Downside of track saws

My (Makita) track doesn't usually need clamping because of the rubber pads, but special clamps are available (they fit into the holes in the track extrusion) that don't interfere with the saw. It sounds as if you need to re-think your clamping.

Don't clamp the track to anything other than the work piece. Set the blade only just deep enough to make the cut. Just laying it on the pallets is fine, but watch out for nails if your blade can't cut them (and watch out for little bits of shrapnel if it does).

Are you using track clamps?

These do not protrude above the track at all, and allow the saw to pass on and off the track at the ends.

e.g. one of many:

Also worth noting that in many cases the track will stay put without clamps anyway - they have friction pads on the base.

I would do the long cut first. Then support the cut strip so it wont apply leverage to the cut intersection.

Place a square on the timber, and align a short section of track against it. Make your second cut. Keep in mind that if you are attempting to preserve the remainder and not the piece cut out, you will need to take care to stop your cut right at the corner. This will leave a very small section of wood left in the corner that the blade does not reach due to being circular. (You would have to overcut at the top to cut the full depth to the line). Hence the support for the cut bit so you can finish that last few mm with a hand saw.

Because I am using pallets as a bench, I have to set my clamps upside down.

Another problem is that I only have 1400mm of track and am about to make a 5mm rout along a 2400mm board. It should be a simple, except I just tried a 20mm cut into what I thought was an 18mm board.

It turned out to be 20mm but the cut didn't even go as far as about

i) Don't you have to add the height of the track to the setting? Perhaps another 5mm+

ii) What wrong with setting the depth by eye? Take the track to the edge of the board to be cut (slightly overhang the edge). Plunge the saw down outside of the edge of the board and see where the bottom of the blade will cut - adjust the depth stop accordingly.

With pallets as your workbench just make sure when you cut, say 5mm, deeper than the workpiece that the blade doesn't hit a nail in the pallet.

Even my cheapo Lidl / Parkside tracksaw has two marks on the depth gauge; one for use on the track and one for use directly on the workpiece.