Track saw vs tablesaw

jwmay

jwmay

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I have been considering replacing a Dewalt dw744 jobsite tablesaw, with one of those saws that has a track it follows. This so purely a space and utility consideration. My shop is 16’ x 12’ of useable space. Half of which is dedicated to metalworking.
Obviously I can’t process sheet goods there. So the tablesaw is stored in the garage, taking up space against the wall. I hate setting it up.
As I get older, handling sheet goods has become more than I want to manage. I was thinking I could do all my rips right off the trailer, saving any handling of full size sheets.
Using the circular saw with a guide is fine, but it’s time intensive.
I wondered if the “track saws” were faster.
Any thoughts?
 

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I use my circular saw to cut sheets up to a manageable size, leaving enough excess to trim to size on the table saw. There are things that I can do with my table saw that wouldn't be practical or even possible with a track saw, I also have a radial arm saw and a compound miter saw. Each of these has it place.
 
I have a Unisaw and a Makita track saw.
The track saw is used more than the Unisaw by a wide margin.
That said, I won’t get rid of the Unisaw because it’s very useful for specialty work such as box joints and cutting tenons.
 
I am going to put a post with a trailer ball in the ground next to the garage to anchor my 6 x 8’ flat bed trailer to give me more outside work area. Mount a receiver hitch square tube to the trailer to accept a vice. This way I can pick up stock, take it home, and rough / finish cut on the trailer without fear of damaging my tow vehicle. Have circular, table, miter, & radial arm saws. I use a 8’, (collapsable to 4’) aluminum guide / straight strip clamped to the wood in lieu of a track saw.
 
jwmay said:
I have been considering replacing a Dewalt dw744 jobsite tablesaw, with one of those saws that has a track it follows. This so purely a space and utility consideration. My shop is 16’ x 12’ of useable space. Half of which is dedicated to metalworking.
Obviously I can’t process sheet goods there. So the tablesaw is stored in the garage, taking up space against the wall. I hate setting it up.
As I get older, handling sheet goods has become more than I want to manage. I was thinking I could do all my rips right off the trailer, saving any handling of full size sheets.
Using the circular saw with a guide is fine, but it’s time intensive.
I wondered if the “track saws” were faster.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
you can probably get away with a track saw.
If you are looking to make duplicates, you can just stack and cut partially or all the way through the stack. partial marks the cuts you need, all the way speeds your work.

I use a circ saw with a home made guide for long cuts. I just made my son a track and guides for the makita saw I cleaned up for him.
it's made of tempered hardboard, shelving standards (alum), and hdpe that fit the shelf standards and are screwed to the base of the makita. the tempered hardboard has a toolbox drawer liner contact cemented to it so it doesn't move.
It worked better than expected.

If you buy , buy a good quality that you can find attachments for. The squaring, 45 and jigging is quite nice to be able to add.

I could not do without my tablesaw, but I am primarily a woodworker. I make furniture... slowly but it's been my focus. Until machining ... I am torn..

A friend once told me you can only have one master. I now get that.. It's tough dedicating time to both things I like doing.
 
Opinion: I could not be without a table saw, and a track saw will just be something else to store. A circular saw with a good 8' (2 piece) straightedge works for me, since I have to have the circular saw anyway, and the straightedge has almost zero space requirement.
 
Take a look on YouTube for Bent’s Woodworking, he uses a track saw a lot and has some videos about it. I have a cabinet saw I will never get rid of, but I use my circular saw to break down full sheets in the garage to get them in my basement shop easier. If I had a track saw, it would be easier to cut pieces to final size and eliminate most operations on the table saw, my straight edge is a bit time consuming to setup for accurate cuts and the track saw looks much easier for that. Things like dados, grooves, etc that are done on table saws can easily be done with routers if space is an issue and you want to get rid of the table saw.
 
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