Can we talk about spending $400 on a track saw setup

I dropped $400 on a cordless track saw last spring thinking it would speed up my panel cuts. Honestly, for most jobs my circular saw with a straight edge gets the same result in the same time. Has anyone else found these just aren't worth the hype unless you're doing real high end work?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_robin1d ago

I saw a cabinetmaker online say these shine more for breaking down sheet goods on site than in a shop. In my experience, that holds up because a track saw is great for getting clean edges without dragging a big circular saw around. Your mileage may vary though, a lot depends on how often you do plywood projects. Regular home stuff, a straight edge guide and a decent circ saw can handle it just fine for way less money. Take that with a grain of salt, I switched to a track saw for dust collection more than speed honestly.

wright.leo1d agoMost Upvoted

The dust collection point is what got me thinking. I heard a shop foreman once say that even a cheap track saw beats a circ saw for keeping the air clean in a garage workshop. He was saying the dust shoe on a circular saw never seals quite right, even with a vac hooked up. That stuck with me because I hate breathing all that fine MDF dust. For someone like me doing just a few sheets a year, the cost is hard to swallow though. I end up just wearing a mask and cleaning up after with a shop vac.

grantw411d ago

Man, I gotta push back on that a little lol. A sharp circular saw with a nice thin-kerf blade and a proper straightedge guide is way more portable and way less finicky than a track saw setup, especially if you're only cutting a few sheets a year. The dust collection on a track saw is okay but the hose always gets in the way and you're still gonna have fine MDF dust floating around no matter what you use.