Got a Grizzly Track Saw today

[leehljp]

For father's day weekend, I came to visit my daughter who works in Springfield MO (and lives in Ozark about 10 miles for Springfield). As some of you know, Springfield is one of the three major tool showrooms and or warehouses of Grizzly, in addition to being the home of Bass Pro.

I usually spend more time at Bass Pro when I visit because that is what family wants. But today, I sent LOML to the movie, my daughter went to work, and I went to Grizzly.

Got the complete Track Saw system at $245,
1. an additional 55" to rip 8 ft ply,
2. 28" rail for short / narrow boards.
I am looking forward to giving this a try, and I have been reading the responses of other with the grizzly, which is what pushed me to get this one. Not a Makita or Dewalt but it does a decent job by all accords.

When I told the fellow that I wanted to purchase one, he checked the inventory via the computer and said, "I can't believe it but we are out."
I asked, Well, do you have the saw by itself, since it is offered as a stand alone item? He checked and said yes.
Next I asked, Do you have a 55" track? Again, he checked and said Yes.
Do you have the accessory kit? "yes".
Me: the total is only $5.00 more in parts than the whole. You have all that I want, so give me it to me at the complete system price. He said I would have to do that at the "pay" counter. I got the "system" price, and I also purchased the extra 2 items.

I figured with a warehouse and showroom as big as they have, they should not be out of something like that.


Grizzly had an INTERESTING SALE on an item I am still considering. http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2015/main/230?p=230
IF you go to that page, you will notice two grinders for sale. One for $199.95 and one for $159.95. They are the same except one is black and one is Grizzly green, and one has a blue grinding wheel and the other has a gray grinding wheel.

They purchased an excess of the black ones as part of the 30th anniversary sale - 2 years ago. Only they didn't sell as many as they thought, so this "sale" is for basically a 2 years old model. They have a good supply of the black painted grinders at the entrance. IF you are looking for a grinder this might be a good deal, $40.00 off.

[atgcpaul]

I've been tempted to get the Griz track saw, too. My parents have a cabin just next to Muncy, PA where the other Griz store is. They're closed on Sundays so that helps deter me since we only go on weekends.

Do th e track saws use special blades or can you swap in a blade from the Borg if you need to?

[leehljp]

Do th e track saws use special blades or can you swap in a blade from the Borg if you need to?

I think it depends on the individual Borg. A replacement blade can be ordered from Amazon or ebay. So far I have seen Oshun and Diablo. They use 160 mm blades with 40 mm arbor. They do use special ones but they are available by several brands. if you enter 160 mm blades in Amazon, several pop up.

This brings up an item that concerned me. I may have overlooked it if it was mentioned in previous reviews. With a change of blades and possibly change of blade thickness, the cut line can be altered by 1/64" or thereabouts, maybe even 1/32. This was told me by the salesman yesterday. I was concerned with the track saw as to how close the blade cut to the line of the track saw. I have a couple of short sawboards, and for those familiar with sawboards know that where the edge of the sawboard is - that is where the cut will be. I could not imagine how the track saws could be that accurate without cutting the aluminum of the tracks.

This question was answered on the Grizzly Track saw by a thin rubber strip mounted on the bottom of the rails and sticking out from the side of the rail by about 1/16". This thin strip is made to be cut (I'm guessing) maybe 1/100" from the saw blade as it is lowered and slide along the rails. The cut line is not the aluminum rail edge but the thin black rubber strip.

THESE STRIPS can be purchased from Grizzly. Good to know.

Back to the blade: I don't know how accurate the salesman was, but he said that different brand blades will/may create a small space between the cut line and plunge line, or change the cut line closer to the aluminum.

[BadeMillsap]

I have the Grizzly track saw and use an Oshun blade with excellent results

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Neal]

Get an oshlun blade. The stock blade from grizzly is not good. I'm on my second oshlun blade at this point.

