Tracksaw - can't decide between Makita and Festool

[Victor Robinson]

In recently evaluating where my work tends to catch a snag, I figured out it was really anything having to do with plywood. Buying it. Getting it home. Moving it around the shop. And cutting it safely and accurately.

I have a few large home/honey-do projects coming up that would really benefit from a tracksaw, but I can't decide between the Festool and the Makita. Both have excellent reviews, but the Mak is $100 cheaper. Only downside I see is the lack of a riving knife, but I'm not sure how important that is cutting mostly sheet goods. I'm leaning towards the Mak with Dewalt track clamps. If one were significantly quieter than the other, that would certainly weigh heavily in my decision.

Just wanted to get any last thoughts before I pull the trigger.

For the record, I don't have any other green and I'd be using the saw with a Fein vac.

[Peter Kelly]

Both are excellent saws but the 118" Makita track is only $175.-
http://www.toolbarn.com/makita-194367-7.html

[Michael Peet]

I have the Festool and feel you can't really go wrong with one. That said, you will love breaking down sheet goods with the tracksaw instead of the table saw. We recently built a set of cabinets for my brother's house and this is exactly what we did. Very easy and safe. We had a couple sheets of 2" thick insulation on which we did the cutting.

Mike

[Greg Visser]

just curious why you've ruled out the Dewalt?

Greg

[Steven Wayne]

I love my Festool TS55, especially for breaking down full sheets.

[Larry Frank]

I have the TS55 and love it. I must admit that I have not tried the others but know with the Festool that it will work great.

[Mike Heidrick]

Check out the video on woodnet right now in power tool section where the guy makes cabinets on site with the festool. Pretty slick. The parallel accessory for it is pretty nice. The Mak track is a direct copy of the festool track I believe.

There have been deals on the Dewalt recently - $360 for the saw and a 59" track and $500 with the saw and both the 59" and the 102". Those are great prices.

[Victor Robinson]

Man, lots of you guys drinking up the green kool-aid eh?

Greg - honestly I don't remember the exact reason, but there was something in a head-to-head-to-head review online that made me say "meh" on the Dewalt. It's also a little more expensive (~$30) than the Makita, generally speaking.

[Chris Tsutsui]

I don't have any facts to back this up but I think Festool will have stable parts and service availability in the future for their track saw. (Not saying the other brands won't have good service.)

A riving knife is great if your wood has movement while you cut or if your guide rail moves...

IT is my guess that there are more TS55's out there than dewalts and Makita's combined.

So join the bandwagon. I'd pay the extra $100 just to have a festool. haha

[Roger Jensen]

If resale is an issue for you, I'd go with the Festool. They rarely go on sale so you're likely to get a good price if/when you decide to sell. I'm not sure the Makita would hold its resale value as well.

Roger

[phil harold]

just an informative article

you make the choice

http://www.jlconline.com/cgi-local/v...190a323cb406a5

[Mike Heidrick]

The dewalt saw's scale is in inches and factors in the rail already - a Nice feature for us not on the metric system.

[Al Burton]

I shopped around for awhile and bought the Makita on ebay for 230ish and I have to say I like the $330 extra dollars much more than I like having a Festool. I do like the track saw and use it for breaking down sheets but still go to the table saw for the repaetive parts cuts. I guess what I am saying is that a track saw is great to have but it is not a go to all the time tool for me so why not look for a good deal and Makita makes very good tools also.

[Craig Michael]

I have the festool and have no complaints at all. I've had it 4 or 5 years now, no issues at all. The riving knife and splinter guard on the outside for the festool are big pluses. Also, in that article, it says the makita only has an 8 ft cord. That is not enough for cutting sheet goods, that's a negative right there.

The festool and makita tracks are nearly the same. The makita has the added lip for the anti tip feature on their saw. That lip will not affect using a festool saw on the makita track. The makita track would not work with some of the accessories for festool routers, etc. without modification. All the clamps, etc. work though.

[Jeff Monson]

I'd suggest the Festool saw also, the track saws all have similar features....but with Festool all future tools work well with their system. I have a TS75 and have had great success with it. I have added quite a few more Festool tools over the last couple years and they all work well together. Resale is also another thing to consider, Festool shines there also.