Thread: TradeTools Direct plunge circular saw & rail

Looks not bad at less than half the price of the Festool. We had these offered to us from overseas for around $190aud landed.

For us to get them approved in Aus by the department of fair trading for the Australian market it was to cost approx $3k+ per model number.

i would be also interested to know if anyone has had any experience with these saws in Australia.

As a service centre that sees over 50 tools per day we havent seen them on the Australian market.

there are already 2 other plunge saws on the market at the moment that are still to eat into the market share of Festool, but at the prices the trade tool models are positioned it will be interesting to see what happens

Originally Posted by VEK TOOLS

For us to get them approved in Aus by the department of fair trading for the Australian market it was to cost approx $3k+ per model number.

If you can be bothered, can you explain what you mean? Is this a problem that is per seller? Or would that only apply to the initial importer? Is that because they aren't already on the market?

Wonder how long until this one hits the 'look and feel' debate running elsewhere on this board? And how long it will be available for - Festo are not noted for being shy of the courts.

What is missing is of course all the extras you get for the Festo machines, like extra rail sections, rail clamps, vacuum adapters etc. At least they are available for the Makita & DeWalt machines.

Although Festool obviously spend a lot of time & money in R&D for their products, there will inevitably be copies made based on their designs. Most DIYers however can't justify spending $1000+ on tools that are only used on weekends, and I doubt they would be concerned with rarely used attachments. I commend TTD for taking a risk to import these cheaper copies. Although I still wish I could afford Festo tools...

Originally Posted by soulspirit

If you can be bothered, can you explain what you mean? Is this a problem that is per seller? Or would that only apply to the initial importer? Is that because they aren't already on the market?

The problem is for both parties, we were recently at the working with wood show an officer came to our site checking for non compliant tools, thankfully all our tools from our suppliers are Aus approved, if they werent we risked beeing fined as the seller & the importer would of been fined too.

As a consumer the risks are:

• you will not be able to take it to a commercial jobsite
• the tool might not be compliant to meet standards-

There was a time approx 3years ago when some guys from overseas were importing rotary hammer drill from china & putting hilti stickers on the tools & driving from site to site selling them from $400-1000 ea(pretty good for a copy of the ozito that sells for $80!!!!

We would get approx 5-10 a day coming in to the repair shop most of them had caught on fire, some had even blown plasma screens up in the next room or blown cirquits.

After about 5-10 containers most of these guys were jailed for fraud....they must of made a killing in profits

If I were considering buying one I would look at the competition. If you can't afford the Festool look at the Makita. What do you get for the extra money. A name/reputation that you know. Long lasting spares and support (just look at the GMC situation)
But the saw itself - the Makita has more power, is lighter and has variable speed and guaranteed compatible accessory range.

I think I'd be saving some more dollars and getting the Makita.

As indicated in an earlier post the true value of the copy is probably somewhat less than it is being sold at.

Thanks Vek - its great hearing some behind the scenes info. So it is per-importer then is it?

Who busted them for fraud? Who got wise? Is this covered in another thread.

most the guys that got busted where from italy....who said they were only good at soccer & making pizza

Whom ever brings the product line in usually has to get the approvals done. You send 2-3 machines into the department of fair trading, 1 they disect into bits including to the point they cut switches in half, the 2nd they put thru the tests, they then send them back to you with a ya or na.....& a tax invoice of coarse for there time

Dear Gents,

At the expense of seeming a little tardy, here's a link nonetheless to a short review of the Trade Tools saws in question:

http://www.thetoolwebsite.com/Review...aws/ds2300.htm

Please note a couple of points of particular interest regarding the review (which appears to have been lifted straight from TradeTools' own website at some stage in the past, even though it can no longer be found there anymore...)

1) The prices given in the review for the two different sized models are $298 and $478. This compares with the current TradeTools prices for the saws of $448 and $548. Were they perhaps introduced at those lower prices, and then went up as our exchange rate went down? Well, our dollar has strengthened again...

2) The reviewer's final comment of things he didn't like states "Rail system cuts material 6mm from the edge of the rail". Not good. Not good at all.... However, if you look at the photo of the rail under the saw being used in the review, you will see that the edge of the rail closest to the saw's blade doesn't have a black sacrificial strip, whereas the rail in the photo of the saw at TradeTools website (as shown below) sports a black sacrificial strip along the "cutting" edge. Perhaps this black strip accounts for the 6mm wide "No Man's Land" encountered by the reviewer...

Attachment 113533

I have to admit, I've had a look at the rails in question several times in the course of going down to TradeTools during the last couple of months, but for the life of me I can't recall whether or not there is in fact a black sacrificial strip along their edge. They are available in two different lengths, by the way, but I can't recall what those lengths are, or whether they can be joined.... The saws themselves appear to be quite well built in the flesh.

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

I actually bought the DS1600 a few weeks ago. The rail does have a black sacrificial strip which gets cut down to about 1mm from the edge of the aluminium rail on first use. One niggling problem I have encountered is the guide adjustment knobs on the saw base are really tight, backing off the screw which holds the adjusters down does the trick though. I'm not sure if you can join the rails together, but I'm positive the box says either the rail or the saw is compatible with other brand rails or saws so it may be a possibility.

I will be buying a better blade soon as the factory blade is cheap and nasty, it produces a relatively clean cut but tends to bog down quite easily. The motor looks quite small on the DS1600 and it doesn't feel particularly powerful so it may be overrated. Other than that, the plunge action is nice, blade change is easy and the rail stays still when cutting.

Dear Hadamona,

Originally Posted by Hadamona

I actually bought the DS1600 a few weeks ago.

Very gutsy of you!.... When I start getting stuck into a little more "fitout" type work (or if the things drop down in price a bit in the meantime...), I might give you a yell in order to get your very latest opinion on its pros and cons.

Best Wishes,
Batpig.

Originally Posted by Hadamona

I

I will be buying a better blade soon as the factory blade is cheap and nasty, it produces a relatively clean cut but tends to bog down quite easily. The motor looks quite small on the DS1600 and it doesn't feel particularly powerful so it may be overrated. Other than that, the plunge action is nice, blade change is easy and the rail stays still when cutting.

The Asian manufacturers tend to over rate there wattages on there tools as they believe the selling is in the size of the motor, the European manufacturers tend to under rate there wattage as they believe more in word of mouth of quality, so when you compare the two you realise there is a significant difference. The other reason it might bog down is the electronic module might not be a full wave.....full wave modules dont act as dimmer switched reducing power to the saws they maintain full torque

beware of what size blade thickness you put on to it, the reason that alot of companies are putting thin kerf blades on there machines is to reduce the load on the motor, so when you put the thicker blades on it might burn the motor out