Pro Tool Reviews: Are you tired of clamping a straight edge or your 4′ level down to use as a circular saw guide when you need to make long precision cuts on sheet material? The good news for you is that you don’t need to drops a week or two’s paycheck on a dedicated track-saw system! With the new Kreg Accu-Cut 48″ Circular Saw Track System, you can turn just about any corded or cordless circular saw into a track system that not only works great but also doesn’t break the bank!
5 comments:
THEY STOLE MY IDEA! I have been saying for the longest time that there needs to be an attachment to a circ saw to turn it into a track saw. There are high tech straight edges, high tech cross cut attachments, but those are only as good as your ability to keep the saw on the guide or to keep the guide on the edge of the piece. If you clamp down a track saw track and run the saw on a rail, you can’t mess up. I think the shoe attachment is pretty smart and definitely a great tool to have in your tool box. Also, the track has a built in clamping system that I am particularly fond of. Sure you don’t get the plunge action of a normal track saw and your cut depth is a little less than using your saw plain, but all in all this is a really great idea and I would love to have one.
This is such an innovative solution for low level production of carpentry. I think it would be really valuable for a lot of smaller theaters that can’t afford to purchase more than one chop saw. The easy clip on makes it really easy to use and it’s pretty inexpensive. That being said, it isn’t really hard to make your own track saw guide with some plywood. And it will work for your specific saw and you don’t feel bad if it gets messed up especially after doing angle cuts. You do have to screw it into your material to keep it in place, so having these clamps is really useful until what you’re cutting is longer than 48”. With a custom made track you can make it 8 feet so you can do pretty much any cut on a piece of plywood. I think it would be nice to have one of these around since it is universal to any saw and probably safer because of the guides, but it’s not that necessary.
I'm surprised that this is the first time I've seen an add-on like this. The concept of a track saw is a genius and I'm pretty sure it was invented when someone made a guide that they fixed to their circular saw. So why did it take them this long to make a conversion kit? Here at the Carnegie Mellon school of drama, we have a Festool track saw that should probably have its oven insurance plan considering the price tag. Don't get me wrong, it is a great tool that gets a lot of use in our shop, but I think someone could get similar results from a tool that has an add ion like this. There is definitely some of the features on that Festool that I would like to see incorporated in this device but all in all, it looks like a solid piece of equipment with a reasonable price tag.
The part of this article I’m most curious about is why the author needed (or used) two circ saws for this project. If the sled for the saw interferes with using the saw under normal operating condition – then I probably wouldn’t buy or use it. While it may take more time, clamping a piece down to use as a guide works just fine provided you have a straight edge and know your offset. It seems like this works just as well as the Festool track system. One of the differences is in the saw. The Festool track saw is a plunge cut saw, which isn’t necessary most of the time. However, it is a nice feature to have and makes using a circ saw much less intimidating because the blade isn’t out and spinning the whole time. If I had a spare $80, it would be something I would invest in as long as I didn’t need to invest more money in another circ saw.
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