Track Saw vs Circular Saw Gimmick Or Gold?

Love your emphasis on safety. It blows my mind that more people don't value the safety aspect of tools. Safer can mean quicker. At least for me. Something a track saw has over a table saw is the product stays still. If it's a fiber cement product like hardie.... You have way less damage and chance of cracking. Also one man job instead of feeding a sheet through with 2 people. I didn't know track saws had the kickback protection. That sold me. Good video!

As an amateur woodworker of many years, cheap tools end up being more expensive in the long run and I understand the track saw is the preferred tool for cutting sheet goods if you must do so frequently. That said, I would strongly recommend purchase of a quality circular saw as a first investment for a beginning woodworker. Its versatility for applications across a variety of cutting needs makes it a more universal tool than the track saw. There are a large number of jigs that can be made to increase accuracy and reduce setup time such as a sacrificial piece of hardboard attached to the guide with the excess cut off. This allows the saw to both track accurately and provides the same two mark reference speed of set up as the track saw. Except for rare circumstances, setting the blade precisely is not a requirement for cutting sheet goods or wider boards. An eyeball setting of the circular saw so it passes through the stock to be cut is sufficient. As far as splintering, the circular saw can have a plunge cut guide board to minimize splintering. Additionally, the blade shown on the Dewalt circular saw is for rough cuts. A good plywood/melamine blade would also reduce splintering. My point here is a track saw is a wonderful tool for a specific application whereas a circular saw can be equally accurate and almost as speedy through use of jigs while providing greater versatility for the beginning woodworker.

There's actually an adapter you can buy to add a dust port to that circular saw, it fits on both the 60v and 20v cordless versions of the sidewinder. I got it recently and it keep my garage a ton cleaner vs not using it

Thanks for the wonderful comparison I have a DWE575SB circular saw but am in the market for track saw. Always wanted to see the comparison. Love DEWALT tools

Awesome video!! Great teaching about the differences on the types of saws!! 👍👍

I thought this was a great breakdown for those of us just getting into woodworking. Thank you.

Very good comprehensive video. Thanks for making!

Excellent video/demo....well thought out! Very helpful.

Brilliant video. I need to cut plenty of plywood, this video has helped me to decide which is the best tool for the job.. Thanks.

I just bought a Dewalt 54v track saw to build my wooden garage, ended up sheeting the entire thing in about 45 mins with my track saw and framing nailer, it made cutting the osb easy and then I just taped the 1mm joins up and used liquid rubber to finish the roof, entire thing was done in 3 hours.

Great video. I have a Kreg track saw and don't know how I ever lived without one. Keep up the videos

Thanks a lot, really helpful video.

I have them both, I use the track saw for more of a finish cut since it won't chip the edges. The circular saw is my go to for quick cuts. Great video but you forgot to mention the less chipping with the track saw

I’ve got a dewalt table saw and a dewalt circular saw and I’ve just brought a dewalt track saw and I can tell you the table saw will be sold and I don’t think my circular saw will get used much yes the track saw was expensive but in my mind well worth it totally agree with you

The realtime playback kept me on the edge of my seat. Btw. another great feature of the circular saw is that it takes longer to set it up so you spend more time not being around your wife.

I have a very small workshop and budget and I need one tool to cut through long wood planks and sometimes large panels. With a jig on the circular saw you essentially change it into a track saw but without the encumbrance of the track, so you can cut pieces with very small size, ease of effort and especially very quickly. Also you can use the circular saw in reverse position on a table, to double as a bench saw, with limits of course. With the track saw I guess it's more precise and fast to operate without having to create jigs in the beginning, but once you have these, I don't see much of an advantage. Surely it's safer, but circular saw + jig for me doesn't compair with the track saw.

thank you for doing this video, it was very informative I'm actually deciding to just stick with my circular saw for my mobile cutting services instead of track plunge saw . after seeing this video I'm happy I made my upgrades. damn I can't stop buying tools hahaha, get the TSO square jig and you will be way faster in your cuts hoorah

Thank you for the video.

Each tool is good for a specific use. One is not trying to replace the other.

Thanks for the video. Not sure why you did'nt mention the integrated 'Clamp-guides' which can be clamped to the work quickly, come in sizes up to 50", and not expensive. Much more efficient, and safer, than the g cramps you used in the video. A piece of wood cut accurately can be used to gauge the offset between the guide and the cutting line. (though wont work with very thin boards).