Tracksaw Parallel Guides

[purplezr2]

So, I have sold my self on a track saw, either a festool(kool aid drinker) or Makita. I like Bosch but doesn't look like there tracks are compatible with most parallel guides.

Figure if I'm cutting up 70-80 dollar a sheet plywood I want to do it right.

So what is everyone using? Precision Dogs, Festools, woodpeckers, Seneca, or TSO(that might be wrong).

Appears most lay on top of the material so material thickness is less of an issue


Thoughts opinions?

 

[signcrafter]

I had never even heard of these till you post and I've had the makita track saw for years. Honestly I wouldn't see myself using them that often. I could see them coming in handy here or there but unless you are cutting a ton of the same size rips I see them sitting on the shelf most of the time.

 

[Raisedonadeere]

I had never even heard of these till you post and I've had the makita track saw for years. Honestly I wouldn't see myself using them that often. I could see them coming in handy here or there but unless you are cutting a ton of the same size rips I see them sitting on the shelf most of the time.

Yes they sit on a shelf of stand in a corner taking up very little space. They serve a purpose for someone who cannot man handle large sheets on a table saw and/or who absolutely does not have storage space for one in their garage.

And you can get some absolutely clean splinter/chip free cuts when you get it set up right.

Read up on them, you might in the right circumstances think it is a game changer.

 

[mike93lx]

Yes they sit on a shelf of stand in a corner taking up very little space. They serve a purpose for someone who cannot man handle large sheets on a table saw and/or who absolutely does not have storage space for one in their garage.

And you can get some absolutely clean splinter/chip free cuts when you get it set up right.

Read up on them, you might in the right circumstances think it is a game changer.

Parallel guides don't help with those concerns. That's all covered by a track saw without them, including my $200 grizzly setup.

I think I would only grab parallel guides if I was making repetitive cuts

 

[shoot summ]

Yes they sit on a shelf of stand in a corner taking up very little space. They serve a purpose for someone who cannot man handle large sheets on a table saw and/or who absolutely does not have storage space for one in their garage.

And you can get some absolutely clean splinter/chip free cuts when you get it set up right.

Read up on them, you might in the right circumstances think it is a game changer.

So the parallel guides that the OP asked about address all of the things you brought up? Or did you misread the OP's actual question? He was not asking about the value of a track saw...

 

[signcrafter]

Yes they sit on a shelf of stand in a corner taking up very little space. They serve a purpose for someone who cannot man handle large sheets on a table saw and/or who absolutely does not have storage space for one in their garage.

And you can get some absolutely clean splinter/chip free cuts when you get it set up right.

Read up on them, you might in the right circumstances think it is a game changer.

Think you misunderstood my post. I have a track saw for many years and use it all the time. My point was about the parallel guides. I can see them being useful occasionally. But like I said you would only use them when ripping the exact same size board over and over. Otherwise you just measure and mark and lay your track down and cut. Usually when I'm using my track saw I'm not ripping all the boards the same size. I'm cutting up sheet goods into smaller pieces and usually those pieces are all different sizes. So parallel guides wouldn't help. I'm sure they come in handy once in a while and if you have an extra 200 bucks laying around then great. I was just saying to the OP who doesnt have a track saw yet that personally I who uses my track saw all the time wouldn't use parallel guides much at all. And trust me when I say it doesnt take much for me to buy a tool.

 

[todd_fuller]

I have a pair of Precision Dogs guides. I bought them a couple years ago, so offerings might be improved and other options available.

Just looking at the main systems, my take is this:

- Precision dogs: more bare bones but nice that you can use a t-track of your choosing, so if you want LONG ones, it's cheaper to go that route.
- TSO: I like how their laser etched measurements are gauged to the edge, but you pay $$$. $200+ more than Precision Dogs. It also looks like it will play nicely with their right angle attachment, so that's a plus.
- Seneca: Doesn't appear much different than Precision Dogs except more expensive.

To be honest, the parallel guides have limited utility. They really only offer you the ability to make repetitive cuts (or drilling locations if you have LR32.) If you're building a kitchen of cabinets, then they might be worth it. TSO stuff is nice, but I think you'd need to have a real process built that would pay them back vs other offerings.

If you don't have a GRS-16, I'd personally spend the money on a rail square before parallel guides. I use the square way more than the guides.

 

[poppakap]

https://dashboardpws.com/

 

[LeeG]

I have tried many of the guides out there. I have the Festool TS75 and TS55C as my saws, and use the Festool rails. Here's my thoughts on what I have.

