luvmytoolz said:
[member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member] I couldn't emphasise enough just how much the tracksaw when I bought it in the early 80's was like a miracle, completely changed the game, and along with the professional lock fitting kits I had I could trim and hang doors in no time with perfect repeatable results. It practically paid for itself in a few days with just ad-hoc work!
More than one customer was completely amazed seeing this new fangled technology!
The experience is a bit different here in the US. Until very recently, the only track saw in the game was Festool. IIRC, it was DeWalt who was the first alternative? Choice was just not there. In the 80s, my mind would have been blown by such a thing, it just didn't exist.
The company I work for had a TS75(somewhere around 2012?). It was purchased for one specific job, where it was needed on-site, in a situation that there really was no other way. After it was done, the saw was brought back and stored in the tool storage room. It just sat, essentially un-used. I think most people were afraid of it, because of the cost.
In all that time, I think I was the only one to ever use it, in the shop. Those uses were not frequent either.
I really only used it for special cases where I had to cut-down an already finished cabinet. It was great for surgically cutting one apart.
However, it was a TS75, which would never be my first choice. Unless you need that extra depth of cut, they are waay too heavy/clunky. Not a daily driver by any means.
My adoption of the TS55 into my workflow was 100% driven by the shop fire that destroyed every tool I had. We had to move into a temporary facility and this was going to be a huge challenge. Virtually all of the parts, that would have been produced by CNC machines, were going to have to be done "by hand", for at least a few months. Most of that was done with a Laguna slider saw, essentially cabinet parts and such.
For me, the only viable solution was to cut my own....or get stuck in line waiting "my turn".
Since I had been blessed with so much more space, I had the ability to have a cutting station, right next to my assembly bench.
I had an insurance check in my hand, a goal in mind, and a much better understanding of what was really necessary (to get going without the support of CNC cut parts)
I was already in the Festool landscape, so it was just natural to go that way and get a TS55 at that time, along with a bunch of other stuff. It was an immediate hit and changed the way I have worked since.
It was kind of a perfect timing thing, as I simply didn't have space for it in the old place.
[member=61254]mino[/member] Don't be so impressed. That ShopSmith was a 1947 model E-10. They were made by the original owner/inventor, before that company was bought by a bigger entity. The new "parent company" improved the idea and changed the product quite a bit. The very next generation was so different that none of the accessories would work with the earlier units. They fall right in with my general opinion of "things that do too many different jobs, don't do any of them well". In practice, it's horrible, just like we have been saying all along about cheap/inferior tools. The thing it does best is as a drill press, which I already had.
If you put it on a stand that is high enough to use it as a lathe, it will be way too high for converting to a table saw. The table saw portion is the worst part of it. Believe it or not, you have to tilt the table, to make beveled cuts! Whoever thought of that should be hit in the face! Hard! It would be enough to turn anyone away from wood working. Any cheap contractor saw on the market today is far better.
My floor model drill press is also old (1936 Delta) but that doesn't make it bad. The thing is fantastic. It lacks modern things like variable speed, you have to change the belt around, but it is solid and has more quill travel than any other machine I have seen.
The bandsaw is a cheap plastic thing from Craftsman, in the quality range of the typical modern junk.
The corded drill was exactly that, a big ol' keyed chuck drill. In no way was this thing a driver of any kind.
It may "sound" good, but only the drill press actually was. These tools were not encouraging in any way.
Most of these things were handed down in the family. The only one I bought was the bandsaw and that was to make things for my daughter. When she was little, she loved little cutout shapes, flowers, stars, crescent moons, letters (names) etc. It was ok for that, but a scroll saw would have been better. (I didn't know)
If all there was to woodworking was the things I started with, I would never have gone any further.
Michael Paul said:
mino said:
..
Jigsaw:
Well, he compared to the Carvex. For a casual single-jigsaw user, the Trion is better. Cuts straighter, is cheaper. A Trion with a rail can in theory even replace a tracksaw if some is on a very tight budget.
[member=61254]mino[/member], are you saying that you think the Trion cuts truer than the Carvex? I do not have a Trion. Only the Carvex. While I am not much of a jigsaw user it has worked well for me. Though, I am not super impressed with it, even though it is the best I have used over the decades
Yes, it definitely does. The main thing the Carvex has going for it is the weight. The Trion is much heavier, much. It's shocking to pick them both up at the same time.
I have a Carvex (barrel grip) and I do like it, but I never make a "final cut" with a jigsaw (of any kind)
For me, it is simply to get something out of the way. I use one essentially as a small version of a reciprocating saw. (Sawzall) I cut off corners, before routing to shape with a template, cut out sink holes, etc. It's not a precision tool for me. The main reason I have it is the dust extraction.
As far as cut quality, my older Bosch was probably better, but again, not important to how I use it. The dust extraction was non-existent on the Bosch.
