Track saw improvisation

[Jupiter01]

Had one of these keep appearing in my social feeds.



It clamps to the wood.

Has anyone tried them and are they any good? I normally achieve this with a straight edge and clamps.

 

[foxhole]

It is a clamp but can also be used for short cuts .

 

[Deluks]

Lidl sells them from time to time.

 

[ETAF]

i purchased one years ago from toolstation a silver line one i think it was , uselss clamps did not fix properly and fell off - i still use but clamp it down, with irwin or Lidl quick release clamps

I also purchased a trend version when on offer at FFX and 3m so i can cut 8x4 sheets and used that a lot for making doors and riping down sheets as i have also used the guide but as i say i just clamp that and i made some jig/templates so depending on what blade i have in the Circ saw , i can line the template up with the line and then the guide is in the right palce works well and quite quick tracksaw would be quicker but as retired & diyer time is not against me and i was looking at the mafell and lots of reviews of various saws - still use the guides

 

[Why Not Indeed]

I've got the Lidl one, the clamp bit is ever so slightly wider than the track. Could be my imagination, but it does seem to "self-centre" slightly as you tighten it, not sure if this is intentional. Ie, if the ends you're clamping it on to are parallel, it will tend to end up closer to 90° to them than it might otherwise be.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I have the Lidl one, invariably it's slightly too short to be used, only used it a couple of times maybe and as mentioned above it's a bit fickle to use, usually a couple of attempts need to be made to clamp it up tight as it tends to wander a tiny bit in doing so.

 

[Jupiter01]

Thanks for the responses. Is a straight bit of timber and two clamps the best option - in lieu of a proper track saw?

 

[ETAF]

yes, i use that as well, I have an off cut bit furniture board , i have use a few times before i got the trend guide cheap

 

[Why Not Indeed]

Where do you get a straight bit of timber?
I am not saying the linear clamp thing is useless, just a little less useful than expected. On mine at least the extruded aluminium section appears to be perfectly straight.
I also have a very long sash clamp, which I can use as a straight edge with clamps, but it's bloody heavy.

 

[blup]

Use mdf cut in store at BnQ or similar. This gives you a straight edge. You can make a t square cut to the width of the saw making alignment of the cut easier