On 3/12/2010 8:34 AM, Upscale wrote:
On Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:15:33 -0600, wrote:

http://www.e-woodshop.net/images/box2box.jpg


Noticed that it's a T-square for a tracksaw. How do you like the
tracksaw? The last woodworking show I went to, I specifically paid
attention to dealers with Festool and DeWalt tracksaws. They both
appeared to work quite well.

What I'm interested in most is the kind of cut you get when using the
tracksaw on veneered plywood. The show I went to appeared to crosscut
splinter free, but I couldn't get close enough to the demonstrations
to closely inspect or actually feel the edges for smoothness. With a
decent work table, would you say that the tracksaw could permanently
replace a decent tablesaw?

Actually, I have a Festool FS75 plunge saw ... it just so happens that
the DeWalt T-square fits the Festool guide rails, and would be cheaper
than Festool, if Festool actually had one.

Festool has an adjustable, 'angle gauge' for their guide rails, but not
a dedicated 90 degree t-square, thus my ordering the DeWalt part

The Festool FS75, or 55, plywood cut?

Out of the box, rivals a brand new Forrest WWII on my Unisaw, and with
the little splinter guard installed on the top side, there is no
discernable tearout on either side IME.

Whether either will replace a table saw?

While either Festool or DeWalt will do much of what a table saw will do
for rips, less so than for crosscuts, particularly if you need "batch
cut" precision, but with Festool's parallel guide system, you can do
batch cuts ... with the proviso that by the time you buy all the ash and
trash it takes, you've probably most of the way to paying for a good,
used cabinet saw.

That said, for the average woodworker doing one off projects, out of a
small shop, and with little room for a cabinet saw, I would say 'go for
it!', as the current track saws come close enough, in both cut quality
and precision to a table saw, to certainly do most jobs without compromise.

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KarlC@ (the obvious)