By experience I can tell you that plexiglass, if you use this jig often, will get a lot of scratches by it being in direct contact with rough wood. Also, depending on the quality of it, plexiglass starts to yellow as time goes. Definitely not worth the time to do this over the original design which was great. What I would do to improve the original is drill more holes, of smaller size, spaced a little closer. It won't affect the structure of it and will help aligning the jig easier. Also I would made the bottom and top part of base either wider or will leave some wood tabs on it so I can put clamps on it and secure the jig to the table. If the lower part of the jig is perfectly square with the line of cut you can add also a small strip of wood on it so you can put the jig on the material to be cut and make the cut perfectly square with the lower edge of the board you're cutting.
I wanted a track saw but did not want to pay hundreds of dollars for one. Watched a ton of how to make tracks for saws on YT and found yours. By far the easiest to make and plenty accurate. Made one for my saw....thanks for coming up with this and especially sharing. Cheers from Canada.
I have seen a few videos on this subject but this is by far the best idea and so well explained, most ideas have a "allow the width of the plate element" but your line up holes are so simple, many thanks from John in England
Nice video, Sometimes I find that I spend more time watching videos and trying to make my own stuff than actually completing jobs that I need the tools or accessories for😂
LOL, my sentiments exactly! Only for me I'll just watch video after video learning how to do/make things but then never get around to actually making the darn things! In my head I'm a master carpenter, LOL 😂
Excellent first video and follow up her. I watch endless videos and assume myself to be an expert when I start making. Yet my first attempts with a router then a mitre saw were disastrous… I am now a theoretical expert in the construction of this guide; what could possibly go wrong?
As usual, Outstanding work. It’s also great that you took the feedback and improved the previous model. You are helping the community on a per video basis. Please keep it up.
For what I usually do...I'd say no, not really worth it. I'm just breaking down sheet goods and don't really need a finish-quality edge on my cuts. If I wear building furniture and had to use a track, then yes, it would be. I hope this helps!
A better update would be to leave a clamping lip on the sides and widen out to a triangle 500mm wide approx at one end so it makes setting up square easy and you only need to measure out one mark . Also why are the stop blocks required ?
Thank you for sharing your diy track saw design. I built two of them, one that can do up to a 5’ long cut and another that can do up to a 3’ long cut. I find myself using the 3’ long one about 80% of the time. The 3’ long one is perfect to handle anything that my cross cut sled can’t, and I rarely break out the longer one. The only modification I made to your design is to mark the top with tick marks every 2”.
This is one of the things I love about RU-vid, once something is here, it is here forever, and people like me can find it years later when we need this knowledge as well. I have been needing something like this, and this for sure is on my weekend build list for the new projects I have coming up. I really hate working with large sheet goods, and I am hoping this will help to change some of that.
Built one for myself yesterday on your earlier design and it works well! I made sure I did the sight holes before I ran the saw. I used the saw’s sight marker at the front to run a pencil line down the base so my holes would be centred. I built it out of mdf custom wood and lacquered it
Love the upgrades! To help glue adhesion to plastic, lightly flame the area to be glued. Do not melt the plastic, you just need to change the surface energy. Works with all adhesion on Plastics: glue; paint; ink; etc Thanks for sharing the updates. db
Great adds to your first build. In our shop I had built a guide out of VHMW that over time warped. I am going to give your build a shot. II love the sight holes....that was genius.
Nice bit of kit matey. the only thing i've added to my build, is red marker to each side of of the Plexi cuts on the bottom edge. it makes sighting for the line a little easier. Grand project thank you
Nice. I made something similar for one of my routers for cutting dados, really helps to trap the router base rather than trying to ride 1 edge only. Also added a cleat on the bottom to register on the work edge and produce a square cut. With almost 400 comments I'm sure more than 1 person has already suggested this :)
Thank you! All sorts of ideas have been shared, and I can't remember specifically if that one has been mentioned, so thanks for taking the time to share it!
Thanks for sharing! I've done it and it works really well. I just need to install the plexiglass to complete it. I've used a 3/4 inch baltic birch and made it 60 inches long to be able to cut plywood of 48 inches in one time. I really appreciate the simple design and the precision of the cut.
