I originally bought this Makita cordless track saw to build cabinets for my house but it’s also handy for straightening the occasional board to get an edge I can use on my tablesaw. (A jointer isn’t really practical for long boards).
Of course, you can snap a chalk line and do this with a Skil saw but the track saw is luxurious. To set the edge I pull a string line and then set pushpins to the outside of the string line, remove the string, push the track edge against the pins, mark the edge with a pencil just in case things go haywire, clamp down the tracks, and then pull the pins.
If you’re noticing the saw running rough towards the end. It’s because the blade had caught one of the blocks that the board is sitting on top of and is dragging it along underneath. I haven’t had that happen before so next time I’ll tape them down. This was a pricey tool, but overall I’ve been really happy with it. I do want to mention though that the thin kerf blade that is designed to be used with is just a bit too flexible to make reliably square cuts in thicker stock. My other big complaint is that the 55 inch track is it an incredibly stupid size. It’s just a little bit too short to cut all the way across a 48 inch wide piece of plywood without accidentally running the saw off of one end, or the other which ends up, screwing up the alignment edge, which ruins the track for precision work. If you’re thinking about picking one of these up, I would pick up a slightly longer aftermarket track for breaking down 48 inch wide sheet goods.
___
This post was originally featured on our Instagram feed.
See the original post and discussion here.