I also found a hard section of used track and cut it into a 31" and 24" section to use on smaller pieces. I've found I use the smaller tracks almost as much as the 55" tracks

[JimD]

Have fun. If I had known of the Grizzly several years ago when I got my DeWalt I might have gone that way. Track seems more like the Festool but I think the opening of the second U shape is on the bottom. If so, a parallel guide would have to work like my home made one for the DeWalt.

Have you seen Ron Paul's videos? I have his plans and will make something based upon his ideas - but not exactly any of his designs.

With my DeWalt, it cuts EXACTLY where the edge of the black strip is. My original blade is getting a bit dull so I will probably switch to an Oshlun soon. I have a second side of the tracks to use if it is a little away from the sacrificial edge. I will probably check the tooth thickness when switching. If the plate and teeth are the same thickness, the sacrificial edge shouldn't need replaced. I mark my cut line with a combination square using a .5mm mechanical pencil. Marking where you want the cut can have a significant effect on accuracy with a saw this precise.

[leehljp]

IF Anyone comes to the Springfield MO Grizzly expecting to buy anything over $100., - Stop in at most any store or motel that offerers "Springfield Visitor's Guide 2015". There is a $20.00 coupon on the first page inside the front cover. This applies to sales over $100., Show Room purchase, Not valid on Tent sale day. Not good for gift certificate purchases either.

Wish I had this when I bought my Track Saw Friday. BUT this: http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2015/main/230?p=230 (30th Anniversary Edition) is a big possibility Monday morning. $20.00 off will bring the 10" grinder down to $139. Not bad.

[leehljp]

Concerning the above post about the $20.00 Grizzly coupon for purchases over $100.00 - I used the coupon to buy the Grizzly Anniversary Wet Sharpening System. In effect, I got the $159.00 grinder/sharpener for $139.00, which is the same, except for color, as the $199.00 green sharpener. When the Grizzly sharpener originally came out, I think it was about $300.

I am back home in MS but have not had time to open the "Father's day presents" and inspect them yet.

[jussi]

I have a festool tracksaw and yes the splinter guard will be changed if you use a different kerf blade. Festool now has the same kerf on all their blades but they initially did not which was a problem. If the design is similar to the festool you can slightly adjust how far the blade is from the guard. It's a small adjustment, I'd say around 1/16, but it is often enough to adjust to a different kerf blade. Just make sure the back of the blade slightly toes out a bit so blade only makes contact at the front. The festool rep I talked to said he uses thin stick business cards. This is also handy if you get another saw or the larger model saw and want to share tracks.

[atgcpaul]

Hank, have you used it yet?

[leehljp]

I haven't used it yet. I am making a bunk bed set for my daughter. In about two weeks I should be cutting some plywood for the mattress support for both beds and from 2 sheets of 4x8 ply. That will be my first use and a good test for accurate cuts.

[leehljp]

I finally had some time to use the Grizzly TrackSaw today. I needed to cut down a 4 X 8 sheet of 1/2 in ply into manageable sizes for the TS.

First warning: Don't wait until you need to use a new tool to set it up, especially if you are limited in your woodwork time and just need to use the tool! Set up wasn't difficult but I did spend a few extra minutes getting things set up that I didn't think about beforehand.

First thing I did not like: The rail connection bar for the two 55 inch has 4 set screws on it. The set screws recessed down into the threads like most set screws do, EXCEPT The set screws required a regular blade screwdriver. But because it recessed, 1. it required a narrow Screwdriver, and 2. the set screws' slots required a thicker screwdriver blade than what comes on a 1/8" wide blade. I had to take one of my larger screwdrivers and grind down the edges so that it would fit into the slot. All of this to join two sections of track saw to cut down a sheet of plywood.

The kit comes with only one bar. I will purchase a second bar the next time I am in Springfield. AND I will get some replacement allen set screws in the near future as replacements.

A second minor complaint. The "depth of cut" set knob does a good job of holding, but it sure is hard to loosen once it is tight. I can tighten it easily enough, but I almost need pliers to loosen it.

