Scheppach Track saw: Used for the first time - want feedback from other users

[wghatcher]

I used my track saw purchased from Woot for the first time today. I was very happy with the dust collection and rip cuts in plywood were very clean. Crosscuts were an issue. There was a previous thread that touched on replacement blades that has been closed. I am curious to see if other users have found an alternative blade that improves the cut. I would prefer a combination blade that cuts clean for rips and crosscuts, but if I need to go the two blade route, I can work with that.

Thanks for any feedback,

Greg

 

[tryingtokeepmyfingers]

it might help to show your setup or show photos of the issues or difference in cuts

 

[wghatcher]

I have put everything away, but will try to describe my setup and show some examples. My base was a sheet of ply between two saw horses. A sheet of 1/2 foam insulation was between the work piece and my "Bench".

 

[wghatcher]

Here is a sample picture of the face up side of the crosscut:

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Looks pretty rough. Here is the face down side which looks better.

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And here is the rip cut which looks fine to me:

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[tryingtokeepmyfingers]

you setup sould like what I do except I span under the plywood with two x fours to keep everything as flat as I can

hopefully other will chime in with better advice


to me whem usimg my dewalt tracksaw a few thing have mattered

1. quality or the plywood....
2. feed speed....

to maybe temp solve you problem you could first score the topside about 1/8" and then make a second pass to finish the cut.... if you had visible edges that you had to have perfect... the tearout does not look any worse then I have had with curvy warp board from one of the BORGS.... exapmple was so Chilean stuff from the depot that was flat until you cut it and it had lots of tension in it and would not lay flat after splitting it down the middle.... some other mult-ply chinese stuff lowes had I had great cut and flat panels... when cutting I do find myself trying to put the cut faster then the saw wants and I keep havimg to tell myself to slow down and surprisingly I end up with better cuts.... also with the wavyboard I was glad to have the splitter on the tracksaw cause I could feel it working halfway into a sheet

 

[Joe Scharle]

Some plywood is subject to bad chipout as no doubt you're aware, but what does it look like with the blade just barely clearing the kerf?

 

[wghatcher]

I will be traveling this week, so it may be a week or so before I set things back up. I thought about scoring the board, maybe I will try that next. I did try putting a layer of tape across the board and that did not help. With my old saw, that would help - but that was with a combo blade.

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Joe: I was trying to setup with the blade having just the recommended clearance, and the face down side looks fine. It is the face up (when cutting) side that looks bad. I thought the depth of cut would impact the face down side. Am I not understanding correctly. Have you had better experience with cross cuts?

Thanks for the feedback

 

[Joe Scharle]

Yeah, I cut up a sheet of 1/4" sandeply and it looked just like what have and then immediately cut up half a sheet of 3/4" BORG oak that had just a trace of topside frizz. There's quite a few folks praising the Olshun blades; and of course Festool blades. And a number are fabricating a small foot attached to the blade guard. Since I've finished my current tracksaw project, I'm lurking on various sites to see what shakes out.

 

[Joe Scharle]

BTW, I put up a thread on changing blades and of course I had to take it a step further!

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SLICK.................

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Expedient.............

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[wghatcher]

Joe: Yes, I saw your posts on changing the blades. Glad you posted, it may have taken me awhile to figure something out.

 

[Skymaster]

even tho a new saw, check the blade to the shoe for square, also get a Freud 60 tooth blade they cut fantastic. Also a big + on cut speed, it still is just a circular saw with a straight edge

 

[Tarhead]

Not sure if this will help but the Tenyru Plunge Saw blades http://www.tenryu.com/ps.html work great for me on my Festool TS-55. When I got them I mainly needed a new rip blade but also bought a backup 48 tooth multipurpose blade. The Festool blades have not been on the saw since. It is very important for all of your blades to have the same kerf. Otherwise your guide edge will not register with your intended cut.

As far as the rough cuts on the top side of your cuts...
Keep your waste offcut to the right of the saw guide or create a version of the Festool Splinter Guard.
It creates a "Zero Clearance" slot between the wood and the teeth as they cut through the surface and gives you clean edges on both sides of the cut.

 

[wghatcher]

Just a quick follow up. Finally got back to this project and I did pick up the Olshun crosscut blade. I would say that my crosscuts were 90-95% cleaner. the face down side was great and the face up side had some slight marks, but nothing like you see in the pictures.

 

[kooshball]

Just a quick follow up. Finally got back to this project and I did pick up the Olshun crosscut blade. I would say that my crosscuts were 90-95% cleaner. the face down side was great and the face up side had some slight marks, but nothing like you see in the pictures.

I have yet to try my Oshlun blade on this saw but I have used it on a Festool track saw with excellent results.

 

[kooshball]

I have yet to try my Oshlun blade on this saw but I have used it on a Festool track saw with excellent results.

I finally made a test cut with the Oshlun blade on my scheppach saw and it was night and day better; hard to believe that it was the same saw and you can't beat the price.

 

[Joe Scharle]

OK David, share with us: what's the PN of the blade?

 

[kooshball]

OK David, share with us: what's the PN of the blade?

Sorry about that...

Oshlun SBFT-160048 160mm 48 Tooth FesPro Crosscut ATB Saw Blade with 20mm Arbor for Festool TS 55 EQ, DeWalt DWS520, and Makita SP6000K

http://www.amazon.com/Oshlun-SBFT-1...8&qid=1375532714&sr=8-1&keywords=Oshlun+160mm

they also have a 28 tooth option as well.

 

[wghatcher]

That is the same blade that I used that greatly improved my crosscuts. I have not tried for rips, but assume that I can switch back to the stock blade which worked well for rips.

 

[Joe Scharle]

Just ordered one for 19.44 + 4.95 shipping. Thanks for the review and info, David.

 

[batk30msu]

Along with a blade upgrade, do any of you feel it would be worht changing out the zero clearance strip? The one on my scheppach seems less substantial than the festool or dewault replacements that you can get for about 15 to 20 bucks.