Track Saw Questions

[Steve Sewell]

Looking to purchase a Makita SP6000
Comes with a 54" track.
Trying not to purchase the $250 118" track
for the rare occasions I need to rip 96".
Is it possible to stop the saw and move the
track forward or does the new plunge not
quite line up?

Thank you
Steve

[Greg Visser]

I can't answer your question from experience, as I've only ordered my track saw, today. I wouldn't think moving the rail forward would work very well, though. It seems like it would defeat the "precision" aspect the track saw is supposed to provide. Just as a couple of thoughts to throw out to you, I wanted the Makita saw as well, but couldn't come anywhere near the price of the Dewalt. The Dewalt is pretty highly reviewed and considerably less expensive than the makita. Amazon has the Dewalt with 59" and 102" track for $537.00. The Woodcraft catalog, as well as a number of the reviews I've read, says that the Makita saw will work on "other" track systems. Some said it would work on the Festool and Dewalt tracks, but, again I've no personal experience. The Dewalt track as an acessory is still considerably less than the Makita if they will interchange.

Good Luck, Greg

[Michael Peet]

Seems like moving the track mid-cut might defeat the purpose of the track. I am not familiar with the Makita, but perhaps they make brackets for joining two shorter sections of track for those longer cuts.

Mike

Edit: I see Greg beat me to it

[Steve Sewell]

Mike & Greg
Thanks for the help.
Some reviews of all the track saws
complain about the joint connection.
I like Amazon's pricing but they will not
ship for 1 to 2 months.

Steve

[Jamie Buxton]

You might try butting the short track against a long straightedge that's clamped to the workpiece. You cut, then slide the track, then cut some more. Of course, now you need a long straightedge, but maybe that's less expensive than a long track.

[Craig Michael]

You don't need the long track, just get another short section of track and join them together. The festool track will work with the makita saw too although the festool track does not have the aluminum lip on the track for the anti tip feature of the makita. The festool connectors work on the makita track, the clamps will work, etc.

The sliding the track ahead won't work very well. You will almost always be off just a hair and it will drive you crazy and cost you in errors.

These guys sell the saw for a good price, low shipping costs, etc. http://www.tools-plus.com/makita-sp6000k.html

[Zach Callum]

I have always favored makita over dewalt. Call up your local tool repair shop and ask them what comes in most often.

[johnny means]

I just move my track up and restart the cut midway. Sometimes I get a couple of saw marks at the joint, but no big deal.

[Steve Sewell]

Johnny
That is what I wanted to hear!
Do you use the clamps?
I will try it out with one track.

Thanks
Steve

[Greg R Bradley]

Going to get confusing with a Craig and two Gregs commenting on this............

Dewalt track has a ridge on both sides so you can use the saw on either side of the track. Disadvantage as that affects the anti-splinter cabability of Dewalt. So Dewalt saw will work on Makita and Festool track but only Dewalt will work on Dewalt track.

Makita has more power than little Festool saw but no riving knife. Makita plunge mechanism feels poor to me compared to Festool. Festool has best power cord, dust removal, and anti-splinter. Makita is same price as Festool if you include the items that come with the saw and you like Festools case system. The Makita may be cheaper because you can find them at a discount from the normal price. I paid $219 for a new bare saw but replaced it with a Festool TS55 when they had the 10% off deal. The Makita was better than my 20+ year old track saw.

No problem connecting 2 tracks for long cut. I'm a big fan of Makita in general and the track saw is excellent quality. Festool has better warranty.

[johnny means]

I have never needed to use clamps with the track, even when working on smaller pieces.

[Peter Quinn]

Moving the track forward to chase the same line is pretty marginal as far as accuracy, though clamping a long straight edge could certainly help there. Clamping two sections together is not fool proof but works well if you have a straight edge against which to check the alignment. It is also important to remember that you don't have to use a track saw on the track! Yes, unlike a freight train the trac saw can go flying off the rails and still function perfectly well. I have made your typical two piece skill saw guide jig and used it with a festool t55 with good success. You could even run a dado into a long piece and put in a trac if you wanted to get fancy, I just connect 2 pieces of 1/4" mdf ripped straight (base around 8" and fence around 2") with a few staples and glue, make a first location cut, viola. 96" straight edge, precise cut locator, full ZCI protection, cost around $2 worth of scraps, cheaper than a 10' aluminum extrusion, just as accurate (though I usually affix it with two small clamps and don't add any neoprene shoes to the bottom). I have made some small cross cut jigs for cutting wide plank floors that were difficult to get to a machine due to 16' lengths, same basic idea using MDF , very accurate, quick to make and cheap. You do have to hold the saw to the fence with these shop made jigs, I find this quite easy personally.

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Looking to purchase a Makita SP6000
Comes with a 54" track.
Is it possible to stop the saw and move the
track forward or does the new plunge not
quite line up?

I have both the 10 ft and 5 ft tracks.
Rarely drag out the 10 footer as it's so easy to line up a little more cut.

[Kevin Stricker]

What you are asking is possible, you will get better accuracy if you move the rail then re-plunge the saw back into the kerf to align then restart the cut. One thing to consider is that if you are crosscutting first before making a rip you will tend to have less precise cuts on a full sheet of ply. The standard 1400mm rail just barely makes a 4' crosscut because you need space to plunge the saw before starting the cut. Also in my experience it is harder to get square cuts when referencing off the ends of sheet goods as the factory cut is not always square. Much easier in my experience to make a full length rip then make square crosscuts referencing from that. Good luck, I am sure you will enjoy using a track saw.

[Jim Matthews]

I use an EurekaZone EZSmart track with a basic Porter-Cable circular saw.
Do you have a decent saw, already?

The 54" capacity kit can be extended by adding rails, as needed.
Does the Makita kit offer this, as an option?

If you have a decent saw, and purchase the EZSmart track, you'll have money left for new blades.