The DeWalt Track Saw Kit: My Honest Take After Two Years

Track saws has gotten complicated with all the competing brands and feature lists flying around. As someone who bought the DeWalt track saw kit with my own money and has been using it regularly for over two years now, I learned everything there is to know about this tool. Today, I will share it all with you.

I’ll cut right to it — this saw replaced my table saw for about 80% of what I do. Not entirely, but for breaking down sheet goods and making long rip cuts, the DeWalt track saw is faster to set up and more accurate than running full sheets through my table saw ever was. That alone made it worth the investment for me.

What a Track Saw Actually Is

Probably should have led with this section, honestly, since not everyone’s familiar with the concept. A track saw is basically a circular saw that rides on an aluminum guide rail. Instead of free-handing your cuts or clamping a straightedge to your workpiece, the saw locks onto the track and follows it precisely. The blade sits right at the edge of the track, so your cut line is exactly where the track edge sits. No measuring offsets, no guessing. You put the track where you want the cut, and the saw follows it perfectly.

I used to break down plywood with a circular saw and a clamped straightedge. It worked, but it was fiddly. The track saw eliminated all of that hassle. Lay down the track, click the saw on, make the cut. Done. Clean edge every time.

Why DeWalt Specifically

I looked at Festool, Makita, and DeWalt when I was shopping. Festool is the gold standard, no question, but it’s also priced like a gold standard. The Makita is excellent but was harder to find in stock at the time. The DeWalt hit the sweet spot for me — professional-grade performance at a price that didn’t require me to have a conversation with my wife about it. The brand’s been reliable for every other tool I own, so I trusted it here too.

What Comes in the Box

The kit arrives with everything you need to start cutting immediately, which I appreciated. No hunting for separate accessories on day one.

• The Saw Itself: Solid, well-balanced, and surprisingly light for how powerful it is. The depth adjustment is easy to reach and the bevel angle locks positively. I’ve had it set to various angles and it holds the setting without creeping. The plunge mechanism is smooth — you press the saw down, the blade engages, and you push it along the track.
• Guide Rail: Mine came with a 59-inch rail, which handles most plywood crosscuts with room to spare. It’s got a non-slip strip on the bottom that grips the workpiece surprisingly well. I still clamp it for critical cuts, but for quick rips in plywood, the friction strip alone keeps it from shifting.
• Saw Blade: The included blade is decent. Not the best blade I’ve ever used, but good enough for general work. It lasted me about six months of regular use before I swapped it for a Freud blade. Clean cuts in plywood, MDF, and softwoods. Hardwoods are fine too, just slower.
• Carrying Case: Actually useful, which is saying something for an included case. It holds the saw, the rail, and a few accessories. I take the whole kit to job sites in this case and everything stays organized and protected.

Setting It Up

Setup is simple. Lay the guide rail on your workpiece with the anti-splinter strip aligned to your cut line. If you’re doing a critical cut, clamp the rail down — I use a couple of quick-release F-clamps. Slide the saw onto the rail — it clicks into the groove and rides smoothly. Set your depth just past the material thickness (I usually go about 1/16″ deeper than the stock), set your bevel if needed, and you’re ready.

The first cut on a new track trims the anti-splinter strip to match your exact blade position. After that, the edge of the strip IS your cut line. No offsets to calculate. I cannot overstate how much time this saves compared to my old straightedge method.

How It Cuts

That’s what makes the DeWalt track saw endearing to us woodworkers who do a lot of sheet goods work — the cuts are clean, straight, and repeatable without any fuss.

I’ve cut plywood, MDF, melamine, hardwood boards, and even some laminate flooring with this saw. Plywood is where it really shines. Edge quality off the track saw is genuinely comparable to what I get from my table saw, sometimes better because there’s no blade vibration from a long fence. Crosscuts on 8-foot sheets that used to be a two-person table saw job are now a one-person track saw job.

The plunge action is smooth and controlled. No jerking, no grabbing. You press down, the blade enters the cut, and you push forward at a steady pace. I feed slower on hardwoods and faster on plywood, and the motor handles both without bogging down.

What I Use It For

Breaking down sheet goods is the primary use. Full sheets of plywood into cabinet parts, shelf panels, drawer bottoms — this is the tool’s bread and butter. But I also use it for trimming solid wood panels, cutting miters on long boards (with the bevel set), and even making scarf joints in trim work.

One thing that surprised me was how handy it is for on-site work. I did a built-in bookcase project at a client’s house, and I cut every piece in their garage with the track saw on a couple of sawhorses. No table saw, no panel saw. Just the track saw and a measuring tape. The whole job went smoother than if I’d tried to haul sheet goods back to my shop and pre-cut everything.

Keeping It Running

Maintenance is minimal, which I like. After each session, I blow out the sawdust with compressed air and wipe down the track. Sawdust in the track groove will eventually affect how smoothly the saw rides, so keep it clean. I check the blade every few uses and swap it when the cuts start tearing out on the bottom face of plywood. A sharp blade is everything with a track saw — don’t try to squeeze extra life out of a dull one.

The motor has been bulletproof for me. No issues after two years of regular use. I lube the track groove occasionally with a dry silicone spray, which keeps things gliding nicely. The anti-splinter strip will eventually get chewed up and need replacing — DeWalt sells replacements, and it’s a five-minute swap.

Accessories Worth Getting

Extra guide rails are the first accessory I’d recommend. A second rail lets you do longer cuts, and the rails connect end-to-end for full 8-foot rips. I bought a second 59-inch rail within the first month. Specialized blades make a big difference too — I run a 48-tooth Freud blade for general work and keep the finer 60-tooth blade for melamine and veneered plywood where tearout is unacceptable.

A dust collection hose is practically mandatory. The saw has a dust port, and when connected to a shop vac, it captures probably 90% of the dust. Without it, you’re wearing the sawdust. My shop stays noticeably cleaner on track saw days versus table saw days.

DeWalt vs. Festool vs. Makita

The Festool is better. I’ll admit that up front. The dust extraction is superior, the system integration is more refined, and the build quality is a step above. But it’s also nearly twice the price. For someone doing high-end cabinet work every day, Festool might justify itself. For the rest of us, DeWalt delivers 90% of the performance at 60% of the price.

Makita’s track saw is also excellent and priced similarly to DeWalt. It comes down to which battery platform you’re already invested in and personal ergonomic preference. I’m a DeWalt guy, so it was an easy choice for me.

Is It Worth the Money

For anyone who regularly works with sheet goods, absolutely yes. The time saved on setup alone pays for itself within a few projects. The cut quality is excellent, the portability opens up on-site possibilities, and the tool has been dead reliable for me. If you only cut plywood twice a year, maybe a straightedge and circular saw is enough. But if you’re building cabinets, shelving, furniture, or anything that involves regular sheet goods work, the DeWalt track saw kit is one of the best tool investments I’ve made.

Safety Notes

Track saws are inherently safer than table saws because the blade is enclosed. You can’t accidentally contact it from above or from the sides. That said, don’t get complacent. Wear safety glasses — always. Ear protection too, because this thing is not quiet. Secure your workpiece so it doesn’t shift. And keep your hands away from the front of the saw where the blade exits. Common sense stuff, but it’s worth saying. I’ve gotten more careless with shop safety the longer I’ve been doing this, and that’s exactly when accidents happen.