[OP]
Contributor
I am considering buying a track saw I have been looking at Trition, and Mikita as well as others.
Yes I know that Festool is the best in the world (I can afford one but I don't have to have the worlds best) but I was hoping to hear comments about others.
I am a hobbist doing woodworking & turning for fun not for profit any thoughts or sugestion?
Member
Well technically that honor probably goes to Mafell. But anyways, you can't really go wrong with most of the choices. Folks who have the Makita and Dewalt are generally quite happy, as are the folks with the Festool. One reason to go with the Festool is if you plan on adding other Festools that can share the guide rail, e.g. a router. Personally I started off many years ago heavily considering the Makita but went Festool and this began a long slippery slope with the green.Originally Posted by Ted Baxter
Contributor
I used to have the Makita but sold it when I got my sliding table saw. Except for the occasional desire for more power, I thought it was a nice tool and at no point did I regret buying it. The contractor I sold it to was happy to get it - he had used a friend's before and liked it enough to want one for himself.
What they say about drinking the green kool-aid is true. I tried to buy only one Festool product, ended up with two more, and wish I had bought more still. Beware. Seriously.
Contributor
The Makita is a nice system. EZ is also a nice system and let's you use your current saw.
I have EZ rails, with a Makita and a Milwaukee worm drive set up for them. I also have a Festool TS 75 with rails.
I can make just as a
Nice a cut with my Makita as the Festool. I have the Festool for depth of cut.
I understand the Makita rails are compatible with Festool. Something to consider.😉
Member
I still use a straight edge and a Skil worm drive, but I'm old school!
Rick
Member
I have had the Makita for several years and it does an excellent job. Th only thing I dislike about it is joining 2 sections of rail. it's almost impossible to get them truly flat for precision long cuts. I haven't tried the 118 inch rail but I haven't heard great things about it. I have just ordered the Festool MFT/3 table, so I will see how well the Mikita works with the Festool track and may get the long Festool track.
Earl
Contributor
Contributor
I have had an EZ guide system for years and still like it to this day,I also bought one for our shop at work and everyone likes it as well.
Richard Poitras
Central, Michigan....
01-02-2006
Contributor
What he said. I actually bought the bigger saw and had them mount the guide jig on to the saw. Yes, you can do it yourself, but I have little time to make/do everything. Yes, this is a dedicated saw for the system, but so isn't other saws on track systems.
I think any system mentioned will do a good job. How much do you want to spend, and how often will you use it?
Contributor
You might search the archives as well. This has been covered a couple times in the last couple years (including a thread I initiated a few mos back) and there's a lot of good backfground to help you.
I bought the Dewalt a coouple mos ago. Wanted the safety features. That was my tie-breaker over the Makita. No regrets.)
Contributor
I bought the Makita after MUCH research and debate, including trying out a Festool TS75 at a store. I wanted the TS75 for that extra depth of cut since my primary use would be ripping rough cut lumber down to manageable sizes. Often it is over 2" thick. I really wanted that extra depth (I can't remember but I believe the TS75 went to 2 3/4") but I settled for the Makita, which went just barely over 2". Now that I have had the Makita for a while, I use it for all sorts of tasks. It is very well made and I have no regrets whatsoever in not getting the Festool. I got a saw and three tracks on sale for what just the saw costs from Festool. I found no difference in performance with the Festool when I tried it. Admittedly it was a quick in-store demo (they have a shop where you can test tools) but I am very happy with the Makita.
One thing to note- there is an adjustment on the saw to make it snug to the track. Make sure you snug it up good. My first few cuts I didn't do that and the saw was wiggling about 1/32" in the track. Reading the instructions first would have probably been a good idea.Once I adjusted that knob, it was perfect. I also like that there is a knob to lock the saw into the track so it does not tip over when making miter cuts.
The dust collection is excellent on the Makita. As for the tracks joining together, I have had no issue with them not being straight, but there was a time or two when one track was just a tiny bit higher than the other and the saw didn't want to pass over the joint. I adjusted the set screws and that cured it. Operator error I guess. It seems you do have to make sure you get them together just right. I use three tracks together for long cuts.
Contributor
I bought the Dewalt a couple years ago and love it. I wanted a saw with a riving knife for straight lining rough lumber, Dewalt & Festool are the only two choices with a knife. There are lots of track saw threads here you can search.
Contributor
I had the 118 inch rail and had no problems with it at all. I built a nice set of cabinets - not shop cabinets - with the cabinet-grade ply cut only with the track saw. The tearout strip works well and, with a good blade, you can do some really nice work.
Member
You can read about the so-called EZ SMART tracks and related components at eurekazone.com - all made in the USA by a small company in Florida that was around long before most (all?) of the others started making track saws. As mentioned, they work with most circular saws and provide very clean cuts by using plastic anti-chip edges on the rails and zero-clearance type inserts on the saw base (both replaceable for when you purchase a new blade or switch saws). They also have a very nice router attachment that works with the tracks.
Note the cross-section profile of the EZ SMART tracks are two layers of extruded aluminum with dovetail self-aligning attachment while most other tracks are one layer of aluminum and don't have the self-alignment feature.
Lots of eurekazone videos on youtube to clarify how the tracks, saw base, components, and accessories work together.
I've been using the tracks, square, and router kit for almost 10 years, but recently purchased their EZ-ONE Woodworking center to speed up my work. Now they even make a more portable version of the EZ-ONE. Their rails and components have changed my approach to working with wood.
Ken
Member
The idea that Eurekazone EZ Smart was around before the others is far off. I owned a Festool (Festo at the time) Track Saw for 20 years when Dino started his misinformation crusade. He was so full of nonsense and self contradiction that he was run off of at least one professional forum. He couldn't even keep his claims straight in the same forum thread and was called out so many times that he finally started his own forum. I'm sure Dino claimed to invent them along with claiming to invent the Internet.
FWIW, I use my Festool TS55 and Makita SP6000 pretty much interchangeably on the same tracks with the same accessories.
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