Tool brands ?for shop upgrades
- Thread starter D. Hinton
- Start date
If you keep the saw inside your shop and it is not used outside on the job site then operating space becomes an issue. That narrows down the field to those that have rail forward designs, or the Bosch "Axial-Glide" system. Both of these designs allow the saw to park directly against a wall and make full width cuts. Otherwise you need quite a bit of operating space behind the saw and that pushes its placement towards the middle of the room. If you use the saw in a permanent location, typically on a bench, you'll either have to pull the bench away from the wall or have a very wide bench.
For this reason I'd go with a rail forward saw or the Bosch "Axial-Glide". That narrows down the field, the last time I checked, to Festool Kapex, Metabo, and Makita for a rail forward design or an Axial-Glide Bosch or Ridgid knock-off.
From those choices its a matter of budget, brand preference, availability, and any other factor that makes you feel good about the purchase. I have the Metabo and it does what I need. The bevel adjustment isn't the best but that's not something I use very often. The Bosch Axial-Glide has a reputation for flexing meaning inconsistent cuts. I have no experience with it and cannot pass any judgement. Internet forum comments about this issue range from "no big deal" to "unusable". I gather the Makita is a bit more refined and has easier adjustments than the Metabo. Were I in the market would lean towards it or delay retirement a couple years and get the Festool Kapex.
For this reason I'd go with a rail forward saw or the Bosch "Axial-Glide". That narrows down the field, the last time I checked, to Festool Kapex, Metabo, and Makita for a rail forward design or an Axial-Glide Bosch or Ridgid knock-off.
From those choices its a matter of budget, brand preference, availability, and any other factor that makes you feel good about the purchase. I have the Metabo and it does what I need. The bevel adjustment isn't the best but that's not something I use very often. The Bosch Axial-Glide has a reputation for flexing meaning inconsistent cuts. I have no experience with it and cannot pass any judgement. Internet forum comments about this issue range from "no big deal" to "unusable". I gather the Makita is a bit more refined and has easier adjustments than the Metabo. Were I in the market would lean towards it or delay retirement a couple years and get the Festool Kapex.
Richard Lathrop
Well-known member
Will this be a daily user or occasional use? Whole buy once cry once is good I find I have overspent for what I need.
Just my .02
Just my .02
I have the 12" Hitachi slider that is now the Metabo and that has been a pretty good saw, HOWEVER, once you get it out of alignment it is a royal pain in the ass to adjust back into shape, if it is possible at all.
I bought the Festool Kapex and oh boy is that a nice tool. Well worth it IMO. Light years ahead of the Hitachi as far as being a pleasure to use.
I looked at the two saws that I consider intermediate between the 2 I have, the Bosch and the Makita and I hesitated on them because some people have problems with them (maybe a smaller percentage on the Makita). If you really dig in you will see there are lemons with problems that can be hard to resolve, especially the Bosch. Coming off fighting with the Hitachi to get it back into decent alignment I decided not to fuck with something that isn't the best.
My Kapex did come not in perfect alignment, both the blade to the fence and the lasers to the blade. I was annoyed when the customer support guy said that they do come on a boat and get bashed around, but the adjustments reminded me why I paid the big money, since they were so intuitive and easy.
This was my concern with the Bosch, it seems a little too russian roulettey to me for the price and it doesn't seem like the bad ones can get fixed or that Bosch cares to fix them. HOWEVER, you just don't know on the problems, either if it is operator error. To be truly repeatable with a big compound miter saw does take some finesse and feel, if the user is a meathead, it is easy to throw the cut off.
I actually had a used Bosch lined up for a great price, but the guy flaked out just as I was on my way to get it (I'm guessing got a better offer). I had the Makita ordered, but there was a inventory issue and they cancelled the order. It took the the time of those fumbles to suck it up and buy the Kapex.
Tod
That sort of thing will definitely nudge a fella to dig deeper in the wallet. If I had to make a purchase today, I'd probably go Kapex for the better dust collection. My only reservation is I've heard about a motor issue they've been having that I seem to recall may not be covered by any warranty. If I were in the market I'd look into that and let it guide me.
That sort of thing will definitely nudge a fella to dig deeper in the wallet. If I had to make a purchase today, I'd probably go Kapex for the better dust collection. My only reservation is I've heard about a motor issue they've been having that I seem to recall may not be covered by any warranty. If I were in the market I'd look into that and let it guide me.
I looked into the motor issue, that was only on the the older ones. As far as I know the new ones don't have a problem at all. A company like Festool with their reputation and how expensive they are perched at the top of the heap where everyone like to throw stones doesn't seem likely to make the same mistake twice.
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