Bosch GKT 55 GCE Track Saw - Review

In the past you had to rely upon expensive panel saws, CNC equipment or table saws to make straight splinter free cuts. When Festool created their first track saw more than a decade ago they set the benchmark. You no longer have to struggle with 8 x 4 sheets of material getting them onto the table saw. I've been looking for a track saw for a while to prevent injuring my back and the toss up was indeed the Festool range, the Dewalt, the Makita or the Bosch. It had to be in the professional spec as I want it to last.

I had a look at the first three and the Festool TS55 was very impressive. However when I compared it to the Bosch GKT 55 GCE I felt the Bosch had the edge on the original.

So I took the plunge, so to speak, and raided the piggy bank to buy the Bosch.

What's In The Box?

The particular deal I went for was for the saw, an L-Boxx storage case, two plate tracks, joining plate, track clamps and plate carrying case.

The delivery came in two packages, a large cardboard box containing the Saw and accessories, the other a long thin package containing the tracks in their carrying case.

Bronze age saws

Well before Lie Nielsen, Bad Axe Tools Works, Disston saws, any of the Sheffield saw makers and indeed long before iron had been discovered any idea how our ancestors cut wood? They used Bronze.
I was recently in Crete and visited a museum in Heraklion and stumbled across this exhibit containing bronze age wood working tools.
The saws I guess were around 5 to 6 feet in length and looked around 1/4" thick. The ends had holes bored probably for wooden handles and the saws were intended for 2 man use. The tooth profile appeared to be cross cut without any fleam. Indeed the label with the exhibit also said it was a crosscut saw.
How the profile was cut was anybodies guess as iron hadn't been discovered at that stage.

There were a number of saws all in remarkable condition considering their age which was from around 1700BC - around 3700 years old.

I wonder how many Disston saws will be around in another 3600 years time.

3 bronze saws

Essential advice for your visit to the timber yard

Here are a few tips if you find yourself at the timber yard or lumber yard choosing your wood

1. It's difficult to see the grain on sawn timber so take a block plane or scrub plane to check the true colour before buying. Good yards will let you plane a small section.
2. Always try to hand pick your own timber. Try not to leave it to the yard staff.
3. Take a moisture meter. When buying hardwoods always use a moisture meter to work out the moisture content of boards. Moisture of kiln dried boards for furniture making should be about 8% to 10%.
4. Examine the boards for knots, shakes, splitting and other defects. A cut list can help you to work around these if necessary. Try negotiating a discount for substantially disfigured boards though.
5. If using a car make sure your roof rack is strong enough. Remember most saloon cars are only rated for 100KG maximum on a roof rack. Also check you have enough ropes or straps to tie the boards on.
6. Check the wood has been stored well at the yard. Sometimes poor stacking, insufficient cover and bad handling can cause all sorts of problems.
7. A badly bowed board might not be a problem if the pieces you want from it are very short. If you need longer sections discard the board.
8. Always check the full thickness of sawn boards. A 1" thick board should always measure at least this throughout its length.
9. Examine species that are often cut from small trees such as American cherry or walnut, to make sure that not too much unusable sap wood is included.
10. Don't go to the yard on a wet day unless you have covered transport. By the time you arrive back at your shop everything will require drying out again.

Filters changed - Record Power AC400

The Record Power AC400 air cleaner needed a new set of filters having not been replaced since being purchased back in Sept 2012 (nearly 4 years ago!). To be fair I did actually vacuum the external filters from time to time. I bought the replacements from Yandle and Sons:-

• Record Power Replacement Outer Paper Filter for AC400 Air Cleaner (RPOSAC400-27) £9.99
• Record Power Replacement Inner Filter for AC400 Air Cleaner (RPOSAC400-26) £15.59

Shipping had to be added on.

The method of replacement was simple. Two spring clips hold the external filter in place. The internal filter bag assembly is a snug fit within the casing. I took them out and vacuumed inside. There was a little dust that had got through.

I replaced the internal filter and sealed around the perimeter with duct tape. Then I inserted the external filter and sealed the perimeter of that with duct tape too.

The filter was then hung back into position by its chains and all was OK. The fresh air flow was increased and clean air was then back in the shop.