You've got £600 for a new mitre saw...

[Selwyn]

STop press!

Makita ls1219 might be £655 plus a 15% discount with ffx on ebay now - code BAG15OFF bringing you to sub £600.

Go for it

 

[Raymien]

STop press!

Makita ls1219 might be £655 plus a 15% discount with ffx on ebay now - code BAG15OFF bringing you to sub £600.

Go for it

The 15% off has a £60 limit. For some reason FFX have more than one advert. One is priced at £655 the other £640 (adverts appear identical otherwise) so that brings it down to £580 all in with the £60 off

I’m really tempted to hit ‘buy’ but I’m being indecisive. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the 3 I quoted initially, as I like the idea of the rails being infront, thus ruling out the Bosch 254. It’s that damned Festool being so close in price, and me worrying I’ll regret not going for it. It gets such good reviews and in Dennis from Hooked on Wood’s video it does look great.

 

[Adam W.]

Just get the Festool then, if you want it so bad.

 

[Selwyn]

The 15% off has a £60 limit. For some reason FFX have more than one advert. One is priced at £655 the other £640 (adverts appear identical otherwise) so that brings it down to £580 all in with the £60 off

I’m really tempted to hit ‘buy’ but I’m being indecisive. I think I’ve narrowed it down to the 3 I quoted initially, as I like the idea of the rails being infront, thus ruling out the Bosch 254. It’s that damned Festool being so close in price, and me worrying I’ll regret not going for it. It gets such good reviews and in Dennis from Hooked on Wood’s video it does look great.

One was laser

 

[TRITON]

Triton have just entered the Mitre saw market. It's a lot of machine for the money
Triton TCMS254 Sliding Compound Mitre Saw - sautershop

Just watched a YT vid on it and it looks ok, though maybe a bit expensive at £380. £299 would have been more akin to Tritons usual pricing.
One niggle from the vid though. When it showed the trenching facility, it did look like the blade sloped rather than remained parallel throughout the cut. Seemed to be higher at the back that the front,Might have just been the way I was looking at it in relation to the base. I'm going to guess im wrong and its just how i was viewing it.

 

[mikej460]

Personally, if I had the budget I'd buy a Kapex if only for the dust extraction and shadow line. Up to watching the Hooked On Wood video the Makita was at the top of my list and then I saw the Triton....

 

[DiyAddict]

There's a YouTube video of a guy comparing the Festool with a DeWalt. The deal-breaker for him was the handle orientation on the Festool - he couldn't get on with it at all, especially when making left-handed cuts. It may be worth thinking about whether that would be an issue for you.

 

[Jonm]

It’s that damned Festool being so close in price, and me worrying I’ll regret not going for it. It gets such good reviews and in Dennis from Hooked on Wood’s video it does look great.

I do not have any festool kit but have worked with a carpenter who uses mostly festool and it is very impressive kit. My preferred make is Makita.

I have a small 216mm metabo chop saw and a 255mm Dewalt Sliding mitre. I find the Dewalt very heavy and cumbersome to move about. But then I am old and retired a rarely move it, It tends to sit on the bench rather than on a shelf. The Metabo is a doddle to move (and very accurate but limited capacity).

The portability aspect may not be important to you. Sounds like the festool will do the vast majority of what you want. How often will you need the extra capacity of the 305mm makita and how difficult will it be to overcome?

Sounds to me that you want the Festool and the price difference is minimal.

 

[clogs]

personally go for the biggest u can get......just the odd time of use, U'LL be glad u did......
second, my DeWalt has no fancy lazer or anything else.....
for framing I use a pencil, for fancy work I mark with a knife.....
u can get as close as u want to the line, leave it in or take it out.....u choose....
many a time when fitting skirting boards and or crown mouldings u just need to take a few thousands off...
the DeWalt can do it everytime....
I love Japanese tools and would always go for them over everything else except for MIllwaukee bat tools now.....
I only bought the DeWalt chop saw as there was no other manuf making one at the time.....
As for comfort and ease of use, it's first class.....
mine sits on and screwed down to dedicated rolling bench with lockable wheels....

As an add on......when spending that kinda money aren't there stores that let u try out ur machine.....??

 

[Chippyjoe]

Hi,
Have you seen any of these saws in the flesh ?
If not pop into Anglia Tool Centre just of Heigham Road and take a look.
They have Makita, Dewalt and Festool.
My two penneth, I used to have a Makita LS 013 might nor be the correct model as it is going back a few years. Of course this was when Makita made quality gear and like most manufacturers they cut down on the quality.
It was a fantastic saw but getting used every day took its toll heavy beast as well.
Changed that for the Festool Kapex 120 and is a brilliant saw.
Best dust extraction by a mile of any more saw out there. Don't be put off by the motor, it was just a batch of saws that the armature's went on. Festool soon jumped on this and put things right.
With regards to the handle don't understand the complaints but there you go.
Sounds like you want the Festool but sure you will pick the right saw, good luck in whatever you choose.
By the way not saying you should buy whatever you get from ATC in Norwich but would give you and idea of hands on.
Mark.

