Just Assembled Adaptive Cutting System

[Robert P Trower]

I purchased the ACS directly from Kreg 2 weeks ago. This morning I finished the assembly with the exception of installing the measuring tapes. The assembly took me about 4 hours, between reading the manual, watching videos and sipping coffee. I'm sure I could have assembled in less time however I like to take my time and make sure everything is correct.

I found the system to be very well engineered and constructed. All of the parts fit precisely with no problems. The only complaint I have is regarding the brace locks on the legs. The locks were difficult for me to push in when folding the legs, maybe due to my old arthritic hands. By comparison, the locks on the handles used to move the stored table have a black tab you can easily push in to release the lock. It would be nice if Kreg would incorporate those same tabs to the leg locks.

At this point the only cut I've made was the plunge cut through 3/4" MDF into the table bed. The cut on the MDF was extremely smooth and square.

I have a lot of other projects going at present and will likely no use the ACS till this winter. I will add to the post when I have time to actually use the system and I feel it will get a lot of use!

When viewing the pictures, please excuse my cluttered shop. The shop is in my basement and I'm doing some replacements of lights, ceiling fans, etc., and need to take time for a cleanup.

[KregRep]

Thanks so much for sharing! We appreciate your feedback! 

[Adam]

I picked up an ACS at a Kreg roadshow/tent sale over the summer. It went together very well. I was impressed with the attention to detail in the manufacturing and assembly steps. Everything is very well made, right down to the quality of the powder coating. Even the sticker you put on the back is scored with a strip down the middle which allows you to stick it down and then roll it out to either end, ensuring it's straight with no bubbles. (I spent many years in the print industry, so I have a thing for those kind of details!)

I do have two minor quibbles. Like Robert above, I also have a hard time with the leg locks being VERY tight. Maybe they'll work their way out over time. The other minor issue I have is that the glue that holds the chip strip to the bottom of the guide track extended about ⅛" past the track. When I made my first cut to trim the chip strip, it immediately got coated in sawdust and blue plastic shavings. And that glue is very sticky. I'm afraid it will always be kind of a dusty mess. Has no effect on anything but my OCD for cleaning.

Also on the cleaning front, I paired my saw with Rockler's small port vacuum hose kit, and it's a match made in heaven. I'd highly recommend it for anyone with the ACS. Even the blue color matches! :)

I will say that the plastic guides/stops feel flimsy in comparison to the rest of the system. I'm sure they function fine, which is really what matters in the end, but if Kreg were to offer CNC milled aluminum upgrades that were on par with the quality of the four versa-stops, I'd pick those up in a heartbeat. 

Overall, I'm super happy with the ACS. Now that yard & garden season is ending and shop season is starting, I'm looking forward to really putting it through its paces.

[Robert P Trower]

Adam, I agree the Rockler small port vacuum attachment works great with the ACS. In the 5 cuts I've made with the unit, it's virtually dust free!  Like you, with yard and garden season coming to an end I hope to use it much more.

[Deac Manross]

Which Rockler small port product did you buy. There's one for $25 that's just one black adaptor and then a couple others in the $40 range that has two blue adapters in addition to the black one. Product #?? Thanks

Adam said:

I picked up an ACS at a Kreg roadshow/tent sale over the summer. It went together very well. I was impressed with the attention to detail in the manufacturing and assembly steps. Everything is very well made, right down to the quality of the powder coating. Even the sticker you put on the back is scored with a strip down the middle which allows you to stick it down and then roll it out to either end, ensuring it's straight with no bubbles. (I spent many years in the print industry, so I have a thing for those kind of details!)

I do have two minor quibbles. Like Robert above, I also have a hard time with the leg locks being VERY tight. Maybe they'll work their way out over time. The other minor issue I have is that the glue that holds the chip strip to the bottom of the guide track extended about ⅛" past the track. When I made my first cut to trim the chip strip, it immediately got coated in sawdust and blue plastic shavings. And that glue is very sticky. I'm afraid it will always be kind of a dusty mess. Has no effect on anything but my OCD for cleaning.

Also on the cleaning front, I paired my saw with Rockler's small port vacuum hose kit, and it's a match made in heaven. I'd highly recommend it for anyone with the ACS. Even the blue color matches! :)

I will say that the plastic guides/stops feel flimsy in comparison to the rest of the system. I'm sure they function fine, which is really what matters in the end, but if Kreg were to offer CNC milled aluminum upgrades that were on par with the quality of the four versa-stops, I'd pick those up in a heartbeat. 

Overall, I'm super happy with the ACS. Now that yard & garden season is ending and shop season is starting, I'm looking forward to really putting it through its paces.

[Adam]

This is the one I got: 

https://www.rockler.com/dust-right-universal-small-port-hose-kit

Item number 48212. Specifically, it's the 1.5" I.D. blue rubber port that's the right size to connect to the Kreg track saw. The black hose adapter is used to connect the hose to the shop vac. It fit nice and snug into my old Shop-Vac brand vacuum, but I had to add a few layers of electrical tape to snug up the connection to my new Dewalt vac. The hose in the kit is a bit heavy, but it's very flexible.

Deac Manross said:

Which Rockler small port product did you buy. There's one for $25 that's just one black adaptor and then a couple others in the $40 range that has two blue adapters in addition to the black one. Product #?? Thanks

[fh]

Just put mine together over the weekend.

Generally happy, but had a serious problem.

I could not align the the track properly on one side of the table to the tall bench dog. Not enough room in the the cutouts of the table to allow the bracket that holds each side of the track.

Has anyone else had this issue?

[Adam]

Just a guess here, but the hinged brackets that connect the track to the table are bent steel, and they "cup" in the same direction when installed correctly. So the right bracket is flush to the table, but the left bracket isn't. Something like this:

[ ------------ [ 

If instead, you have them like this: ]-------[ or this [-------] I believe it will do wacky things to the track alignment.

[fh]

If so, then they should be labeled outfeed and infed. Nothing of the sort.  I even went online and no mention that either bracket is specific to which side.

Adam said:

Just a guess here, but the hinged brackets that connect the track to the table are bent steel, and they "cup" in the same direction when installed correctly. So the right bracket is flush to the table, but the left bracket isn't. Something like this:

[ ------------ [ 

If instead, you have them like this: ]-------[ or this [-------] I believe it will do wacky things to the track alignment.

[Robert P Trower]

I've used the ACS for 1 year this month and overall I'm very satisfied with it. The one exception is with making crosscuts on longer boards and needing extra support for cutoffs.

To solve this problem, I purchased the Kreg Track Horse and ACS Project Table Extension Brackets. I used 3/4" MDF and my cnc router to cut a top with dog holes to match the Kreg pattern. The first row of dog holes is positioned so when lined up with the ACS dog holes you have a continuous spacing across the ACS Table and the extension table.

[Charlie Conger]

Call Kreg. They sent me a kit with a plastic adaptor that pushes the locking knob into the clip -works great, and is easy to install.

These should be standard.