I have been in commercial and residential finish carpentry for 22 years. I have worked primarily in Ohio, and Southern California. In Southern California I have finished finish carpentry at court houses, casinos, and high-end department offices. During these years of see I have run into scenarios almost daily where you need extreme preciseness comparable to what you would get with a high-end cabinet saw.
I can remember one example where I was commuting for a cabinet shop and I was assigned to modify old wainscoting at a law firm in Hunington Beach. The corporation wanted to add a top molding to the remaining wainscoting. The trim had to be very precise because it ran for a few hundred feet and the new moulding would butt against the existing one. What I did gave us time and money.
I shaved down some shims then pryed the corner of the panels about a half inch from the wall and through a series of track saw material, I was able to cut down the wainscoting so it could accept the new upper pieces to within a 32nd of an inch. That’s the kind of field work you can do with a good track saw! I was able to prepare the panels in record time and I looked so good to the shop head that I was put in charge of that job.
I can’t put into words how a powerful track saw can pull you out of a lot of jambs in finish carpentry! The time a track saw can conserve you will more than make up for the $500 that you will drop for a high-end track saw. I individually pack it on any out of town operation that I do in the union these days.
On another job, be had enormous cabinets in a lab that needed to be installed and “cut-in”. The counter tops were the black acid tops that are ordinary in most shops. These particaular cabinets were each about 25 feet long and the backs needed to but “cut-in” because the wall drifted about a 1/4 inch all foot. This would of been very difficult by hand because a perfect straight cut was needed and the acid tops weighed more than likely around a ton. We were able to just slide the tops back after “scribing” them and cut them in place. This saved us in the period and effort that it would have taken to physically move the tops to a fixed saw.
When looking for a good track saw it’s really wise to be a little “choosy” when selecting your saw. For example you demand a saw that has electronic speed control to maintain the blade speed throughout the run. You also want a saw with a very tight track that you can also lift for plunge cutting applications. In addition, try to buy a saw that has a built in riving knife so there is no blade squeeze during the cut. Look at the resources below, we have a lot track saw reviews to help you in choosing which saw would be right for you. Many of the data have video demonstrations embodied.
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