Taking a good look at my DeWalt track saw....
I don't use my DeWalt track saw all the time, maybe every couple months, then use it a bunch, then it gets put away, etc. Right now I am working my way through 10 sheets of Melamine making shelving units for my pantry, and several closets.
After I cut a few sheets into 12" strips, I got interested again in making a parallel guide of some sort, right after I screwed up one strip by putting the track on the wrong side of the cut marks. This gave me an 8' strip exactly one blade width less than 12". Lesson re-learned....Note to self: the track goes on the keeper side of the cut.
This got me started on an internet search for ideas for parallel guides. First stop was one I had bookmarked by our own Cary Falk, with a very nice version. I found on the old BT3 site, a continuation of his ideas, but very little available for the DeWalt. Visited the Festool track saw site, the EZ track saw site, along with several others. Some very nice jigs, but being simple minded, I have decided that a simple cleat cut to size (in this case 12") is so simple to use if you are doing multiples of the same size, that I would try that. I have no trouble at all splitting a pencil mark when simply using the track edge. My problem is repeatedly making the marks in exactly the same place, the tape wiggles, my hand shakes, I look at it on a slight angle, etc. So, if I make a simple 6 or 8" wide cleat with an edge to butt against the piece, I can easily use it to make a couple good solid marks to line up the track on. I make them about 4" from the edge to avoid the ends of the rubber strip. Like I said, it should work to make one of these each time I need to make a bunch of multiples. I will let you know how it works out.
Another thing I re-remembered after seeing it mentioned on the web, was that the saw is variable speed. Mine has been running just a bit slow, and sure enough, it had been moved down a notch without my noticing. I had forgotten all about it. I really do not know why I would want to lower the speed.
In my search, I learned that the DeWalt will fit on a Festool rail, by using the second groove in the saw's base. No idea if that is intentional or not, or whether it really matches up with the Festool's rubber strip.
Another discovery I learned by looking up the blades on Amazon: The Freud blades advertised for Festool fit the DeWalt, and the kerf is just a few thousandths wider than the kerf on the DeWalt blades. When I put on the Freud ply/melamine blade, I cut next to nothing off the already used rubber strip. If I put the DeWalt blade back on for some reason, the rubber strip will be within thousands of matching. No problem.
I made a simple 2x4 cutting surface that just sits on sawhorses, wish I had done it two years ago. Looks like a 7' by 40" wide ladder, and gives me the ability to cut smaller pieces as well as long rips. Stores in a 4" wide space in my lumber rack.
And lastly, I have never seen any mention about it, but the DeWalt has two hard plastic rub strips on the side of the blade guard. It looks to me like they may enable the saw to be laid on a floor to cut door bottoms, but I have never tried it. Perhaps someone knows for sure?
Hope some of these thoughts may be of value so some. Other ideas must be out there too.
