track saw

xlogger · June 08, 2020, 07:05:49 AM

I'm slowing down part of my sawing now and doing more with my live edge slabs, like planing some under 20" with my planer. I'm getting more asking me to straight line one side for them now. I usually say no. Just don't want to take back to mill and set it up. Was wondering if anyone has a track saw for this? It seems to me that it would be just easier and faster to use one.

WDH · June 08, 2020, 07:51:51 AM

I find mine invaluable. Keeps me from having to hump the slabs onto the tractor forks and take them back over to the sawmill. I looked at three different ones. The DeWalt had a 2 1/4" depth of cut, the Makita had a 2 5/16" depth of cut, and the Festool had a 2 3/4" depth of cut. I went with the Festool because my slabs are usually sawn at 2 3/8", and the DeWalt and Makita would not cut through them unless they were already planed. The Festool was a good bit more expensive, but it was what it would take to do the job.

scsmith42 · June 08, 2020, 12:24:07 PM

Ditto Danny's comments. I've used a Festool track saw for SLR for 10 years. It's more than paid for itself.

I have a Mattison SLR too - but for valuable lumber the Festool track saw is more controllable. With it I can trim within 1/32 or so. I can't be that precise with the Mattison, so the Festool allows me to net out wider boards/slabs.

farmfromkansas · June 08, 2020, 12:28:33 PM

I have a sliding tablesaw that works great for putting a straight edge on a board.

alan gage · June 08, 2020, 12:45:39 PM

I bought the larger Festool this past year and wish I'd bought it earlier. Really wanted to save money and buy a Makita but after getting the Festool I'm glad I did. If I'm not mistaken it's a larger motor as well as deeper depth of cut and after hearing it labor in some of the thick hardwood I wouldn't want to have less.

Thankfully the Festool saw does work with Makita track so you can save money there. No modifications to track or saw required. They both work together right out of the box.

Get the ripping blade with it too.

Alan

WDH · June 08, 2020, 01:15:05 PM

Ricky,

The Festool is a good bit more expensive, but you need that depth of cut to deal with 9/4 slabs.

I did not know about the makita track working with the festool saw. If I had to do it over again I would still go with the festool saw but would buy the makita track. A 118" makita track is $150 less than the same festool track.

Bruno of NH · June 08, 2020, 06:47:41 PM

I think most all the tracks now will work with all brand saws

EOTE · June 08, 2020, 07:42:09 PM

All I can say is don't get a DeWalt. Mine took up smoking after ripping only 23 boards. That also happened a month after the warranty ran out. Still waiting on them to fix it. It's been 3 weeks already. I originally got it because of the 5 and 8 foot tracks which I could couple together to do 12' boards. Festool is definitely more expensive but I don't hear bad things about them.

YellowHammer · June 08, 2020, 09:11:04 PM

The Festool 750 track saw is stupid expensive and stupid good. If it could be burned up, I would have done it. I'm on my 6th blade. It gets used hard for putting straight edges on slabs when I don't want to run them through our SLR.

firefighter ontheside · June 08, 2020, 10:30:16 PM

I've had no problems with my dewalt. I have a long track, but need to buy a shorter one too.

xlogger · June 09, 2020, 06:13:00 AM

thanks
now how do most of you charge for straight lining a slab? I charge extra for ones i run thru planer, probably not enough but it does help with sales.

WDH · June 09, 2020, 07:20:37 AM

0 to 50 cents a bf depending on the situation. If it is a slab that has been in inventory a long time and I want to move it, then I don't charge anything to put the lipstick on it. If there are several nice, desirable slabs that need the live edges cut off for a table top, then 50 cents per bf.

YellowHammer · June 09, 2020, 08:50:21 AM

I charge 50 cents per bdft. I may go up to $1. The issues are that it is relatively slow, compared to me using some of my other tools, however, its more accurate and desirable for the customer, but it takes significantly more time and effort for me than running through my SLR or double bladed edger.

So when I used to not charge anything, (why charge $10 bucks to edge a $300 slab?) the customers would line up to get all their stuff edged. During a sales day, all I did was tracksaw live edge slabs. "Can you cut this edge off? Can you move it over a quarter inch? Can you do this? etc. With couples it usually devolves into a discussion. "Honey, which edge should we cut? I don't know, what do you think?, I don't know, let's discuss it for another eternity." Arggghh!!!!

So it went from a "Oh, it's free? Can you edge mine, too?"

to

"Oh, it costs money? I'll just do it myself."

Some people need their slabs edged, because they simply don't have the tools, so a Tracksaw will help sell them, but definitely charge for it.

scsmith42 · June 09, 2020, 01:03:27 PM

I charge .50 bd ft as an add-on to an S2S, or $2.00 per minute if I'm doing it on an hourly basis.

