Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Dewalt). This thread is read-only.
Hey guys going to be buying a plunge saw soon and been looking at reviews and whatnot. It’s between the flexvolt tracksaw and festoll cordless. Festool is $1250 for kit and a rail. I can get the dewalt kit for $900 this weekend only. Went to a tool shop and played with them both and pretty disappointed with the dewalt.
the plunge mechanism was super stiff and required a ton of force to even move it down?? Is it a thing that will wear with use and become easier or can it be lubed for smoother action?
like to hear everyone’s opinions on them both thanks 🙂
Although I had to learn the motion of plunging the Dewalt, I didn’t find it too difficult.
You could try an exercise program.
Just kidding. I’m happy with the FV, works as advertised. IDK if it’s worn, I don’t think so. Never been lubed.
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@Roasty I don’t know if festoolproducts.com ships to where you live but they have a deal where you can buy a basic kit TSC55 cordless tracksaw for $440 and you get 4 free 5.2 ah batteries. Might be worth looking into.
I’m down in Aus land. The tool shop I went to you got a free blade with the kit that was all. I’ll look into that battery deal though! Thanks
Have you considered the Makita? $1050 inc 2 batteries. I had the Festool and was bitterly disappointed considering how much I had paid for it (bought 2 chargers, 4 batteries, 3 rails, 2 blades, connectors etc). I think the performance will be better now with the airstream batteries and chargers but I had to send mine back within a month as it was struggling to have any sort of runtime While cutting through 12mm ply. They said the blade was running out of parallel with the track but even after they ‘fixed’ it I was still disappointed so I sold it for the Makita and haven’t regretted it.
Oh really! That’s average of them.
the Makita does look good. But I think I’m going to pickup the dewalt and if it turns out I don’t like it after using for a few weeks I’ll take it back. Just heavily invested in dewalt so I want it too be good! But will see how it goes
I’m sure when it’s paired with the 3.0ah or 4.0ah it will be great! The plunging motion will just be something to adapt to! Finding the right blade will also be pretty critical to its performance as well I’d guess (I’ve read the standard blade isn’t all that great).
Roasty wrote:
4 hours ago, Roasty said:Oh really! That’s average of them.
the Makita does look good. But I think I’m going to pickup the dewalt and if it turns out I don’t like it after using for a few weeks I’ll take it back. Just heavily invested in dewalt so I want it too be good! But will see how it goes
If you buy the DeWALT use it with Festool guide rails. I think they are much better rails.
marsh942 wrote:
7 hours ago, marsh942 said:Have you considered the Makita? $1050 inc 2 batteries. I had the Festool and was bitterly disappointed considering how much I had paid for it (bought 2 chargers, 4 batteries, 3 rails, 2 blades, connectors etc). I think the performance will be better now with the airstream batteries and chargers but I had to send mine back within a month as it was struggling to have any sort of runtime While cutting through 12mm ply. They said the blade was running out of parallel with the track but even after they ‘fixed’ it I was still disappointed so I sold it for the Makita and haven’t regretted it.
I’ve found the Makita to be far superior to the FlexVolt; it’s also better than the festool cordless IMO; but the corded model is hard to beat.
ToolBane wrote:
I didn’t know the handle was so wonky on the Dewalt. Good to know.
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The flexvolt is great…use them at work everyday…the Makita my other crew has, broke and struggled to push through dense material
Framer joe wrote:
2 hours ago, Framer joe said:The flexvolt is great…use them at work everyday…the Makita my other crew has, broke and struggled to push through dense material
I’m curious, have you ever had a Dewalt tool that didn’t outperform every other tool on the planet?
HiltiWpg wrote:
8 hours ago, HiltiWpg said:
I didn’t know the handle was so wonky on the Dewalt. Good to know.
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It’s not a trivial design mistake, one would think. How many hundreds of hours went into that and somehow that makes it past the design team?
The deWalt is the ‘ roughest’ track saw you can have. Shitty handle, shitty counter intuitive plunge action, not even a positive stop at 45°. It’s almost a spring loaded circular saw that happens to be able to run on a track
Just ordered the flexvolt purely because I’m in the platform. Will see how it goes!
we have a site Festool corded tracksaw so luckily I can use the longer tracks we have of them! Who knows might have to add another battery platform.
You have to update this topic when you get your hands on the Flexvolt plunge saw. It will help me decide my pick in the future. Cheers!
I think it depends on your line of work.
For Framer Joe the Dewalt is probably the best option because it can handle job site abuse and meet harsh expectations.
Cabinet or Shop style guy probably the Festool.
Cant speak on the Makita but with joe saying it bogs down I would put it in the shop style category
kornomaniac wrote:
8 hours ago, kornomaniac said:The deWalt is the ‘ roughest’ track saw you can have. Shitty handle, shitty counter intuitive plunge action, not even a positive stop at 45°. It’s almost a spring loaded circular saw that happens to be able to run on a track
Rougher than the Grizzly?
