I think track saws are magic

[FS7]

I'm in the process of building a basement bar. Like most things, it's overly ambitious. 10'10" of cabinets/appliances against the wall, 72" coming out of the wall, and then 94" coming back (L shaped). All new flooring (I've got builder grade carpet down there), new lighting, new circuits, new plumbing, the works. 

The bar top and countertops will be sapele, because I love it and it's what I use 90% of the time. Somebody else walking in here might think it's overused, but it's my house so who cares. Anyway, the longest section of countertop will be 10'10" x 25" out of 6/4 sapele. (Yes, it will be very heavy.) My local supplier (CP Johnson, who I recommend highly every chance I get) carries a great stock of sapele, so I was able to get a few wide 6/4 boards that were 12' long. It's nearly impossible to joint boards anywhere near that size, so I thought the best option would be a track saw. I planed them first, which was a challenge in and of itself since I don't have that much room in my shop and planing 9" x 12' boards is a pretty big task. That would give me parallel surfaces to register the track to, thus (ideally) making it easier to get a 90 degree edge.

But I didn't own a track saw. After some research, I went with budget options - a Wen track saw and Powertec track. I have more than a few pieces of both and have been happy despite them essentially being "high-end Harbor Freight" grade. I am not sure that end-to-end assembly of three pieces of track is the ideal use case, but I used two clamps, three sections of track, and that saw to square the edges. The only upgrade I made was a Makita blade.





I have to say I am extremely impressed. I plan to use 10x50 Domino tenons for alignment and strength and clamp as needed, but this was the dry fit I got. That's two clamps, one at zero and one at 12'. The boards are relatively flat, and I have very little vertical misalignment even with two sawhorses and a 12' span. With the tenons I imagine it will be even better. But the mating surfaces are pretty amazing, and I have to imagine everything will disappear with a few more clamps (the widest gap even now is probably 1/64"). I used it to break down all of the plywood I used (prefinished maple, 1/2" and 3/4") and it did an excellent job with that, but I also figured that was the intended use so that wasn't unexpected. But to be able to "joint" boards this size this well is really unusual. I mean, what would a Festool or Makita do if the budget options can do this?

Highly recommend getting one if you don't have one already.

[kurt18947]

Can't argue with the result. Pretty stuff, I don't think I'd like a bar that long with much figure so Sapele is a good choice.

[jteneyck]

I always considered anything Wen to be junk, but there's no arguing with those results. 

Stop it, you're making me think about a track saw again.  The no clamp tracks are as much of an attraction as the saw.  

John

[FS7]

I always considered anything Wen to be junk, but there's no arguing with those results. 

Stop it, you're making me think about a track saw again.  The no clamp tracks are as much of an attraction as the saw.  

John

I always did too, but then I bought a few things. A shop air filter (although those are learly all rebranded by the same Chinese factory), so no big deal. I bought a drill press that I use for rough machining, nothing really precise, but it seemed to work very well and have good power. I bought a lathe that was relatively cheap figuring I would upgrade if I liked turning. The first real thing I turned was a baseball bat (about as large a project as I could do) and it did very well. In fact I enjoy turning a lot and the problems I've had have only ever been with the chucks (various manufacturers) and not the lathe itself. It actually runs very well and is remarkably true. It was mostly because of that and the price of the track saw ($100) along with Amazon's return policy that made me do it. It has some plastic parts, but nothing that worries me. It fits well in the track and I did not have any issues that others had with the anti-kickback cam. The "fine adjustment" knobs either aren't needed for my setup or don't really do anything as the saw has no side-to-side play. It cuts a lot cleaner than my (admittedly old and fairly cheap) table saw. I didn't use the dust collection as it was in the garage and not the shop and the leaf blower will take care of that, but if the blade is covered by wood (you're taking off more than the blade kerf width) it certainly seems like nearly all of the dust comes shooting out the dust port. Otherwise, all bets are off, but that's probably true of any saw. It was also able to easily cut through the wood, even at about 1.38" finished thickness. That's roughly two sheets of plywood with no trouble, and it's not 2x construction pine either.

