Table saw vs. Track saw

[Billy Chambless]

Does the restoration of this thread seem suspicious to anyone else?

Well, it's an eternal subject, so I guess it's better to bump an old thread than to start yet another one.

Tomorrow, we'll do "Tablesaw-centric versus Bandsaw-centric shop". I don't think we've done that yet this year.

[Tony Bilello]

Are most people that would rather have a tracksaw than a table saw in the construction trade? Like in needing job site tools?
I just cant imagine using a tracksaw instead of a table saw to build furniture. I'm sure it can be done, but I wouldn't want to.
These types of posts, while interesting are very confusing to newbe's.
With strong opinions on both sides a newbe will be left in the same place he started from.

[Billy Chambless]

My problem with all the TS v. tracksaw debate is simple, and its the same issue I have with religious zealots--the inability of the converted to recognize the fact that if a solution works for you, is it not necessarily the case that it will work for everyone else in the world. It doesn't mean it isn't a solution for you. It just means that it isn't necessarily the solution for me.

Well said.

[Billy Chambless]

I just cant imagine using a tracksaw instead of a table saw to build furniture. I'm sure it can be done, but I wouldn't want to.

I've been having a great time building furniture without either, so maybe it just depends on one's approach.

[Kevin Looker]

I have a Festool saw & guide rail and a table saw.

The Festool is better for crosscutting sheets & the table saw is better for rip cuts - huh, go figure.

It's easier & faster to get repeatable cuts on a table saw: set the fence once & go. With a guide rail you have to mark each cut individually then position the rail for each cut - more time consuming and greater chance for error.

I like my Festool saw & rail but it's no replacement for a table saw with a good fence.

[Mike Heidrick]

I agree, buy both a tracksaw and tablesaw, and a bandsaw.

[Loren Hedahl]

Question for the guys who sold their table saw: Do you mostly work with plywood?
I mostly work with solid hardwood, and I rip so many boards that I think I would be slowed by not having my table saw.

I did build a couple cabinet projects, and sure wished for a track saw during the sheet breakdown stage. I ended up building a homebrew crosscut T-square circular saw sled, and cutting most sheets in half with a circular saw. I work alone, and moving a full 4 x 8 sheet across the table saw makes for way too much work. Same thing with large glued up solid wood panels such as dining room table tops, too big and heavy for me to crosscut the ends on a table saw.

Question for you DeWalt and Festool track saw guys: Are your saw units more rigid and precise than the better framing type circular saws, or is the quality of cut simply a function of the track?

Awhile back I considered building a larger shop, but after counting the costs of building, maintaining, taxes and all replaced a large table saw with a Festool track saw setup and a DeWalt bench top saw. I am quite satisfied with the economies of the decision.

Previously I used a Makita hypoid circular saw with a set of home made guides for breaking down plywood and straight line cutting out the wavy edge of hardwoods. The Festool is better for the following reasons:

1) The Makita didn't have a soft start function and would jump slightly upon start-up.

2) The Festool guides are stiffer than the plywood guides I used previously.

3) The Festool saw base captures a ridge in the track making mis-tracking impossible. My home brew set-up required me to advance the saw as well as to keep the saw tight against the guide rail.

4) The Festool has a speed control to match blade speed to cutting requirements.

5) The Festool plunges precisely to initiate a cut and un-plunges precisely when the cut is completed. I believe I get better cutting results at each end of the cut because of this.

6) Sawdust pickup is almost 100 percent with the Festool. It seemed that the Makita delighted in throwing sawdust in my face and all over my shop.

Hope this helps.

[Carl Babel]

How do you guys do small precision work?

With a sled on my table saw, I can make very precise cuts on very small pieces (rip, cross, or miter - even compound). I can clamp the piece down and pass it through the blade very safely. I can also see precisely what is happening to the piece and I know how to make adjustments. For housed cuts, it is easy to sneak up on just the right line. With my tenoning jig, I can get perfectly centered shoulder cuts.

I am not saying that this can't be done with a track saw/router, I just can't envision it and would like to hear how you guys do this, if you do.

[Neal Clayton]

Does the restoration of this thread seem suspicious to anyone else?

yeah, didnt' noice the dates, edited my previous post to more accurately represent the conversation.

[Mark Roderick]

"I just cant imagine using a tracksaw instead of a table saw to build furniture."

As a long-time woodworker who has always relied on a tablesaw but is now thinking about the Festool or Eureka Zone approach, I'd like to explore that thought.

I'm thinking about how I have always used a tablesaw. Mostly for ripping material. The tracksaw is much better for sheet goods (I've always used a home-built table for the sheet goods), but ripping a typical board for a table top does seem easier with a tablesaw. Is that what you mean?

My thinking is that if I'm ripping, say, a six or eight foot length of hardwood the tablesaw can get a little sketchy. I need to hold the piece tight against the fence and if there's any bow or twist it can be a safety problem. This is my own personal experience. The idea of securing the hardwood and running over it with a circular saw seems possibly better.

It's true that for dados and grooves you've have to use the router, which is louder and more time-consuming.

Norm Abrams uses his tablesaw for everything. I've never done that, so I guess it's easier for me to think of doing away with it entirely. What operations do you use the tablesaw for that you couldn't do in some other way?

[Andrew Joiner]

I made a featherboard with a caster wheel on the end of it similar to this. Mine has the wheel closer to the blade. It makes ripping long stock accurate and safer.