Thread: Track saw jig for accurate multiple narrow cuts?

Hi Clare,

There are quality job site table saws available that will do what you want. SawStop (now owned by Festool) make one and there are others; DeWalt, Makita, and plenty more I am sure. I have never owned one, but if it was all that could I fit in the space I had available, I would pick the SawStop followed by the DeWalt or Makita.

As an alternative for your immediate needs; may I suggest a thicknesser instead? Get close enough with the track saw and finish the job with the thicknesser to get thin even boards. A thicknesser is a tool you will find eminently useful as your journey develops.

You may find what you want on the second-hand market; but even if you outgrow what you acquire now remember, it still has a resale value if/when you want to upgrade.

If you have an immediate requirement, we have lots of members that live in Sydney that I am sure would be happy to assist a fellow craftsperson; as I am to any new craftspersons in Brisbane.

I lived in Sydney for over 20 years (I got over it...) so I am aware of the geographic/time differences. Perhaps listing a less generic location than "Sydney" (which, these days, is somewhere between Wyong and Kiama running North to South...) might help you find a local member that can help you out while you get "tooled up"

The TS55 with a track and MFT setup can make super accurate and repeatable cuts especially if you're using sheet goods. Without an MFT or MFT top it is more time consuming to setup cuts, but it can be done. This video has a pretty simple jig for ripping thin strips and there are also quite a few videos on Youtube for making crosscut jigs.

Peter Millard is another channel to look out for. He does use an MFT table which is pricey but he works mostly with sheet goods and uses his track saw and router to produce cabinets, doors, drawers, and drawer fronts.

When it comes to accurate cuts on a compact table saw the Dewalt "rack & pinion" fence is hard to beat. Adjustments of less than one mm are easy, just undo the locking lever and turn the knob to shift the fence. The fence has gears on both ends that mate with a shaft so both ends of the fence move the same amount, unlike some other saws on the market.
For long, straight cuts a track saw would be the way to go. Line up the track and make the cut. It sounds simple but it can be a bit of a fiddle getting both ends dead on but once you get used to it, track saws are really handy tools. Being able to set the depth of cut means you can cut trenches or grooves across a sheet and in the case of the Dewalt track there is a router adaptor (that is out of stock in Australia at the moment) which could be handy.
The Dewalt track saw track is, for want of a better description, couple sided. Put the track down with either edge on the cut line, put the saw on the track (with the blade over the line) and make the cut. Some tracks need to be picked up and swung 180 degrees if you were cutting out something like a window out of a big sheet or you need to take a narrow cut on both sides of a sheet of ply or something.

Stick with your tracksaw, you won’t get anywhere the quality of cut out of a little tablesaw.
For repetition cuts you can use a gauge against the back of the track so that it sits in identical spot each time.
For narrower strips you can use a combination square as the depth gauge or a scrap of timber with a block on it can work for any size you want

I would clamp the track to a bench or similar supporting it underneath with the same thickness material you are cutting at each end. Put a length of timber parallel with the track the desired distance to achieve the cut dimension you want and clamp that also. Push the material to be cut to wood up against the "fence" and start cutting.

I have a cheap scheppach tracksaw and with the track clamped down I have no problems cutting full length boards to under 1mm accuracy.

I never rely on the anti slip strips under the track - I always clamp the track.

I cut with a 2.8m track with my Festool and only clamp maybe 5% of the time without issue

Originally Posted by Beardy

I cut with a 2.8m track with my Festool and only clamp maybe 5% of the time without issue

The OP wants to make repeatable narrow cuts, personally having used a track saw quite a few times I found accuracy and repeatability to the same dimension very hit and miss and don't think I would bother especially if repeatability is the main criteria. This was before all the squaring gadgets started appearing on the market so it must be a universal problem.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

The OP wants to make repeatable narrow cuts, personally having used a track saw quite a few times I found accuracy and repeatability to the same dimension very hit and miss and don't think I would bother especially if repeatability is the main criteria. This was before all the squaring gadgets started appearing on the market so it must be a universal problem.

