Thread: Lusting after a Festool guide rail saw but can't afford one?

Don't forget that you can go straight to joining with the Festool saws, no further planing or sanding needed.

I've got a progrip 8' guide. I think they are magic but I bought it for my purposes. I don't know that it replaces the festool, which seems designed to do more. I guess it's $150 vs $800+ ?

I bought mine to do long rip cuts that were awkward on the table saw. So if I need to halve an 8X4 I can do it along either axis. They also make nice light duty clamps/work holders. There are some youtube vids on progrip. Worth a look.

I was not impressed by the easyguide. YMMV. Progrip is about the cheapest of it's type that I know of, and seems good quality.

2c.

anyone have any arguements against buying the sp6000k instead of the festool besides the blade issue? i have been useing a friends ts55 and think they are great, but also think Makita make a professional tool. the prices i have gotten lately are sp6000k with track and box $630..ts55 with box and track $949 i also believe both tracks are identical and can be joined together......the mak tracks are $100 and the festool tracks are $140. for cutting panels these are a lot quicker than setting up a straight edge, and also have dust extraction capabilities which is required when doing work in shopping centers, as the $3000 fine for setting off their fire alarms is a big DOH! would love to hear from someone that has used both

Originally Posted by nt900

It's not just about the rail. The Festool saws have a number of features designed specifically for rail work. The plunge action, the spring retracting riving knife, the cams in the base for perfect alignment and friction on the rails. Then there are other features of the saws that make them a cut-above most others, the electronics for constant torque/speed, plug-it cables, inherent strength and robustness, etc, etc.

So I am not surprised that Festool users are so in favour of the saw/rail system once they begin using it.

Additionally, the rails of the Festool system and other Festool tools also worth together, so any investment in a saw/rail is also an investment in a system that can be leveraged further in the users tool buying future.

So by rereading my above comments and reflecting on this threads title, I would summarise: There are other ways of creating saw/rail combo's, but I am not sure there is any other way to get the equivalent of the Festool saw/rail system and benefits, than to actually get the Festool saw and rail.

have you used the sp6000k? the system is exactly the same as the festool with much the same benefits at $300 cheaper

My only problem with the Makita saw is the lack of riving knife.

I would like to hear from the Makita owners.
Have you ever experienced a serious kick back because there is no riving knife?

$300 difference does seem a bit pricey just for this one extra feature.....

I believe the Makita saw can be used on the Festool guide rails but the Festool saw cannot be used on the Makita rails. Can anyone confirm this?

Justin.