festool guide rail and parallel guide or table saw?

[Meyer138]

So for Christmas my wife is letting me spend 6k to get a decent set-up in the garage. I am in love with the Festool system and will be investing most of the money into it.

List: 
Domino DF500 with assortment systainer
1400eq router with attachments
Lr32 system
Mft/3
CT26E
TS55
>which comes to about $4200!

And only one of these to complete what I have budgeted for:

Laguna Fusion table saw
Or
Laguna 14bx /14SUV
Or
Complete the Festool purchase with a 118' guide rail and parallel guides with extension and a Kapex 120!

The last part is my dilemma.  Should I just go all Festool right now or get a bigger machine item with multi-functions?

What do I plan to build? For starters shop furniture, garage cabinets and then work on making horse tack chests and armoire for my wife's barn ( probably a dozen each). I also plan to start up a small side business making them to sell at her horse shows.  Of course, I will probably work on furniture in the house such as book cases, desks etc.....so which way should I lean towards initially? I do plan on getting the other items, it just won't be anytime soon.

 

[Petey83]

As a hobbyist in the UK I do not have the luxury of space for a table saw and even when I hope to get a workshop space next year I would likely put a pillar drill, router table and band saw over the purchase of a table saw.

In my admittedly limited experience my ts55 has done every job I've needed it to that I'd have used a table saw for but it can take a little more set up. I no longer have the parallel guides but when I did have them for a brief period they were one of the most useful accessories I've seen for a hand held tool and are certainly something I intend to re-buy in future.

If you can see your self wanting to use a daedo blade then the table saw is a no brainier but if that's not on the radar I'd say get the long track and parallel guides and enjoy the beauty of tech Kapex you can buy with the left over cash.

 

[Birdhunter]

I don't think you have enough budget for a decent table saw plus a high volume dust collector. Think in the range of a 4" to 6" duct dust collector plus a HEPA level outflow.

I'd suggest the Kapex with a dedicated Festool vac with the wide hose. The Kapex has been a great addition to my shop.

If you buy a low end table saw, most likely, you will be trading up very shortly.

 

[Holmz]

You may be better off with a Lamello Zeta P2 for the cabinettes and tack chests than a 500?

I have an MFT/3 and I can see way people make bigger versions using the MFT top concept as a larger bench.

If you are solely working with sheets then a TS and rails work well.
If you are cutting wood, then a table saw is hard to beat.

 

[Kev]

If it was me, I'd probably get the band saw and some how scrape for the 3000 rail.

It's out of character for me to say it, but depending on your applications you could get a cheaper SCMS.

 

[Meyer138]

Thanks for the info.  This summer I installed five 220v outlets along with a dedicated electrical box thinking I was going all big machinery. .....lol. wife was not too happy when I told her about the Festool footprint.  Lol.

My garage is a 3-car tandem, but with the wife's car and the kids bikes I am really dedicated to a single car garage for my work shop.  I'm thinking the parallel guides and longer guide rail would suffice.  Maybe even look for a used bandsaw on CR...been waiting a long time for this,  so it's a big decision.

 

[andreasg]

Whatever you do, make sure you keep the wife [smile] 6k in new tools at once is A nice christmas gift

 

[Danny]

So for Christmas my wife is letting me spend 6k to get a decent set-up in the garage.

Does your wife have a similar minded sister who is single?

Back to your original question, (which I also asked a few years back), I would argue that a table saw (even if just a job site one) can sometime be useful for very narrow cuts.

 

[jbasen]

I couldn't live without my table saw though I realize in the Festool world that is considered a personal preference.

Personally, I think the parallel guides are a luxury and not a must have.  On the other hand a 118" rail is great for breaking down large sheet goods.  I would postpone the purchase of the parallel guides and apply that money to the purchase of a job site saw as Danny suggested.  There are some decent job site saws on sale at the big box home centers right now.

The first time you want to rip a piece of narrow stock you will be happy you got the table saw.

You can always ask for the parallel guides for Valentines Day [big grin]

 

[Meyer138]

Ha, no sister...  I sort of told her that if you go Festool, you can't buy just one item because it's a system. I did a 4 page presentation with pics to prove it.  Last year she bought a horse and an English CWD saddle which cost way more! But, I didn't complain because I was gearing up for this sale...

Either way, I agree about the table saw. I was looking at the Bosch 4100-09 which has a small footprint and I already have a dado blade set. Plus, I wouldn't have to get a large dust collection system, just use the CT26.

 

[Peter_C]

Owning a TS55 that is my goto saw for most stuff, I still can't imagine not owning a table saw.

I own a Bosch 4100 table saw. It is usable for some stuff, but ripping sheet goods is not one of them. Mine is totally modified to make it work better though. With the stand it stores pretty easy. First the fence before the blade is too short, so I made a Corian fence that slips over the Bosch fence, lengthening it by around 7 inches. The miter gauge didn't go anywhere near the blade, but another flat piece of Corian resolved that issue, and it still stores in the holder on the saw. Every table saw that doesn't slide, needs a sled. The sled is used on my saw a lot for cutting small pieces. Off the outfeed attachment I built a stop for the sled so I don't cut through the back of it on accident. For storage and portability everything is stored on the saw, so it is tippy. A couple of nuts welded onto the stand with bolts in them tilt the saw back making it more stable. The digital fence was added after as I wanted a way to do metric and standard. That part works okay, but if you forget to turn it on, before moving the fence, you have to re-calibrate it. The Lee Valley insert is also a must have, along with some good blades. Bosch makes front and back extensions too, which are a requirement. I have a modded plastic HDPE picnic table I use as an outfeed table when needed. The dust collection pretty much sucks. There is one more mod I still need to make, which is a skirt over the front area where you adjust saw blade height and angle. Is the Bosch saw really worth it? Many contractors like the Dewalt for its portability. On Black Friday I wandered over to Home Depot from the grocery store to see if there was any good deals on tools. They had the Ridgid saws for $299. Out the door I paid $426 for my Bosch and typically it sells for around $600. At half price the Ridgid starts looking appealing as it is not much worse of a saw than the Bosch. Neither are great saws by any means.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-15-Amp-10-in-Heavy-Duty-Portable-Table-Saw-with-Stand/100090444
So is a portable saw the right one? I have everything in my garage on wheels. The reality is a Delta Unisaw takes up about as much floor space if you have folding or removable tables. With wheels you can roll it out and use it. Of course as mentioned above it will require a larger dust collector too. Used Unisaws are readily available with typically little use.