As far as using it, it worked great. After the above minor issues, using it was a breeze. Operating the depth release and the switch and then cutting was quick, easy and smooth. I needed to cut 8 inches off the width of the sheet (down to 40 inches from 48) and then I took the two tracks apart and cut the 96 in length ply into two 48 in by 40 in. From there, I cut it down the rest of the sheet on the table saw.

The Grizzly track saw does cut sheets down quickly and more easily than my BT3000, but it does not replace the TS for me.

I would like another 55" section for cross cutting wide sheets without having to take the current two 55 inch sections apart.

[JimD]

Thanks for the report. I've read lots of reviews of the Grizzly and most comment on the stiff spring that you push against to plunge the saw and also the saw rocking a little on the track due to the rub strips being too close together. Any issue like that for you?

I am still working on ways to avoid marking and cutting with my DeWalt. I like using stops on my other tools and there are ways to do something like that with a track saw. I have a parallel guide that I made for my DeWalt and I more recently made simpler devices to just position the track. They index off the portion of the track that guides the saw and have a movable stop for the width cut you want. I can use it on either of the track, for you I think it would work best for a workpiece that is not under the track - on the off side. I also want a Paulk style workbench with a crosscut setup (with stops) too. The track saw by itself is a more accurate version of a sawboard and circular saw. But with the "extras", I think it becomes useful for more things. But I agree, it doesn't replace a table saw. It might make you able to get by for a lot of projects without a table saw but a track saw is harder to use for small pieces of wood and cannot make 3.5 inch deep cuts. The track saw is handier for larger pieces of wood (that are cumbersome to do on the table saw). I still think the track saw eliminates the need for a wide table but not the table saw. 24 or 30 inch cut is enough if you have a track saw.

[leehljp]

Thanks for the report. I've read lots of reviews of the Grizzly and most comment on the stiff spring that you push against to plunge the saw and also the saw rocking a little on the track due to the rub strips being too close together. Any issue like that for you?

I am still working on ways to avoid marking and cutting with my DeWalt. I like using stops on my other tools and there are ways to do something like that with a track saw. I have a parallel guide that I made for my DeWalt and I more recently made simpler devices to just position the track. They index off the portion of the track that guides the saw and have a movable stop for the width cut you want. I can use it on either of the track, for you I think it would work best for a workpiece that is not under the track - on the off side. I also want a Paulk style workbench with a crosscut setup (with stops) too. The track saw by itself is a more accurate version of a sawboard and circular saw. But with the "extras", I think it becomes useful for more things. But I agree, it doesn't replace a table saw. It might make you able to get by for a lot of projects without a table saw but a track saw is harder to use for small pieces of wood and cannot make 3.5 inch deep cuts. The track saw is handier for larger pieces of wood (that are cumbersome to do on the table saw). I still think the track saw eliminates the need for a wide table but not the table saw. 24 or 30 inch cut is enough if you have a track saw.

I was a little surprised that the "stiff spring" did not affect me in the way that it affected others. Even when I purchased it back around Fathers Day, the salesman warned me that some people complain about that. However, it didn't seen that difficult to me.

In a recent thread on cordless saws, I mentioned that the Ryobi 18v Cordless circular saw was difficult to use in that the safety switch and the On switch was discombobulated to me. That was harder for me to control and use than the Grizzly TrackSaw. Also, on the TrackSaw, I didn't notice any rocking. The sheet of Ply was level and solidly supported. I had the ply on a portable workbench table in the middle and two 40 in wide table saws, one on each end. I had the depth of cut set to about 1/16 in more than the ply. It did a great job of cutting through, and just grazed the saw horses and workbench table.

[os1kne]

Thanks for posting about this Hank. I got the Grizzly track saw combo and an additional 55" track 6 months or so ago. I've only used it a couple of times, for a handful of cuts so far - but you nailed the "dislikes". Not major problems, but I completely agree about the set screws and single connecting bar. I'll also probably get another 55" track, and keep two connected for ripping full sheets.

Since I moved to my new home a couple of years ago, my new "shop" is much smaller - the track saw is great for "breaking down" sheet goods. For pieces around 4'x2' or smaller, I'll probably continue to use my BT3.