How To Build A Track Saw _ Limited Tools Episode 001

Hey what's up guys it's Glenn with DIY Creators and today is our first official episode of Limited Tools. This build may not be for an absolute beginner but no worries I will have a track saw coming for you that you do not need a router to build. Place the circular saw to the edge of the plywood then mark on the inside where the plate stops. Next carry out the same measurement all the way down the plywood to the opposite end. Now I'm using this aluminum piece of tubing as a straight edge to make sure that the marks that I made is identical all the way down then I carried out the mark all the way through. Now measure from the outermost of the bit to the edge of the guide. With the 5 8 bits I'm using that gave me an inch and 3 8 so that's where I need to put my aluminum tubing. Now since the distance is so long I'm going to put a brace in the middle to prevent the tubing from flexing. With the bit dropped at about an eighth of an inch lowered I did my first pass through. Now I stopped about two or three times to clear the router shavings from the track. Now I passed through a few times lowering the track about a sixteenth of an inch each time. And for the final cut I'm going to take the bit just a hair past the track rails. Now the track saw has two tracks in it and that's for stability and accuracy. Just find a second place to install the second track and be sure that you clear anything that's above. Now just like the first line I drew out this line will be for the second track and this will be the outer edge to the second track. Now take the metal tubing and draw that reference line all the way through. Now just remember guys this is a very slow process this is not moving fast take your time so you can get it right. Just take multiple paths through until you get it down to that right depth. The rail should move freely within the tracks and if there's any tension on one of them just take some sandpaper and sand it out. The finishing wax would also help with the friction. Now you can find aluminum flat bars in your neighborhood at your local hardware store preferably I would say something like an eighth of an inch thick plus. I'm using some aluminum bars that came from an audio video rack that my company was throwing away so I just took them home and I find use for them. To attach this to the base of the saw I'm going to tap the holes and screw them on. The head of the screw needs to be flush and to do that you need a countersink bit so that you can get the head to sit flush within the track. And the screw of choice is a three quarter eight thirty second screw. So this part is pretty crucial you want to make sure you get your track right because if you don't you're going to have some tension with the slide. So one tip I can throw you is maybe mount this to a scrap piece of wood and make sure it then transfer that over to your saw. So the nice part about tapping both pieces is that when you remove the bars the screws stay into the track so you don't have to worry about losing the screws and having to find new ones. Now prevent yourself from fighting like I was with this piece of wood. I would say stop the saw in the middle somewhere as you're cutting and then put some support on the back. Now I don't see any real reason for leaving this piece of bar on there so I cut it off so I don't accidentally get hurt. And I will also recommend you take a file and just saw off the corners so you won't have any sharp edges. I attached this piece of wood to the back side of the track with hopes that this would help me align the track faster while I clamp the other end. At this point the track's pretty much done. I'm just going to sand it down and knock off the corners. I'm not going to suggest you do this. It's pretty much useless. I had it and for some reason I remembered I had it and I just wanted to experiment with it. I'm pretty sure it's not going to hold up over time. But for today I can say it does look cool. And I forgot to lock the on my cart so I'm going to run it through again in real time. Again guys thanks for watching this video. Hope you guys find this one useful and something you can incorporate in your workshop. Once again this is Limited Tools episode 1 and I will catch you guys on the next one. But before you go make sure you hit that like subscribe button if you're not subscribed already. There is more to come. Peace.