Table saws are dangerous, and although far more expensive, the Bosch, or SawStop with the retracting blade might be an excellent safety option. A full face shield is the safest when working with bigger power equipment.

Working inside a garage as you are, I would recommend putting up a heavy curtain to wall off your work area. Saw dust gets into everything...like the wife's car. Although that makes a good excuse to buy Festool sanders with their excellent dust collection, there will always be dust flying.

 

[jeh]

I'd avoid the LR32 as it is not the most forgiving tool. You could pick up a Mafell DD40 and template that easily outperforms the LR32 system and as a bonus the DD40 is a dowel joiner. Some will say the Domino is better, but that's only a matter of opinion.

Skip the Parallel Guides, which like the LR32, are a kluge. You'd be better served with a non-portable tablesaw and will get a lot of use out of it is just easier to setup and know that your cuts will be spot on. If you have to go portable (or smaller) then take a look at the DeWalt DW744X as I think you'd like it better for the fence alone. I have the smaller version of that saw as it is more portable and works better on-site. The fence on both saws is geared in the front and back and adjusted with a knob. The chances of fence deflection are minimal. No matter what portable tablesaw you go with, they all are poor at dust collection. Another consideration might be a SawStop. It's a great saw with a great safety feature designed in. I'm jaded though as it saved my thumb after what had been a 22 year streak without an incident.

If you go with the 118" rail expect some deflection. I have one and access to another and both of them suffer from it. If Festool had a decent rail connector I'd recommend getting two shorter rails to get you to the 118" length.

Kapex is a solid saw. Can't go wrong with it.

 

[jeh]

Also if you are going after the LR32 and/or Parallel guides they come up in the Classified section quite frequently. No need to buy new ones. You also might consider getting the next size bigger vacuum.

 

[andreasg]

I agree that a table saw is very useful. Have you looked at The Ron Paulk Workbench? His consent of hanging the table saw on the bench is great. When not in use the two "support-pipes" can be hidden inside. [attachimg=1]

 

[andreasg]

Didn't manage to upload two pictures from my phone. Dewalt 744 has a great fence, and suites this concept very well.

 

[Holmz]

The biggest draw back for the TS is the rail system.
You either need a long rail, or to understand the limitations, or to be able to connect rails.

This is why I mounted a Bosch rail on my MFT, and run a 220v track saw exhausting into a CT26.

When on a card table or the back of a truck - I hook 2x 1600-mm Bosch tracks together.

 

[JBag09]

Ok here is my thought on this. I gave away my big table saw since I didn't have a need for it once I went over to all Festool. However I did buy a Dewalt contractor saw for ripping lumber for like face frames etc...because it's way faster. I've been doing this for 2 years and haven't missed my full size saw yet.
Yesterday I actually just cut some trim pieces that were 3/16" wide with the TS55 without a problem. And got a MUCH nicer cut than my table saw could have.
So my opinion is this. If you have the space, by all means get a big table saw, if not go with a contractor saw, it will work fine. Spend the money on the 118" rail (my next purchase)  and a dust collector. If your using a planer the CT wouldn't be sufficient unless you use some sort of cyclone, like the dust deputy. I actually have a Harbor Freight DC, and it works great. Mine is in the attic and I ran PVC ductwork and just connect flex hoses when I use specific machines (planer, table saw, router table) so it take NO floor space. And don't worry, I grounded all the PVC and get no static discharge from it.
And I wouldn't recommend the parallel guides, go with the Rip Dogs or Seneca Woodworking guides, cheaper and do the same thing. And from almost everything I read on here, a lot of people don't like the Festool version.
Just my thoughts. Take them for what they are worth.

 

[Tyler Ernsberger]

There's no way a track saw can replace a table saw.  I would get a contractor saw like the Bosch 4100.  The Bosch has the ability to take a dado blade.  The Bosch has plenty of power and you can use your Festool Vacuum  for dust collection.  I would not use to auto function being that the saw pulls a lot of power.  It would be best to run the table saw on a separate circuit to prevent tripped breakers. 

With your $6000 budget I wouldn't get the Kapex.  For $300-500 you can get a good Dewalt or Bosch miter saw with a stand.  There's nothing wrong with Bosch or Dewalt miter saws,  with a aftermarket blade and some modifications to the dust ports you will have a great saw.  With the Kapex $1450 price tag and  add the price of the ug stand or mft your at $1800ish.  That will eat up a lot of your budget. 

I like the idea about the Laguna SVU,  it's a great band saw.  With a contractors saw and a Dewalt or Bosch miter saw,  it should make it possible to be able to get a miter saw, table saw, and bandsaw and still be close to meeting your budget.

 

[flair woodworks]

Another vote for the bandsaw here.

 

[Elmar50]

Another vote for a contractor's table saw. You can get an older model for not much more than the LR32 kit and it will be much more useful. The minuses for a contractor's TS is dust mgmt. I also find the Kapex to be a very useful beast.