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Argyll wrote:I contacted Lidl and they've told me the issue of extendible tracking was raised in their office a few weeks ago. They said hopefully they will be able to source additional tracks you can buy in 6-7 weeks however they couldn't assure me of this.

I'll give it a miss I think as it's a major point for me to cut 8ft lengths.

it takes about 2 mins with the method above i have 2 rails but its quicker to reposition than join the rails 15 foot off rail is a handful

A few years back I was going to buy a clamp guide rail which acts as a fence for a router or circular saw but is not like a track saw. It was designed for 8 by 4 sheets but I baulked at the 50 quid price at the time. Looking online today the only similar system at a 2400 length is the Trend Varijig which is around £140. Plenty of cheap Silverline guide clamp rails at around £14 for a 1270mm and it would probably be quite easy to join two together with a bit of tinkering.

Just an option to think about

DWD

It looks like a rebadged scheppach, theyre tracks will probably fit. Be a good buy for the DIYr. as for the 1400mm track thats all you will prob need. i have 3m, 2.7m and 1.4 tracks, i rarely use the longer ones!.

Found online it does fit the scheppach tracks....they are not expensive. Having use a scheppach it aint no ts55 so if you going to buy this i would suggest a new freud or festool blade and festool splinter guard is a must.

You could always make a track like Bob;
http://youtu.be/CH5dW-QcgeI

the biggest advantage off the track saw is mark lay and cut no clamping or farting about

Steviethejoiner wrote:Found online it does fit the scheppach tracks....they are not expensive. Having use a scheppach it aint no ts55 so if you going to buy this i would suggest a new freud or festool blade and festool splinter guard is a must.

Stevie can you post up the link where you found this info please?

So a splinter guard actually stops splintering or just reduces it?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Festool-FS-SP-1 ... B002YZBXIW

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/23092074 ... 0&ff14=108

all tracks have the rubber edge
it cannot stop splintering as it only presses down on the one side off the blade but in good nick will stop up to 95% splintering on both sides

Coolio.

The guy in Lidl said they should arrive tomorrow and might be put out ready for Monday - so possibly available towards closing on Sunday if you are passing.

and remember the rubber is wider than the saw so the first cut will trim it to size so be prepaired for the first cut to be plus or minus a few mm

Cant find the link. Just google it.
The festool splinter guard is more of a soft plastic better than the black rubber that others have. adjust the saw to fit the rail then trim the splinter guard with the saw blade you intend to use in the saw ....dont trim it then change the blade.

Steviethejoiner wrote:Cant find the link. Just google it.
The festool splinter guard is more of a soft plastic better than the black rubber that others have. adjust the saw to fit the rail then trim the splinter guard with the saw blade you intend to use in the saw ....dont trim it then change the blade.

I can't find the link either hence why I asked you. I just wanted to know for sure the scheppach tracks are interchangeable with the Parkside but there's nothing on the net about it.

big-all wrote:there are only 2 that are interchangeable the other 10 or so manufacturers non compatible as far as i know

Festool guides rails are compatible with Makita, new Metabo and Hilti. Many Bosch saws (e.g. GKS55GCE, GKS65GCE, GKS85GCE - note the "G" - and their GKT55GCE) will also run on Festool-compatible rails as will the Mafell MT55cc. I understand that the Scheppach/Woodstar/Kity saw also uses a compatible rail system, so not quite as dreary an outlook as you paint

Grumbledook wrote:How tricky is it to do an 8ft cut with only ~4ft of track, anyone tried it?

Not too difficult. I do it a lot on site (with a Festool TS55 and rails) where getting out both rails and connecting then together is just too much hassle.....

big-all wrote:if high accuracy is required measure from the metal to the edge off the board after lining up the rubbers the reason for this is in use if the blade gets deflected for any reason it may cut an extra bit out of the rubber making it uneven along its length

Nope! Three or four "tick marks" or snap a line with a chalk line...... What you need to do is make sure that the rubbers are inched forward and retrimmed regularly, especially when changing blades (different kerfs, etc). Surely the whole point of a track saw is that you can saw directly from the marks without any need to measure offsets, etc

big-all wrote:it cannot stop splintering as it only presses down on the one side off the blade but in good nick will stop up to 95% splintering on both sides

It stops splintering on one side (the rubber side of the kerf). Festool saws additionally have a screw-on offside anti-splinter device which does stop splintering on the off-side of the kerf. TBH I ratrely use mine - so long as the correct blade is in use and it's sharp the splintering will be negligable. In addition I normally plan my cuts so that the off-side is a scrap piece in any case

The other thing to mention is that for clean cuts with track saws you need to attach the saw to a vacuum cleaner otherwise waste will be churned up by the blade which reduces the quality of cut and makes for a much less pleasant (and less healthy) working environment - that much I have larned from 15 years worth of use (Bosch, then Hilti, now Festool - all the same)

thats me put in my place then

the point about 95% chip free is to do with a normal saw having an aperture around 1" wide around the blade so a large unsupported surface both sides where as the track supports one edge reducing the chipping on the other edge