I've found that the $2.00 per minute charge pretty well works with just about anything in the shop, unless it's something that has very expensive consumables.

mredden · June 21, 2020, 08:38:42 AM

I made a 12 ft long ripping jig and use my 10 inch worm Drive Skilsaw. Can rip 3 inch hickory/pecan with no problem. ( my jig has a 1/2" thick base That the saw rides on). I go back along the edge with a router after the cut

Ljohnsaw · June 21, 2020, 08:13:25 PM

Quote from: YellowHammer on June 09, 2020, 08:50:21 AMI charge 50 cents per bdft. I may go up to $1.

So is the bdft the original slab total or the amount of wood you cut off? ;)

EOTE · July 02, 2020, 10:54:50 AM

Quote from: EOTE on June 08, 2020, 07:42:09 PM
All I can say is don't get a DeWalt. Mine took up smoking after ripping only 23 boards. That also happened a month after the warranty ran out. Still waiting on them to fix it. It's been 3 weeks already. I originally got it because of the 5 and 8 foot tracks which I could couple together to do 12' boards. Festool is definitely more expensive but I don't hear bad things about them.

Well, I finally got news about my tracksaw (after 2 months). It had started smoking a month out of warranty. The parts they ordered didn't fix it so they are replacing the armature and field windings and everything will be under warranty. It sounds like one of those classic repair jobs...remove the saw blade and put it on a new saw! :D It should be ready to pick up in a week.
Let's see if it is more reliable after that. I have to cut a ton of gusset plates for trusses so it will be a good test.

alan gage · July 02, 2020, 11:23:44 AM

Glad to hear they're going to fix it under warranty. Hope it lasts a long time after that!

Alan

moodnacreek · July 03, 2020, 07:55:58 AM

I use my edger or put it on the sawmill carriage.

Walnut Beast · July 03, 2020, 05:24:51 PM

I would say the tracksaw is a little more accurate

scsmith42 · July 03, 2020, 11:57:24 PM

Quote from: ljohnsaw on June 21, 2020, 08:13:25 PM
Quote from: YellowHammer on June 09, 2020, 08:50:21 AMI charge 50 cents per bdft. I may go up to $1.
So is the bdft the original slab total or the amount of wood you cut off? ;)

Original slab total. If it's out of line I'll default back to the $2.00 minute instead. Typically I'm only doing a straight line as part of an S3s.
The larger the slab, the greater the handling time.

Larry · July 04, 2020, 08:21:39 PM

Has anybody compared the performance of the TS-75 against a 10-1/4" Big Foot or Sawsquatch? Of course a track would have to be fabricated for the last two.

scsmith42 · July 05, 2020, 07:14:27 PM

Quote from: Larry on July 04, 2020, 08:21:39 PM
Has anybody compared the performance of the TS-75 against a 10-1/4" Big Foot or Sawsquatch? Of course a track would have to be fabricated for the last two.

Larry, I haven't compared them but i'll say this. Festool has figured out how to make a track saw with little to no residual kerf marks on the wood, and no tear-out on top.
If you're doing a glue up with bookmatched boards, and your rips are made in the vertical grain outer portion of the boards (same location on both boards), the glue line is all but invisible to the eye.
My concern with other track saws would be the roughness of the cut. It may be straight, but I don't see how the resulting cut could be smoother than that left by the Festool.

EOTE · July 05, 2020, 10:47:59 PM

Quote from: scsmith42 on July 05, 2020, 07:14:27 PMMy concern with other track saws would be the roughness of the cut. It may be straight, but I don't see how the resulting cut could be smoother than that left by the Festool.

The cut is all in the saw blade. I have used a number of blades and depending on what you are cross cutting or ripping the blade will be the deciding factor. Generally the greater number of teeth, the smoother the cut but it also is determined on the grind of the carbide. I've had some 24 tooth blades that look like I took a chainsaw to the board and others that almost looked like a sanded surface. I have yet to determine which blade I like best on my (DeWalt) tracksaw because it took up a bad smoking habit before I could try out different blades. However, a good ultra-thin kerf for a tracksaw will be a plus.

My favorite ripping blade so far for my table saw is a 60 tooth Freud thin kerf. Cuts like butter and produces an incredible smooth cut. For my compound miter saw, I use a Freud 80 tooth thin kerf. It hardly takes any effort to cut through the wood. It also replaced a DeWalt blade which I threw away after trying the Freud. The DeWalt took so much more effort to make the cut and it was rough, even right out of the box.