Oddly enough, there is a huge advantage in using quick clamps compared to "real" clamps. I know there are no-clamp tracks and those are definitely tempting, but I am not sure I would trust them. I mean, they exist and they apparently do a good job, but I think for a finish cut I'm more of a "belt and suspenders" type. The clamps that I bought when I first picked up the saw were the threaded type, and while they held very solid they were somewhat inconvenient. The cheap trigger clamps (you don't really need much clamping force) are MUCH faster and easier to use. Not as fast and easy as nothing, but it makes a difference for sure.

But in any case, this thing will be very heavy. I tried moving it a bit with the clamps on but it's going to be a beast. I have to trim about 14" total off the ends and maybe 1" off the finished width, but that's not going to make much of a difference. I wanted to use miter bolts to join the three sections of countertop together, but I am not sure that's going to happen. I might be sanding and finishing in place, at least at the joints.

[Terry W]

About 3 years ago the wife wanted me to build a Murphy bed. That's a plywood extensive project and the perfect excuse to buy a track saw.
Not knowing how much I would use it, I cheaped out and bought a Wen track saw and Powertec track just like the OP.  I agree with all his observations. Not a pro level tool for sure but it's accurate and gets the job done. For the occasional use, I think it hits the right price-performance spot.

[joe1086]

“I cheaped out and bought a Wen track saw and Powertec track just like the OP. I agree with all his observations. Not a pro level tool for sure but it's accurate and gets the job done“

Same here. For the $225 or so I paid on Amazon a couple years ago for the Wen and tracks it’s been a great value…although you have to upgrade the blades. Not a pro tool but I was surprised how well it works.

[Handplanesandmore]

If cost is the prime consideration, the more economical options are definitely the way to go, and many do go down that path. But the older and much cheaper solution works just as well --- a circular saw and a ripping jig made out of leftover ply.

The point about using the much more high end track saws is the system approach. Not only their dust extraction is day and night different, their accessories available for all kinds of functions are no match. I still laugh when some people say they can do what a festool domino machine can with their shopmade jigs. That proposition makes a good catch for views on the youtube and views are what the jigmakers go after.

Simon

[tablesawtom]

If cost is the prime consideration, the more economical options are definitely the way to go, and many do go down that path. But the older and much cheaper solution works just as well --- a circular saw and a ripping jig made out of leftover ply.

The point about using the much more high end track saws is the system approach. Not only their dust extraction is day and night different, their accessories available for all kinds of functions are no match. I still laugh when some people say they can do what a festool domino machine can with their shopmade jigs. That proposition makes a good catch for views on the youtube and views are what the jigmakers go after.

Simon

You can laugh all you want,  but but, I can do what a domino machine can do with my home made machine And I can do it tilted at any angle because the table is also a 5 inch sign bar. I can cut a 6 inch by 6 inch mortice through a 5 inch thick beam, and anywhere in between. I say 5 inch beam because that is the longest cutter I have. Did I mention dovetails.

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But the older and cheaper solution works just as well. Yes it does. I remodeled a church Kitchen and built them all new cabinmates. Usually I may brake down 6 sheets of plywood a year nor but that job took 35 sheets.
Using high end track saws and the whole system of tables with holes and the likes is just another way of throwing money at a hobby. I lot of people chose to use home made jigs to do a job because there isn't enough money for football, baseball, and soccer shoes, piano lessons all at the same time. And the list can go on and on

I am writing this because for a lot of people out there cost is not a prime consideration, but the prime consideration. 

This is what I have used for 30 years. And I have a zero clearance insert, which a track saw doesn't.

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As far as dust collection, I still do it the old fashion way, I use a broom and a dust pan.

[FS7]

Half the problem I encountered was the length of the boards. A zero-clearance plywood jig works, but only up to 8 feet. It also doesn't prevent tilting and general tool movement, and you have to exert force on the tool that is orthogonal to the direction of the cut. A track saw has theoretically infinite length and the capture aspect produces a cleaner, straighter, and squarer cut.

[EdL]

I've had my Festool track saw since 2005, it was a game changer from day 1.
Also picked up a like new used Hilti that fits the Festool track with a thin blade spacer added. No plunge cut or Festool quality dust collection, but it does use standard 5/8 arbor blades.
It gets used outdoors and I bought a metal cutting blade to use on steel siding. Real nice to use a guiderail for that aplication.

Ed