Plunge saw festool or makita but which

[Rorschach]

Little tip, maybe obvious but put a bit of masking tape over the blade change hole. It may not look pretty but it really improves extraction.

You can buy a 3d printed plastic jobby. Not sure if link will work but here goes... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322357823872

I have the parkside so wouldn't fit but nice idea and better looking, though just as functional as my bit of 2" masking tape :lol:

 

[MikeJhn]

Little tip, maybe obvious but put a bit of masking tape over the blade change hole. It may not look pretty but it really improves extraction.

You can buy a 3d printed plastic jobby. Not sure if link will work but here goes... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322357823872

I have the parkside so wouldn't fit but nice idea and better looking, though just as functional as my bit of 2" masking tape :lol:

But the e-bay offering is in Green, must be better. #-o

Mike

 

[Nelsun]

Little tip, maybe obvious but put a bit of masking tape over the blade change hole. It may not look pretty but it really improves extraction.

You can buy a 3d printed plastic jobby. Not sure if link will work but here goes... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322357823872

I have the parkside so wouldn't fit but nice idea and better looking, though just as functional as my bit of 2" masking tape :lol:

You can buy a good amount of tape for £8.50! I got fed up of changing tape as it gets less and less sticky after blade changes.

 

[custard]

On the riving knife thing:

I've had kickback twice on my Makita. In both cases I was being very, VERY stupid in the way I was using it

Once maybe, but twice?

:shock:

That sounds like a powerful argument in favour of a riving knife.

 

[tomlt]

On the riving knife thing:

I've had kickback twice on my Makita. In both cases I was being very, VERY stupid in the way I was using it

Once maybe, but twice?

:shock:

That sounds like a powerful argument in favour of a riving knife.

Ive had my makita for about 6yrs now, pretty good saw for me as a serious hobbyist/diyer now really wish id bought the festool though.

Mines kicked back on me twice, both times whilst attempting plunge cuts on deeper material, one of my rails has a nice gash and the cord is 12" shorter to show for these times, im not sure a riving knife would have helped because i hadnt really made a cut yet, i suspect this maybe due to my technique rather than anything else.

Both are good saws, but as a festool convert the ts55 has a better "system" and more accessories.

On the riving knife thing:

I've had kickback twice on my Makita. In both cases I was being very, VERY stupid in the way I was using it:

• Wedged into a relatively tiny space in the attic, cutting t+g chipboard for flooring - nowhere to stand safely, let alone use saw and rail - the saw twisted during the cut, because it wasn't set-up nor being used safely.
• Trying to rip cut an already too thin piece of softwood that wasn't properly supported on the bench, had gnarly grain, and IIRC wasn't using a rip blade and was trying to go too fast.

I can't emphasize enough that I was being very stupid.

I do have a thin-kerf rip blade for the saw, but, because the saw plate is very thin, the teeth re-cut the rubber strip, which is wholly undesirable. I think the blade can also deflect slightly in use, which is dangerous. It's a cheap, third party one, and I won't use it again.

I don't make tables from huge slabs of stock (well, not at the moment!). If I rip anything, it'll be relatively narrow stock, and the track saw (any make of track saw) is unsuitable for that task. Of course you might make a jig or whatever, but it's not what they're designed to do.

With that as a given, I don't think there's much to choose between Makita and Festool, apart from a couple of things that might be important, depending on how they're being used:

• There is an anti-tip system for Makita that's designed into saw+rail. I've used it for long bevelling cuts, and I like it - coupled with workpiece clamps, it makes the job safe and easy.
• There are different (and more) accessories for Festool saw and rails, notably a splinter guard for the "waste" side of the stock, and stops for the rails to allow plunge cuts to be made to precise length without risk of cutting too far.

Both brands have router accessory sleds that run on their rails.

On dust extraction: there's no magic about this. They all do it very well because the blade guards are almost blind (small apertures allowing blade change) and fit right down to the surface of the stock (almost). Any saw with this approach will be very good when cutting into a flat surface (e.g. cutting up sheet goods), as it puts the suction in the right place and going in the right direction. If you trim cut so that the blade is running off the edge of the stock, it makes a right old mess, as the extraction suction doesn't work at all well: This is also true of all brands. I'd expect the Mafell to be even better, incidentally, as it's blade guard is completely blind. At a guess you can rank them on DX just by looking at photographs of them!

Which to get? The Makita is British-made. It's less expensive, although the price gap is a lot less now than when I got mine. The Festool has excellent after-sales support.

