Track saw track positioning jig

[JimD]

I enjoy my DeWalt track saw but I don't like marking the workpiece and then cutting to the mark. I bought an Incra marking jig which is much better. But I still wanted to be able to work more like my stationary tools that I use with stops whenever possible. These positioning jigs have a dado that slips over the rib of the DeWalt track that the saw rides on and then has a movable stop to position the jig. One sets the track the width you want plus the width of the blade from the piece to be cut ahead of the track. It is used mostly for narrow pieces but can do wider cuts. The other works by positioning the track the right distance from the other edge of the piece to be cut where the piece you want is under the track. Quite inexpensive to make and work well. I like the fact I can clamp the track in place. I have a home made parallel jig that doesn't allow that and I find while most of my cuts are exact occasionally I am off a little.

[atgcpaul]

Thanks for the idea, Jim. That will come in handy.

I think I am going to use beadboard as the new back splash in our kitchen. In the past, I've made my own by tipping my TS blade to 45deg, then moving the fence over a regular interval to plow the groove. The piece I need is 24" x 8' so rather than buying beadboard that runs the length of the board and having a seam in the middle, I can run the groove across the short side of the board for the whole 8' and use your indexing jig to move the guide by a fixed amount. I have the Dewalt router guide for the track so I may do it with a V-groove bit or my track saw tipped to 45deg.

Paul

[JimD]

Paul,

That should work well. I haven't figured out the offset to the router jig (i.e. how far ahead of the track the router cuts) but it's about 6 inches. The only concern about your project is you will probably want to cut from both ends and then could end up with a wider or narrower piece in the middle. With care, you should be able to avoid that. I like to lay those kind of things out with pencil marks before I start making sawdust.

Jim

[atgcpaul]

Paul,

That should work well. I haven't figured out the offset to the router jig (i.e. how far ahead of the track the router cuts) but it's about 6 inches. The only concern about your project is you will probably want to cut from both ends and then could end up with a wider or narrower piece in the middle. With care, you should be able to avoid that. I like to lay those kind of things out with pencil marks before I start making sawdust.

Jim

Do you see an issue with cutting from the center out?

[JimD]

It might work with this track saw attachment but I made some fluted posts for a front porch years ago. The were PT 4x6s with four grooves on the 6 inch side and two on the narrow side. On one side they stopped and started around the handrail. Anyway, I made them with an old Ryobi R-500 plunge router using it's guide. It worked pretty well but I found if I started and stopped I would be in a little different position. I think it was from taking up slack in the guide rod attachment (there wasn't a lot). Even with the track saw, sometimes the kerf will show the spot I stopped (typically because the hose or cord got stuck). So I think you would be able to see the spot where you start and stop if you go from the center out. It may be pretty minor, however. I used the posts as is, they weren't bad, but sanded to minimize the marks and switched to trying to do at least the final pass in one smooth motion.