Make Any Saw a Track Saw #shorts

Turn any circular saw into a track saw in less than 30 minutes for only the cost of a piece of MDF.

I tried to find the original article where I first saw this jig but could only find other people that remade this jig like I'm doing here. So just know I didn't invent this jig, and I guess there's a good chance the article I first read wasn't the original creator either.

Thanks so much! Feel free to subscribe if I managed to earn it in this 60-second video.

[joshhefetz]

Another thing you can do is glue some low grit sandpaper all along the bottom side, removes the need for clamping it down. Great vid👍

[jasonchaney]

I've done this many times at work and prefer 1/4" masonite for the bottom. You don't lose much depth that way.

[boydskaggs]

As a carpenter, I use factory edges of plywood all the time to create a saw guide for ripping and cross cutting plywood. I know the offset of the blade from either side of the saw to either side of the blade. Non the less, I love this little hack!

[drtydude]

Omg thank you! I’m tired of people spending all this extra money on tools/accessories when it’s easy to create a fixture/jig.

You are a real one!

[MrEasummers]

Hi Cam, Even though this is something that I was taught & have used for 25 years.

I think that it is vitally important that we should not assume that new people to the trade have just figured this out by watching old timers. These skills need to be revisited in often. Thank you for reminding me to bring up old "tricks" when I train others. Best

[dialdoesit]

Just realized why we have a steady flow of orders for 8” x 6’ alum. - smart!

[truthserum]

We have been using what we call "cut-off" boards for over 40 years. They are great for cutting the tops and bottoms of doors.

[wallyschmidt]

I used 1/8" Masonite under the MDF fence, as my circular saw blade is rather small. A little paste wax keeps things running smoothly.

[Joe___R]

A good level clamped to the surface works just as good.

[_Rick_S]

The straw tip is killer! I'm setting up a garage shop and can use all of the tips like this that I can find, thanks

[cmeller]

MORE CONTENT LIKE THIS. This is great: succinct, quick, smart. Thanks!

[BC-nisk]

The only gotcha that you have to be careful of is the bade that you use! This means if you make the cut with a certain brand and a certain kerf...etc. etc. you have to replace the blade with the same blade you used to cut your track guide. Naturally if you keep changing up blades you will find differences with your track and where the blade cuts from blade to blade.

[mpmfr]

Another tip is to make it about 5’ long, this way you have enough both infeed and outfeed of the saw when breaking down sheet goods. Love my $5 “track saw” 😊👍

[indyfastal]

Great timing, I just went out & bought a tract to use yesterday. On the bright side, aluminum is cheaper then MDF...

[Lslack]

I'm so glad I found this video. I watch almost all your videos as I love seeing another Oregonian doing great things. I'm about to embark on my first river table and this is exactly what I needed to prevent buying a new saw. Thank you so much. This could not have come at a better time! Keep on keeping on thanks for all the great tips.

[Danonito_flavor]

I'm getting hooked with this channel as I start my baby steps with woodworking. Could you make a few more similar vids for all of us who dont own a dozen tools? :D Amazing work.

[robertaquadro]

This is fantastic, it works so well! One of the best tips out there. I've tried so many things to get consistently straight cuts and was debating getting a track saw. As a hobbyist an expensive track saw would've been overkill. Thanks for saving me time and 💰💰.

[michael.schuler]

A related hack: If you already own a typical track saw with somewhat limited depth of cut and would like to use its precision aluminum track to guide a larger conventional saw for thicker work pieces, you can fabricate a sub-base for the larger saw that includes a groove on its underside carefully sized to make a good sliding fit on the rib of the track. We used UHMW for optimal sliding when we added such a sub-base to a SkilSaw 825 8 1/4" worm drive saw. To avoid altering/damaging the anti-tear-out strip (sized perfectly for the smaller Festool saw), we intentionally located the 825 sub-base groove so that the cut line of the larger saw is 1/4" away from the ATO strip. Not as fully functional as buying a larger Festool, but a useful and cost-efficient hack for occasional use.

[kurtz]

I made mine 10', using 2 5' pieces and drilled 2 holes for dowels to reconnect the pieces in a straight line easily also added nonslip drawer liner to the back to make clamping super easy too

[michael.schuler]

Keep both pieces, especially the narrower guide piece, as thin as possible if you want to preserve maximum possible amount your saw's depth of cut. Besides necessarily losing the thickness of the base piece, the saw's motor housing can be prevented from reaching full depth by guide piece. We often use 1/2" Baltic for base, 1/4" hard board for guide.