I couldn't choose easily now, but the riving knife issue is a red herring: the important thing is not to try to use any of these saw systems outside the designed limits.

Sent from my SM-G800F using Tapatalk

 

[Corky74]

Tried out the festool again and it's a nice saw ,Which saw would be better for plunge cutting jobs such like sinks cut out,bob etc from work tops ,just done some worktops today and it would have come in handy for sure ,would I be right thinking the one with riving knife bettter for deep plunge cuts

 

[chippy1970]

Tried out the festool again and it's a nice saw ,Which saw would be better for plunge cutting jobs such like sinks cut out,bob etc from work tops ,just done some worktops today and it would have come in handy for sure ,would I be right thinking the one with riving knife bettter for deep plunge cuts

Use my ts55r all the time for plunging sink and hob cutouts. Get the kickback stops if you are doing plunge cuts they're just a little sliding block that you can lock to the rail behind the saw. This stops the saw kicking back at the start of the plunge cut.

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[Distinterior]

Tried out the festool again and it's a nice saw ,Which saw would be better for plunge cutting jobs such like sinks cut out,bob etc from work tops ,just done some worktops today and it would have come in handy for sure ,would I be right thinking the one with riving knife bettter for deep plunge cuts

Use my ts55r all the time for plunging sink and hob cutouts. Get the kickback stops if you are doing plunge cuts they're just a little sliding block that you can lock to the rail behind the saw. This stops the saw kicking back at the start of the plunge cut.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

What Chippy said is spot on!......the kickback stops make plunge cutting a breeze with no danger of kickback.

 

[Corky74]

Sound info that, il get the stops as well,.. Festool it is then, cheers everyone

 

[moosepig]

The DeWalt has an antikickback device built in to the base which can be enabled or disabled as you wish.

Good luck with your chosen saw whatever you end up getting.

 

[tomlt]

Tried out the festool again and it's a nice saw ,Which saw would be better for plunge cutting jobs such like sinks cut out,bob etc from work tops ,just done some worktops today and it would have come in handy for sure ,would I be right thinking the one with riving knife bettter for deep plunge cuts

Use my ts55r all the time for plunging sink and hob cutouts. Get the kickback stops if you are doing plunge cuts they're just a little sliding block that you can lock to the rail behind the saw. This stops the saw kicking back at the start of the plunge cut.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

What Chippy said is spot on!......the kickback stops make plunge cutting a breeze with no danger of kickback.

Anyone know if these can be fitted to the makita rails?

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[Corky74]

Well I received my Festool ts55, brand new in packaging with 2 rails packed separate and opened it up and there is a small scratch across the side and the bottom doesn't look totally flat, possibly been dropped I reckon, so I'm returning it next week, starting to think I should av got the dewalt or makita,maybe it's a one off but just my look as I've got 7 doors to fit on Monday

 

[Woodmonkey]

Have you put a straight edge on it, it would have to have been dropped from a serious height to bend the base, I've knocked mine off the bench a couple of times with no harm done

 

[Corky74]

not tired my level on it ,packed back away now ready for collection but there was a wobble on flat surface , not much but it's there ..., I'm maybe being picky but the little scratch got me looking really carefully at it ,it's not a major scratch but shouldn't be there on a branch new tool which costs so much

 

[chippy1970]

not tired my level on it ,packed back away now ready for collection but there was a wobble on flat surface , not much but it's there ..., I'm maybe being picky but the little scratch got me looking really carefully at it ,it's not a major scratch but shouldn't be there on a branch new tool which costs so much

Just one of those things ,they'll swap it for another no problem. Don't let it put you off.

Take a look at this pdf it will help you .

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... R5YEvh9z_Q

Also don't worry about the noise, I see loads of New ts55 users worrying about the growl on start up. It's nothing to worry about it's just the clever electronics inside controlling the motor.



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[Corky74]

not tired my level on it ,packed back away now ready for collection but there was a wobble on flat surface , not much but it's there ..., I'm maybe being picky but the little scratch got me looking really carefully at it ,it's not a major scratch but shouldn't be there on a branch new tool which costs so much

Just one of those things ,they'll swap it for another no problem. Don't let it put you off.

Take a look at this pdf it will help you .

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&sourc ... R5YEvh9z_Q

Also don't worry about the noise, I see loads of New ts55 users worrying about the growl on start up. It's nothing to worry about it's just the clever electronics inside controlling the motor.



Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

I'm guna get replacement ts55 mainly down to the guarantee and positive reviews, not many bad ones out there