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Track Saw Tutorials

Trimming a door bottom, back beveling a door, and beveling shelves

I recently worked on a video series for Festool in which I covered examples of how you might use a Festool track saw in a shop or on the jobsite. In the following videos, I demonstrate how a track saw produces exceptional results when trimming down doors, how using a track saw can save time and additional steps when back beveling a door, and how a track saw offers a better solution than a table saw for making complex bevel or miter cuts. 

A Note from the Publisher:

TiC will be republishing this video series, courtesy of Festool; visit tracksaw.com to view the complete series, with additional content provided by other contributors.

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Trimming a door bottom

The guide rail, or track, provides a quick and easy way to reference your scribe line, and the saw can be used to bevel the cut. In this video, you can also see that a track saw, when used with a dust extractor, can allow you to work in a client’s home without concerns of dust and debris.

Back beveling a door

A track saw produces finish quality cuts and is a better solution compared to planing or other methods.

Beveling shelves

A track saw can also overcome the capacity issues of making such cuts with a miter saw. The compact and lightweight design of a track saw can save valuable shop space, and give you the ability to make these types of cuts and others on the jobsite.

Comments/Discussion

5 Responses to “Track Saw Tutorials”

  1. Jim Houghtaling

    Mike,

    Thanks for the demo. Still waiting for the price tag to drop before I venture into the Festool world of professional tools. I really like the dust extraction system that Festool uses. I have seen the other tools in use at the Katz road show when you guys come to town. That is what I really like about Festool is the adaptability to different tools with very little mess.

    It appears that you have figured out how to use your shop space wisely. I would like to see a video on how and why it is set up the way you chose to do it.

    For now I will keep using a shooting stick. It keeps the saw off of the door just as the track saw does. I can do 3° angled and 90° cuts with complete accuracy and very good speed. The downside is the clean-up afterward.

    Jim H

    Reply
    • harlan

      “For now I will keep using a shooting stick. ”

      I think that most pros thinking about upgrading to the Festool track currently use a plywood shooter like yours. The “comparison” would have been a bit more realistic if done with one — but I guess not as good a sales pitch for Festool!

      I’ve got a 12-year-old Festool, but there are still plenty of occasions to use a plywood one, too — I linked two short ones with a telescoping stick, and Bingo! A tread-fitting jig that eliminates having to trace, then free-hand the cut.

      A ply jig can be faster than chalkline/freehand cuts for sheathing, too, especially for angled cuts, where the chalkline hook is a PITA. And who wants to take their FT on a framing job?!

      But these days, when so many doors come with MDF (man, do I hate that stuff!) stiles and rails, even cutting OUTSIDE requires cleanup, and the FT dust extraction excels.

      Don’t hope for a FT price drop, just cross your fingers that other companies start offering decent, comparable track saws and extraction.

      Reply
  2. Eden1415

    Mike. nice job.

    We moved a year ago to a much smaller house about a 1,000 miles away. At that time I “retooled” my shop. and purchased several key Festool items tools. Love the video’s as that is exactly what I had to do with my new Festools in our new house. Beside building some new closet, garage, and kitchen cabinets. To be honest, I haven’t missed my old table or miter saw that much for the type of work I need to do now.

    Great job on the video’s .

    Reply
  3. David Tuttle

    Hi Mike,
    I have my track saw on site and use it to cut down the doors, did not think about the back bevels… still use my planer.. next house.
    I would like to know about the boom system, do you use it only in your shop or do you take it on site? If so do you have to move around as the painter and flooring crew come in behind you? I had to move my set-up 4 times in the last two weeks, and tomorrow one more set of doors then pack up. I’m flying solo at this time but the others on site help me move my stuff around, it is a good crew to work with.

    Reply

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