Makita Tracksaw Question

[Dan Blackshear]

Recently picked up the Makita Tracksaw and noticed it uses the 165mm size blade.

I also see that the majority of 3rd party blade manufacturers stick with the 160mm size of the Festool. It makes sense, why make 2 different blades when the smaller one will fit both.

My question is; will the scoring function of the Makita tracksaw still work with a 160mm blade or am I going to be limited to Makita and Dewalt blades if I want to be able to make a scoring cut?

I'm guessing no, the scoring cut is a 2-3mm cut and that is half the blade diameter difference but thought I would ask just in case someone with the Makita tracksaw had tried it.

[Michael Mayo]

I think you answered your own question. I too recently bought the Makita Tracksaw as Home Depot had the older model on sale and I have yet to be able to use it as I have not bought any sheet goods as of yet. But I know once I do it is going to make breaking them down sooo much easier. Are you not happy with the Makita blade that comes with the saw? It seems to be a good blade but again I have not had the chance to test it out yet.

[David Weaver]

I have the same saw and also like the stock blade a lot. I haven't tried other blades, thus far as seldom as I use the saw, I'd figure that trying other blades would literally be attempting to solve a problem that I don't have.

I also haven't tried scoring, my cuts have otherwise been plenty clean enough.

[Jamie Buxton]

I haven't examined the Makita, but isn't there an adjustment to set the depth of cut? Every saw should have one of those. If you put a 160 mm blade on the saw, just set the depth stop for a skimming cut depth, and you're okay. If you were going the other way -- putting a 165 mm blade on a saw designed for 160 mm -- you might could not be able to retract the blade far enough to make a skimming cut. But what you're trying should work.

[Peter Quinn]

Jamie, the makita has no outboard shoe to control chipping on the side not under the rail, so if you need the off cut you take your chances. It has the same depth control as the others but it additionally has a scoring stop you can flip on and off on the fly, right by the trigger. So you set your depth for the stock, flip the scoring lever, make about a 1mm deep scoring pass, you could even go backwards! The you flip the switch off and cut full depth. It's a single purpose depth stop. My instinct is the smaller blade prohibits using the quick score stop, so you have to go manual, but the plunge stop marks on the side of the saw show settings for both 160 and 165 mm blades, so that's good if you make plunge cuts.

[Earl Rumans]

I have the Makita and I am very happy with the stock blade. The saw is great for breaking down sheet goods and I am very happy with it. I also use it for cutting down long rough cut boards and it does a good job with them also. I don't see any problem replacing the blade with another Makita blade when this one gets dull. I don't think a smaller blade will allow the scoring function to work correctly.

[Mike Goetzke]

Another alternative: Little off subject but I had one of these saws a few years back (sold it because I didn't like the rear plunge action). Don't remember all the fine details but I was able to adapt a Freud 6-1/2" blade to it using some precision washers that I purchased through McMaster Carr.

Mike

[Dan Blackshear]

Are you not happy with the Makita blade that comes with the saw? It seems to be a good blade but again I have not had the chance to test it out yet.

I just got the thing myself and the only cut I have made so far was in a sheet of Melamine and it worked like a charm, especially with the scoring cut.

I have no reason to believe the Makita blade won't do an admirable job, I just like to have options,

[ed vitanovec]

I am considering this saw and have a question for you all that already own one. Since there is no riving knife just wondering, anyone experience kick back?

[Earl Rumans]

I had a little bit of kickback when I tried something stupid. I clamped 2 pieces of ½ inch ply together to cut both at one time. That would have probably worked fine if I hadn't tried to support both sides of the cut. I had the sheet on 2 tables and was cutting between them. About half way through the cut it started binding and I stopped cutting just as it tried to kick the saw back. It was very minor and I haven't had any other problems in all my other cuts but I also haven't done anything stupid like that again.

[Mike Goetzke]

I am considering this saw and have a question for you all that already own one. Since there is no riving knife just wondering, anyone experience kick back?

I had one of these saws and one of the reasons I got rid of it. Because it is a front (edit - originally I typed rear) plunging saw you need to make sure it is plunged fully before starting and cutting the wood. If you don't you will likely get kickback.

[Dan Blackshear]

I had one of these saws and one of the reasons I got rid of it. Because it is a rear plunging saw you need to make sure it is plunged fully before starting and cutting the wood. If you don't you will likely get kickback.

Not sure I follow you here. What do you mean by rear plunging?

The Makita's pivot point is at the back and it pivots forward just like the Festool. The Dewalt has a different plunging mechanism, it doesn't pivot and instead actually plunges for lack of a better term.

As far as kickback is concerned I haven't had any problems but then again I am never in a situation where it would likely occur. I got the saw strictly for breaking down sheet goods and all of my cuts with it are made on a flat level surface.

[Patrick Harper]

I haven't experienced any kickback with mine. I only use it to cut sheet goods.

[Greg R Bradley]

I have both Makita SP9000 and Festool TS55. They are very close to identical. Both pivot at the back so they plunge more at the front. I believe my 20+ year old Festool was the same basic system. The Mafell MT55 I've used works the same. The Dewalt, which I've also used, is the weird one. It has two pivoting links moving the saw down and forward at the same time. It feels very strange in movement. Some people say the Dewalt mechanism solves the "kickback problem" and some say it causes it.

I think that Dino of Eurekazone started a dis-information campaign to say that the system was flawed and could cause kickback. He seems 90% salesman and 10% innovator to me and is regularly full of it on a variety of subjects. He has said they should make the saws pivot at the front and plunge at the back to solve the problem. I believe none of the manufacturers agree. Even Metabo, who makes the only rear plunge track saw of which I'm aware, does not say a word about any advantage of that system over the others.

You CAN get some kickback on any of these saws just as you can on a regular circular saw. It usually means you are doing something wrong. The biggest problem created in sheetgoods is that your near perfect cut line will have a slight imperfection due to the "kickback". I think it is an error to use the same term as the vastly more dangerous term used for tablesaws. What about jig saw kickback or cut off wheel kickback? How about sander kickback? I'm being a bit silly here, but has anyone felt kickback on a track saw that did any more than cause a slight imperfection in the cut?

If you are using the correct length track, you only plunge into wood when you are trying to do a hole in the middle of a sheet like for a sink cut out or when trying to get every last usable piece out of a sheet of plywood by starting/ending cuts in the middle of the sheet.

I may be missing something as I have never used a tracksaw to rip solid lumber. The Makita is one of the odd ones in the tracksaw group to not have a riving knife.