Track Saws and Rails

[Julie Moriarty]

I saw Bosch makes what looks like a pretty decent track saw but it's not sold in the U.S. It seems, "track saws aren't exactly flying off the shelves in the USA" is part of the reason Bosch hasn't introduced them into the U.S. market. I had previously thought track saws sold fairly well.

What I really liked about the Bosch reviews I read was when joining two guide rails together, you just join them and they'll be properly aligned. No needing another tool to align them. I know Festool rails require you to use a straight edge or some aftermarket alignment jig to ensure the joined rails are straight. Festool even made a video to show you how to do it.

From what I could find, it looks like Festool, Makita and DeWalt have track saws on the U.S. market. I heard Grizzly was supposed to join in. One review of the three ranked Makita #1, Festool #2 and DeWalt #3. It said Makita had more power and did just as good a job as Festool, for about $200 less. But it looks like Makita has a similar situation as Festool when it comes to joining rails but their connectors look a bit longer. Maybe their connectors can keep the Makita rails from being knocked out of alignment as easily as Festool's. I don't know.

To me, the make or break on a track saw is in the ability of the rails to be easily joined dead-straight and maintain that alignment during normal use. According to a number of Festool TS owners, you're better off with one single rail than two or more joined rails because the rails have to be aligned with a straight edge (or the Betterley StraightLine Connector) and then you have to be cautious when handling the joined rails. The few comments I read about the Makita seem to indicate the same is true but to a lesser degree.

If you have been looking into buying a track saw but haven't, why? The price? The rail situation?

If you own a track saw, what brand do you own? Do you use it often, little or something in between? Has it been worth the price? What's been your experience regarding joining rails?

[Art Mann]

I own the Makita track saw. I use it just about every time I cut up sheet goods. I use my tablesaw for ripping but the track saw is much, much easier to use for cross cutting. The results I get are about as good as what I get using my 90 tooth miter saw trim blade. I just wish I had bought one sooner. I only have a single 55" rail since the longest cut I typically make with it is 48". I have done ripping by cutting half way, moving the track and cutting the rest of the way. The results are good provided you mark accurately and carefully place the track. I do plan to buy the long track one of these days.

One thing about the Makita that may be true of other track saws. Almost all the sawdust comes straight out the dust port - which is a good thing if you have a dust collector hooked up. If you don't have a dust collector, the sawdust may come flying directly at you depending on how the port is oriented.

[Mike Cutler]

Julie
I own two systems.

1. A set of EZ rails. I have them set up to use with a Makita circular saw, and a Milwaukee Worm drive saw. For a homeowner, DIY'r I have used them quite a bit, with both saws. I almost exclusively have both rails connected and move them around frequently, and have no problems cutting a panel 4 square, or keeping them aligned. I see the alignment as a non issue. It's too easy to align them. The larger issue, for me, is the 90 degree alignment of the blade to the material with these rails. Add the baseplate, the saw's baseplate, and the rails and it's pretty easy to have issues getting a true 90 along an entire edge. It can be done, but you have to have patience and set it. The junction of the rails has to have no "lip page" or distortion, or the saw skews in that area.

2. I have a Festool TS 75 with an ~ 6' rail.
Honestly, I don't have much experience with it. I bought it last fall. It was discounted because Festool changed the design of their Systainer box, and I just happened to be in a Woodcraft when they marked it down $125.00. For a $125.00, I can deal with a different plastic locking mechanism. I figured if I hated it, I could recoup my $$$. It seems nice, but I expect the same fundamental problem, getting an accurate 90 degree cut along the edge to the material face.
I put the Festool through some paces on a 2"+ thick piece of Bocote and Jatoba, by using it to joint an initial edge, just to see how it would do. It did fine. If the Makita is more powerful than the TS 75, at the same depth of cut, that's impressive.

I think that joining any two rails is going to present some type of problem(s) that will need to be addressed with an alignment check. I also can't see not using some form a reference to check that the rails are aligned. If Bosch is truly stating that their rails need no alignment check after joining, that too would be very impressive. I'd like to see it. The material tolerances would have to be very tight to maintain.

I think the reason that they're not more well received is that they aren't compatible with the workflow process, as we've been taught, and they are expensive. It also doesn't help that they seem to use non standard, read proprietary, blades that aren't readily available.
Aluminum "L" Channel is cheap, and you can buy a stack of Freud Diablos to fit any circular saw for the price of a Festool blade. It's very easy to make your own, accurate, rail system. If any manufacturer cannot offer convenience, ease of setup, and speed, to offset cost,I don't see them being a huge market.

