Does anyone have experience with a track saw vs a small table saw? I’m pretty limited on storage space so I’m leaning towards the track saw but very open to suggestions and opinions.
Track saw is great for squaring things up and cutting huge pieces. Table saw great for cutting smaller things quickly. If you are cutting down 4 x 8 sheets, I would go with the track saw.
I use both. Like olsond3 said, the track saw lets me break sheets down and can square up big pieces. The portable table saw is great for repeat cuts and dados. Key is to set them up really well so you can get repeatable cuts.
Track saw has been great for loudspeaker building, Makita I have has been very accurate. Repeated cuts and smaller pieces can also be made but requires setup time and jigs, nowhere near as handy as with table saw. If you work with sheet stock then track saw is fine choice. I don't know how one would be able to get same accuracy with small table saw with bigger pieces. On the other hand table saw probably wins on smaller stuff, as already said by others.
What was said above.
I also used a large DIY (what else? 😉 ) track saw to split full chipboard/MDF boards, we are talking 6 ft wide by 8-12-15 ft long into more manageable pieces which were then cut to size on a horizontal rolling table circular saw but the latter takes up too much space, 2X the largest board dimensions + roughly 1 ft per side.
It depends a lot on what do you intend to cut, and how often. .
Track saws handle big stuff but are slow and clumsy; table saws are fast but for smaller stuff, what do you need?
Personally I would use a fixed table sawfor most of the work, and when/if large wood pieces arrive, cut them outside on a couple wooden horses with a hand circular saw using a bought or DIY track ... which can be as simple as an 8" wide strip of wood, held in place with 2 C clamps.
I also used a large DIY (what else? 😉 ) track saw to split full chipboard/MDF boards, we are talking 6 ft wide by 8-12-15 ft long into more manageable pieces which were then cut to size on a horizontal rolling table circular saw but the latter takes up too much space, 2X the largest board dimensions + roughly 1 ft per side.
It depends a lot on what do you intend to cut, and how often. .
Track saws handle big stuff but are slow and clumsy; table saws are fast but for smaller stuff, what do you need?
Personally I would use a fixed table sawfor most of the work, and when/if large wood pieces arrive, cut them outside on a couple wooden horses with a hand circular saw using a bought or DIY track ... which can be as simple as an 8" wide strip of wood, held in place with 2 C clamps.
They are different tools for different purposes, as others have already said. I personally believe that it is easier to make a track saw do everything than to make a portable table saw do everything. Limitations will be the speed at which you can do it. Repeatable rips for timber are super quick with a table saw but with a track saw take patience. Breaking down sheet goods, on the other hand, is nearly impossible, perhaps dangerous, with a table saw smaller than a proper cabinet saw with sled. I'm sure a lot of us have pushed sheets freehand over tiny tablesaws, but it is neither pleasant nor exact. 🙂.
When you use a tiny table saw for full sheets you also should use matching saw horses. Great if the are also strapped to the saw. Even better if they have roller ball tops.
Two different tools the only similarity is cutting material. I have been a table saw user all my life and ten years ago the hype took me and I bought a Festool TS55 track saw for my 50th birthday. I think the only advantage a PROPERLY set up portable table saw will have is repeatability and thin rips. With some ingenuity a track saw can do the same and more. I think a rail square is a great accessory with a track saw (and before anyone says you need accessories for the track saw you also need them for a table saw except they are physically bigger for the table saw 😉).
To me however the greatest advantage of the track saw is safety. In all my years of woodwork on a table saw I have had kickback twice. The last time it happened I saw when the cutoff launched from the table saw and at the same time heard it hit the wall behind me, IOW, if you even see it is happening it is already too late. From the sound of the cutoff hitting the wall I would conclude if it hit me I would have been very seriously injured. Now I rarely use my table saw except for the thin rips where its quicker and easier than the track saw.
To me however the greatest advantage of the track saw is safety. In all my years of woodwork on a table saw I have had kickback twice. The last time it happened I saw when the cutoff launched from the table saw and at the same time heard it hit the wall behind me, IOW, if you even see it is happening it is already too late. From the sound of the cutoff hitting the wall I would conclude if it hit me I would have been very seriously injured. Now I rarely use my table saw except for the thin rips where its quicker and easier than the track saw.
Isn't there a third option? I'm pretty sure there's a saw guide like the one just above that can be used with a regular circular saw. A circular saw seems a lot more versatile than a track saw so if I was to invest in one tool that would probably be it.
I used a circular saw with a 'guide' made from the factory edge on a piece of plywood when I built a pair of bookshelf speakers. That worked well enough. If I was building speakers for a living I'd buy more specialized tools, but I don't and tend to prefer metalworking over woodworking anyway.
Tom
I used a circular saw with a 'guide' made from the factory edge on a piece of plywood when I built a pair of bookshelf speakers. That worked well enough. If I was building speakers for a living I'd buy more specialized tools, but I don't and tend to prefer metalworking over woodworking anyway.
Tom
I prefer a panel saw for large parts.
My table saw motor took a nose dive recently and it was time to send it to the curb unfortunately.
Am surviving just fine with my old worm drive saw, chop saw, jig saw, router, guide rail…
My table saw motor took a nose dive recently and it was time to send it to the curb unfortunately.
Am surviving just fine with my old worm drive saw, chop saw, jig saw, router, guide rail…
The motor could not be repaired or replaced?
Or the saw was in worn out shape?
Friend is a tools importer, sells wood working machines, apart from other business.
Thumb, index and half of middle finger cut in saw....he has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from CCNY. Things happen, you must always be careful.
Or the saw was in worn out shape?
Friend is a tools importer, sells wood working machines, apart from other business.
Thumb, index and half of middle finger cut in saw....he has a Masters in Electrical Engineering from CCNY. Things happen, you must always be careful.
I agree on both points. My sons bought me a Festool track saw 3 years ago for Christmas, last year I treated myself to the Festool table. It is very precise.
I had a Dewalt table saw and experienced kickback only once -- fortunately I wasn't in the way -- then I re-installed the anti-kickback device. I gave that saw to my son when he moved to Pittsburgh.
You can never have too many clamps!