Some woodworking equipment is compact and efficient: drill/drivers, chisels, tape measures, jobsite table saws, etc. They distill usefulness and functionality down to a small package. And some tools are - by their nature - bulky and/or awkward. Ladders need to be transported on special racks on top of the truck. 96" levels are great, but need to be stored in a PVC tube with padding and end caps. Benchtop mortisers are perfect for the task, but you use it about once every 6 months…

But my focus today is on track saw guides. They are an interesting combination of useful, and awkward. 

At a bare minimum, it's good to have two. You can use one guide to crosscut a 4-foot sheet of plywood.

And you can combine them together to rip the full 8-foot length.

If you regularly make full-sheet plywood cuts, it's probably wise to invest in the big guide rail at 106" or 2700mm. So now you probably have (at least) three, of varying sizes.

Track saw guides have rigidity and their stability makes for a consistent, straight cut. But the zero-clearance edge needs to be treated nicely. Keeping the edge in good condition makes it easy to line up the guide precisely against a cut line. And, when the zero clearance material is flush against the blade, it makes a quality cut on expensive material with a minimum of tearout. So it's good to treat them a little nicer than just tossing them into the truck bed to fend for themselves. 

Padded bags for carrying and storing track saw guides are certainly available. 

And there are also a number of rack/clips for storing your tracks flush against the garage ceiling, along the workshop wall, or against the garage door. 

I was able to acquire a DeWalt track saw and the short set of guides through a Craigslist transaction. And I was also lucky enough to find the 102" rail in a way that minimized the shipping cost. So I ended up with a complete track saw ecosystem at a fraction of the cost of the gold standard (Festool) or competitive alternates (Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee).

The specific design and usage of the DeWalt track system has been well documented. Because it has two edges with zero-clearance cutting strips, it can be configured for 90-degree cuts and 45-degree beveled cuts with the same track. But it also limits the connection of accessories. 

Other brands of track saw guides have a guide rail connection that enables the usage of parallel guide systems, 90-degree squares, or length stop fences.

So, when I am using, storing, and transporting my DeWalt track saw guides; I have the usual concerns of any track saw owner. I want to keep them from getting banged around. I want to protect the zero-clearance cutting strip. I want to keep them flat, so they don't get bowed from leaning against the wall for long periods of time.

But I also have an extra concern: I want to protect both of the dual-edges and the zero-clearance strips. The usual storage technique for most track saw guides (Festool, Makita, Bosch) is to rest them vertically on the accessory guide rail and to have the zero clearance strip edge in the air, protected from pressure and impact. 

With my DeWalt tracks, I can't do that. The structure that is most available for 'supporting' the DeWalt guides is the 'spine' in the center of the track. So I thought about storage and protection that held the tracks via the 'spine' and not the edges.

When I started with two short guides, I made a storage box that contained both guides at once. In my research, I came across some strategy options from Dan Pattison, Parameter Workshop, and TG Woodworking, and went with a simple box. 

I made it as lightweight as I could, with a thin 1/8" outer skin. And I added some inner retention strips to grab the track saw guide 'spine' and hold it centered in the box. 

This would protect the dual edges of the zero-clearance strip. The box can be tossed into the back of the truck, and worked well for both storing and transporting my two guides.

After I acquired the long 102" guide, the storage box wasn't going to cut it anymore. Long track saw guides can be stored on the wall with the various clips or racks available, and so I started to think of a portable mounting board that just used these racks. When the guides returned to the garage, I could either put the track guides back onto a wall rack, or just hook the mounting board directly to the wall or the ceiling. Storage and safe transport in one unit.

I found lots of storage racks, but none of them would work with the DeWalt guides. So, I started to think about making my own retention system.

Design version number 1 was kind of like my current storage box, but with a long brace/girder/handle that everything could be attached to. Piano hinges would allow the boxes to open outward, and one of the boxes would have slightly open ends - to allow the 102" guide to extend out. (The dimensions would be big enough to fully contain the 46" and 59" guides, but not the 102".)

The problem with this design is that I was staying with 1/8" or 1/4" plywood for the major skin and sides - to keep it lightweight. It's easy to attach a piano hinge to 3/4" plywood or hardwood, but difficult to attach it to 1/8" ply. So attaching a piano hinge to a long length of 1/8" ply would require very small bolts and nuts, or the shortest screws available.

So when I saw some pictures of this cool, stow-able desk, I was especially intrigued by the hinge situation. 

I could stay with the box construction and simply give the caddy frame some external ends to place a pivot point.

I built the boxes and started on the handle/core piece, and they all floated around the garage for a few months. After moving the boxes out of the way for the sixth time, I started to realize how heavy they were. Making individual boxes to carry each individual guide was overkill.

Plus, I was thinking that I don't need something to completely contain the track saw guides on all sides - I just need the bare minimum to 1) carry them in a supported fashion to minimize flexing 2)  protect the edges and the zero-clearance strips, and 3) definitely carry the 46" and 59" guides, and sometimes carry the 102" guide.

So I went back to the handle/core piece, and thought about the least material that could do the above. And I went for version 3.

The shorter guides are held/supported by the spine of the track, and retained by some simple rotating toggles. The zero clearance edges never touch the carrier, and receive as much protection as is possible.

The 59" track is held by the full length of the handle/core piece. 

The 46" track is held in a similar fashion but the shorter track leaves some room on the end for retainers that hold the 102" guide just proud of the 46" guide. 

The 102" track sticks out further, but the carrier is multi-functional for all tracks while still doing the main job of holding the common (shorter) tracks. 

Giving the ends some simple feet allows the whole assembly to stand on the ground, further protecting the zero-clearance edges.

And relieving the material with some cutouts will make the system lighter, give it a carrying handle, and provide some hook openings for storage on the wall or ceiling.

This design can be easily modified to work with non-DeWalt track saw guides with a single cutting edge and an accessory rail. The DeWalt carrier has the strips down the middle to hold the track by the spine and to protect the zero-clearance edges. 

Because the Festool/Makita/Milwaukee track guides can be placed with the guide rails down and the zero clearance strip up, we don't need the 'spine' retention systems. The frame of the Caddy can get some major cutouts for more weight savings and the retention latch system can be made simpler.

Because I started with the 46", 59", and 102" DeWalt tracks, I was able to design the Caddy so that the 46" guide is stored underneath the support and retainers for the 102" track.

Based on a loose survey of fellow woodworkers with Festool track saws, I found that most woodworkers own two 1400mm track guides, with some owning the 2700mm as well. The Festool/Makita/Milwaukee design can hold two 1400mm (or smaller) tracks as well as two 1900mm (or larger) tracks.

It took a little while to get finished, but I've been using it for months now and really like the safety for my Dewalt tracks. 

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