Plunge Saw

[Selwyn]

Festool pts55 plus one guide rail for £429

or

Makita sp6000j with two guide rails for £399

I think I want a riving knife so Festool appears to be winning. Can't find a Dewalt anywhere

 

[TRITON]

Doesnt the festool have a riving knife that retracts up ?, and when you plunge in and move the saw forward, it then clicks down into the kerf adding the safety feature .
Obviously with plunge cutting, you have to go in and move forward enough to get the riving knife into the cut. I've always thought that retractable riving feature was one of the best.
Not sure these days, maybe most do that now.

 

[marcros]

If you need a second rail, it may be cheaper to get it in a kit now. It is years since I have looked at what is in each kit, but it certainly used to work out cheaper that way.

I haven't used the Makita, only the festool. There are various discussions and comparisons around between all models. Some say that the festool is slightly underpowered. I haven't had an issue with this, but you really want somebody that uses the saw every day (or at least extensively) to give an opinion on that because that is when shortcomings and frustrations are flushed out, not from the likes of me who uses it some weekends for a few cuts. If my ts55 were to break beyond repair I would probably get the same again. I may consider the Martell or the cordless festool but I think that they would quickly be ruled out on budget.

 

[BHwoodworking]

dont get the dewalt. you will regret. its a appalling saw.

festool all the way. and if you are really rich buy the mafell