Super Simple Track Saw

Hey, what's up everybody? I'm Tommy, and today I'm going to show you how I made this super simple saw track in less than 30 minutes. Whether it's your first time here, or even if you've been here before, welcome to One Minute Workbench. So this track captures your saw on both sides and allows you to align the track with your mark via these sight holes. I had wanted to make a track saw for some time, but I hadn't seen a design that would prevent your saw from moving in both directions and still be really simple. I had seen simple designs that would prevent your saw from moving one direction, but it would still allow the blade to get off track in the other direction. And I had seen other designs that would stop your blade from moving either direction, but they were more complex builds, and they required pieces to be attached to your circular saw, and they reduced the depth of cut of your saw pretty dramatically. So I finally came up with this design that, again, it stops your saw from moving either direction so you get perfect cuts, but it's still a very simple build, and it allows for a much greater depth of cut with your circular saw. I happened to have a scrap piece of 3 quarter inch plywood that would be long enough to make a track capable of making cuts that are just over 4 feet in length, which is exactly what I needed. I cut a couple of 2 inch strips that would act as the guides for the saw. I aligned the first guide with the edge of the track's base, and then attached it with glue, pins, and screws. I was originally just going to clamp it, but I decided to use screws because I didn't want to have to wait for it to dry. I made sure to drill pilot holes and countersinks to keep the wood from splitting, and to make sure the heads of the screws would be recessed below the surface. The circular saw's blade was preventing the saw from sitting flat, so I removed the blade. After that, I added glue to the second guide and loosely set it in place. I folded a piece of paper in half and used it as a shim to create just a slight bit of clearance between the saw's base and the track's first guide. I then snugged up the second guide to the base of the circular saw, and fired a couple of pins to hold it in place. I then repeated that process for every section of the track. This will ensure that the saw always has just enough room to keep it from binding, but not enough to be sloppy. When testing, the saw had a very nice sliding action. I then added screws to the second guide to finish attaching it to the track. Based on the blade's distance from the end of the base, I cut a couple small pieces that would work as stop blocks. I also trimmed a bit of excess from the track. I secured the stop blocks in place in the normal fashion with glue, pins, and screws. I clamped the track so that I could cut the slot for the blade. I was a bit too eager here, though. I should have waited until I drilled the sight holes before I cut this slot, and you'll see why in just a bit here. Because the slot was already cut, there was no way I could get a drill bit started in the center of that slot, so I temporarily pinned these blocks in place so I could have something to let me get the drill bit started. That said, if you make one of these, make sure you drill the holes before you cut the slot. And when drilling this series of holes, be sure to use a large drill bit, at least one inch in diameter or more. After that, I removed the temporary blocks and decided it was time to give the track saw its first test. To make a cut, you just need to strike a line where you want your cut to go, and then align the slot with your mark. The large holes make it easy to see inside, and create your alignment. Make sure to remember blade thickness, and know which side of the line you need to cut. You just need to have enough holes in your track so that you'll be able to align two of them with your mark. Once you have two of them aligned, clamp your track in place, and make your cut. My workbench has a place that's perfect for making these cuts between my table saw and the workbench top. If you don't have a space like this, just make sure you support the material on both sides so that your blade isn't cutting into whatever is below it, like I've done here with some scrap pieces of plywood. Hey thanks for watching, I really hope you liked this video. If you haven't already, be sure to like and subscribe, and make sure you hit the bell icon, that way you get notified every time there's a new episode. I'd love to hear what you think about this track saw in the comment section below, and if you have any quick questions you want answered, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. And until the next time I see you, I hope you have fun building something.