Both are great videos, I've watched a few different videos on this subject and I'm going to build one just like the second. Also, great of you to add the part about motor clearance, I know I'd have forgotten to check that ahead of time. Thank you, and glad to have found your channel
SIGHT HOLES W/O PLEXIGLAS or POLYCARBONATE. I drill-press drilled a 1" sight hole with a Forstner bit but stopping 1/8" from the bottom. I am easily able to see the pencil line. Because the grain of remaining wood at the bottom of the sight hole is running lengthwise, it is not inclined to break away. STEP 1) Score a line with the saw blade. 2) Drill the sight holes. 3) Complete the saw cut full depth. Perhaps a better option might be a large V-shaped router bit to create a "sight groove," again leaving about 1/8" square edge at the bottom. This would provide even better edge support. (Good video Tommy. Clear and easy to follow. Thanks!)
👍 Way to take your viewer feedback and run with it! It was good that you showed what the issue with the Masonite is, rather than just leaving it out of the video.
When I was still working in a cabinet and mill shop, one of the things we did was take a piece of 1/32" laminate, and glue to the base of the saw, and glue a piece onto the plywood, before attaching your side rails. If you use 1/16" on your plywood, it will make it stronger. I am going to try something like this out of a 1" x 12", because I want to cut 8 ft. sheets of plywood on an angle. I am going to build a church steeple, that is 8 sided. I am planning on usining1/4 inch flat aluminum for my guides. I like your sight holes and will use those. Love the build. I hope this suggestion helps.
@@OneMinuteWorkbench I used a laminate kitchen counter top that a friend was tossing out. A local kitchen shop sold me leftover laminate edgeband for a couple of double doubles( Tim Hortons coffee) I used for the inside guide track edges. Stands up well to the repetitious saw movements. Thanks for the design updates and idea.
I made one of these after watching your first video. Works extremely well and has taken a lot of the hassle out of breaking down sheets of plywood. Love the fact that it is so easy to use, I made it from left overs and it seems to work as well (if not better) than commercial jigs that cost a lot of money. Thanks.
best DIY saw track yet !!!!!, i used your idea but with 2 changes , i used aluminum flat bar for the rails and then used UHMW tape on the sides of the flat bar and a 3/4 in strip on each side of the flat bar on the plywood and that made the saw slide like it is on ice
Hi Tommy, about an hour ago I finished making one of your saw tracks. I used 3/16 medium density fiberboard to cover the 1/2 " plywood tract. The fiberboard makes a smooth track for the saw. New topic: A few weeks ago, I made two zero-clearance throat plates for my table saw. One from acrylic and the other from polycarbonate. No doubt about it, acrylic is much easier to work with. I guess I missed the part in your current video where you explained the benefit of adding a plastic window to your saw track. If the reason is compelling, I'll use the acrylic. Thanks for the great ideas.
Thanks for sharing about your builds! The only reason to add plexiglass is to reduce tear-out at the sight hole locations. With plexiglass added, the entire track becomes "zero-clearance" on both sides of the blade. I hope this helps! Thanks again!
@@OneMinuteWorkbench One Minute Workbench I'm sorry, I must have heard wrong. I thought you said you used polycarbonate for your windows. Just so we're both on the same page acrylic is the name of the material, Plexiglas is one of the brand names. Polycarbonate is a different plastic. It is much more impact resistant but, and this a very big but for this application, it scratches more easily. Since scratching is a possibility, you may want to use Acrylic (Plexiglas) instead of polycarbonate. I'm going to try to cut circles of acrylic and glue them into the holes. Thanks again for the idea.
I was using Plexiglass as a generic term (like using Coke to describe any cola). That said, I did use polycarbonate, just because it was the smallest and cheapest sheet I could find at Home Depot. I haven't had any problems with it, but I'm sure there could be different plastics that are better suited to the application. Let me know how it goes with your circle cutting idea!
The plexiglass just adds the ability to exactly site the cut. You can see exactly which side of your cut line your on. Great for an exact cut and a great idea for those who need that for say, furniture and don't have or can't use a table saw for it.
@@philipgwyn8091 Having something in contact with the workpiece for the length of the cut prevents "tear out," or splintering on the surface of your piece. The rest of the cut, the track itself is doing that. Putting plexi in the sight holes doesn't interrupt that contact but still lets you see through them.