Yes I understand that but the inaccuracies are from human error not the saw itself so any jig arrangements should sort that The OP is considering a portable table saw as an option which is going to give far less impressive results from my experience

I am a big fan of the Festool track saw - it is the only power tool I use regularly.

You could look into the Parf dogs and their accessories, which include clips to lock the track to dogs which is much more reliable than the track on the MFT which can be quite sloppy.

I really did start looking into various ways to make it useful for things like that and... it's just not the fool for the job. You can buy a lot of expensive accessories but I've switched to learning how to use hand tools to refine and perfect jobs where I just can't easily get the "to the hair" repeatability with the tracksaw. I now use it often to get within a mm or two and perfect with hand tools.

You guys are just the best!!! Thank you so much for your invaluable help! I've been humming and aaaaring over purchasing a little portable table saw for so long and now I feel convinced I just need to refine my cutting table lay out and possibly invest in some clamps/nice sanding blocks (I'll make the latter) to get the results I'm aiming for. Can't thank you all enough. Your generosity of sharing your skills and knowledge is just so great!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

The OP wants to make repeatable narrow cuts, personally having used a track saw quite a few times I found accuracy and repeatability to the same dimension very hit and miss and don't think I would bother especially if repeatability is the main criteria. This was before all the squaring gadgets started appearing on the market so it must be a universal problem.

Maybe I’m reading it wrong but I can’t see where the OP says they wants to make repeatable narrow cuts. They just want accurate cuts to the mm

Originally Posted by clare

I'm using my new Festool TS55 (it's so great), but making really accurate repetitive cuts to the mm seems almost impossible on the TS.

Hi Lappa,
I included 'narrow' in the title, but not after that, so my apologies for the confusion. Thank you for caring.
I'm so grateful for all your feedback - I'm going to explore setting up my TS55 better, rather than go and purchase another piece of machinery. This feels like a great option given limited space, sustainability and not fully exploring the TS potential and just dashing out to purchase another thing I might not even need ... by the sounds of it anyway.

Hi Clare,

First time poster here.

I've taken a similar path as you - Festool TS55 instead of table saw. It's very much possible to achieve repeatable cuts with the ts55 for narrow stock. I have two recommendations for you:

1. Have a read of Rey Johnson's "MFT Retorspective" http://www.festoolownersgroup.com/Co...rospective.pdf
This guide is brilliant and explains his approach to using the TS55 along with the Festool MFT to complete a range of cuts - including cutting narrow stock using a shop made story board. I've made my own story board and it works extremely well for making repeated narrow cuts with the TS55.

2. As CGCC suggested, have a look at the parf guide system. It's essentially a jig you use to create your own MFT type table top - a table top with 20mm holes at very precise locations which are 90 and 45 degree reference points to each other. The benefit of this over an MFT is you can create a table of any size you wish, create multiple tops, and make new tops if the old ones have been cut through one to many times. UJK Parf Mk II Guide System | Axminster Tools I've got it and its excellent.

Together, these two have provided me with many of the same capabilities as a table saw but with added flexibility for other uses (e.g. the tables are great for glue ups by using the dog holes as very accurate 90 degree reference surfaces).

Photos below of my setup for repeated narrow cuts. Plywood piece with dog holes is a shop made fence for the table, but you could just as easily use two dogs to get an accurate 90 degree reference point. The melamine piece is my storyboard that is placed against the fence/dogs and moved towards/away from the track. I've grooved out a place to add stick on measuring tape. When the 0 is aligned to the back of the track, it's zeroed out with the blade. By pulling it away from the track I can set the distance of the cut (e.g. 110mm in below picture), clamp the story board in place and make repeatable cuts. As you can see in the last photo - two pieces cut, both of 110mm width.

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Again, this setup is the brain child of Rey Johnson - it works a treat.

Cheers,
Andy