Pissed off about that $80 track saw guide rail I bought last month

I spent $80 on a third-party track saw guide rail for my Makita because it was half the price of the brand name. First cut on a sheet of plywood near Pittsburgh and it slipped, ripped up the edge, and now I'm out the material and the rail. Anyone else get burned by off-brand accessories that just don't stay put?

3 comments

3 Comments

michaeld481mo ago

Are you really that surprised a third-party rail didn't hold up... it's usually a gamble with the cheap stuff. For $80 you could have almost bought the real Makita rail on sale, seems like the savings weren't worth the headache. Just seems like one of those lessons you gotta learn the hard way.

henryp401mo ago

Man I just saw a video on YouTube about this exact thing lol. Some guy tested like 6 different cheap rails and every single one had issues with the track wiggling or the saw not cutting straight. He ended up saying the same thing that you just did. It's wild how much time we waste trying to save a few bucks when the real deal would have paid for itself in a week or two. Live and learn I guess but man it stings every time.

taylor.reese1mo ago

Bought a cheap router bit set once and the thing exploded on my first test cut, sent chunks of wood flying everywhere. Guess my wallet likes learning things the hard way more than my projects do. At this rate, I should just tape my cash directly to the tool and skip the middleman.