Nice. Going to give this a shot - I have six knotty pine closet doors to hang and will need to trim edges to size, and perhaps take a bit off top/bottom. Look forward to trying this out.
This is the bestest track saw design and instruction how to build . I mean both first and second. I recommend one more improvement. add spring loaded mechanism to sandwich the work piece between TRACK saw and BASE PLANK. So , no need for clamp , on , not precise cuts. I see you have the intelligence to make it work. thanks for good work.
Hi FRANK. I'd be very grateful for more detail on how you could avoid clamping, as, although the saw would be safely guided with this ingenius double track, the device still needs to be firmly fixed to the material to be cut. Maybe I haven't understood your idea.
TO make a splinter free cut first make a "kiss" cut . set the saw depth to just barely cut thru the top surface then lower the blade to cut all the way thru. I have a sharpie mark on the depth adjustment to quickly set the " Kiss" cut/ depth High end cabinet table saws have a small kerf blade directly in line with the main blade making a kerf cut does the same thing the kiss cut does
Very very nice. The smallest sheet of Lexan I could buy was 10x8, so I made a series of sight "slots" rather than holes by drilling pairs of holes about 6" apart and then cutting out between them with a jigsaw. It turned out this lets me see the line while looking ahead at an angle rather than having to look straight down. I'm thinking I will make another one that will let me rip an 8' sheet. I'll try joining a couple of plywood strips end-to-end with a table lap to get the length, and the side rails should give enough rigidity to protect the joint.
Nice work I like that design I made a couple changes to it I made the bottom out of quarter inch to reduce the amount of loss for depth of cut and I made it wider because the quarter inch was kind of wobbly I also put two strips of sandpaper on the bottom so I can just set it down it doesn't slip around then and you don't need to clamp it but thanks it's a great idea
Thanks for sharing Tommy, this is my go-to saw track. Just have to drill my holes (11/4") and run the track with my skill saw (in that order). Great directions for the build!
After viewing your original video, I thought about it and decided a bunch of strips acrylic (or polycarbonate) along the whole length would make visibility better. No real need for the adjacent edges of the strips to glued together, just butt them up. Also, something I've not seen in any RU-vid video is how to make a non-slip bottom. Long ago, I noticed your ordinary RTV silicone sealant is pretty grippy when cured. I apply a uniform strip of the RTV silicone with a putty knife with a couple of suitable diameter wires on the edge of the putty knife to act as a spacer make a uniform layer.
I’d love to see a video of what you’re referring to. I can’t quite picture what u mean, and I doubt there aren’t others in the same boat as I am in. Thanks in advance!
I used to just build my projects, and hope whatever method I used would work. Over the years, I've learned that it's just easier and cheaper to do some small tests before I build a tool, piece of furniture, or whatever. It's a lot easier to scrap a sample than it is a project!
You should have used the masonite as the base, but not for the rails. It doesnt need to be straight if your rails are. Then you get more depth and a surface with less friction.
2 GREAT VIDEOS!. I've also noticed the need for a track on both sides, especially as my Makita has a factory-designed cutaway on its base at rear left (What was the engineer thinking? Did Makita want to save $ !?). Indeed, it is important to check there's clearance under the motor. Also, as it's necessary to clamp during sawing, it's vital to have a margin so that the motor also clears the clamps. My first attempt with a single track had this fault. Many thanks.
Your polycarbonate windows gave me an idea to use some acrylic that I have for the whole bottom of guide...that way easy to see the wood that I am cutting. Still a very good simple idea of the rectangular frame for track saw build.
Nice video! I know that this video is over 5 years old, but I wanted to make one comment. 1/4" hardboard would probably have worked if you had continued to use 1/2" or 3/4" plywood for the sides and the stops and only used the hardboard only for the bottom. This would give you the maximum possible cut depth. Just cut the hardboard a little wider and longer than needed and then glue the plywood strips to the hardboard, and once the glue has dried trim off the excess hardboard. Flat L-brackets in the corners on top of the plywood would add some more strength. Oh, saw this on another video on making circular saw guides to add make these non-slip just like the fancy track saw tracks. He put three pieces of blue tape the length of the guide to frame two strips of the bottom of the guide. Then he applied clear 100% silicone caulk along those strips and then used a plastic card riding on the strips of tape to spread the caulk in thin and even layer and to remove any excess. Once the caulk has dried, then just peel off the tape and you have two non-slip strips along the bottom. I might go with two thicknesses of blue tape to get a little thicker layer of caulk.
