Nice mail lady - Track Saw

@Rennie Heuer I'll be curious of your review of the quality of cut for the saw. I can't remember if it has a zero clearance insert on the top side of the cut or not.

What blade tooth count does it come with and what are you actually using?

Are you using some kind of dust collection with the saw? I attempted using the shop vac with my Wen and it did a decent job at the time considering I was cutting laminate flooring with it. I'm sure yours will do much better with plywood, but still curious to hear your review. :wave:
 
When not in use, the legs fold up into the recess of the bottom of the table, so the table is easily carried and placed against my sheet stock when not in use.

I have had a pair of those folding legs for more years than I want to count. They were bought with the intention of building something like your table. Maybe with the inspiration from your pics I will finally get to it ;-) It would certainly be easier to handle than my current setup of saw horses and interlocking parts that have to be assembled/disassembled each time. Thanks.
 

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I have had a pair of those folding legs for more years than I want to count. They were bought with the intention of building something like your table. Maybe with the inspiration from your pics I will finally get to it ;-) It would certainly be easier to handle than my current setup of saw horses and interlocking parts that have to be assembled/disassembled each time. Thanks.
I also have a couple of sets, that are attached to some water soaked very heavy formica tops that never get used, so may be the same for me. ;)
 
...Are you using some kind of dust collection with the saw? I attempted using the shop vac with my Wen and it did a decent job at the time considering I was cutting laminate flooring with it. I'm sure yours will do much better with plywood, but still curious to hear your review. :wave:

Speaking for the Festool version - my Fein Turbo III vac gets virtually 100% of the sawdust. The Makita is so similar that I'd guess it'd have similar results.
 
What a joy to use! I went thith the "No-Lift-Low-Altitude" version of a cutting table simply for the sake of expediency. I have another job coming up that will use about 6 3/4" sheets so a cutting table like the one Charles has might be in my future also. In the meantime, even the need to be moving around on my knees could not dampen my joy in not having to lift those heavy sheets and wrestle them across the table saw.

I chose to cut everything about 1/2" over and then rip it straight against the TS fence and square up using a crosscut sled. My first attempt at making a perfect 90 degree cut with the track saw came really close but I did not want to spend a lot of time chasing 1/32" here and there. Besides, once the sheet was broken down working them on the TS was easy.

Cuts are very smooth and virtually chip free. I would say only a couple of percentage points less that my 80 tooth plywood blade in the TS. The blade that came with the saw has 48 teeth.

Dust collection was as close to 100% as you can get. After 8 cuts the floor did not even warrant a quick sweep. The port on the saw was a perfect fit to my shop vac hose. I used my iSocket switch to turn the vac on and off. Seamless. My only complaint so far is an echo of the one most often noted by other buyers - the cord is only 8'. An extra 2 or 3 feet would make it easier when making an 8' long cut.
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I know the TS is right on. The track, so long as I am lining it up by eye with pencil marks, I don't think is as trustworthy. Maybe the miter accessory that Festool makes for their track saw addresses that, but pencil lines, parallax, and my old eyes add up to things being a little off.
 
Looks like some nice clean cuts. That floor setup makes my knees hurt just looking at it though. ;)

For as much as you have to cut though, the saw is justified, should be a nice addition to the shop.
 
When I bought this saw I knew it would be helpful in breaking down sheet goods and that is all I had in mind at the time. However - what a blessing it has been in breaking down those 1" thick, 14" wide and 12' long jotoba boards! Wow, was that a great tool to have for breaking down rough sawn! This saw will go down as one of my smartests moves, though I must admit there is not a lot of competition in that area. :rofl:

I like the tables that some of you have set up for breaking down large sheets and the ability to stow them away is a necessity in my small shop. Even so, those posted above take up some valuable real estate even when broken down for storage. I came across this plan a few days ago and I think this might be the way I go. Minimal storage space and with some minor changes to the dimensions I think it will fill the need.

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This does look like a super handy rig, it could also with minimal changes double as an assembly table or similar.

A couple thoughts..

I think I'd like something (maybe a couple rails?) on top of it? It's basically substituting for a couple of saw horses, and not cutting into the top would a) help not hit the screws and b) preserve the part that takes actual work to make longer.

I've gotten to where I'm not a huge fan of having those swivel casters on all four legs of something like this, maybe only have them on two and just tip it up to roll it around (less convenient once expanded.. but that's perhaps a feature?).
 
Rennie,

That table in your post ends up being shorter than my cutting table when it's folded, but it becomes twice as thick when folded. Is your free space to store this more this shape? When I store my cutting table, it just leans against my sheet stock, and since it's both shorter and narrower than a sheet of plywood, it stores there very well. With that much 2 X 4 material in it, I'm certain that your table design is also heavier to carry than my cutting table, although the casters would surely help here. Version 1 of my cutting table was made with all 2 X 4 material, and as my knees deteriorated, before getting them replaced, I reached the point where it became too heavy for me. That's when I cut it apart and went with the 1 X 4 frame and only use the original 2 X 4 cross pieces in the center and where needed to attach the legs. My previously attached photo is of version 2 of my table, taken almost immediately after I finished building it after cutting apart version 1.

I wrecked my knees when falling through a floor while fighting a fire in NY State back in 1978. I fell about 11' and landed knees first on concrete. I built my cutting table after my knees reached the point where I could no longer get down on the floor to make the cuts on a foam backer. After both knees were replaced, my metal knees no longer have knee caps, and kneeling down on a thick carpet feels much like kneeling on road gravel, so it's even more painful than it was before my knees were replaced. They are just skin over the metal now, with no soft padding flesh in them at all. If I have to work at floor level now, I have to lay down, and then have a chair, door and door knob, or something handy to pull myself back up with. I can no longer squat down and sit on my heels like I once did to work low either. My metal knees won't let me bend them this far, and when I try, it is just too painful to continue.

Charley
 
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