Benefits of a Track Saw

I don't know about you, but when I work with sheet goods in my shop, I'm always looking for an easier way to get these cross cut and rip down to more manageable sizes. And that's what track saws are all about. Track saws have really come a long way in the marketplace. They provide good cut quality. They give you a portability, and they make life easier when it comes to bucking down sheets like this.

So we're gonna have a look at cutting this sheet right here. This is an MDF core, piece of sheet goods I need for a cabinet. So here's how tracks saws work. I've got a track, hence the name. And on the edge of that track, the white piece has already been cut.

It shows me right where the saw blade is gonna travel. It's a line of cut indicator. I've got marks on my sheet that show me where I want the cut to happen. So all I need to do is put the cut edge right onto those marks. Now what's pretty cool is the track itself is sticky enough on the bottom, that it stays in place.

So I don't have to reach under here with a couple of clamps to hold it there. Then my circ saw is gonna ride on the track in order to make the cut. So I'm gonna do just a little bit of personal protection here to get ready for this. And I'll show you what the cut looks like. Now let's have a look at how the tracks on I did.

So the cut quality is good. Remember that, that circ saw blade is cutting up through the veneer like that. So thanks to some anti chip devices we've got on both the saw and the track. We've got a good crisp cut there. Now, one thing that I talked about is once the sheet goods are in my shop I wanna cut them up.

What about if I just had this in my vehicle and a battery operated circ saw, or an extension cord on this one, and when I'm picking my material up with a pair of saw horses on hand, I could get the sheet goods down to a smaller size to make them more manageable to get into my vehicle. So we've covered a simple cross cut here. I also wanna show you how you can do a 45 degree cut. And in addition to sheet goods, how tracks saws like this apply to solid wood panels. Now, I mentioned cutting angles in your sheet goods and we can talk about angles in different planes.

One would be, what if you just plane needed to cut a sheet at an angle this way? Impossible to set up that kind of a cut on a table saw no matter what. But, it's one of the things that track saw brings to the table for you, is we can put that track at any angle you need on your sheet goods. Now, as I turn this to a more and more steep angle, I run out of track and that's where extensions come into play. So with a track extension, it'll spline into the first piece.

So we can cut a longer angle across our sheet. Or of course, if we were ripping down the length of the sheet, we'd add this so we could cut a full eight footer. Now, the angle I'm really talking about is what if you wanna put pieces together at a miter? Like case pieces, pretty difficult, even with the table saw on your shop. To cut miters on big, long pieces like this.

Let me show you how a track saw works for that. Once again, I've got layout lines on my white oak plywood. I hit the layout lines with the track and then suit up. I've already gotten my circ saw at 45 degrees. So the saw is ready to make the cut.

I just gotta get ready. It's a great example of a case where it's just plain easier to bring the tool to the work. Instead of the work to the tool. Got another cut I wanna show you, and that's how tracks saws can pay off. When you're working on big panels of solid wood.

Little bit different application here. I've got a big cedar panel. I glued up. It's actually the top of a picnic table. And I need a way to get the end squared.

So first I put a line on there with the framing square to give me a square line to follow. Lay the track on and use it to finish that picnic table top off. So as you can see, there's a lot of stuff you can do with the track saw that makes your woodworking life easier. Whether you're working with big sheet goods or working with solid wood panels like this. Versatile tool to have, it's something that the more you've got it, the more you use it, the more ways you're gonna think of to use it.

So very versatile addition to our woodworking shop.