Thread: Circular saw vs plunge saw...confused!

Apart from the plunge action and good dust collection (both very handy), plunge saws usually come with matching guide rails. It's only with a rail system of sorts that you can guarantee straight cuts with a circular saw. The rail system can be like Festool, after market or DIY.

Why not look at this saw if you are worried about price. Some forum members have this saw (including me). It is very well made, powerful, accurate and the track is similar to Festool ( as are some others). It's dust collection is excellent and it will hook up to a standard hose. The only thing is I would get a new blade because the standard one is nothing to write home about,

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Hi,
recently i added a makita sp6000k plunge saw to my kit. As much as i would love to have a Festool collection price point is a little to much for me. As the patent on the Festool plunge/rail saw has expired other manufactures have started making their own versions. My reason for the sp6000k was to be able to make straight cuts onsheet products quickly onsite. I am happy with this tool but excited that i can use my makita router with the rails aswell

you might also consider something like this jig with a cheaper good quality regular circ too.

Cheers
Michael

Thanks very much for all the helpful answers. It seems that the plunge saw with rail is perhaps a little too specialized for me at present, and that I'd be better going with a good quality circular saw, and making a few jigs as suggested. I'm sure that would be accurate enough for my needs - for now. I'm a little wary of starting a Festool collection - the price point is so high that it could well inhibit the ability to make future purchases. Makita seems a little more manageable.

With the money I'd save by not opting for a plunge saw, I'll be able to get a router at the same time - the other tool competing for my attention. I like the idea of getting a router that can run on a track - perhaps even a track that will later get used with a plunge saw. To that end, does one need a specific Makita router to run on the Makita track that the SP6000K runs on? Or is it merely a case of attaching something to the base of any router - and then it'll run on the appropriate track? Toolnut - your experience here?

As for routers - I assume the Makita ones are good. From there it's just a case of choosing one of appropriate collet size and power - or are there other things to look out for?

Thanks again,

Matthew

PS - the plunge saw linked to looks good - however I'm in NZ and that looks like an Australian site. I guess they could send it over though.

Have a look at this link
https://www.woodworkforums.com/f13/makita-plunge-cut-circular-track-saw-v-regular-circular-saw-93628/

Andy

Hi Andy

Thanks very much for that - a very helpful link. I wish my search had turned that up.

One thing - I've heard people talk about needing a "cast alloy' base plate on the circular saw - what's the advantage of this? I'm looking at a Makita 5008MGA - I can't seem to find what the base plate is made of on that.

Matthew

G'day Matthew,

I recently purchased the Makita SP6000K and got 2 pieces of the 1400mm guide rail, and very happy with the saw. Attached to my vac, the dust collection is very good.

From what I've read, the guide rail is a copy of Festool, hence you can use Festool tools with them.

Anyway, I got a 2nd guide rail because it is "reasonable" enough in price that I am considering cutting the 1400mm into 2 pieces, 500mm & 900mm each, for cutting shorter stock.

I found the attached Makita flyers from overseas about using the Makita routers and jigsaws with the rail system.

Cheers

Gunn

Hey Gunn

Thanks for the info - and the pdfs which do seem to confirm that an adapter kit can be purchased, to allow routers to run on the track. I might hold off buying a circular saw for a bit - surely Makita (or someone) will produce a 'standard' circular saw (ie not a plunge saw) that runs on the rail? Unless there's something about circular saws that precludes that?? Non-extracted dust clogging the rail, perhaps?

Cheers,

Matthew

The jig that Mic-d linked works well provided that the circ saw base can be set truly parallel to the blade, i.e. an intermediate class saw, not a truly crappy one.

A similar set up can be used with a router for a single bit, setup and trimmed in the same way. Reasonable convenient as you can make jigs in various lengths for different sized sheets, ripping/crosscutting etc. and just as easy to place on the marks and clamp.

Hi Malb

Thanks for the reply. I'm leaning towards a Makita 5008MG which should be a good enough saw for reasonable accurate cuts, I would hope. Of course the jig, alignment and my skill comes into play.

I'd like to get the 5008MGA (I think the 'A' denotes the electric brake, which I've read great things about) but it doesn't seem to be available in NZ.

Matthew

PS - I assume you mean perpendicular, not parallel? http://cdn.woodworkforums.com/images...sh-anim-cl.gif

one big difference between the makita and festool plunge cut saws is that the makita does not have a riving knife located right behind the blade.

when the timber is ripped it will naturally want to bind, the riving knife prevents the blade becoming jammed, which puts more strain on the motor and in most cases you will receive a nasty kickback.

i have never had a kickback ripping every aussie timber you can think of using the festool ts-55.
i would like to hear from any makita owners that have the plunge cut saw.
have you ever had any kickbacks because of the timber binding?

i only had a kick back when i misplaced the baseplate of the saw on the guide rail groove, as soon as i plunged down, the blade dug into the aluminium guide rail and gave me a nasty old kickback.

with regards to spending money, the festool is pretty expensive, personally, i think you get what you pay for.

if it is too much to spend right now, i highly recommend a 185mm/ 7 1/4 inch makita circular saw, they have been my weapon of choice for general carpentry for the last 20 years.
the advantage of the aluminium base plate is that it is stronger than the pressed metal.
the aluminium is normally 3mm - 4 mm thick.
the pressed metal baseplates are normally 1.5mm - 2mm thick.
on a construction site the pressed metal baseplates are easily bent and damaged when heavy timbers fall on them.

justin.

Originally Posted by matt1710

Hi Malb

Thanks for the reply. I'm leaning towards a Makita 5008MG which should be a good enough saw for reasonable accurate cuts, I would hope. Of course the jig, alignment and my skill comes into play.

I'd like to get the 5008MGA (I think the 'A' denotes the electric brake, which I've read great things about) but it doesn't seem to be available in NZ.

Matthew

PS - I assume you mean perpendicular, not parallel? http://cdn.woodworkforums.com/http:/...sh-anim-cl.gif

That link doesn't work Matt

Well Festool is not the only plunge saw system with a riving knife. The one I posted above and repeated below has an excellent, retractable riving knife. Yes it is a copy of the Festool, but it works brilliantly nevertheless at less than half the cost.

I know its hard for people to accept that it can be that good coming from China, but I think we have just been brainwashed into thinking that paying $1000 for a small circular saw is all about quality and not about excessive pricing by Festool Australia. For example, in the USA a TS-55 system retails for US $500.


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It would drive me nuts if all I had was a TS55 or equivalent. It’s basically a girl’s saw. Good for cutting sheet stock, but when you need to get into 55-75mm slabs of tough Aussie hardwood then the TS75 reigns supreme. Some here obviously have an issue re Festool pricing, that’s ok, they don’t have to buy them. But for those who do, we are eternally grateful.