Track Saw track positioning jigs

[JimD]

I made these for my DeWalt track saw but you could easily use with a Festool or other brands.  The concept is the jig has a dado that fits snugly over the rib in the track that the saw rides on and has a movable stop with hairline cursor.  The primary material is plywood but I have a little solid wood, a t-bolt, a few screws, etc.  in them.  Cost is very low.  One version measures away from the track and accounts for the blade thickness.  So you can cut a piece off out in front of the track of the desired dimension.  The other jig is for cutting a piece the track sits on top of. 

If you want to use these for other track saws, you would not need to modify the jig for cuts in front of the track but you would need to add a second dado to the jig where the workpiece is under the track.  So the same idea will work fo all track saws. 

 

[teststips]

Bravo!  I also have the dewalt saw/track and haven't been able to come up with a good solution - this gives me some ideas.  One thing I don't get is your measurement alignment system - In some of the pics it looks like you have it set for ~2 inches, but in the close up of the oval cutout for measurements I can't see what you align with.  Curious why you didn't just use the edge of your stop for positioning.

 

[JimD]

I use the hairline pointer for several reasons.  One is I built the parallel guides I saw on the Sawmill Creek website first and they use a hairline pointer like this.  But I also like the fact that I can adjust the pointer a little if I use a blade that is thicker or thinner.  I don't have to stick the tape down perfectly either.  But you could save some trouble by just using the edge of the stop.