Track Saw versus Cabinet Saw

[Jeff Duncan]

I only briefly glanced through the responses so I may have missed it, but one thing I haven't seen brought up yet is joinery? You can use all sorts of jigs on a table saw for different types of joinery, which cannot be done easily or practically with a track saw. I love the track saw but if I could only have one saw in my shop it would be a table saw without any question or thought. It is just so much more flexible in what it can do there's really no comparison.

good luck,
JeffD

[Peter Kelly]

The Festool Compact Module System and bench saw adapter unit for the TS 75 will eventually be available in North America though no release date yet. Would certainly allow you to get by without a traditional cabinet saw if your needs are relatively light duty.

http://www.festool.co.uk/Products/Pa...ul_system_9317

[Kyle Iwamoto]

No way could a tracksaw replace my tablesaw.
It does not have near the surface area for piling miscellaneous crap on.

I thought that was why it's called a TABLE saw.

As many said, the table saw can make small cross cuts and rips way better than a track saw. I would not give up my table saw. I would have to build a bench to put all my stuff on.

As a side issue, I made a cover for my table saw, and use it as my workbench. That could also be an option. Most cannot get along without a workbench......

[Joe Jensen]

I've owned a Unisaw, PM66, Sawstop and I now have a large sliding table saw. I also have a Festool track saw. Cabinet saws are extremely versatile. Rip and crosscut. With a sled you can cut things very square and with excellent technique you can get good results ripping and crosscutting things that are not huge. If you have a lot of space you can put a cabinet saw into a large table with huge space on the left and out feed sides and the results are great with sheet goods. Sadly most home shops don't have the kind of space. When I owned cabinet saws I had trouble handling the first rip off a large sheet of plywood so I bought the Festool to break down sheets. The first thing I noticed was how perfect the cut was. The Festool creates a better cut that I was ever able to achieve with a cabinet saw. The other problem I had with sheet goods was getting perfect 90 degree cuts on large parts. My saw didn't have enough crosscut capacity cut fresh 90s and the factory corners aren't square enough. With the track saw, you can make a perfect edge, and if you can align the track well to the line or marks you can make great parts. Slower, and not perfectly square but pretty good. Ripping requires a jig to make perfectly parallel parts, or perfect marking and aligning of the track.

I ended up selling the cabinet saw and sacrificing valuable shop space to get a slider. Now I can cut perfect 90s and rip perfectly parallel parts and the cut is even better than the track saw.

If I could only have one, I'd have a cabinet saw. If I could afford both but not a slider I've have a cabinet saw and a track saw. The best solution IMHO is all three but I don't have the space for a cabinet saw too.

[Brian Kincaid]

A tracksaw is not a replacement for a tablesaw. The tracksaw is married to the tape measure, which is very inaccurate.
The tablesaw is faster and more accurate at what it does.

That being said, you can use a tracksaw exclusively, if you are willing to work around its limitations.

My track saw has a parallel fence so I am not married to a tape measure. Lots of folks are familiar with table saw workarounds but tracksaws are new so there are new solutions unfamiliar to those that have not been keeping 'track'.

Table saw rip fence = track saw bridge and parallel rip fence either attached to rail or cutting table
Table saw miter gage = 90deg fence and/or adjustable fence attached to rail
Table saw crosscut sled = 90deg fence on rail or bridge table with 90deg fence
many more...

If I give someone a table saw with no fence, miter gage, or jigs how far would they get?

-Brian

[Jim Summers]

Thanks for all the replies.

It seems the responses are pretty much what has been banging around in my head. The track saws will do things well and probably could do the majority of tasks I need to carry out. If I was just starting out it would be the way to go. Get the best track saw and a real good bandsaw and I would be good to go.

I do not think my old CMAN 12" bandsaw would be able to rip stock well enough to help me out, so that would mean I would also need to upgrade that. Since I would have to sell the PM2000 to help pay for the track saw setup then I would not be upgrading the BS for a looong time.

Some interesting ideas were posted on potentially shortening the rails to decrease the footprint or doubling up the footprint for use as a workbench. Once the oppressive heat backs off a bit, I may try to get creative with how I have things setup to see if that may help.

Thanks again for all the responses!

[Peter Quinn]

I could see shrinking the rails on the TS to make it more compact and adding a track saw to break down larger items, but its hard for me to envision fully replacing the TS with the track saw. There are some pretty creative uses of the track saw out there, I suppose you could even jig it up to cut tenon cheeks and similar joinery. But even the best track saw set ups are a bit more time consuming to change over than the TS, and thats a show stopper for me. My most precious commodity presently is time, for the work I do the TS is always seconds away from set up, changing sizes takes seconds, I can go from rip to cross cut to joinery in under a minute. So I suppose with some ingenuity and a pile of aluminum accessories you could certainly replace the TS, but for me, I'd rather buy a smaller car or give up wood working first. Have you considered a smart car?

[Jim Summers]

I could see shrinking the rails on the TS to make it more compact and adding a track saw to break down larger items, but its hard for me to envision fully replacing the TS with the track saw. There are some pretty creative uses of the track saw out there, I suppose you could even jig it up to cut tenon cheeks and similar joinery. But even the best track saw set ups are a bit more time consuming to change over than the TS, and thats a show stopper for me. My most precious commodity presently is time, for the work I do the TS is always seconds away from set up, changing sizes takes seconds, I can go from rip to cross cut to joinery in under a minute. So I suppose with some ingenuity and a pile of aluminum accessories you could certainly replace the TS, but for me, I'd rather buy a smaller car or give up wood working first. Have you considered a smart car?

Haha, hadn't thought of that. My truck is paid for and I really like that!

So I really think I need to become waaay more efficient on my space usage. You know, do I really need so much scrap wood, piled up, that I may use one day?

[fRED mCnEILL]

"i also built a table that is 2'x4' that has extension. it will fully support a 4'x8' sheet of plywood."
That seems to be the same size as a table saw, so if you switch to a track saw to reclaim the footprint of a tablesaw where is the saving.
I don't have a track saw but have a shop made one to break down sheet goods. I find it tremendously cumbersome so I use it seldomly. Sure, with precise positioning it works OK but it takes forever to get it postioned right.

[Jim Matthews]

When a collapsible cabinet saw comes to market, I'll replace my Eurekazone track.

Handling sheet goods is dead simple, I layout rigid insulation board on my garage floor - settle the sheet over, align the track and go.
For me, it's about getting down to a manageable size without displacing a car from my garage. Crosscutting and fine adjustments I do by hand.

I can't speak for production shops that do this for a living, but the amount of money saved was considerable.

[Brian Kincaid]

...if you switch to a track saw to reclaim the footprint of a tablesaw where is the saving...

Infeed and outfeed space are not required for a tracksaw. In my shop that is a significant difference.
-Brian