Nice improvements! I built one off the old design and everything worked great… until the summer! We got so much humidity and all the wood swelled and it got much harder to push the saw through. I want to experiment with using one side plywood, but the other side as angle iron, with some slots for adjustment, to account for humidity. Still thinking it through a bit. Anyway, thanks again for another nice video!
Quick tip I learned on my chop saw but it will work and may help on these as well. So on ur 2 long parallel peices that keep ur saw in line, cut the bottom inner edges at a 45⁰ and it will allow saw dust to not build up pushing ur saw up and out, not sure if that's an issue yet (I've yet to build one, but am definitely going to) just a thought! Overall love ur channel man great vids and excellent work! 👍🏻
I read all the comments. My only question is why so many people ask the same question when it has already been answered? I suspect it's because they don't bother to read before posting. Anyway I am gathering scrap material for my build. I'm one of those that always seems to get a wandering cut with just a simple clamped straight edge.
@@wongcw08 having a zero clearence means there will be less chance of tear out when the blade is cutting. Hope this helps. If not look up zero clearence table saw throat plates on RU-vid.
In addition to zero clearance it looks like it will be easier to align you marks because you can see the edge of the cut on the lexan. That to me seems like the biggest advantage.
You could add built in led lights on the bottom side of the plywood around the poly inserts so in situations with dimmer lights, you can still be able to see your line.
Well done, a really good design tracksaw. Something to be aware of when using superglue with clear plastics. Superglue is used to develop fingerprints on surfaces by forensics. The superglue fumes react with the oils left by the fingerprints and leave a very pronounced permanent print that was previously invisible. I don't know if any fingerprints appeared on your clear plastic veiwholes after gluing but it is a risk when using superglue around any clear plastic.
use a hole saw to make the sight holes, it's a cleaner cut and improves the accuracy of the alignment with the pencil mark. No need for plexiglass inserts then?
I have an upgrade suggestion for your design, add T-Slot track on the underside to be able to use track clamps to attach the guide rail to the workpiece from the underside. That way the clamps would not interfere with the saw. On my Makita the motor sticks out 3 1/4" from the saw base plate so the clamps can't be within that distance of the saw.
The first one was simple and worked great! The purpose of the holes was to see the cut line . So the question on this one is adding the plexiglass did what? The purpose of the holes is still to see the cut line ? All I saw was additional work and expense for zero gain in what the original design did.
Yes - the first one was simple, and in most cases, this build would be overkill. I think the big thing I forgot to mention in this video was that the plexiglass continues the zero-clearance slot, even through the site hole locations. The other thing I should have mentioned is that since most people use tracks like this for breaking down sheet goods, it's not really worth making sure the zero-clearance is 100%. The only time you'd really need that is if you're making furniture quality cuts on edges that will be exposed in the final piece. So again, this one is just overkill for most people in most scenarios. I hope this make sense!
Why not make it half the size and just move it to next position?. You could use a straight edge against the edge of the track t give accuracy needed. Just a thought to save wood and space l great video and subscribed.
The hardboard is too thin for the guide pieces, but it's perfect for the base piece. You don't have to worry about the flexibility because the guide pieces will add enough rigidity.
I can appreciate the aesthetic appearance of the plexiglass in the sight holes. It definitely makes it look a lot more professional. What exactly is the purpose of putting the plexiglass in the holes? I don't understand the functionality of them. Do they make any difference in the performance of the track? Or in the lining up of the track on your cut lines/marks?
It reduces tear-out at the sight holes. That said, unless you’re making finish cuts on furniture, the plexiglass is overkill. I’ve built several tracks now, and plexiglass was a popular viewer request. In practice though, 99% of the time you probably won’t need it. I hope this helps!
