Hi been considering getting a track saw as seen another lad on site using one to cut down a breakfast bar with ease, my short list is festool, dewalt, makita, does anyone advice for or against these, I'd mostly use for worktops, doors, and 8 by 4 ply now n then
Plunge/track saw choices
- Thread starter Cookie74
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Deleted member 174758
I have a Festool TS55 (the older model) and a number of colleagues use either the TS55 or the more modern TS55R, but I have used both the Makita SP6000K and the deWalt DWS520. I suppose it's down top personal choice. Personally, I didn't like the peculiar action of the DWS520 when I tried it, but the limited range of rails was also an issue (I need and use a 3000mm rail on floor work regularly). That left the choice between the TS55, the SP6000K and the Mafell MT55cc (you missed out that one). The MT55cc has certainly got a better rail system (which is shares with the Bosch GKT55CE - a sort of Chinese-made Bosch "clone" of the MT55cc, but missing a few features), but at the time I wasn't prepared to pay the £100 premium for the Mafell. Looking at the SP6000K and the TS55 at the time I had to conclude that there wasn't much in it (I felt that the Festool was slightly beter finished, that's all), however Festool offered (and still offer) a 3 year warranty with their tools which includes free on-site insurance - so if it gets nicked they'll replace it. That made it a no brainer IMHO.
The big difference now, however, is that there are several cordless options on the market including the Festool TSC55R and the deWalt DCS520T (54 volt Flex battery system) which may influence your decision making. There's also the Bosch corded tool (GKT55CE) but it is Chinese made, the same sort of price as the Festool and lacks the insurance.
In terms of these saws, none of them (with the sole exception of the TSC55R) work at all well without a vacuum cleaner attached - and that means a Class M unit at £450 or so for use on site (now mandatory) and not a manky old Henry - but as at least part of the reason for going for a plunge/rail saw is to have a clean working environment and reduce the clean-up at the end of a job I'd say that's worthwhile. If expensive.
The big difference now, however, is that there are several cordless options on the market including the Festool TSC55R and the deWalt DCS520T (54 volt Flex battery system) which may influence your decision making. There's also the Bosch corded tool (GKT55CE) but it is Chinese made, the same sort of price as the Festool and lacks the insurance.
In terms of these saws, none of them (with the sole exception of the TSC55R) work at all well without a vacuum cleaner attached - and that means a Class M unit at £450 or so for use on site (now mandatory) and not a manky old Henry - but as at least part of the reason for going for a plunge/rail saw is to have a clean working environment and reduce the clean-up at the end of a job I'd say that's worthwhile. If expensive.
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Deleted member 174758
It all depends on where you are working, really. I work mainly on jobs run by medium to large contractors, so we do the full RAMS, PPE, PAT-test, HAVS, UKATA, etc routine on every job because there is no choice. Our dust extraction has to be up to current spec if we don't want red carding off site and/or potentially getting an on the spot fine from an HSE walking inspector. So we always have an M-class extractor. If I don't have mine available then normally I borrow a firm's one. If you only ever do domestic work there isn't really much chance that the powers that be will be able to enforce the regs because they won't know that you're there. Walk onto a properly organised site, or work on a visible shop-, restaurant- fit or pub-fit and you enter a whole new world these days where the HSE can walk in unannounced. One thing I will say about having a class M extractor which turns itself on when you power the tool up is that they are so much cleaner than a Henry and they filter so much more of the harmful stuff out that you'll breathe easier at night. Maybe not a big issue if you are in your twenties or thirties but it gets worse over time if you are regularly cutting materials like chipboard, MDF, cement board, etc. If you've ever seen anyone trying to sand plasterwork with a Henry attached to their sander (and half the dust going straight through the filters) you'd understand where I'm coming from
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Doggit
The Dewalt DWS520 tracks can be joined together, and they have clamps that will keep the track in place, but I do find the unit doesn't always drop into place on the track if you have the "no backwards travel" setting is on. I haven't tried the other tools, but I'm pleased with the dewalt I've got. I've got a Fein vacuum cleaner that's not quiet class M, but at £120 works nicely, and will switch the vacuum on, and overrun for about 30 seconds. It's also great as a wet and dry, and just a general clean up tool.
Mostly work domestic with odd commercial but pretty much go where the work is so if commercial comes up I do it, being self employed gives me a bit more freedom of where I work and what I use but gota admit my Henry still leaves a fair bit of dust, 10 mins of sanding with Henry vac attached and it's clogged so maybe time to invest in better, was hoping a few people would recommend the makita as I've always been a fan of there stuff but festool seems to be the one most people rate
D
Deleted member 174758
As I stated above, there's nothing wrong with the Makita. I've worked on shop fits where other guys had them and they were perfectly happy with them. My own reasons for going Festool were partly down to the extended warranty and free theft insurance, although TBH I've never had to use it on any Festool I've bought to date (my boss has had to use the insurance after his van was robbed and they replaced PDQ). I've been using rail systems since about 1999 so I can tell you that all the systems have rails which join together, however, as the rails get older it becomes more and more difficult (due to wear and dings - the rails are quite fragile and need to be protected from the average building site moron) to join two rails and get them straight right off without the need to use a 6ft level or the like to straighten them at the joint. If you are doing a lot of long cuts this becomes a PIA. Hence why I have a 3 metre rail (and only Makita and Festool do them). It's also useful to have an 800 to 900mm rail for smaller tasks where the 1400mm rail is too big/awkward, such as trimming doors to length. In my case that's a cut down damaged rail (moral: don't let anyone use your plunge/rail saw unless you really trust them - there are a lot of idiots out there)
I have the Makita plunge saw in 240v with 2 tracks and it's never caused me any problems. Gives a lovely clean cut even with the 28T blade, so 56T gives a brilliant smooth cut. Only thing that ticked me a bit was having to buy adaptor plates to use the guide rail system with my Makita LXT non-plunging saw and Makita router/trimmer, but that wasn't a huge deal.
You certainly won't go wrong with Makita, obviously they're not quite up there with Hilti quality but there also a heck of a lot cheaper.
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Doggit
I use a piece of string taped to both ends of the joined rails with duct tape, and that gets the alignment for me.
I've got a few 110 v transformers n other 110 v tools from old job but getting 240 v means no lugging heavy transformer round, down side is can't use it on site if I'm ever back on, suppose evening fitting a kitchen in domestic house is classed as site in a fashion but I've got a mixture of 110 n 240 so not sure which way to go
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