Newbie looking for power tool advice

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Robbie260

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3 Jun 2019
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Highland scotland
Hi everyone this is my first post. And i suspect in going to cause an argument. Im getting to a point where im looking to do a bit of house renovation as a gateway too breaking up my land rover restoration a bit in my time off and getting some where with a much bigger garage to complete it in. All tools will eventually be used for just general wood working projects. A bit of cabinate making etc.

I have come too the point where in life i have learned the lesson of buy ounce cry ounce. So its down too a collection from festool or from bosch/mafell.

Im going to get a cross cut saw as i dont have room at the moment to store a traditional miter saw. I also want some plunge saw capablity but cant afford too have more than one saw and therfore a cross cut saw seems to be the best comprimise. So my options are at the moment.

From festool:
Hk55 + all three cross cut rails
Of 1400 router
Trion jigsaw
Router and jigsaw rail adaptors
Makita tracksaw rail set 2x1.5m rails
Festool 1.1 and 0.8 m rails

Advantages: hk55 can use slightly bigger blades for greater cut depth if needed and is cheaper than mafell offering, of 1400 is a better router than bosch offering by the sounds of things. 10 year parts garuntee. Hk85 uses same rails as hk55.

Disadvantages: festool quality is reportedly not what it was, while trion is a very robust jigsaw it is very old design and it is not the easiest to use reportedly and almost £100 more expensive than the festool.

Offerings from mafell/bosch:
Kss 50 + both rail offerings
Bosch gmf 1600 router
Bosch gst 150 jigsaw
Router and jigsaw rail adaptors
Bosch 2x1.6, 1.1 & 0.8 rails

Advantages: kss is apparently a better quality saw, fsn rail system is superior too festools. Bosch jigsaw is easier too use free hand than trion as the cut line is more visible.

Disadvantages: complete setup overall is more expensive than the festool offerings.

As for dust collection in going to try and get a last generation festool ct mini. Also going to get a fine multi master occilating multi tool. As for a sander im looking at the festool RO 90 DX though i would really like to hear og any better alternatives.
 
Buy as you need it, not all in one go. I've fancied a track saw for years and I've not bought one because I haven't had a hard reason to need it.

What kind of house renovations are you talking about?
 
It will all be bought as needed thanks for the advice its too much to do all in one go but just kinda wonder whats the better system/manufactures to go with.

As for what will it be being used for, general kitchen/bathroom fit out, flooring, framing tasks. Will eventually get a miter saw and table saw as well but thats a bit down the list as for now need the outfit to be more compact/portable as i dont have the space to store the bigger items at the moment.
 
The way tools evolve these days by the time you are ready to buy, a new better mouse trap will be available, so any advice on what to buy now will be out of date, better to ask nearer the time you are going to buy.
 
Festool plunge saw is a better option than the circular saw. You can use it for cross cutting too, very straightforward with a CNC machined MFT top, so it’s actually more versatile. I don’t know where you got the info Festool quality going downhill. I have the tracksaw, OF1400 router, ETS sander and small drill/driver. All are superb, well-engineered tools.
 
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