of cut.

Tracks - yes they can be joined but if you're doing full sheets a straight length is great but a 3m track is difficult to handle. Compatability ; beleive Makita works with Festool but not sure. No one ever mentions Mafell but they have some great features.

 

[Mrs C]

With that addition of an MFT style top built into my workbench and some dogs, I use it instead of a table saw. I also personally think they are safer.

Joining tracks can be a fiddle if you are looking for absolute accuracy over a long length.

Other than that it is probably the most frequently used tool in my workshop.

 

[Nelsun]

The 1400 rails are only just long enough to cut across sheet goods (1200mm) and don't leave much for the saw at the start and end of a cut. We're I doing a lot of these cuts I'd like a 1800 rail... if one existed.

As for joining them, it's easy enough if you have a long (>1000mm) straight edge to align them against while you snug up the connectors. The Makita rail connectors are better and cheaper than the festool ones IMO.

Not all rails are the same feature wise. Makita have an anti-tip slot their own saw fits in to for bevel cuts. Never used it but it sounds good to me. I've managed fine with what I have though. Some have anti-friction strips underneath which do help especially when not using clamps (naughty). And then some have glide strips on the top to help the saw along the way.

Festool have a few accessories that slot into a channel on the rail. The main one being the anti-kickback stop meant for doing plunge cuts. They are great for other things like marking start and stop points in a cut e.g. I use them a lot for routing stopped dados.

All very confusing I know AFAIK, the Festool and Makita rails are interchangeable (as in if your saw fits one it'll fit the other) and DeWalt and Triton too but I'm not 100% on that.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[Eric The Viking]

To the OP: there is a bucketload of discussion about this topic here, going back over quite a few years.

I suggest you use the site search (which is good), and come back with some specific questions that haven't otherwise been answered before. Also go look at some in shops, where you can try them for weight, feel the build quality (or otherwise), etc.

When we first started talking about these things, there were only three brands available in the UK: Mafell, Festool and Makita. Then DeWalt came along, and now there are probably dozens of them (brands). I doubt anybody, except you, knows which one is best for you... but there is a wealth of information out there...