[Eric DeSilva]

Festool makes 8 different sizes of guide rails, so one thing you might think about is how you intend to use the saw. If you work exclusively with 5x5 BB plywood, a single 75" rail (the 1900) gives you plenty of room for both cross cuts and rips. If you use 4x8 sheets, but intend to still rip on the TS, a 55" rail (the 1400) might be sufficient. If you want to rip 8' sheets and don't like joined rails, there's a 118" guide rail (the 3000) that will do that too. I got lucky and found a guy who got transferred overseas who sold me a 1400, 1900, and 3000, plus I have a 1080 on my MFT, so I've got a lot of flexibility.

[Dave Novak]

I know Festool rails require you to use a straight edge or some aftermarket alignment jig to ensure the joined rails are straight. Festool even made a video to show you how to do it.

In my humble hobbyist opinion, the concern regarding joining two festool rails together is a lot of fuss about nothing. True, over the 8' length of the cut I may be off a cat hair or two, but If I just exercise the same care I use when laying out, measuring, and cutting everything else I do I'll be well within acceptable tolerances. There's no way I could do better on any table saw trying to keep the entire 8' uniformly snug against a fence.

[Greg R Bradley]

The Bosch plunge tracksaws are somewhat similar to the Festool and Makita. They are actually a Mafell saw. Even though Bosch does not sell them, Mafell has a dealer and you can buy them in the US at: http://www.timberwolftools.com
You will think Festool is a bargain after looking at Mafell pricing.

Bosch also has saws that are similar to a standard circular saw but can run on the narrow Bosch/Mafell constuction style rails. No plunge, no dust collection, etc. You can look at http://www.toolstop.com and see the various ones and see pricing but Bosch won't allow them to ship those items to the US.

Mafell plunge tracksaw runs on either the "Bosch" rails you mentioned, which are designed more for construction use or the fine woodworking rails, which are the same as Festool rails. Makita rails are 99% identical to Festool so any mention of one being easier to keep straight when joining is wrong.

You can join the rails and have them be straight. You will have to use some care with joined rails as it is a more fragile assembly. You join rails when you need to do that and buying longer ones comes down to finances and transport issues. Mafell actually has 4-5 different rail setups for different uses including one where the rail curls up around the saw for storage in a systainer and another where the saw is attached and runs down the rail under power.

I bought a Festool tracksaw about 25 years ago and recall that the rails looked very much like the Bosch/Mafell ones you mentioned. I did a big upgrade to a Makita around 7 years ago and then upgraded to a Festool TS55 about 3 years ago, mainly for the anti-splinter on both sides of the cut. My Makita is still in regular use in a production display shop. The Makita SP6000 and the Festool TS55 are very similar. I haven't seen the newer Festool tracksaw that was just released.

[Sam Murdoch]

In my humble hobbyist opinion, the concern regarding joining two festool rails together is a lot of fuss about nothing. True, over the 8' length of the cut I may be off a cat hair or two, but If I just exercise the same care I use when laying out, measuring, and cutting everything else I do I'll be well within acceptable tolerances. There's no way I could do better on any table saw trying to keep the entire 8' uniformly snug against a fence.

In my humble professional opinion I completely agree with Dave. I connect various lengths of Festool rails as a matter of course (for about 6 years of weekly and regularly, more frequent use) and have only once found a misalignment. That was my fault. The most important (and I suspect neglected) aspect of having success with connected rails is that the work surface that supports your cut piece and the track rails needs to be flat. You compromise that and you get less than straight cuts.

I can't imagine that Bosch has made a system that overrides that basic requirement, though admittedly I have not seen their version and so can have no valid opinion. I also understand from reading posts on the F.O.G. that there are in fact real issues in this regard for some folks. Even Festool makes some lemons though they will bend over backwards to make certain that you don't suffer more than a little inconvenience for their shortcomings. My experience with the track saw and connecting rails has been excellent.

[Larry Frank]

I have the Festool track saw and am very happy. I have not had any problems joining the rails but am careful when I do it and check to make certain it is correct. While the rails are important, I think that it is more important that it gives a great cut without splintering even hardwood thin veneer.

Also, the dust collection of the Festool is excellent.

[Mac McQuinn]

I feel there are too many alternatives to a TS available at considerable savings. For my type of work, I use a pair of saw horses, sheet of 1" foam board, clamp-on straight edge and my Ridgid Fuego 6.5 thin kerf saw to cut sheet goods, leaving 1/32" margin for finish. Once you know blade offset, you pencil it on side of saw and it's very easy to work with. Install a dust pick-up tube and plug in a Vac for very good collection w/ the Foam board underneath. **Installing a piece of self adhesive clear tape on side of Saw makes it glide along the straight edge.

If I was doing home calls for finish work, remodeling projects, I'd probably go for a Festool TS-55 & CT Midi vac. although still wear my respirator and tape off work areas.

Mac

[Jamie Buxton]

I have a Festool TS-55. I use it for staightlining roughsawn lumber, and for breaking down sheet goods. It is very valuable for me. If it walked off in the middle of the night, I'd be buying another track saw tomorrow.