Jronman wrote:
47 minutes ago, Jronman said:Rougher than the Grizzly?
No grizzly in Belgium. Don’t think that brand exist here.
Of the cordless tracksaws that I Know off and tried myself. deWalt Festool and Makita 🙂
JakeDewalt wrote:
I think it depends on your line of work.
For Framer Joe the Dewalt is probably the best option because it can handle job site abuse and meet harsh expectations.
Cabinet or Shop style guy probably the Festool.
Cant speak on the Makita but with joe saying it bogs down I would put it in the shop style category
Agreed.
I don’t make cabinets. But do lots of T1-11 on siding and gable ends. Subfloors and trimming down doors.
FV is more than precise enough for what I use it for.
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Framer joe wrote:
18 hours ago, Framer joe said:The flexvolt is great…use them at work everyday…the Makita my other crew has, broke and struggled to push through dense material
First person I’ve ever heard say it broke or struggled. Are you sure it wouldn’t be your bias talking? Without wanting to sound rude, I think you need to grow up. They’re just tools, if you don’t like them, try something else lol. You like DeWalt. Great. Others prefer the Makita.
JakeDewalt wrote:
6 hours ago, JakeDewalt said:Cant speak on the Makita but with joe saying it bogs down I would put it in the shop style category
It really doesn’t. Pair of fully charged 5s or 6s at full depth 45 powers through most mid to hard woods at quite a surprising rate. It’s pretty amazing how a 36v cordless saw can perform so well.
JakeDewalt wrote:
6 hours ago, JakeDewalt said:I think it depends on your line of work.
For Framer Joe the Dewalt is probably the best option because it can handle job site abuse and meet harsh expectations.
Cabinet or Shop style guy probably the Festool.
Cant speak on the Makita but with joe saying it bogs down I would put it in the shop style category
It doesn’t bog down. Thats just joe’s bias speaking
@kornomaniac….as I’ve said a million times, I run 3 framing crews ..one trailer is all Makita, one all Dewalt ( mine) , one all Milwaukee….not my decision,the owners chose the brands …they all have the latest tools available.
I’m not bias ,…most guys on here are DIY or shop guys, not building custom homes 6 days a week in all weather, it’s different and more demanding…
I comment on what I see and use at work everyday…I buy all the tools and service all the tools, and use all the tools..so I have a very good idea on how they all perform framing…
What’s not cool is the belittling that happens when a comment is made you don’t like..I don’t disrespect anyone on here, they are all just personal opinions.
As far as dewalt goes,ya no company matches flexvolt ,circ saws, rear handle saws,table saw, and mitre saws…cordless nailers also…they are very durable , powerful tools…….
Milwaukee.makes awesome plumbing, HVAC , mechanic tools…small and powerful, generally better then DeWalts equivalent…but they don’t match up with framing tools…or cordless nailers and they thermal overload a lot…even the new drill that beats my 997 ,heats up ( read reviews) but I .love M12 line…
Makita makes finesse tools, generally not as powerful as Dewalt or Milwaukee…cool features , great tools but not great to frame with…..
These are opinions based on daily use….if your not familiar with ..LVL,PT, engineered lumber,IPE, timbers, etc…these are what we cut ,rip, saw.drill,screw etc…not a 2×4 in a garage video…
If I’m a shop guy,I’d be all Festool….
I’m not even going to read your wall of text. I’m gonna assume it’s thesame thing you post everytime. I hope for your sake you just copy/pasted it from the last time.
A small tip tho: if your crew has a makita crdless plunge saw that bogs down, then tell em to put the blade in the right way 😉
Knock it off.
I find the Makita to have mucho power. Even more that the festool Ts75. The only thing that could be better is if they copied the festool rail adjuster knobs. The Dewalt looks fine and the plunge motion never bothered me, just wish it had a stop at 45.
kornomaniac wrote:
10 hours ago, kornomaniac said:I’m not even going to read your wall of text. I’m gonna assume it’s thesame thing you post everytime. I hope for your sake you just copy/pasted it from the last time.
A small tip tho: if your crew has a makita crdless plunge saw that bogs down, then tell em to put the blade in the right way 😉
Did you know the wood they use to frame is different to the wood they use in workshops? I didn’t.
ChrisK wrote:
11 hours ago, ChrisK said:Knock it off.
Ok
kornomaniac wrote:
On 8/26/2018 at 12:03 PM, kornomaniac said:No grizzly in Belgium. Don’t think that brand exist here.
Of the cordless tracksaws that I Know off and tried myself. deWalt Festool and Makita 🙂
The grizzly isn’t cordless and is more a diy track saw.
Jronman wrote:
10 hours ago, Jronman said:The grizzly isn’t cordless and is more a diy track saw.
Yeah I looked it up on the internet 🙂 looks Abit like the Lidl Parkside tracksaws we have over here 🙂