Track Saw Prices

[Dale Murray]

I have a Makita and am extremely happy with it.

[Rick Potter]

I have the DeWalt, with long and short tracks, plus an extra long one Amazon sent me because the first one was damaged in transport. I use the long one the most, breaking down plywood, and have no connectors, nor have I needed any. It has room for improvement, but works fine for me.

I am confused. You say you have the DeWalt already, and it works well. If you are shopping price, why not just buy another DeWalt track, which would save the most money?

On the other hand, if you just want another tool, I understand that. I am a registered tool addict.

[Bob Falk]

I have the makita and love it. After planing I've been using the long track to rip a straight edge on long boards....much easier than trying to take out crook a long board on the jointer (and safer)

[Jim Dwight]

I read about track saws mainly because it's my newest major tool and I am still learning to use it better and more. Checking out the other brands is just about trying to see if what I have is still one of the best - both functionally and in price.

I did not intend to mess up the Festool price. I'm glad somebody pointed out I overstated it. But it is still the most. I understand the system argument but most of my work is in the shop. I don't normally keep the cases my tools came in and I don't think I would keep Festools in systainers. I'm not sure about the detachable power cord idea. Maybe that is a good idea. But the main thing is every single thing is much more expensive than other good brands. I guess I'm just too cheap. I'm sure I would enjoy them.

My long track goes onto the top of a wall rack of hardwood. You definitely have to figure out a way to store the track. It's longer than the ceiling height in my current shop, so vertical storage is not an option. I don't just have the 59 and 102, I also have the little 41 inch. I use them all. The long one both makes the long rips in sheet goods and straightens long lumber.

[andrew weldon]

I don't know about everybody else, but I have the Makita and find crosscutting full sheets of ply extremely frustrating with the 55" track. As soon as one of the two slack adjusters hangs off the track, it's inaccurate. I ended up getting the Festool 75" track and I use it for everything. It's thankfully rare that I need to rip a full sheet, but eventually I will need to get the 118" track (ideally..)

My original Makita 55" track also had the semi-common cupping problem that caused it to wobble along it's width, so that's something to look out for.

As for riving knives, I use the Dewalt at work and the difference between the two in terms of performance ripping 8/4 hardwood is negligible.

[Patrick Curry]

I have the Makita as well. I only have the single 55" track and would like a longer solution. I'm thinking I will get another 55" section and the connectors because of ease of storage and cost of the long track.

Why did you go with Festool connectors??

Shopping online, I was uncertain if the Makita connector included two rods; meaning one for the slot on the top side and one for the slot in the bottom side. The photos weren't clear nor was the description. I think the price was about a wash.

Anyway, using two Festool connectors has been easy to set up and the two tracks remain straight. I make 'long' cuts frequently in my shop but I doubt I'll ever shell the money out for a 118"

[Alan Trout]

I have had the Makita for a couple of years and it works very well. I have not had any issues with the 55" rail and cross cuts and I have not had any trouble with cupping of my 55" rail, but I do plan to add the 118" rail pretty soon. Excellent cut and accuracy has been very good with my Makita track saw.

Alan

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I bought the Makita and three short tracks during their after-Christmas sale. I paid $600 for the whole lot, including connectors. My issue is why do they sell connectors separately? Each track should come with one. I realize that some folks only need one track, but it just seems like the connector should come with the track. I keep the connector in the track.

The Makita was certainly the best overall value for me.

[Bill Dindner]

Very interesting analysis, there is a nice product by Betterly, that makes it easy to accurately attache 2 tracks, although this adds around $100 to the package.

I went for the Festool Tracksaw for 2 main reasons, the tracks work well with my Festool Router and Festool makes a Bigger capacity Tracksaw, that enables me to work on slabs much easier. If I wasn't already invested I'm the Festool system and I didn't want the extra depth of cut I would go for the Makita.

[Benjimin Young]

Hi Bill, I was told a Festool tracksaw can cut slabs with enough precision that you can glue two halfs together. What is your experience with cutting slabs, thickness, precision of cut etc?

[Jamie Buxton]

One additional parameter to judge is how straight the long rail is. A track saw that cuts a curved straight line isn't much use. My Festool long rail has about .020" of bow in it, and that is a problem sometimes. Unfortunately, no track rail manufacturer provides this really important spec.

[William M Johnson]

I owned the Eureka Zone system first, then moved to the Festool Ts55. Absolutely no comparison. No one is addressing the quality of cut issue. On plywood if you have everything setup properly there should be no tear out on either side.

On hardwoods you should have a "glue ready" joint. I have posted pictures of some table tops I built. I don't own a jointer. There are no gaps,or tool marks on the surfaces. I hate planing/sanding tool marks. The end grain jointing/cutting was done with the Kapex. Again dead right angles, no gaps and the end grain is shiny and smooth after the cut.

I own the Betterly connected and it is nice but not absolutely necessary.

Bill

[Rob Tolentino]

The OP was listing the prices on track saws. I'm trying to make a decision on one and this helped some. My choice is between the Festool and Dewalt. I own tools from both companies. I do not have any Makita products. The Festool (with 55 inch rail included) price is constant at $660. The Dewalt (with 59 and 102 rail kit) can be had at $586.

I have read so many threads from this forum and others, on-line articles and I have the FWW Tool Guide 2017. It doesn't help one make a decision, although it does make one more informed. I like the idea of the Dewalt because it comes with the longer track at a lower price (and I have Porter Cable routers should I decide to get the router attachment). I also like the idea of the Festool because the tools I own so far (2 sanders, Domino, dust collector) are premium tools. I like the idea of the MFT/3, but that is a lot of money. Another consideration is the weight of the saws - I'm not getting any younger. I don't use my tools professionally, but I do want tools that are well made.

Ratings on both track saws seem to be favorable. So confusing!!!

[Bill Dindner]

Hi Bill, I was told a Festool tracksaw can cut slabs with enough precision that you can glue two halfs together. What is your experience with cutting slabs, thickness, precision of cut etc?

With my Festool TS75 which is their larger model track Saw I've cut a few 2" thick Walnut slabs. Really nice clean cut, made shelves and only wanted the live edge in front.

Additionally, I've used it to true up an edge of rough sawn lumber after the planer, it was ready for glue up.