Makita 194368-5 55" Guide Rail

The Makita guide rail arrived in a well packaged box from UPS without any indications that the guide rail had suffered any damage in transit. Upon opening the Makita box there was a secondary box with various configurations of cardboard padding and foam. The guide rail was absolutely perfect upon a visual inspection. One of my biggest concerns was that several reviews had mentioned that the main guide on their rail was different than this 55" guide rail requiring an adjustment to the saw when switching from one track to the other. This was not the case in my comparison to my 118" Makita guide. Using a straight edge I was delighted to see that all my concerns were for naught. This was as perfect as I could have hoped for.

So far, fantastic.Arrived very well packaged. No bends or kinks. Looks straight.NO SLIP !! on sheet goods!!--even melamine!I only bought one 55" so do not know how well they join together

Well packaged, very useful and accurate

I bought this Makita 55” guide rail to use with my Makita cordless track saw for cuts which are less than 48-inches across. It is a pleasure to use.I already had two PowerTec 55” guide rails, but I mostly use the higher quality Makita guide rail which has a nicer zero-edge strip and slightly grippier bottom strips.I tried joining the Makita guide rail to one of the PowerTec guide rails, but that did not go well and the misfit was unacceptable. The PowerTec aluminum extrusion is slightly different from the Makita, and it causes a bump as the saw passes over. For that reason, I plan to only use the two PowerTec guide rails joined together for 8-foot cuts since they mate together nicely. All 3 guide rails fit inside the PowerTec protective bag along with a guide rail square and rail clamps when not in use.

I initially bought a couple Powertec tracks to accompany my Makita saw to save a penny. The tracks were straight and initially worked fine with clamps so it seemed like I’d made a shrewd purchase. However, after only a couple uses, all the adhesives used to hold the plastic glides and edge guide to the Powertecs started to give and they were peeling off the track. Even after super-gluing them back on, I found the glides still separating and determined it to be from expansion and contraction of the low quality plastic when exposed to the sun.I had a big cabinet project and was tired of fiddling with those tracks, so I decided to plunk down for the Makita name to see if it would hold up better. Not only did it do that, but I was immediately amazed at the level of grip on the pads of the Makita track. I always used clamps with the previous tracks, but the Makita track’s grip inspired enough confidence that I ran most cuts without, making quick work of breaking down the panels. I may have gotten a bit carried away as I did have one cut where I extended and leaned against the track so my cut drifted a bit, but luckily that was into the off-cut and a quick re-alignment was all that was needed. Every other cut was dead-on where I wanted it.

Works well but pricey

I have been woodworking on and off since the 1970s. This track, along with the Makita XSH10Z 18V X2 LXT 36V circular saw have been the two most versatile, safe and accurate helpers ever. Example 1: Resaw a 2x8 at an angle without measuring (adjust the saw to the desired angle, then align the rubber edge of the track flush with the 2x8, and run the saw down the lumber). Example 2: Make a 8-9 ft diagonal cut in a sheet of plywood. While some folks love large table saws and outfeed tables the size of a football field, there is no way to safely and accurately cut dimensions like that on a table saw, and certainly not for the price of two 50 inch track and a cordless saw.I don't even use routers on straight longitudinal cuts. Just this week, I cut a 1/2" x 3/4" notch down the length of a 2x2. The rubber padding on the bottom of the track sticks so well that you are more likely to push the work piece off the saw horses than moving the track saw off the mark.Any cut, just mark the work piece in two places and align the rubber sacrificial edge to the middle of the mark.It helps to let the track protrude over the work piece by about 3-5 inches. That way, the blade guard is fully open by the time the blade is ready to spin up. Also: Makita XSH10Z has a no kickback feature, just in case the blade had already make contact. It will not start unless it can spin up freely. Just don't lift the saw at the end of the cut. Let it stop before liftingDo yourself a favor, be safe and cut dimensions large and small easily.

That's about all you can ask for in a track.