track saw cutting guide

[scott vroom]

I'm looking for a good zero-clearance track/guide to cut plywood using my porter cable circular saw. There used to be a brand recommended above all others but the name escapes me. I'm not looking for the complete system including plunge saw (like Festool), just the track to use with my saw.

[Peter Pedisich]

EZ Smart at Eurekazone.
Got it, love it.

[scott vroom]

Is it zero-clearance?

[Peter Pedisich]

Yes, the blade projects through a plastic insert (part of the saw base) and presses down on the offcut side and an anti-chip strip on the guide rail takes care of the keeper side.
Super-clean cuts, great clamps, sturdy.

[Ray Newman]

You can make a zero-clearance guide.

--Take a piece of 1/4" hardboard about 12" wide and the appropriate length.

--Glue and screw a piece of 1/2 plyw'd. or hardwood to it.

--When glue is dried, place saw against the hardwood "fence" and trim off the excess hardboard.

When I made mine, I usually left about 1" of the hardboard to the side of "fence" so I could clamp it to the work.

When I was concerned about excess chip out, I applied masking tape to the cut line.

[Van Huskey]

EZ Smart at Eurekazone.
Got it, love it.

+1 on the EZ Smart, if you aren't getting a full on Tracksaw like Dewalt or Festool, it is the way to go.

[Bruce Wrenn]

You can make a zero-clearance guide.

--Take a piece of 1/4" hardboard about 12" wide and the appropriate length.

--Glue and screw a piece of 1/2 plyw'd. or hardwood to it.

--When glue is dried, place saw against the hardwood "fence" and trim off the excess hardboard.

When I made mine, I usually left about 1" of the hardboard to the side of "fence" so I could clamp it to the work.

When I was concerned about excess chip out, I applied masking tape to the cut line.

After you cut the edge off , take a piece of scrap hardboard about 2" wide, and as long as the base on your saw. Clamp saw guide to some scrap plywood. (You only need a piece about 16" long.) Put some "double stick tape" on top of scrap, place scrap against cut off side of guide. Set saw (with blade retracted) on guide, over scrap. This will stick scrap to saw base plate. Take saw up, and bond scrap to base plate. With saw on guide, plunge cut through the scrap to make a ZCI

[Chris Parks]

The plywood version works for me and yes I have used the Festool guide extensively as well. The advantage of the plywood version is cost for one and if it gets damaged it takes five minutes to make another.

[Paul Greathouse]

Scott

I have the EZ Smart made by Eurekazone. It performs really well. I had used the plywood guides in the past. They worked well and were cheap to make but over time they can warp/twist/bow/ect, if you don't mind dealing with that they are inexpensive. The EZ Smart rails are very solid and stable aluminum extrusions and they can be joined togeather easily, end to end to make as long of a cut as you need.

[Don Bergren]

I'm also a very satisfied user of the EZ Smart, and have used it since 2005. It provides anti-chip protection on both sides of the blade, resulting in clean cuts. Another advantage of the EZ Smart is the fact that the saw rides on a track while making the cut. I used to have a homemade saw guide made of hardboard, but the EZ Smart made things much easier for me.

[Kevin Bickford]

Another fan of EZ smart! I've been on it for 5 years now. If you ever needed to run a 16" saw you can place it on the EZ rails.

Good luck

Kevin

[Kent A Bathurst]

Is there a component that will allow you to make repeated long rips? For example, if I wanted to make a series of cuts that were 8' long, and 10" wide. Or di I measure, mark, and align multiple times?

[Fred Hubert]

Any rail system is going to require a setup for each cut. I have the EZ Smart and I'm very happy with it.

If you want one setup to make a series of cuts, I recommend you use a table saw.

Fred

[Randal Stevenson]

Kent, your thinking of the repeaters.

[Kent A Bathurst]

Kent, your thinking of the repeaters.

Randal - yeah, thanks. Sorry - a little bit of a muddle working through the site, but I just found info on sliding square/cabinetmaker/repeaters, and was coming back here to say "never mind".