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tender foot

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Hello to everyone.
I am thinking about getting some new power tools, at the moment i only have a dewalt sliding mitre saw (dw712) and a trend T5 router. The problem is i dont have a lot of space or a massive budget, so i was thinking rather than get a tablesw i would get a good quality circular saw, and either a guide or the triton workcentre.

Any advice on what circular saw, guide, triton work centre would be much appreicated.

I would be using it for cutting down timber and sheet materials. Budget wise i was thinking about £250 - £300. Although if i have to spend more, well that is how the cookie crumbles. Thanks in advance

All the best

tender foot :D
 
Well I use the EZ guide system which is very good, although not to everyone's preference as you have to get from America. Very flexible system for both saw and router and with various options can cost as little or as much as you like

On the subjec of saws I can't give any advice but I'll be reading with interest as I quite fancy an upgrade from my Skil...especially since I dropped it on my(concrete) floor :oops:
 
Tender foot,

For those with limited space, Festool makes a great system of tools including circular saws, guide rails, portable work benches (MFTs), portable dust collectors, and a whole range of other tools that intergrate well.

IMO, they have only one downside - cost. They are pricey. Being from the left side of the pond, our dollar value is sinking so they are quite expensive for us.

My take on cost is that it's an investment. Over the years, I bought cheap tools to get by. Many broke or didn't work well. Now I don't have the time or patience to mess with them. Festool has worked well for me.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dan.
 
A second vote for the EZ system here. Ok, buying from the US is a pain in the whatsits what with import duty and having to deal with ParcelFarce etc, but you can get pretty much the whole system and then the circular saw of your choice for less than the cost of just the Festool saw - if you're on a budget it makes a lot of sense.

V.
 
The cheapest option is to get a reasonable circular saw like a Makita 5704and make your own sawboard. I use this setup to reduce sheet material to managable sizes. I also made a cutting grid out of 2x4s that support the sheet right through the cut (some recommend using foam board on the workshop floor as support). I also have a Triton Workcentre and while it is not particularly cheap, I have found it to be easy to set up and use and very accurate. In table saw mode it will rip to 620 mm width and a depth of over 60 mm with the Triton 235 mm saw installed. In crosscut mode it will do most of what a sliding compound mitre saw will with a crosscut capacity of about 400 mm.
 
Hi Tender Foot

I would also vote for the EZ system as I have been using it for helping to lay an oak floor ( well patch an old one ) and it made things a lot easier.

The more I use it I dont regret buy it at all :)
 
one or other of the mafell saws with tracks are also worth looking at.

not quite as expensive as festo, but decent german quality, and depth up to 50mm approx. one also has a decent right angle cutting attachment with it.

paul :wink:
 
Cheers to everyone for their replys, it seems the EZ is the most recomended. But i will check all the different options people have suggested.

Has anyone got any suggestions about a good circular saw, i agree with George_N that the Makita 5704 is a decent saw but it is nice to have a few options about what saw would be best.

All the best

tender foot :D
 
Hi Tender Foot

How much to you want to spend as you can go for some like theRyobi saw, Makita or Hilti, Festool or Mafell but I dont think you could go far wrong with the Makita

:)
 
All the saws seem to be around the £100 mark apart from the hitachi.

With table saws there seems to be a price where its not worth buying....is £100 sufficient to get an accurate circular saw?
 
Matt_S":19cdlrs8 said:
All the saws seem to be around the £100 mark apart from the hitachi.

With table saws there seems to be a price where its not worth buying....is £100 sufficient to get an accurate circular saw?

Yes it is :)

Also I would add the Rage saw, you dont get as much depth of cut ( only 55mm where as most saw are 64-66mm ) but for DX it is very good and that is without the hovver connected to it :)
 
Sorry to hijack this thread a bit, but I have noticed 3 things with the EZ system, and was wondering if I was alone in this?

Firstly - the fence square doesn't sit square - there is play down the channels, and so you need to have a square to align it each time (though once set I can see that it wouldn't move).

Secondly - something isn't square on the cut. Either the blade on the saw is not 90 or the guide is not sitting flat (or, of course, I just can't use the damn thing!) but the edges were not square.

Thirdly - joining two rails does not give you a straight edge - I had to fiddle to get rid of the 'kink'.

Not properly investigated all the reasons why yet, as I have not had time since the initial play with it.

Otherwise - I had no problems with ordering or delivery, and the exchange rate helps! Didn't get caught for VAT either, but that's luck of the draw! :)

David.
 
Dave876,

Not sure what you are doing then. The extrusions have a v shaped bearing surfaces, male and female, that pull the parts into alignment when tightened. Its really not possible for them not to align correctly ... or so I thought until I read your post. Are the v keyways clean?

Puzzled :?:
 
Dave876":1jdmek8s said:
Sorry to hijack this thread a bit, but I have noticed 3 things with the EZ system, and was wondering if I was alone in this?

Firstly - the fence square doesn't sit square - there is play down the channels, and so you need to have a square to align it each time (though once set I can see that it wouldn't move).

Secondly - something isn't square on the cut. Either the blade on the saw is not 90 or the guide is not sitting flat (or, of course, I just can't use the damn thing!) but the edges were not square.

Thirdly - joining two rails does not give you a straight edge - I had to fiddle to get rid of the 'kink'.

Not properly investigated all the reasons why yet, as I have not had time since the initial play with it.

Otherwise - I had no problems with ordering or delivery, and the exchange rate helps! Didn't get caught for VAT either, but that's luck of the draw! :)

David.

Hi Dave

I will see if I can help :-k

1/ If the square needs to be moved so that it is square ( it can be knocked out of square but it can be put right.
You will have to loosen to 4 allen key screws, square it up and tighten them back up ( this is on the rail.

2/ You need to square the saw on the rail like this

Here are the pictures to help you with the square.

When joining the rails, try to leave a small gap between the rails ( about 1-2 mm ).

I hope this helps

Regards Colin
 
New issue of Good Woodworking dropped on the mat this morning and contains a comparison of 10 circular saws at sub £150.

Not hugely in depth but it might give some ideas to consider.

Best on test was the Worx at £139. I know Colin C uses the Worx with the EZ setup.

Surprise to me was the Erbauer ERB1590LA at £65 which was described as being well made and an admirable performer.

Dave
 
That's interesting, I recently bought a Worx router to use with my EZ SRK and was very impressed with it. The CS I currently use with my EZ is a nasty old Wickes thing, ok, when it's used on the EZ rails I get perfectly straight, tearout-free cuts, but the depth of cut isn't great and the DX is dreadful. Perhaps it's time to add another huge, chunky Worx carrycase to the ever diminishing space under my worktable! :)
 
Dave S":xkgkorfv said:
Surprise to me was the Erbauer ERB1590LA at £65 which was described as being well made and an admirable performer.

Dave

Of course the above company doesn't advertise it's wares in that magazine, does it? :shock:

Dom
 
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