I just found out that Menards had this and picked one up last weekend. With the 11% rebate it ends up being about $177, which sounded too good to at least try it! I hear all the stories about setting up multiple tracks and I was a bit worried, but a straight edge and first try I got all four tracks set up to as good of tolerances that I would expect! I am still a table saw guy so I did just use for rough cutting, but after a few sample cuts on melamine coated pb, it cut very accurate! without a scoring cut, it did have chip out with the 40t blade it comes with, but I assume a slightly better blade will help. I did not hook up the dust collection yet, but the shroud and track kept me from getting pelted in the face with melamine chunks like a rough cut with a circular saw usually does. I have a hose now and will try it this weekend with the dust collection hooked up.
I tried a scoring cut and then a full cut and I was VERY impressed with the quality of the cut! Very few chips, straight, square cut. I was using the provided clamps to hold the track since the melamine coating is so slick and that is where I encountered my first issue.
While ripping the full sheet, no problems using the clamps and track. When I went to cross cut with the full track, I realized quickly with the track connectors in place, you can't just slide the clamps to wherever you want them. I didn't want to keep disconnecting and reconnecting the tracks, so I just slid the one side of the track to the end of the workpiece so that I could use one clamp and then on the side I started the cut, I was just careful so the track didn't slip, it worked great.
I did purchase a Makita 55" track this week and after a bit of filing and sanding on the shoe of the saw, I was able to confirm it would work. I am going to now rip off the small lip on the Makita track to get a little more clearances. I can explain this better and maybe take some pics if anyone is interested.
This saw does not seem to be the same as the Grizzly/Shop fox/Scheppach that has been around for years. Many complained about the spring tension being too tough on those as well as the track pads being too close together making the saw tippy. This saw the tension feels right and although slightly annoying with the small tracks, they were surprisingly straight and sturdy. The saw is easy to get in with no wobble.
I was contemplating a Festool for years and was just about ready to pull the trigger on the Makita. I was fully expecting to use this, like the benefits of the track/plunge saw BUT not like the quality, return it to Menards and buy the Makita or Festool, but after using it, I felt this would work perfect for my work habits, speed up the breakdown time and possibly give me acceptable cuts without running through the table saw so I committed to keeping it. All for under half the price of the Makita with a 55" track.