@@OneMinuteWorkbench Thanks for replying! It means a lot! There are a lot of RU-vidrs out there that will post a video and leave some questions unanswered. I asked in the comments -as they tell us to; "If you have any questions, post them in the comment section below". I do... And they don't answer!! You've earned yourself another subscriber for your interaction with me!!! How about a 3-ply track? Use a stiff piece of plywood - 1/2" maybe??? On top of that, glue or tac Masonite so the table saw will glide easier. Also, maybe a roll of adhesive 80 grit sandpaper for the bottom? With an 80 grit (or 100 grit) bottom, you might not even need clamps!!! I would love to see that one made!!! That would probably be the final build, because you couldn't get any better than that!!! Thanks again for replying!!!
I suspect the masonite suggestion was for the bottom plate only; you'd still use timber for the guides/stops for stiffness/rigidity. Irrespective an excellent project and I'll be giving it a crack (once I upgrade my saw). Thanks! :)
Going to have to have a go at this when I next remake my single edge tracks. I used 6mm MDF for those and will do the same to give me max depth. Another bonus I can see is that it gives the option to clamp either side and cut either direction which I can't do now. I wonder If routing a T track into the bottom one side might also aid clamping flexibility. I may leave room for that.
I wonder if you could replace the plywood or Masonite with a long piece of plexi? You'd have sight through the whole thing and it should have a low friction coefficient...
Whoever suggested the masonite probably meant to glue it to plywood, then cut it to size. Plywood makes it rigid and the masonite makes the saw slide easier. Of course just the good quality plywood with a good paste wax accomplishes the same thing and less work.
Great update to the original design. May I suggest or ask about an addition of a 90 degree bottom runner on one end for a Tee square effect? Thanks for sharing.
excellent and i like this follow up video also. my track saw is a budget one and the rubber edge of the metal track is beginning to get cut away so you cant get a perfect line so i am looking to make this track saw out of ply that you have done! i wont be using the plexiglass though mostly because 1) a lot more work vs the end result. 2) for me i work in different light so sometimes outside. sometimes inside and the plexiglass edge can cast a shadow over the line making it harder to see. and also then dust getting on it and plexiglass scratches up easy so the original idea is best :)
Thoughts on adding no slip grip tape to the bottom? Have seen that in another similar build. That eliminated the need for clamps in that person's opinion. Great build video!!
There may be an easier way to fit the polycarbonate windows. With a mortise and tenon, cutting the mortise first makes it easier to fit the tenon, because it is easier to trim the tenon. For your site holes try routing on the inset on track first. It might be worth using a simple template to create a rectangular shape. The size is not critical, but a rectangle will make it easier to cut the polycarbonate window to fit. Next, you may round the polycarbonate corners with a disc or belt sander. Or you could square the rounded corners on the track left by the router. Either way will avoid the need for hot glue as a filler.
Maybe label the track with carbide thickness of blade, and/or blade model/series, used to make the track blade slot. Standard 7 1/4" 24T Diablo carbide is thinner than most other brands. Another thing ti bear in mind is blade deflection of modern blades. Also, how long, how many passes/cycle/repetitions does it take to wear a slight groove in the guide fences with the saw table thereby shaving the cut slot wider? I like the build b.t.w, and will probably make one. Thanks for the video.
I like the Lexan addition! I'm wondering if adding a piece of the molding on the underneath side at one end, perpendicular like a T-square, would facilitate ease of use (like only needing to clamp one end, easily squaring the cut to that edge, etc.). Also, if splicing with half lap joints to make a 108" guide would help break down plywood, where a full-length rip cut is needed.
YEEEEAAAAH SPLICING WITH HALF LAP ON THE GUIDE RAILS AND THEN DOING THE SAME WITH THE BASE PLATE WOULD CREATE LIKE A FINGER JOINT EFFECT THAT WOULD BE SUPER STRONG GREAT IDEA!!
Very cool & nicely done, only idea to improve would be to sand those sight holes a bit preferably before applying the polycarbonate just so when they inevitably get excess sawdust in them and the like at some point when you need to clean to maintain clarity it would be easier to clean out with a smooth surface on the side of those holes. Maybe apply a small bevel with the router on the top side of the circular sight holes to make it easier to clean and negate the lack of sanding those down beforehand. Overall great work and better than I would have come up with on my own. Thanks for sharing will be making one of these myself hopefully before not to long. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for the compliments, feedback and suggestions. Good luck with the project - let me know how it goes and if you implement those changes, let me know how that goes too!
