Nice and simple. I'm amazed at the complexity of some of the jigs I see on RU-vid. I love the ingenuity and so forth - it's very impressive. But I love "simple and easy" too - jig work is definitely a place to employ the KISS principle.
This is the best low profile DIY guide I have watched. One saw base could be used on several different length guides 96" and 48" for cutting sheet goods and 24" to 30" for cutting short stock. I would use a double hinged guide on one end squared to a table and a fence to allow for different thicknesses up to your saws max cut.
I love watching all the variations of a homemade track saws, this is simple and accurate. I first made one about 30yrs, but back then there wasn't internet to get ideas, I just made it because it was a logical thing to make for my circular saw.
The last track saw kit I purchased turned out to be junk. I've made boards with a straight edge to lean the saw up against, but that allows one to wander away from the straight edge. I like your project because the saw cannot deviate from the track in either direction. Good job.
This is fantastic but (has to be a bit), one of the nice things about “proper” track saw guides is they don’t typically have to be clamped to the material being cut which saves time. I’ve never actually looked the the bottom of one to know what that surface is made of but maybe adding some sort of similar high friction material to the bottom of the home built one(again, yours is fantastic) would eliminate the need for the clamps???? Oh, and thanks for taking the time to post this. Exactly the video I needed. 👍
So it simply and cheaply turns your circular saw into a tracksaw.. great idea compared to spending $500 - $1200 on a dedicated tracksaw.. I'd also add thin grippy rubber strips to the underside of the track to eliminate the need for clamps.. (sometimes clamps aren't practical..)
eat, the idea is great, very good demonstration, missing the dimensions of the parts to allow us either to keep them or to adapt them to our machine. thank you so much
So here are my uninformed dimensional guesses...1/2" plywood overall. Saw Plate rail brackets cut at 3/4" width, or maybe 1". Metal track is 1" x 3/8". 1" double sided tape. Love the KISS principal here! Thanks for posting this! Love this design. Looking forward to making one of my own.
Brilliantly inspirational and minimalist! Dimensions, except thickness, of sled and platform are clear: match to saw base dimensions and how long you need to crosscut or rip at maximum, how wide you need for sliding saw to clear clamps if used (roughen the bottom of platform?). For thickness, the sled and platform thicknesses combine to reduce the maximum thickness of wood that the circular saw can cut. The thickness of the platform has to be enough to accept the countersunk screws that hold on the metal rail. Epoxy the rail? Wax bottom of sled and top of platform and rail to reduce friction? Use thickest blade to plunge the cut within the sled and cut off the edge of the platform, so that other blades have less friction? Placement of rail groove within the sled may depend on crosswise center of mass of saw., I would want the groove under weight center so it does not lean away from or toward the cut when held lightly. Hand should push, not press down or sideways. Thinking about making a thin version of this for my mini saw that has a maximum depth of cut of 1 inch.
Yes, that's what it looked like to me, Chris. So this is a jig that requires a little "cooperation" from the user, but willingness to provide that definitely allows for a simpler jig.
switch off all the trackers and see if it still works that way. "You are being followed in your every move online" by the 3 letter company that owns both the most used search engine and the most used video website. No magic there, just clever business men and a manual called "1984" implemented. If that doesn't scare you...
Are you not decreasing the available dept of cut with this kind of track? The long track looks ot be at least 1/2" plywood and the sled the saw sits in at least 1/4" if not 1/2 ".
With 2 plies of plywood between your saw and the stock you loose a lot of depth of cut. On the plus side you don’t have to raise the saw to clear a wood fence.
If you examine carefully, there is a thin strip of wood by the wall that gives the illusion of the top section of plywood being thicker. But once he presses the straight edge up to it, you can see that the edge is actually straight. You can see it's of a lighter colour too
Bought the Kreg. Didnt have the wood laying around and would cost almost as much as the Kreg to buy the wood and make it at this point. Everything is fine with the economy. Nothing to see here.
