Now, I'm a believer

[Jerome Hanby]

I used the Festool track-saw I bought recently for the first time on Saturday. All I can say is WOW! Best circular saw I've ever used. Also used the Kreg Master Kit and a Kreg corner clamp for the first time. Worked great. I used them to build square foot gardening boxes.

[Glen Butler]

He has drunk the kool-aid and will never be the same again. Festool makes very well engineered tools. I don't own any but I have used a few, and they are great.

[Tom W Armstrong]

Hi Jerome,

Please tell us more about this experience. I'm on the fence right now concerning track saw/SawStop combo versus Euro-Slider. What exactly were you doing (sheet breakdown?) to have this great experience.

[Jim Becker]

Jerome, I'm glad you're enjoying your investment.

Tom, I have both a slider and the Festool system. For in-shop work I prefer the slider, but the Festool setup has saved my butt a number of times. (I also use the rails for router work now for grooves and dados, etc.) For folks who can't afford or don't have the room for a slider, the Festool setup with some rigid insulation foam makes for a super accurate and safe method for breaking up sheet goods...on the floor or on the dining room table. (Bill Grumbine did the latter in his home awhile back and lived to tell about it...LOL)

The Festool saw has been wonderful for the work I've had to do in the house in association with the addition we put on the house over a year and a half ago as I'm still changing some trim work in the older portion of our home and (unfortunately) anticipate a flooring job in the 250 year old portion this year. The dust extraction combined with the precision clean cut is great in the house.

[Tom W Armstrong]

Thanks Jim. Two of my next projects include shop cabinets and some built-in oak ply shelving. I could use my old Ryobi circ and a 2x4 but I'm getting back into this and want to upgrade my equipment to make things easier (and more accurate) going forward. Just trying to see if I can save the $1K for the track saw and use it for new slider if it would make sense (in my garage shop). Longer-term, no doubt I'll pick up a plunge saw at some point. Appreciate the help.

[Thomas Pender]

I use my Festool plunge to cut all kinds of sheet goods and for repeatable cross cuts on oak and cherry with the multi-function table. The dust collection is quite nice and the saw uses much less power than a table saw. The Festool sawblades are of awesome quality and last a long time.

I bought two of those Festool clamps and you can fasten the sheet goods on a saw horse, your bench, whatever and get perfect cuts with the rail system. I tend to use the Festool more than my table saw because of its convenience.

I also get some pretty dados with the router using the rails. In my opinion the Festool, while pricey, has mucho utility and its dust collection, sanders, and routers are of first class quality.

[Greg Portland]

Two of my next projects include shop cabinets and some built-in oak ply shelving.

I own a Festool tracksaw and have built a few shelving projects using only the saw. IMO, your best bet will be to get a large, quality euroslider (minimax, Hammer, Felder, etc.). You really only need to use the rip fence on rips that are longer than your slider (so your hands are far from the blade on the majority of your cuts).

You can complete the job with the Festool and it will be very accurate but the slider will be MUCH faster. If you can't fit an 8ft slider into your garage then the decision becomes a little more difficult.

[Erik Christensen]

I started out on the same slippery path - with a T75 tracksaw/vacumn. I now have a router, 2 sanders, domino, kapex, LR32 hole system, several rails, MFT and a drill on the way.

your only hope is if management takes your credit card away to protect you from yourself

[Jim Chan]

I bought two of those Festool clamps and you can fasten the sheet goods on a saw horse, your bench, whatever and get perfect cuts with the rail system. I tend to use the Festool more than my table saw because of its convenience.

That's funny, I had the exact opposite experience. I started out using a festool ts75 w/ mft3 because I didn't want a table saw taking up space in my garage. Got all the clamps and extra guiderail etc. I eventually bought a used powermatic 64 tablesaw, and now I hardly ever use the TS75 except for breaking down sheet goods or other large awkward cuts (trimming the ends off an 8ft slab for example).

For most use cases, in the time I get the TS75 out of the box, let alone lined up and work piece secured, I'd have already finished the cutting job on the tablesaw. Especially for repeatable rips, the tablesaw wins hands down in terms of time and consistency/accuracy for me. Even for cross cuts, I prefer using the table saw and a sled or my incra miter gauge.

I like the festool stuff a lot. If I were to do it again, I would probably have done better just to get one of those clamping circular saw guides and put the money towards a nice cabinet saw. But realistically, I'd probably end up with both anyway at some point.

[Rich Engelhardt]

I used the Festool track-saw I bought recently for the first time on Saturday. All I can say is WOW!

That was my first reaction also.

Then I thought about why Festool products come w/a 30 day, no questions asked, return policy.....

My second reaction, after reflecting on how well it performed, was,,, "Well, heck yeah, I expect it to perform like the price I paid for it"!

That's when I decided it was a "keeper". I feel I got exactly what I paid for.

That was a year or so ago - maybe two? Honestly, I forgot how long. The tool has been such a pleasure to use it seems like I've had it forever. I guess that's the highest testament you can give something - to feel it's so "right", you can't picture not having it.

[Alex Leslie]

I started out with the Festool TS75 3 years ago after owning a Jet 5hp cabinet saw for 10 years. I bought the Festool to get staight line rips on rough lumber; very difficult to do on a table saw without a cumbersome jig.

I find I go to the TS75 for all but the repetitive crosscuts on a sled and some short rip cuts. I bought the Festool parallel guides, which can help duplicate many table saw functions with a circular saw. I also have ended up with a pile of systainers as I expanded my system.

One project I built was a 17' long bar for my Elks lodge, which had to be built on-site. The TS75 with several joined rails made the 17' straight cuts a breeze. How big and area and how many helpers would you need to do this with a table saw? I could not have moved my table saw on-site if I'd wanted to. Not enough room and no 220v.

I also have some clamp-on guide bars that I used with my Milwaukee circular saw. The saw rides next to, rather than on the rail as the Festool does. You can wander away from the guide bar and are limited to shorter cuts. The Festool rides like a train and is limited in the length of cut only by how many rails you own.

I won't give up my tablesaw, unless its for a Sawstop, but I use the Festool saw for any long, straight cuts that can't be done by one man on the tablesaw. It will also work where tablesaws can't go.

[Tom W Armstrong]

Thanks all for the great feedback, but I'm still on the fence. It seems unlikely I can go wrong with either the Festool or the Euro slider for the long-term. I guess I'll keep "thinking" about what to do next.