I got one a month ago. Read a few reviews saying it was not quite square, but figured I would take a chance as it was cheap and at the least use it by cutting long and squaring up with the table saw. That way I could just lay the track down on one mark and cut, saving time by just making one mark. I was pleasantly surprised it was square out of the box. I have it matched with Powertech track. It is not fair to match it against the big names and if you use your tracksaw a lot I would go with TSO or Benchdog, but for an occasional woodworker like me it will work fine.
I bought one a couple of months ago. When recieved, I tested it - but in a different way to how you did it. I didn’t use a saw but drew a pencil line along the sacrificial edge; then I flipped the thing over and drew another line. Perfection would be that the two lines were perfectly parallel. Mine were not but out by less than 1mm over 1400mm. I was happy with that. I bought a second one so that I can effectively set one up at each end of the track and then easily slide the track down the sheet of ply or mdf to get square cuts. I also have one of those jogs for cutting European hinges. Very solid and accurate enough - I have the Kreg jig which isn’t as solid at all.
Would be interesting to see a 5 cut test over a longer distance. I'm not averse to these sort of products, but I'd still prefer my TSO one even though it costs so much more. Bang on out of the box. No adjustment as machined as one piece.
Once again, thanks for sharing. I watched your review today while on a coffee break from a wee project for a job I'm on. I've got to say, it does look pretty fantastic, and comes in at a very tempting price. Got to say, though, it doesn't half look like a 'mini me' version of the BenchdogsUK railsquare - perfect to carry around in the Makpak along with the saw. What a shame it doesn't work straight out of the box. I mean, its only function is to be square, and if it isn't, well, it doesn't really matter how well it's machined. I'll be interested in hearing how you get along with it, and if it needs checking every time you come to use it. Until then, I think I'll hold off. That said, all credit to you for giving an honest opinion, warts and all!👍
Thank you mate, I guess the t bars were not lined up when assembled in the factory. I do have the larger woodpeckers looking square now (from banggood) and it looks awesome. That maybe a video to come in the future. Think I need to do a few woodworking video next though rather than tool reviews 👍
Got one of these, also slightly out of square. Haven't gotten it spot on as of yet. It's nicely made but I think the Benchdogs version is still on my shortlist. Their stuff is mint. The way this is made and with the tolerances I'm not sure I can ever trust it 100% but it's nice for quickly breaking down things a bit over final size and it'll be a lot better then my previous method of rough measure top and bottom and full send 😅
Some years ago I bought a Triton rail square, when that was the only “budget” option available. That also was about £20 but I could never get it to give a square cut…complete waste of money. I eventually shelled out for a Benchdogs square and, apart from the day I spent the money, I haven’t regretted it. The Benchdogs square also has tapped holes that allow you to add dogs that allow perfect registration on post-formed worktop…they also slot into an MFT style bench top and hold the rail perfectly square to the fence.
Nice one. I was so impressed I paused your video, hit the link and bought one. Only pre-order available right now for delivery in March and it cost me £21.69 including shipping. At that price I can wait. As you said nothing to lose really because 20 quid gets you very little generally. Cheers for the tip 👍🏻
It seems difficult to adjust to be perfectly square .I would have placed a cam in one screw so you could rotate a very fractional but consistent adjust. Second . You could do a cut off square four edges to measure and magnify the error
I bought one off of amazon for $30 US (Live in California), was square out of the box and has held true, great for on site work with nothing bigger than a 55 inch track, is brilliant on a 39 inch track, anything over that the larger Fonson off of banggoods works great.
No one seems to make a budget track saw square that will fit Mafell or Bosch guide rails. It is like there is a conspiracy against us Mafell track saw owners.🙃
That’s a great video as sometimes it makes you wonder. I have just made 2 large bookcases for a customer and I always prime the cut edges with acrylic primer. Sanded them back, beautiful. The customer wanted them finished in gloss paint which I applied with a foam roller as I don’t have access or experience with spray guns. I applied 2 coats and I’m not impressed with the finish. The edges feel rough and the rest isn’t much better. As I don’t give up, I will be revisiting this with some more sanding and another coat. Any tips on application or paint diluting would be appreciated.
I also had one of these that wasn't quite square. It was out about 1/16" over 24". It would be adequate for many jobs, but if you're cutting cabinet sides, you'd like it to be a little better than that. As I was considering how to fix it, it occured to me to try removing the piece that the track is clamped against and flip it 180 degrees. Sure enough, it was dead on after that. YMMV.
Surely it would be easier to adjust by lining it up to your square …. I’ve ordered one for site work as I don’t want to use my Benchdogs one out of the workshop
Ditto! As mentioned elsewhere, I've got the BenchdogsUK and the TSO versions. Both fantastic! No danger of ever rocking up to a busy site with either, so was blown away by the price of this, but ultimately disappointed by the fact that it isn't actually square. I'd be interested to hear how you get along with it.
You didn’t mention if the holes in the square could be used with bench pegs for use on an mft as in the Benchdogs Festool and Woodpecker versions. The others are clearly in this instance a far more superior and functional product. I would go for the Benchdogs version every time for functionality and accuracy despite the price.
But this is 18 quid, I guess that's the point in this video, you could buy at least 5 of these for the price of one. Don't think thise holes are ment for mft
Hi Ryan just ordered on banggood. i use them all the time good value. sent you a email about makita battery mount clips try them cheapest I've seen had them for weeks really good.........keep up the channel
Ordered one. Currently got the triton one. Only 40 euro and does a great job. But never expect the cut to be 100% square when only using a rail square.
Well, there are squares that will do the 100% square and I own one. But they do cost significantly more and usually you have to use rails that are straight too.
Thank you! To be honest I did, then had problems with audio and half the footage had to be re filmed. Time was getting away from me and was pulling my hair out so missed that clip out by mistake. But I did do that originally! Whatever could of gone wrong went wrong in this weeks vid 😭
@@thelondoncraftsmanworkshop Mate, it's been a number of years since I worked in London - Belsize Park - but I'd imagine that would barely cover a swift one on your tod! 😜🤣
Great Videos really enjoying the channel so far. I'm really interested in seeing a review of the adjustable t-square when you get chance, I've heard some say the 22.5 and 67.5 are marked incorrectly
Massive difference isn't it. This clearly does the job. It's not all the bells and whistles but does what it says on the tin! And at a ridiculous price 👍
The first step to squareness is having a track rail that is actually straight and parallel which Makita track rails are not I know this from many I've had over the years. Makita rails are very poorly and inconsistently manufactured this demo would be better served using a festool track rail.
No one pays me for spending 8 -12 hours making and editing each video ( i do have membership if you want to help?). Products are a source of income for my small channel and when I have time to spend 20 + hours on a woodworking vid I will surely do this 👍
@@thelondoncraftsmanworkshop i understand the youtube concept, and please don't take it as criticism, as a woodworker i enjoyed watching you passed content, you got your subscribers numbers because of your skilled work i guess, i think sticking to a subject might be harder financially when youtube is concerned, but will create a more stable channel for the long run, good luck in your path 👍will drop by again 😊
Interestingly i keep my square at the top of the rail and pull it against the material and means I can clamp nearest me and I don't have to adjust for different size material
If it fits the Makita and the Festool, then no! I've got several tracks from Makita and a couple I bought from Evolution - sixty pounds for two 1400 tracks, two clamps and a carry case. I use the Evolution tracks with the corded saw, and the Makita tracks with the cordless. I've noticed a lot of RU-vidrs tend to imply that you can chop and change from one saw to another on the same track, and that simply isn't the case. I use 1.7 mm kerf blades on both saws and even then, there is a noticeable margin from one to the other.