Plunge saw festool or makita but which

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In a lot of group tests on these tracksaws the Makita and Mafell models come out on top over it. [/quote said:
Only seen one review where festool n makita where tested against each other and they couldn't be split apart from festool is of better quality built they said
 
SteveF":23opzqfv said:
I have the festool
I have ripped and flipped over 4" timber to get through it
never missed a beat but did jam in the cut as it closed behind me
I hate to think how it would have reacted without a knife
i also done a stupid cut trying to stretch across a large board (you know it is going to go wrong, and you still do it)
when it jumped off the rail ( I know dumb move) it came down on the knife and never tore through me or the rail

Steve

Looks like the riving knife saved you and your saw etc from some damage and potential injury, never used a saw without one on, seems a bad idea in principle
 
Someone will be along in a minute to tell you to buy the Mafell mt55 - start saving... :)

Er OK, Get the Mafell.
Only problem with mine is that when the cuts aren't quite right I know it's more my fault than the saw.
When I bought mine I also loked at the Festool, which also looks like a good bit of kit. When I looked closely I could justify the extra cost of the Mafell.
 
Weekend warrior = Makita
Bigger budget = Festool
Trade = Mafell

Seriously there's not that much between them unless you're fitting £50k kitchens. They will all cut a perfectly straight line in the right hands. Pick a colour and go make some sawdust!



Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
I have had the Festool for years and it has been great but if I was starting again think I would get the Mafell.

The main reason is the Mafell tracks are thought to be better then Festools, they are much easier to join together and the splinter strip is easier to replace. Don't think the Mafell has a riving knife though but is more powerful? The Bosch saw runs on the Mafell rails so that is another option.

One of my next purchases will be the Festool cordless TSC55, looks very handy.
 
Just seen there is a makita package at mo £419 which 2 rails ,rail bag ,clamps and spare blade pretty good price ,to get same package with festool it's around £545 so gunna have a little think
 
Corky74":3nku06nr said:
Just seen there is a makita package at mo £419 which 2 rails ,rail bag ,clamps and spare blade pretty good price ,to get same package with festool it's around £545 so gunna have a little think
Just check because I'm sure Orbital Fasteners are selling 2 x 1600 Bosch rails in a bag with the connecter for just under £100. You can buy a lot of clamps with the change :)

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
punxneverdead":15xvos16 said:
Mate FESTOOL ALL THE WAY!!
Just tried my mates new one out, really nice smooth cut but the saw does feel abit plastic thought the base would be aluminium or something else but looks plastic
 
Corky74":ok3lc7v6 said:
punxneverdead":ok3lc7v6 said:
Mate FESTOOL ALL THE WAY!!
Just tried my mates new one out, really nice smooth cut but the saw does feel abit plastic thought the base would be aluminium or something else but looks plastic

I think they are Magnesium Alloy bases.

Edit.
They are definitely not plastic...!
 
definitely not plastic
and do you really want it to be any heavier?
once you pick it up and down a few times, you will be pleased its lightweight

Steve
 
SteveF":3lx6ztm1 said:
definitely not plastic
and do you really want it to be any heavier?
once you pick it up and down a few times, you will be pleased its lightweight

Steve

Only had a quick look as he was going out, off tomoz to try it out a bit more and have a proper look at it
 
My TS55 cuts as good today as it did 14 years ago. It has been 100% reliable, has got through two, sharpened three times, blades and if it went TU tomorrow I would order another on a heartbeat. It is, using the guide rail, highly accurate and leaves a glass like finish. I connect mine to a CT26 dust extractor and am amazed at the amount of dust it collects, albeit I do have the side dust cover. The Makita too is an excellent saw, my friend has one and is delighted with it but I would never use a saw, hand held or stationary, without a riving knife.

If you are still unsure about the Festool, buy it and try it. You have 15 days to cut to your hearts content and should it not come up to scratch, send it back for a no-questions-asked refund. If you do keep it, you will then have 3 years warranty (free courier pick up and return), three years insurance against theft or loss and one of the very best bits of kit available. Not sure that Makita offer such a comprehensive package and I would bet my house that no Makita dealer would give you your money back if you didn't like it after a fortnights use.

As for plasticky it is a beautifully engineered, and made, saw using magnesium alloy and high quality plastics. It is built like a brick outhouse yet is light and very easy to handle. All the controls (green) work with precision and when you lock in a depth on the scale, it cuts to that depth.

It is a belter of a saw.
 
Will I get kicked out for saying I like my Parkside? lol. If it helps I do use a festool track and clamps.
 
i believe the warranty on the festool even covers you if you drop it and smash it

not sure anyone else would do that

Steve
 
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.
 
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.
 

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