dewalt plunge saw

[andy king]

Hi Ivan,

I'm not sure why the DeWalt demo saw wasn't cutting well, the model i had on test worked really well, I've used it since to cut some apertures in teak faced ply for some lockers in a friends boat and the cuts were clean as a whistle both long and crossgrain.
It could be the adjusters to snug the saw to the rail were not set properly, with one a little more nipped than the other the saw is effectively sliding along at a very slight angle so the back of the blade is dragging along the kefr line and could cause some chipping or feathering. This is just a suggestion mind you...
EI would say that even with a guide rail it's still not good practice to cut from the face side on laminated worktops if you want a really clean finish as the upcut action of the blade will try and rip the laminate away from the substrate. I wouldn't be over keen on dragging a circular saw back for a scoring cut either, even with a minimal projection. It's much the same as climb cutting with a router, you are encouraging the machine to draw itself back quickly and that could result in an accident as it can race and jump the cut.
The spring guard should protect the blade if it does happen, but a split second of the blade not being covered is enough to do plenty of damage to flesh.

cheers,
Andy

 

[chippy1970]

Looks like the anti kick back design on the Dewalt is more of a flaw than a good thing as it wont let you run the saw backwards with a shallow cut to scribe a line first as you can with the Festool.

If you are using a saw properly and you are careful as you should be with all power tools then you should not get kickback anyway.

 

[rossi7x]

The Parallel plunge reduces the kick back scenario to almost nothing, and when you plunge you can still draw the saw backwards should you wish...

The patented anti kick back device is an optional button that is released which enables a device on the sole plate of the saw which then does not permit the saw to move backwards at all... this can be removed at the end of a cut ( without removing the saw from the rail) and then be pulled abck as normal....

You are correct about using saws correctly should not cause any kickback, but speak to users of festool saws( me included) and kickback does occur...

On my cordless Dewalt, however. this has never arisen..

 

[rossi7x]

Reading the previous thread about quality of Dewalt cut at a demo....

This could be due to the fact that the demonstrator had not set the saw properly on the rail, or the fact (more likley) that the blade was blunt, and the anti-plinter strip on the underside of the rail was not keyed to the saw properly..

This can happen if someone else had run a saw down his rail... or if he had used another saw to demo ( ie the 28 volt cordless ) with a 24 tooth blade which would be fatter and therefore cut more off the black splinter strip.

As for the Q about pro's and cons for both... the Festol and Dewalt are both great machines ( I have both) The festool (in my opinion) is more of a workshop sheet material saw.. If I use the festool to cut in fire doors, it does not take much to get it to go into half speed mode until it cools, whereas my Dewalt one has never done that.. The Dewalt has a bigger motor in it that runs slightly slower with more torque, whereas the Festool is smaller and is electronically powered up to run faster... hence the Dewalt spunds a little more growly..

The thing that I cannot understand with Festool, is why you have to add the rails thickness to every depth setting you make.. ie if you want to cut 20mm thick you set the saw to 26mm...( something that you do not have to do with Dewalt).. whats the point as you would never dream of using the plunge saw off a rail as that is key to the quality of cut.

As for my Dewalt, the cutting of the bottom of doors in situ is a real winner... I use a rail, a clamp and a 90 degree attachment, clamp it to the door and enjoy splinter free door trimming to the max.. coupled with the dust extraction capabilities of the saw, it is a winning combination..

Which saw would I buy... should I be looking from scratch now... probably the Dewalt would come out on top..

Whichever you choose will only leave you with one question in mind... why did it take you so long to get with the Plunge saw...

 

[wizer]

I feel obliged to chip in and remind everyone that the EZ Smart rails from Eurekazone can do pretty much all of what the above systems can do for much less....

 

[Niall]

Hi sigibbons

...The positives are the anti kick back device that locks it to the rail so it can't jump the cut...

... but if the blade snags, and the saw cannot go backwards on the rail, surely there's a lot of energy that still has to be dissipated in one way or another, such as saw and rail moving backwards (or upwards) together, or material shot forwards?

I'm not trying to be awkward (may be missing something), just want to fully understand this device.

 

[rossi7x]

Kick back mainly features in the initial plunge of the cut and rarely after..

The parallell plunge action of the Dewalt, as opposed to the pivot plunge style of the Festool and the Makita, practically eliminates this happening. In fact I heve never experienced it on the dewalt. When you move forward along the cut, the riving knife drops in which secures the safety of the back of the blade... ie if you were to pull the saw back along the cut line, catching of the blade is not possible.

 

[chippy1970]

Rossi7x,

Yes you are right I too have had kick back once from my TS55 but only when I was not concentrating.

Im not saying the Festool is perfect but its not far away.

Where as I only like a few Dewalt tools like the brad gun which works great compared to a Paslode bradder. I just think in general they are nowhere near the same quality as Festool.

 

[rossi7x]

I think that you are right about the quality of Festool tools, but that quality comes at a price.... and a fairly high one..

It's nice to hear somene being honest about the kickback that can happen with a Festool plunge saw.... most Festool owners dismiss any constructive criticism as nonsense...

I do not beleive that any one manufacturer has the optimum range of tools... if you want the best of everything, you pick the best tool that each manufacturer makes for any given purpose..

I still stand that as far as plunge saws go... my Festool is a lovely workshop saw and my Dewalt is is a far better site saw...

In fact, because of the German mentality, most of Festools range is pretty much workshop orientated...and very well designed

Still, whatever saw it is..... the lack of knowledge about plunge saws in this country is amazing.... in a way we should keep quiet about them as other tradesmen could not compete like for like with an ordinary skill saw...

 

[ivan]

I was surprised the DW demonstrator couldn't do any better than I; however, for precision work I'll stick to my Mafell which plunges on 2 router style columns.

By the way, if you double cut as described above, you don't need either splinter guards (on saw, or rail). The blade won't pull at the top surface if saw fits rail, but might if too much clearance, so I can see you'd cut from the back if you can. You can get a perfect cut on both sides of veneered mdf, though!

You could get run-on in the scoring climb cut if you set the saw too deep, but 3mm is not a problem. (and there is a spring loaded riving knife waiting to dagger down)

 

[Teejay]

When you cut a piece of wood, don't you find that the splinter guard gets cut out of line at the start and end of the guide rail?

Also, doesn't the splinter guard get cut and made out of line at the ends which are not compressed by the material being cut?

If this is true, it means if you join two together or need to use the full length of one accurately, you can't be sure that you are properly lining it up with the designated cut line and don't have full control/tear out protection at each end of the guide rail.

This would mean that joining two rails together isn't going to give you zero clearance tear out protection along the length and you can't be sure that your cut is going to match the line you are trying to follow.

 

[Bodgers]

When you cut a piece of wood, don't you find that the splinter guard gets cut out of line at the start and end of the guide rail?

Also, doesn't the splinter guard get cut and made out of line at the ends which are not compressed by the material being cut?

If this is true, it means if you join two together or need to use the full length of one accurately, you can't be sure that you are properly lining it up with the designated cut line and don't have full control/tear out protection at each end of the guide rail.

This would mean that joining two rails together isn't going to give you zero clearance tear out protection along the length and you can't be sure that your cut is going to match the line you are trying to follow.

11 year old thread! You've posted twice now on the same subject bringing these back from the dead.

I have the Dewalt. I really like it, dust collection is superb.

When joining two tracks, they should be aligned by the aluminium, not the sacrificial splinter strip. If you use the joining bar that's how they are aligned anyway.

I think it is a mistake to use the sacrificial splinter strip as a reference point. Use either the line marker at the front of the saw base, or plunge down without power and mark where the blade is.