I originally tried to use two short rails and a joiner to get a rail longer than eight feet. That failed too often, so I bought a 9 foot rail. However, I gotta admit it turns the whole system into a lot of money. If the Festool did walk off in the middle of the night, I'd at least shop the alternatives that have come on the market. I might end up back at Festool -- they do make good stuff -- but I'd at least look around.

[Jim Matthews]

+1 on cutting sheet goods over a piece of foam board.

When I bought my EZ Smart set (two 50 inch rails that join) the other choices were not yet on the market.
If you already own a good circular saw, it has an adapter plate that is easy to mount. You do lose some depth of cut, roughly 3/8"

I only use it for sheet goods, mainly 3/4" plywood so it's adequate.

If there's a package deal including a good blade, motor and guide - they're all up to the task.
Only the Festool marque maintains any measure of residual value, the rest seem to be going for a song on the secondhand market.

[Kelly Colin Mark]

I've got a TS75 and a TS55. If you're worried about joining rails, just buy one long enough that you don't need to join. The long rails are indeed expensive, but at my dealer in Toronto, the Makita 118" rail is about half the price ($189) of the equivalent Festool rail and work just as well with the TS saws. If you have to join rails, you have to buy the connector, so you can effectively deduct about $30 from the price of whatever long rail you buy.

The TS rides fine on the Makita rails. I understand that some tools - I recall the router - may not work on the Makita rails.

[howard s hanger]

I have the TS55 and a variety of rails. Once in a while I need to join a pair and have zero issue with alignment. Marc Spagnoulo (wood whisperer) did a recent review of the Grizzly and IIRC, it was not up to the quality of the Festool. You get what you pay for, at least with track saws. You will never feel the need to replace it if you go with the Festool. It's the best you can get.

[Ole Anderson]

I just finished breaking down 8 sheets with a newly acquired Grizzly track saw. The only available rails are 55". At first I was leary of the ability to get a straight eight foot rip with the joined rails, but I soon realized that, after joining the rails several times, it really is a non-issue. The ends are cut with dead on 90's, actually I guess they could be cut at 89 degrees and because they only go together one way, as long as the 2 angles are the same they will and do align perfectly. The only issue is if there a slight offset due to slop in the spline, you get a bump when the saw passes the joint.

While I agree with Marc that there are some issues with quality and design, at the end of the day the Grizz gives me the same splinter free straight cut you get with the other green machine, except that I have almost $600 left in my pocket to buy more power tools.

[Tom Ewell]

Back when, like my Multimaster, Festool seemed to be the only rig of this type on my radar (must have been some others but apparently not near the current selection available now), EZ was making lots of noise at the time about they're system but that's another story.

Dust collection, splinter free, accuracy and single cut line at any set angle were my primary reasons to give it a go but plunge and riving knife were a strong second. I break down sheets occasionally with it but if I can get the yard to rip them "close" with a panel saw I usually do and go to the table saw for rip sizing, crossing cuts go to the MFT or rails.

I've retrofitted a ton of new doors into old existing jambs, modified old tall corner hutches, scribed extension jambs for window trims on old and new, scribed counters and cabinets, fitted cedar ply soffits on raked overhangs (visualize hopper cuts), cabinet box fabrication goes without saying and the list goes on. Coupling-up the rails has not been a problem, I do double check if they get bumped and there has been the occasional "tick" felt at the joints but mostly on less than flat material.

There have been a few times when cutting down either side of the rail (like the EZ) would be handy but I've manage well enough without this feature. The saw itself of course fits the "system", some have been put off a little with the "grinding" sound at startup (soft start and some sort of electronics feedback thingy) but it's smooth as silk once it's going and it has gone a lot. The TS 55 struggled a little long mitering some 1-1/2" butcher block, needed to shine up the cut with a rail guided OF 1400 and a straight bit.

Still not real fond of the metric stuff but I'm getting there, I understand that the new saws have and optional sticker or something for we inchers. I did get the accessory kit, the extra goodies are great but I've rarely used the angle unit, it's simpler for me I guess to just measure, mark, line up the rail and go. The tote bag for the rails is real handy but if the saw stays in the shop might not need one. I've used the clamps for all kinds of stuff where a normal clamp won't fit. (DeWalt track clamps fit the Festo's). Trying out an Oshlun blade for the TS 55, so far not too shabby.

Did eventually get an EZ setup for job-site so the boys could use a track rig (without me hovering over them) and was surprised that the cost for the EZ, new dedicated saw and setup time accounted for was not that much less than the Festool.

Can't speak to the other brands except that I've generally used Dewalt, Makita and Bosch gear regularly and have found little to complain about so if they keep up to snuff I would expect their track units to perform on par within themselves. It's hard for me to get into cost vs performance equating to value when it comes this stuff, too many variables amongst the end users needs but if one were to blind compare this group side by side I suspect a favorite might tilt a little in one direction.