 

[Raymien]

As a brief update, after many hours spent watching videos and reading reviews I decided I would go with the Festool. Toucan Tools had a decent offer on it, but it went out of stock whilst I was procrastinating. So I ended up getting the E-Set version as I wanted the LED light anyway, and it worked out at only £40 more. Thanks again for the replies.

I'm off to excitedly open the big box in my hallway!!

 

[Stuart Moffat]

Whilst I do have an extensive festool collection, I bought a dewalt sliding mitre saw 8 or 9 years ago, and the only thing that would tempt me to change it would be dust collection.
The shadow is infallibly accurate, whereas the laser setting on the evolution I use outside if breaking up stuff that might have nails in it simply isn’t infallibly accurate (and often invisible on a reasonably nice day). The blade that came with my DW was also outstanding, but don’t know if they still are as supplied.

 

[Jonm]

As a brief update, after many hours spent watching videos and reading reviews I decided I would go with the Festool. Toucan Tools had a decent offer on it, but it went out of stock whilst I was procrastinating. So I ended up getting the E-Set version as I wanted the LED light anyway, and it worked out at only £40 more. Thanks again for the replies.

I'm off to excitedly open the big box in my hallway!!

Thank you for letting us know.

 

[Spectric]

Don't get taken in by a badge, no one makes the best of everything and so forget the badge and just look at the tool, what seems to be the issue with the festool is the handle is not ergonomic for all, think of a motor bike twist throttle that instead of being in line with the bars sits upright so not a natural twist movement. For a company that so many worship then why do they make simple mistakes, just fit a handle that can be set in several positions so it can suit the user.

 

[Ollie78]

The kapex 60 is very nice in use, not quite as nice as the big one. It just works, no messing about or anything.
However, I still have an old Makita that is 20 years old and is going strong, though 110 so I don't use it much now.

I say you need to try it out for real,
I nearly bought a Bosch but tried it out and just hated the handle and switch. It would have done my head in after a week.

Ollie

 

[johnnyb]

get this today I got 2 yes 2 ctl22 extractors spares or repair very cheap. stripped them down and both motors are shot. checked and festool want £130 PER MOTOR. its only a 1200w vac motor. unfortuneatly they use domel motors which are tricky to get in the uk.
they are really plasticky as well. managed to get 2 from Germany for £60.

 

[tmitch45]

I got the festool a few weeks ago. Was very cautious about which to get as its a huge sum of cash for me. I took the plunge with the entry level Festool and I'm not disappointed. Its a very well built machine and deadly accurate straight out of the box and has remained so ever since. It feels quality and is a pleasure to use producing a nice clean cut with the standard blade.

To be honest I researched mitre saws to death and the more you look the more you will find someone who has 'X' saw and has had issues with it and isn't happy with it. The more cash you spend the higher the expectations people have (quite right) and therefore any slight issues and these machines are slated by people on forums. I would say try and get your hands on the machines you are considering, look at the quality and the mechanisms and the space needed. I was at Axminster tools the other week and they had a few in your price range inc the festool and Bosch axial glide.

Good luck with your search

 

[Raymien]

In the brief time I used the Kapex 60, before I boxed it back up again for it to be exchanged, I’m happy with my decision. Definitely feels like a quality piece of kit, and aside from the base being uneven, it was very accurate.
I was apprehensive about the vertical handle with all the complaints about it, but in truth I didn’t find it an issue at all. You can bring the blade down without starting the motor to line up the blade shadow, and I enjoyed using it. The accuracy of the shadow line vs the laser I had on my old Evolution is a breath of fresh air. Bang on. As long as you line it up with the slightly wider ‘tooth shadow’ not the shadow of the body of the blade.

It’s getting swapped on Monday (great service from Toucan Tools who I bought it from) and I’m looking forward to using it in anger on some skirting I need to mitre. The double bevel feature should be a dream compared to my old one.

 

[Chippyjoe]

In the brief time I used the Kapex 60, before I boxed it back up again for it to be exchanged, I’m happy with my decision. Definitely feels like a quality piece of kit, and aside from the base being uneven, it was very accurate.
I was apprehensive about the vertical handle with all the complaints about it, but in truth I didn’t find it an issue at all. You can bring the blade down without starting the motor to line up the blade shadow, and I enjoyed using it. The accuracy of the shadow line vs the laser I had on my old Evolution is a breath of fresh air. Bang on. As long as you line it up with the slightly wider ‘tooth shadow’ not the shadow of the body of the blade.

It’s getting swapped on Monday (great service from Toucan Tools who I bought it from) and I’m looking forward to using it in anger on some skirting I need to mitre. The double bevel feature should be a dream compared to my old one.

Glad you like it.
The handle "issue" seems to be an agenda on here by a certain poster, but I have yet to hear about it from all of the people who own a Kapex I know and that's quite a few.
You will certainly enjoy it.

 

[johnnyb]

oddly I've just brought a 120. it's a great saw very accurate. but the handle is a pain. mines on an aftermarket stand is the ug stand lower?I brought mine used from an old chap who had it in a tiny old people's bungalow loft. he had it for 6 years and it was immaculate with a few accessories.at the price I couldn't resist.
the main benefit for me is its 7 kilos lighter( I'm officially old)