Thoughts as a Diyer,
Jobandknock has really answered and given you quite a comprehensive reply - but I thought i would give my 2 pennies as a DIYer. As i have been looking at tracksaws for a while now, and have various posts on forums about choice
i follow Peter Millard and also watched all his tracksaw video , and also all the series on Skill Builder - Plunge Saw Showdown! Top 10 Best Saws Review and various other people
My son-in-law was also after a saw, he's 1.5hrs away or we may have just shared. but not somewhere to pop round
He did buy the Makita SP6000 , after a lot of discussion , reading and watching lots of reviews - he has made a few chest of draws for bedroom, and door/shelf unit to fit under stairs and cupboards - BUT he plans to make all the Kitchen cabinets and fit it himself so justified the saw for that project.
My brother 2.5hrs away has the Festool which he purchased when it was on offer at the FFX show many years ago and did a dozen odd kitchen fits for people.
I had thought i would get the Mafell, BUT priced at £599 for a kit last year was too much. (did look at when at Axminster tools - but they were out of stock of all the kit) Now its £650
I have pretty much all Dewalt gear, so I looked at the Dewalt saw - but the reviews were very poor , but along with a router guide i did consider this , although it was out of stock for quite a while , otherwise, I may have impulsed purchased - watched a few Youtube videos , also considered the Dewalt Circular Saw (again was out of stock and D&M/FFX` etc) you can actually use on a track...
Anyway, as mainly out of stock, when i would have pulled the trigger and purchased -
I have pretty much ended up just using my circular saw (Freud or saxtonblades 40T /48T blades) with a wooden blade distance template and a few saw guides, which i clamp to the sheet material -
I have a
Silverline clamp guide 1200mm - which i have removed the mech (i found the clamp did not grip reliably) and just used separate clamps on the material, this i have used most of the time
Manufacturer of hand tools, power tools, fixings, hardware and more!
www.silverlinetools.com
A plaster feather edge 1800mm - on offer at B&Q
Order online at
Screwfix.com. Aluminium construction. Features a tapered edge for smoothing and final finishing. FREE next day delivery available, free collection in 1 minute.
www.screwfix.com
Again on offer - a Trend Varijig clamp guide, 2 parts which join and go to about 2.5m - not used that yet.
Varijig system straight guide 2.54 metre
trenddirectuk.com
So i'm covered for most cuts on a 8'x4' sheet
I have various pieces of wood cut to exactly the distance from the edge of the Circular saw to the Kerf, for the types of blade thickness i have - Saxtonblades, Dewalt & Freud
This so far seems to have covered all my needs,
A lot slower to setup than a Plunge saw , as i have to setup before each cut , but as a DIYer, and retired, time is not so critical, the extra amount of time to setup is not a big deal as i dont do a lot of sheet material cutting.
Doing any or a lot of repeat cuts are slow and a bit of a pain - however, I have only really needed to do this once for a Shaker door and some panels.
I have made shaker style doors and panels for cloakroom, couple of Windows seats / storage , a big cupboard in a conservatory (all using from MR-MDF), various shelfs , outside fencing, outside porch made with Marine ply and sort of shaker style panels, etc
I have a big project coming up refitting a Utility room 5m long with cupboards on both sides, but not decided on the design yet, sliding doors , Ikea Cabinets - so may yet treat myself.....
The family tend to club together for big presents like that , I had a SDS Drill from all the children 1 year
Anyway, just my thoughts - as already mentioned Peter Millard does review the cheaper saws.