Get on track! Making a 3D printed track saw adapter
Workshop 88 had a Makita track saw rail without a saw to go with it so I thought I’d try designing a 3D printed sled for the saw. Workshop 88 has a few circular saws so I was looking for a way to make a “universal” sled. Luckily, I found that a surplus steel bar originally for hanging file folders was a good fit for the tool mount slot at the front of the saws. I learned a couple of interesting things in the process, like somehow the Ryobi battery operated saw magically had a base that perfectly fit against the side guide in the rail, so it could be used directly without an adapter. The other thing I learned from Jim is that circular saws can be either left-handed or right-handed. The corded Menards Tool Shop circular saw is right handed and the battery operated Ryobi is left handed. I sketched the profile of the track in FreeCAD and iterated 3D printing profiles that fit snugly but moved freely with the slot, then modeled the slot holes and bosses needed to securely install the steel mounting bar using M3 socket head cap screws.