Festool Parallel Guides $300.00
I bought these originally, but ended up returning them. They worked fine, but I do most of my sheet cutting on a piece of foam insulation laying on the ground, and the Festool guilds require being lower than the material. They looked good, and if working off the edge of a table or bench, they'd be fine, but they didn't work for me.

Woodpeckers Parallel Guide system $429.00
I picked this up when it was one of their One Time Tools. It is very accurate and easy to use. I like that it all fits in a systainer, which makes it great for offsite use. It takes just long enough to set up that it is a slight annoyance. If I never left the shop, I would just leave it assembled all the time, but since I do some work offsite, I mostly leave it in the case and use it for offsite work.

Seneca Parallel Guides $249.00
I purchased these soon after they came out. They are my go-to guides. They use the Incra T-track plus, which is great in that you can easily and inexpensively get different sizes to handle larger widths. I don't bother with the paper scales in the tracks, but rather set each width using a story stick. I did not have good luck getting the paper scales in the rails to be consistent, but I didn't spend a lot of time trying. I keep a set of 24" tracks and a set of 48" tracks.

Since I have purchased my guides, TSO has come out with a very nice set. I do not own this, but if I were buying new today, it is probably the one I would get. I really like their Guide Rail Squares and precision triangles. Linked below is the full kit, but they sell it with other rail options for less money.

TSO Parallel Guide System $359.00

I hope this is useful.

Lee

 

[ez-duzit]

Got my Festool TS55 kit for $350 on c/l. Best $ I've spent on tools ever. All you really need are the saw and tracks. Nothing needs to be clamped.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

Figure if I'm cutting up 70-80 dollar a sheet plywood I want to do it right.

That'll just be a 4'x8' sheet of 7/16" OSB sheathing in a couple months.

 

[RKA]

Lee covered it pretty well. I’ve used 3 of the 4 he mentioned. The story stick method works well to set both guides to be dead on identical...until your zero clearance strip wears a little, then you’re off by a hair. Just something to be aware of and watch out for.

My vote would be the TSO guide rail square with the parallel attachments. The rail square comes out almost every time I’m using the track saw on sheet goods. Love it.

Unlike the others here, I do use the parallel guides quite a bit, possibly because I’m not using a table saw most of those times. The track saw does a really clean job with sheet goods, so it’s my preferred tool for that work.

 

[Git]

Keep it simple.

I bought the ************* Festool parallel guides (how can Festool make something so terrible?) returned them and ended up with the Seneca guides

BUT - what do I use the most? A couple of strips of wood. Cost = $0 As I get older, I try to eliminate stupid measuring mistakes. I keep thin strips of wood (offcuts) and use them when I am working on a project. So every time I make a cut with the track saw, I cut a couple of strips of wood (there about 1/8" to 1/4" thick) and label them for the cut. That way if I have to go back and cut another piece, it is going to be exactly the same. Easy Peasy. Yes, you can do pretty much the same with the Seneca guides, but I find them a little awkward to use, especially when moving around the 106" track. Save your money

 

[Squirel]

I have the woodpeckers guides and even though they have a pretty complicated setup process, I found that they set up dead on with out all the verification process. Numbers are clear and it's easy to make repeatable cuts.

 

[joeysh03]

I’m in the same boat as the OP. Have the Ts55 and looking for parallel guides to make cabinets for the garage and kitchen. Looked at them all. Almost pulled the trigger on the Woodpeckers. The woodpeckers cost the most but also allow for the widest cut. When you think about buying the Seneca or Percision Dogs, adding the longer rails and a sys1 to store them in your at the price of the woodpeckers.

I like the TSO options but there out of stock / backordered from TSO and don’t have an ETA as to when they will be back in stock.

I don’t like the festool ones as the have to reference off the ends of the sheet good. All the other companies you can place them where ever you want within in the guide rail.

I personally think I’m going with the woodpeckers. I like them from fit, form, function and storage. It sounds like the Seneca, though priced right, there is some adjustment needed all the time in the measure tape system on the t-track plus. I haven’t seen to much on the percision dogs other than a few YouTube videos.

Interested in what other people have to say

 

[acer66]

I use my green cool aid track saw mainly for breaking down and cutting sheet goods since I only have a contractor table saw for cabinet building.

I am looking at tso https://tsoproducts.com/tso-parallel-guide-system/